VOA流行美語 Unit 234:people person和know it all

Larry正在跟李華談他最近回家看到哥哥和妹妹的情況。 李華今天會學會兩個常用語people person和know-it-all。

LL: So, Li Hua, I just got back from seeing my family. It was a nice visit, and I was so impressed with my little sister Emily. She is such a people person.

LH: 你說你妹妹Emily是什麼？A people person? Hey, Larry, 妹妹Emily當然是人嘛。

LL: Oh, a people person is someone who is good around people and likes people. Emily definitely is a people person, and she has what we call "people skills."

LH: 噢，原來people person就是喜歡而且善於跟人交往的人。

LL: Right, people skills include being friendly, being a good conversationalist, and making other people comfortable. So, seeing Emily again reminded me what a people person she is.

LH: 我真是很羨慕那些善於跟人交往的人。他們總是顯得很友好、也很健談，讓人喜歡。 你哥哥Ron呢? 他也是a people person?

LL: No, Ron is very, very smart, but he is a not a people person. He likes to keep to himself, and when he is in a group, he doesn't talk very much.

LH: 我知道你哥哥Ron很聰明。他是不太愛講話。原來他性格比較內向。你和你哥哥的性格是不是有點相似？

LL: Well, I think I am somewhere in the middle. I am not as much of a people person Emily is, but I think I have more people skills than my older brother Ron.

LH: 我看你也是處於中間，在人際關係方面趕不上Emily，但比哥哥要強一些。Larry, 那你覺得我是什麼水平呢？

LL: You are a people person, Li Hua. I think you need to be a real people person to be a Chinese teacher.

LH: 那倒不見得教中文的老師必須善於和人交往，其實任何老師都應該如此。 我們每天都要跟學生打交道嘛。

LL: Being a people person can also be very useful when interviewing for a job.

LH: 沒錯，找工作面試的時候， 公司總是喜歡能與人相處的僱員。

LL: Yes, and my sister Emily told me she has an interview for an internship at a law firm. With her people skills, I am sure she will get it.

LH: 沒錯，像Emily那樣討人喜歡的人，那律師事務所肯定會要她去實習的。

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LL: My older brother Ron drives me crazy sometimes, because he is such a know-it-all.

LH: A know-it-all? 他什麼都知道。這不是好事嗎？

LL: A know-it-all is someone who acts like they know every thing and want to show everyone that they know everything. But, they don't necessarily really know what they are talking about.

LH: 噢，這兒說的a know-it-all不是真正的有知識，而是指那種喜歡喧耀自己什麼都知道， 可是其實並不見得都懂的人。

LL: Let's take my older brother Ron as an example. Because Ron is such a know-it-all, you can't say a word without him correcting you or arguing with you.

LH: 我碰到過這樣的人。不管你說什麼他都要更正你。 Larry, 如果你說得對呢？比如你說地球是圓的？

LL: Well, in this case my know-it-all older brother would say to me, "You know, Larry, technically the earth is not round."

LH: 什麼?! 他會說， 地球實際上並不是圓的？人人都知道地球是圓的。看來你哥哥並不是無所不知啊。

LL: I'll give you another example. During this visit with my family, I said I thought Star Wars was the greatest science fiction movie of all time.

LH: 許多人都認爲[星球大戰]是科幻影片中最棒的。

LL: No, Ron, said, "Actually, Larry, 'The Matrix' did much better at the box office."

LH: 他怎麼這麼愛擡槓啊？ The Matrix這部電影的票房收入比《星球大戰》還要高？我沒有調查，可是我纔不信呢。

LL: That's why Ron drives me crazy sometimes. I just want to have one conversation with him where he doesn't have to act like such a know-it-all.

LH: 其實，我覺得Ron未必喜歡和你爭論，他可能是自卑，所以才裝出什麼都懂的樣子。

LL: Oh, No, Li Hua, don't you start sounding like a know-it-all, too!

今天李華學到了兩個常用語。一個是people person，這是 指喜歡並善於跟人打交道的人。還有一個是know-it-all，這是指那種自以爲什麼都懂的人。