训练你的英语脑

　　训练自己用英文思考，多练习常用的搭配和惯用语，能够更快学习英语，掌握更自然的发音方式。本期将为您介绍一些熟悉的单字，当它们合併在一起时，能产生不同的意思，让你的英文听起来更贴近职场应用。

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会议惯用语补给站

1. in a nutshell（简而言之）

In a nutshell, we want to make sure all parties are satisfied with the event. We are willing to do whatever is needed to prevent unnecessary problems from happening.（简而言之，我们希望各部门在活动中都能满意，只要确保活动能顺利进行，我们都愿意尽量配合。）

2. go the extra mile（付出更多的努力）

She went the extra mile by doing more than she has been asked to do.（她付出更多的努力，远超出本来的期望。）

3. go down the drain（付诸流水）

Due to the adverse business climate his company is going down the drain fast.（由于商业环境不佳，他的公司很快将付诸流水）

4. go back to square one（从头来过）

I hope our game plan works properly. Otherwise, we will have to go back to square one.（希望我们的计划能顺利进行，否则我们将从头来过。）

5. the big picture（全局）

The CEO focuses on the big picture instead of on little details.（执行长处事总是顾全大局，不拘泥小细节。）

Sample Dialogue（情境范例）

During a meeting, Mark is presenting his ideas to his colleagues and they are having a conversation about this marketing strategy…（公司会议进行中，Mark 正跟大家说明本季的行销计画）

Mark：Picking up from where we left off, I’d like to walk you through real quick. In a nutshell, there’re three main steps that we should work on for this recent marketing strategy. We’ll begin by increasing our brand awareness. Then, we’ll follow up by connecting with potential customers. Last, we’ll keep extending commercial relationships via the mass media…（接续上次的讨论，我快速为大家回顾一下。简要来说，本季度行销策略分为三大阶段。首先，将主力放在提升品牌意识，然后着手联繫潜在客户，最后透过媒体行销，增加曝光机会…）

Sabrina：Thank you for the brief summary, Mark. To make it unfold smoothly, we need to go the extra mile to getting it off the ground.（谢谢 Mark 简短的摘要，为了让行销策略能顺利开展，我们需要付出更多努力。）

Mark：You’re absolutely right ! Just to make sure we’re on the same page. Gary has developed a proper game plan regarding time allocation. Do you mind providing the sheet to every one after the meeting, Gary?（您说得对！简单地确认大家对此计画都有一致的了解。关于时程的分配，Gary已整理出一个妥善的计画。Gary您介意会后把资料寄给大家吗？）

Gary：I’d love to. Unfortunately, my computer crashed. I wish I’d backed up all my files, but I didn’t. All files just went down the drain. I need to go back to square one.（我相当乐意。但很不幸地，我的电脑当机了，真希望我有将我所有档案都备份过，但可惜我没有，所有心血都白费了，我需要从头来过。）

Sabrina：We all learned from the experience. It’s actually fine. Let’s all look at the big picture. We can take this opportunity to adjust our plan. We have all these great ideas and valuable plans from the meetings we had these last couple of weeks. Why don’t we send the previous meeting minutes to Gary; he’ll compile the information altogether with the needed adjustment. How does it sound to everyone?（我们都是从经验中学习。其实没关系，我们往大方向看。我们刚好利用这次机会来调整本次计画。过去几周的会议中，大家的建议与想法都很宝贵也很实际，不如我们将前几次的会议纪录寄给 Gary，让他帮我们再次整理，并进行必要的修改。大家觉得这样如何？）

Gary：Sounds good to me! Thank you for all the great support. I’ll make sure the adjusted game plan is ready before the next meeting.（听起来不错！谢谢大家的全力支援，我会在下次会议前将计画修改完成。）

註：以上英文教学由EIE美语提供，英文课程谘询请洽：EIE Institute Belle Yin（Tel: (02) 8773-6828 Ext. 368；Email: belle@eie.com.tw）#