〈 職人英語通〉 縮衣節食 Tighten the belt!

圖／老唐

文／Dr.J.J.

這幾年景氣不好，不但薪水沒有增加，連紅利都很難拿到。既然荷包沒有變多，只好縮衣節食，把褲帶勒緊些了，因為日子還是要過下去嘛！

而英文裡的「縮衣節食」雖然沒有直接講到衣服，但也有異曲同工之妙，簡單說句”tighten the belt!（把腰帶拉緊些）”就可以表達了。

Victoria：Wow, look at this diamond ring. It’ s breath-taking!

Victoria：哇，你看這個鑽戒。真是美得令人窒息！

Joy：Yes, it’ s so pretty. Now I know why they always say “diamonds are a girl’s best friend!”

Joy：是啊，好美。現在我終於知道為什麼大家總是說「鑽石是女人最好的朋友」了。

Victoria：Look, it’ s got the 2 year interest-free payment scheme now. I really want to buy it. What do you think?

Victoria：你看，現在有2年免息分期的付款方式?，我真的好想買，你覺得如何？

Joy：I love it so much, too. But we can’ t afford it.

Joy：我也很喜歡啊。可是我們買不起啦。

Victoria：June is coming and we can use our mid-year bonus to pay. We should pamper ourselves with a few luxury items.

Victoria：6月快到了，我們可以用年中獎金買啊。我們應該買些奢侈品好好寵愛一下自己才對。

Joy：Have you forgot? We don’ t have any mid-year bonus this year due to the bad economy. In fact, we’ d better tighten our belts from now on.

Joy：你忘了？今年因為經濟不景氣沒有年中獎金了。事實上，我們應該要開始縮衣節食了呢。

Victoria：Sadly that’ s true! But at least we can still afford a nice dinner together right?

Victoria：可不是，真令人傷心。但我們至少付得起一塊吃頓好的晚餐吧？

來源：自由時報

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