解谜英语训练（巧用英语找找茬）

听说老板要延长工作时间，提高产量：

The only choice is to introduce my plan for longer working hours. It'll increase our productivity levels, which will be good for us all.

员工甲：

I beg for differ (I disagree, in a formal way). I think the staff will get very tired, and that will reduce productivity.

也可能会适得其反哦，于是老板又说：

There's a world of difference between expecting people to work twelve hours a day and asking them to occasionally work ten hours, which is all I'm asking.(a big difference)

也就是偶尔加班额外两小时的事嘛~员工甲小声抱怨：

Ten hours and fifteen minutes actually.

哈~一分钟不行，every minute count! 可是，老板又说：

Now you‘re just splitting hairs.

(pay too much attention in an argument to differences that are very small and not important)

不让斤斤计较？员工甲又说：

Well, you're at odds with your staff on this one. Everyone thinks you're barking up the wrong tree! They say that paying people more would be far better way to increase productivity.

真是“屁股决定脑袋”啊。be at odds with sb意思是跟某人意见不同。 bark up the wrong tree，没有说老板像狗一样乱叫，仅仅是说对方的处理方式不对，或理解有误差而已。这下老板要找找自己的同盟啦：

Hey, I'm not exactly a lone voice! Jack, you backed my plan yesterday.

小王，你怎么看？昨天我提起这事的时候，你似乎点头认可？来，你说说。小王说：

Yes, well, now I'm torn. I'm in two minds as to whether it'd work or not.

be torn 和 be in two minds，意思差不多，都是说悬而未决 undecided or unable to decided.关键时候，不能得罪大多数啊~老板不死心，继续寻找方案：

Well, I'm sorry this note of discord has crept into our discussion. I know it's a difficult decision to make. Tom, what do you think? You're usually good at pouring oil on troubled waters.

note of discord是关于意见不同的正式说法，看来老板知道单位有这么个人善于应对这样的难题，善于pour oil on trouble waters

,意思是善于calm down a difficult situation. 看到这里，可不要混淆哦，可不是pour fuel on the fire这就成了说上浇油，抱薪救火啦！

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