EP 0108The Office
Bad news, boss.
... Now that we have been over the gory details of our disastrous first quarter, Ed! Give us some good news. How are things looking for us in terms of sales this month?
Uh well...would you like the bad news first or the really bad news?
What? Ed, don’t tell me you only have bad news!
Well sir, our sales have dropped, no plunged, fifty percent in the past month alone. We are currently overstocked and overstaffed and our profits are falling fast. The market is in recession and we have no way of moving our inventory, or getting rid of our staff. If we consider redundancies, it would cost us a fortune because of the new regulations governing compensation packages. It’s a real mess.
For crying out loud... How fast are we losing money?
Um...how can I put this? Let’s just say that at this pace, we will be filing for Chapter eleven in less than three months.
What! Geez! How could this have happened? So what’s the bad news?
Oh, that’s the really bad news. Our supplier suffered QC problems and, well, half of our production is faulty. We’re going to have to recall all items sold in the last quarter. And the worst part? We’re going to have to shoulder this cost.
Are you joking? Get the supplier on the line now! They have to assume the costs of this mess!
We tried that, sir. The factory has gone under and the owner apparently has fled the country.
We’re doomed!
There is some really good news though!
Really? What!
I got offered a new job!
核心词汇
gory detailsphrase
all the small details
lay it on mephrase
tell me the bad news
plungeverb
drop down suddenly and quickly
disastrousAdjective
very bad; having bad results
in terms ofphrase
regarding, about
(be) overstockedverb
having too many things to sell
(be) overstaffedverb
have too many employees
inventory get rid ofcommon noun, nonvariable
the amount of products you have to sell remove or take away something that is annoying
redundanciescommon noun, plural
layoffs; ending employment of staff for money reasons
shoulder the costverb
be responsible for the cost
governverb
rule
for crying out loudphrase
used to express anger or annoyance
chapter elven quality controlphrase
bankruptcy; owing more money than you can pay the process of controlling the quality of production (quality control)
拓展词汇
brokeAdjective
having no money( informal)
hit rock bottomphrase
The lowest possible level or absolute bottom
margincommon noun, singular
the minimum return below which an enterprise becomes unprofitable
revenuecommon noun, singular
the entire amount of income before any deductions are made
skyrocketverb
cause to rise rapidly and suddenly