和老外聊天的地道口語第48期:怎麼搞好這場聚會呢?

推薦人：來源: 閱讀: 1.52W 次大中小

Ellen: it seems the department still has some money left in the budget. Do you have any suggestions how to use it before the budget is renewed?

Bob: what about renting a restaurant and treating the empployees to a nice dinner?

E: but we've done that many times. We want something fresh this time.

B: okay, let me think. What about a party-and-movie night? We can rearrange our reference room, invite a band to play some music, order in some food and watch a movie later.

E: sounds like a good idea, but a band sounds too expensive.

B: well, we can ask people to make small contributions.

E: I don' t think so. I don't think people are going to like it if they have to pay to come. But we certainly can cut costs in other ways, such as make the party BYOB.

B: BYOB? What's that?

E: bring your own beverage. We can provide food, but people have to bring their own drinks.

B: so we're just going to have a party where they bring their own drinks and we just give them some snacks? I don't know how well that will go over.

E: maybe you have a point. How about having a party on a Friday afternoon? We'll stop early, order some pizza, and serve drinks. There'll be music but no band. Having the party in the office will make it cheaper and because it's the end of the week there won't be much work.

B: oh, that sounds like fun!

看來我們部的預算還有結餘,趁現在還沒有重新預算,搞點活動吧,你有什麼建議?
我們租個餐館,請大夥好好吃一頓吧.
我們以前已經吃過很多次了,這次來點新花樣.
好吧,讓我想想.來個聚會---電影之夜吧.我們可以裝飾一下會議廳,請個樂隊演奏音樂,點一些吃的,然後再看個電影.
想法不錯,但是請個樂隊太貴了.
那我們可以讓大家再湊點錢.
不好吧,要是花錢來,大家可能就沒興趣了.不過可以換個地方來節約開支,比如聚會BYOB.
BYOB?什麼意思?
自帶飲料啊.我們來提供食物,但是大家要自己帶喝的.
這樣就只給大家食物,飲料還要自己帶?我不知道大家會怎麼想.
也許你有道理,要不我們週五下午聚會吧?我們早點下班,點點兒披薩餅,準備酒水飲料.我們不請樂隊,自己放音樂,我們就在辦公室裏聚,這樣還能便宜些,反正週末的工作量也不會很大.
哦,這聽起來很有意思啊!

Budget: the money that is available to a person or an organization and a plan of how it will be spent over a period of time 預算
a monthly/an annual/a family budget
每月╱年度╱家庭預算
the education/defence budget(= the amount of money that can be spent on this)
教育╱國防預算
an advertising budget of $2 million
預計 200 萬元的廣告費
a big-budget movie
一部鉅額預算的電影
We decorated the house on a tight budget(= without much money to spend).
我們儉省地裝修了房子。
The work was finished on time and within budget(= did not cost more money than was planned).
工作按時完成且未超出預算。
They went over budget(= spent too much money).
他們超出了預算。
budget cuts
預算削減

Fresh: new or different in a way that adds to or replaces sth 新的；不同的
fresh evidence
新證據
I think it's time we tried a fresh approach.
我認爲是嘗試新方法的時候了。
a fresh coat of paint
剛塗的一道油漆
Could we order some fresh coffee?
我們能點新煮的咖啡嗎？
This is the opportunity he needs to make a fresh start(= to try sth new after not being successful at sth else).
這是他所需要的重振旗鼓的機會。

Contribution: a sum of money that is given to a person or an organization in order to help pay for sth 捐款；捐資
to make a major/substantial contribution to charity
給慈善事業一筆較大╱相當數額的捐款
All contributions will be gratefully received.
我們對所有捐資表示感謝。
valuable contributions towards the upkeep of the cathedral
對維修大教堂很重要的捐資