VOA流行美語 Unit 311:脾氣急躁&情緒平靜

Larry下班後跟李華一起吃晚飯。今天我們要學兩個常用語： hothead和even keel.

LH: Larry, 今天上班忙嗎？

LL: Well, to be honest Li Hua, it was a bit stressful. One of our ad campaigns was not successful and my boss had a total meltdown. He is such a hothead.

LH: A hothead? 你是說老闆性情急躁，動不動就發脾氣嗎？

LL: Yes, exactly, a hothead means someone who gets very angry very quickly. When something makes a hothead mad, you absolutely do not want to be around him.

LH: 沒錯，急脾氣的人要是生氣了，最好是離他們遠點，否則一不小心就成了出氣筒。

LL: That is exactly right, a hothead can really be dangerous sometimes, though often they'll just throw a tantrum and be done with it.

LH: 他們倒是出氣了，可旁邊的人卻要跟着倒黴。快說說，你們老闆當時什麼反應？

LL: Well, when he heard that the campaign was not successful, he blamed ME. He was such a hothead, he slammed down his coffee mug and broke it.

LH: 那咖啡還不灑得到處都是？

LL: It got all over his shirt. This got him even angrier.

LH: 太可怕了。我有個同學，就是典型的hothead。

LL: In what way, Li Hua?

LH: 比方說吧，前不久他的一篇作文，教授只給了C，他氣得臉紅脖子粗，竟然把課本一下子扔到地上。He is such a hothead.

LL: Wow, what did your professor do?

LH: 教授當時已經走了，可教室裏還有很多人，大家都沒想到他的脾氣如此暴躁。對了，剛纔說到一半，那你們老闆是什麼時候消的氣呢？

LL: He didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the day. He just stormed off to his office. Because he was such a hothead, no one dared to knock on his door.

LH: 可想而知，辦公室裏的氣氛肯定一天都好不了。

LL: Well, the afternoon actually turned out alright.

LH: Oh? And why was that?

LL: Once he stormed off, the boss was out of everyone's hair for the rest of the day. It was pretty relaxing from there on out.

LH: Larry, 廣告沒做好，你那些同事是不是也特別氣餒？

LL: No one was happy, of course, but I would say that everybody managed to keep an even keel.

LH: An even what?

LL: Even keel. It means to stay calm or keep your cool, like a boat on calm water.

LH: 我明白了，even keel就是情緒穩定。老闆發那麼大的火，換成我，肯定沒法保持even keel.

LL: I'll admit I was pretty nervous when my boss became such a hothead, but I was able to maintain an even keel.

LH: 還好你沒有過於激動，在這種情況下，是很容易說錯話的。

LL: Exactly, I find that when I'm at work, the best policy is to always try to keep an even keel. That way I can speak clearly and be focused on what I have to do.

LH: 我覺得，你們老闆真應該去上Anger Management控制情緒的課。

LL: That's right. He was such a hothead.

LH: 你發現沒有，身邊有個脾氣急躁的人，自己也容易受影響。

LL: That's true, Li Hua, sometimes being around someone who is worked up can get you feeling pretty tense as well.

LH: 反過來說，周圍人都保持鎮靜，發脾氣的人也容易冷靜下來。

LL: Yes. It was good that only my boss lost his cool and everyone else kept an even keel. It would have been a very stressful afternoon otherwise.

LH: 一點沒錯。

LL: What about you, Li Hua? When your classmate became such a hothead, were you able to keep an even keel?

LH: 我跟本沒想到that guy was such a hot head. 嚇得我趕快收拾東西開遛。不過說實話，作文得低分，是挺讓人沮喪的。

LL: I thought you always did well on papers.

LH: 我上個月宏觀經濟學的作文就得了C+。

LL: You seem to have recovered from the shock though.

LH: Yes, now I am keeping a pretty even keel.

LL: That's good. I don't want to have to deal with a hothead.

今天李華學了兩個常用語。一個是 hothead, 意思是脾氣急躁的人。另一個是even keel, 意思是情緒平靜。