BBC听英文｜The Plastic Aubergine

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Hello and welcome to English at Work. The company’s computer system has been fixed and Anna seems to have found a new friend in Dave, the IT support man.But her main concern now is pitching her new idea for a plastic aubergine, to Paul the boss.

大家好，欢迎来到职场英语。上期说到公司电脑系统已修复，Anna似乎也结交了新朋友——技术顾问Dave。但她现在最担心的事情是将塑料茄子的想法推荐给老板Paul。

So Anna, that guy didn’t really know what he was doing did he?

嘿，Anna，那家伙都不知道自己在干什么！

You mean Dave?

你说Dave？

Dave – was that his name? He had a really bad smell.

他叫Dave？哼，身上味道真难闻！

No he didn’t. He’s done a great job. Look everything is working so, if you don’t mind, I think we should get this pitch for Paul finished.

才没有呢！他可是做了件棒事。你看所有电脑都工作了。Tom，不介意的话，咱俩去向Paul推荐想法吧。

You’d better hurry up. Paul’s taking the afternoon off to go to his biscuit lovers’ convention.

那你们最好快点。Paul下午请假，要去参加饼干爱好者聚会呢！

Oh right. Well, we might as well leave it until tomorrow then Anna.

好吧，Anna。我们也可以等到明天再去嘛。

No Tom. There’s no time like the present – I heard someone say that once – we’ve got to get our idea to Paul as soon as possible.Then we might have time for a drink, or shall I ask Dave?!

不行，Tom。记得有人说过，机不可失，时不再来。我们得尽快把想法告诉Paul。完事咱俩或许能喝点东西呢，要不我叫Dave好了！

No, no, you’re right. Look, I’ll design some pictures of the aubergine and you get the results of our survey together, yeah?

别，别，听你的。我现在就去设计茄子图片，你把调查结果整理起来，好吧？

Great.

没问题。

Well done Anna. R emember to make your pitch clear and exciting.Really sell it with words like ’exceptional!’, ’fantastic!’, ’quality’, ’profit’, ’efficiency’, and ’value for money’.

干得好，Anna。记得推荐想法时要清楚明了、引人兴奋。别忘了使用‘特殊’、‘极好’、‘品质’、‘利润’、‘效率’、‘金钱价值’等词汇。

OK, I’ve got all that. I’m just adding some of the facts and figures from our customer survey.

好啦，我知道了。我现在去添加一些事实和数据。

Anna, I’ve got the designs, they’re coming off the printer now.

Anna，我设计好了，正打印呢。

(Door opens ) Denise, I’m off now. Can’t wait any longer for my garibaldis !

（门开了）Denise，我走了啊。实在是等不及我的葡萄干饼干了！

Wait Paul! I need to tell you about our new product idea.

等一下，Paul，我要告诉你新产品的事。

Well, I, I, have to go. Can you tell me about it in the lift?

呃，可我必须得走啊。要不你在电梯里和我说吧？

In the lift ? D o I have to?

电梯？一定要去那里说吗？

Sorry Anna, but that’s the only time I’ve got.

不好意思，Anna，可我只有这么点时间了。

Right Anna. It’s time for your ‘elevator pitch’ – an elevator is an American word for lift.You’ll need to pitch your idea quickly and concisely.You need to tell Paul about the product and the market.Then talk about how you hope it will make money for the company.Talk about the evidence you have that it will be successful and convince him it will really benefit the business.

去吧，Anna，到你电梯里展示想法的时候了。（elevator，美式英语，电梯；lift，英式英语，电梯）。记住，你要快速准确地阐明想法。告诉Paul产品是什么，客户是谁。然后说说你希望它如何为公司赚取利润。别忘了用上数据，这样你才能获得成功，Paul才会相信它能使公司收益。

Phew, there’s a lot to say in a short time but here goes.

呼，短时间里要说的事情还挺多。不管了，走吧。

Anna, could you just press the 0 button there, thanks.

Anna，帮忙按下0，谢谢。

Now Paul. Tom and I have come up with a new exciting product – the plastic aubergine.

Paul，Tom我俩提出了一种新产品——塑料茄子。

Oh yes?

哦，是吗？

Yes. This fantastic product will be a great addition to table decorations in the café and restaurant market.

是的，把这种极棒产品放在咖啡厅或餐馆里，一定会让装饰品锦上添花。

Will it now? Do you really think it will be a profitable addition to our plastic portfolio?

现在就行吗？你认为它真的能给我们的塑料品带来利润吗？

Oh yes. Using the same plastics as our fruits, we can easily re- mould our bananas and change the colour.We can increase efficiency but maintain quality.

当然。我们可以用和塑料水果一样的原料，模仿香蕉，改变颜色就好。这样既可提高效率，又可保持品质。

And profits?

那利润呢？

By my calculations, we can increase profits by 20 %.That’s based on selling the same quantity that we now sell of Imperial Lemons.

据我估计，利润可增加20%。但其销售数量得和帝国柠檬的销量相同。

Hmm, 20%, really ? But do you know who’s going to buy this product?

恩，20%，真的？但购买对象是谁呢？

I do. We’ve conducted a survey and already found 10 new companies who would buy this and 27 existing customers who have shown an interest in it… ( Lift bell pings)…and I’m confident this new product will be a huge success. ( Lift door opens)

我知道，我们曾做过一份调查，结果显示10家新公司将购买此产品，27家现有公司对此感兴趣。（电梯铃响了）我相信，此新式产品一定会取得巨大成功。（电梯门开了）

Very impressive. You’ve certainly done your homework.Look, let me chew it over – probably on a custard cream – and I’ll get back to you.

很好，看来你的功课完成不错。好啦，让我消化一下，过后再联系你。

Thanks. ( Calling out) Paul, Paul… you’ve forgotten your bag.

谢谢。（向外喊）Paul，Paul，你把包落下了。

Oh yes, I’ll need that. Thanks.

啊，对，我需要包。谢谢。

Great work Anna! You convinced me but have you convinced Paul?So Anna’s done her first ‘elevator pitch’ and kept to the facts.Here’s a reminder of some of the things she said:

干得好，Anna！听了刚刚那番话我是被说服了，但不知Paul怎么想？Anna已完成了她的“电梯推荐”，也遵循了实际情况！下面一起回顾下她说的话吧。

We’ve come up with an exciting new product.

我们想出了一种令人兴奋的新产品。

This fantastic product will be a great addition to table decorations in the café and restaurant market.

把这种极棒产品放在咖啡厅或餐馆里，一定会让装饰品锦上添花。

We can increase efficiency but maintain quality.

这样既可提高效率，又可保持品质。

By my calculations, we can increase profits by 20 %.

据我估计，利润可增加20%。

I’m confident this new product will be a huge success.

我相信，此新式产品一定会取得巨大成功。

So, how did it go Anna?

Anna，进展怎样？

I’m not sure. I told Paul as much as I could and I think he listened.

我也不确定。我把知道的都告诉Paul了，他也听了。

Good, good. So, what are you doing now?

不错，很好，你一会去干吗啊？

I’ve got to meet someone.

我得去见个人。

Anyone I know?

我认识吗？

No, not really.

不认识。

It’s Dave from IT isn’t it? (To himself) What does she see in him?

是Dave，对不对？（自言自语）她到底看上他什么了？

Do you want me to answer that Tom?! Anna may have fallen for the charms of Dave but let’s hope she keeps her mind on her plastic aubergines.Join us again next time on English at Work.

Tom，你想要我回答吗？Anna可能痴迷于Dave的魅力，但让我们期望她脑里想着塑料茄子吧~记得收听下一期职场英语哦~

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