網傳祖克伯徵中文保母?這3個多益常考字必須要知道

臉書創辦人馬克‧祖克伯第二個女兒上個月剛出生,最近在Indeed.com的網站上出現一則有趣的徵人啟事,在矽谷的華人社區引起討論。其內容為應徵一名保母,除了列出一般的應徵資格外,其中一點要求保母需會說中文,引起大家懷疑是否為祖克伯釋出的徵人訊息。不過不管真相如何,想要應徵這個年薪高福利好的保母,得先看懂這則英文的徵人啟事!

photo: Mark Zuckerberg 臉書專頁

看懂工作天數和時數

The nanny will work 5 days, have 5 days off, work 2 days, and have 2 days off on a rotating schedule. The working hours are 8AM-8/9PM.

這裡談到工作幾天休幾天的英文,其實沒有想像中困難,我們可以在work five days後面加上straight,指的就是連續不停歇,算是個口語常見的說法。
例句:I haven’t slept for two days straight.(我已經連續兩天沒闔眼睡覺了。)

而要表達休假可以用get ~ day(s) off,英文中off應用相當廣泛,這邊加在幾日後面表示休息,這是英文常見表達語,也正是多益常用的語句,大家趁機熟記吧!
例句:Can I take a day off tomorrow?(我明天可以休一天假嗎?)

看懂薪水和福利

Highly competitive salary( $110,$130,000 DOE plus full benefits, medical, dental, vision, etc

首先我們看到在薪水後面寫了個DOE,指的是Depends on Experience,也就是實際的薪水多寡要取決於你的工作經驗;另一個也常見的DOQ則是Depends on Qualifications,取決於資格。

這個保母的工作年薪介於美金10萬到13萬間,而且享有醫療、牙科和視力等全額健康保險。講到年薪,我們一定要來學一個多益常見的單字annual

Annual是yearly的意思,來自於拉丁文annus,代表年的意思,後面加「-al」的變化變成了形容詞,因此annual salary指的就是年薪。

Salary在英文的概念通常是一段時間的薪水,通常用月薪monthly salary,或是年薪yearly salary來表達,跟pay稍有差異,後者通常會用在hourly pay時薪的概念上面。前者較為責任制,後者為時間制。

看懂高工時的補償

看到這裡,你是否也躍躍欲試想應徵傳說中的保母呢?雖然每日要工作超過12小時,早上8點上班後得工作至晚上8或9點才能下班,但也可以得到很豐厚的補償。

這邊我們再來學一個片語「sb is well compensated for sth」。Compensate(補償)是多益常見動詞,名詞變化為compensation,通常表達你有損失,而對方需補償你的損失的意思。在此則是表達你付出的勞力會得到相當的報酬,也就是補償你失去的時間或是勞力的回報之意。

片語前面加上well表達「相當地」,也就是報酬不會太低,如well-liked(很受人喜愛的)、well-written(寫得很好的)、well-respected(很受人尊敬的)等。從這幾個例子可看出,後面要接的是個過去分詞變化的形容詞!

而compensate後的介系詞用for是表達報酬的「目的」為何,像是這個保母的工作得到相當好的報酬可以用compensate for her work。
例句:I took her swimming to compensate for having missed out on the cinema.(我因為錯過了電影,於是帶她去游泳作為補償。)

多益模擬試題

June 29th, 2017

Dear Mr. Lincoln,
We are very sorry to hear that you have been experiencing problems with your new laptop. While we do ask that our customers contact their dealer in the event of a problem, we recognize that, in your case, it would be impossible. Therefore, if you will carefully package the unit in its original carton and send it to us, our “doctors” will put it through an examination to determine the source of the problem.

If the problem turns out to be a minor adjustment, we shall make the repair and be sure to return the laptop to you within thirty days. If our determination is that the unit is defective, we will send you an immediate replacement.

Again, we are very sorry that you experienced this difficulty and wish to thank you for your patience and for purchasing our products.

Sincerely,
Dennis Sayles Green House Technology

1. What problem does Mr. Lincoln currently have?
(A) Serious disease
(B) Air conditioner problem
(C) Computer problem
(D) Motorcycle problem

2. What does Mr. Lincoln need to do to fix his problem?
(A) Contacting the dealer
(B) Purchasing new laptop
(C) Seeing a doctor
(D) Sending the laptop

解析:
1. 正解(C)。題目問「Mr. Lincoln目前面臨什麼問題?」。原文中提到We are very sorry to hear that you have been experiencing problems with your new laptop.(我們很遺憾得知你目前的新電腦出了問題。)從laptop(筆記型電腦)可知Mr. Lincoln目前正面臨電腦的問題,所以答案為(C),computer與laptop代表同樣的物品。

2. 正解(D)。題目問的「Mr. Lincoln若要解決問題該怎麼做?」文中第一段寫道: if you will carefully package the unit in its original carton and send it to us, our “doctors” will put it through an examination to determine the source of the problem. (如果你可以將物品小心包裝在原來的紙箱中並且寄回給我們,我們的醫生將會進行檢驗來確認問題癥結點為何。)這裡指出消費者必須寄回電腦才能處理問題,所以答案為(D)。儘管有提到醫生這個單字,不過這裡指的是電腦醫生,不是一般的醫生,因此不能選(C)。

點擊看徵人啟事原文

文/Buffy Kao

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