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Soft Benefits
Sally： Whew！ I’m spent.
Marco： Tell me about it. I don’t know how long I can take that mile hike from my parking spot every morning. It literally takes around 20 minutes to get from there to here.
Sally： And I have to bring my kids across town to daycare every morning before coming to the office， which tacks on an extra half an hour to my daily commute.
Marco： And it drives me nuts seeing all these upper management guys coming in and getting all these soft benefits with their new contracts， while we’re stuck down here in cubicle city at the very bottom of our little corporate totem pole.
Sally： Wait！ Who’s getting what now？
Marco： Oh， you don’t know？ To lure in the best talents from around the world， the company has been including more and more benefits in their job proposals so prospective employees just can’t turn them down.
Sally： And what kind of “soft benefits” are we talking about here？
Marco： Hm. Where to start…We’ve got the new German 1）contingent who got a line of prime parking spots right at the entrance， fully furnished offices on the 69th floor， and even a key to the legendary executive washroom！
Sally： ①Holy smokes！ I thought the exec washroom was just a myth.
Marco： Oh， it’s real alright！ Lisa from the mailroom told me all about it. She’ll walk past it sometimes when someone is coming out， and a mix of steam and cigar smoke comes 2）billowing out every time. ②Who knows what under-the-table handshake deals are being made in there？
Sally： OK. But please don’t tell me they have any 3）perks for single mothers. It might just break my heart.
Marco： Maybe I shouldn’t tell you then…
Sally： Oh， just spit it out.
Marco： There’s a giant daycare center on the 15th floor.
Sally： Oh， I’ve seen that place before. ③And the prices are way out of my league. But come to think of it， I always see professional looking women， who I assumed worked for our company， with their kids in the elevator， and they always get off on 15. How can they afford that place？
Marco： Because new employees get free daycare until their kids start kindergarten. And that counts for men or women.
Sally： What？ You’ve got to be kidding me！ I’ve been busting my butt for 6 years here， and now new people come in and the bosses start tossing around soft benefits all 4）willy-nilly？
Marco： Yep. That’s pretty much what it’s come to.
Sally： Well， that sucks.
Marco： Yes. Yes it does.
Sally： So maybe it’s time we called in some headhunters， to find out what soft benefits are being offered out there on the open market for a couple of underappreciated accountants.
Marco： I think you may be on to something there…
萨莉：哟！我累坏了。
马尔科：可不是嘛。每天早晨从我的停车位徒步所走的英里数我不知道我还能坚持多久。毫不夸张地说，从那里到这里要花将近20分钟。
萨莉：而我每天早晨来办公室前必须把我的孩子送到城区的另一端去日托，这让我日常的通勤时间又额外增加了半小时。
马尔科：让我生气的是，看着所有这些高层管理人员进来，签订新的合同，享受着所有这些软福利，而我们窝在这个小隔间里，处于公司的最底层。
萨莉：等等！现在是谁得到了什么？
马尔科：哦，你不知道吗？为了从全世界吸引最优秀的人才，公司囊括了越来越多的福利在他们的招聘计划中，这样准雇员就无法拒绝他们。
萨莉：我们正在谈论的是什么样的“软福利”？
马尔科：嗯，从哪里开始呢……我们新来的德国小分队得到了一排就在入口处最好的停车位，位于69层的家具齐全的办公室，甚至还有一把开启传说中的行政人员专用洗手间的钥匙！
萨莉：天啊！我原以为那行政人员洗手间仅仅就是个传言。
马尔科：哦，它确实是真的！邮件收发室的丽莎告诉过我。她有时会经过那里，当有人从里面出来的时候，她每次都看到蒸汽和雪茄的烟雾混合着从里面冒出来。天知道那些私下的握手交易是不是在那里达成的？
萨莉：好吧。但请不要告诉我他们对单亲妈妈会有额外的补贴，那就会伤我心了。
马尔科：那么或许我不该告诉你了……
萨莉：哦，痛快地说出来吧。
马尔科：在15楼有一个巨大的日托中心。
萨莉：哦，我以前见过那个地方。那价钱贵得无法承受。但回头想想，我总是看到职业妇女，估计是在我们公司任职的，带着她们的孩子坐电梯，她们总是在15层出电梯。她们是怎么支付得起那个地方的？
马尔科：因为新员工可以享受免费的日托福利直到他们的孩子开始上幼儿园，那对男人或女人都很重要。
萨莉：什么？你一定是在跟我开玩笑！我在这里勤勤恳恳工作了六年，现在新人进来，老板随随便便就开始合计发软福利了？
马尔科：没错。差不多就是那个样子。
萨莉：嗯，太糟了。
马尔科：是的，是这样。
萨莉：那么或许是时候我们打电话找一些猎头，看看公开市场那里有些什么软福利给几个被低估的会计人员。
马尔科：我想你可能意识到点什么了……
Smart Sentences
① Holy smokes！
天啊！
holy smokes： used to express one’s surprise， same as “what a surprise”（用以表示某人的惊讶，等同于“what a surprise”）。例如：You had a son！ Holy smokes！ When did that happen？
你生了个儿子，天啊！那是什么时候的事？
② Who knows what under-the-table handshake deals are being made in there？
天知道那些私下的握手交易是不是在那里达成的？
under-the-table： in secret， something done illegally（私下的，不法的）。例如：
The government is now cracking down on any under-the-table transactions.
现在政府正打击私下的交易。
③ And the prices are way out of my league.
那价钱贵得无法承受。
out of sb.’s league： too good or too expensive for sb.（对某人来说太好，或太贵了；够不着）。例如：
—Hey， the latest Huawei cellphone is so cool！
喂，华为最新款的手机太酷了！
—I know， but look at the price. It’s out of my league.
是的，但看看那价钱，我可买不起。
Sally： Whew！ I’m spent.
Marco： Tell me about it. I don’t know how long I can take that mile hike from my parking spot every morning. It literally takes around 20 minutes to get from there to here.
Sally： And I have to bring my kids across town to daycare every morning before coming to the office， which tacks on an extra half an hour to my daily commute.
Marco： And it drives me nuts seeing all these upper management guys coming in and getting all these soft benefits with their new contracts， while we’re stuck down here in cubicle city at the very bottom of our little corporate totem pole.
Sally： Wait！ Who’s getting what now？
Marco： Oh， you don’t know？ To lure in the best talents from around the world， the company has been including more and more benefits in their job proposals so prospective employees just can’t turn them down.
Sally： And what kind of “soft benefits” are we talking about here？
Marco： Hm. Where to start…We’ve got the new German 1）contingent who got a line of prime parking spots right at the entrance， fully furnished offices on the 69th floor， and even a key to the legendary executive washroom！
Sally： ①Holy smokes！ I thought the exec washroom was just a myth.
Marco： Oh， it’s real alright！ Lisa from the mailroom told me all about it. She’ll walk past it sometimes when someone is coming out， and a mix of steam and cigar smoke comes 2）billowing out every time. ②Who knows what under-the-table handshake deals are being made in there？
Sally： OK. But please don’t tell me they have any 3）perks for single mothers. It might just break my heart.
Marco： Maybe I shouldn’t tell you then…
Sally： Oh， just spit it out.
Marco： There’s a giant daycare center on the 15th floor.
Sally： Oh， I’ve seen that place before. ③And the prices are way out of my league. But come to think of it， I always see professional looking women， who I assumed worked for our company， with their kids in the elevator， and they always get off on 15. How can they afford that place？
Marco： Because new employees get free daycare until their kids start kindergarten. And that counts for men or women.
Sally： What？ You’ve got to be kidding me！ I’ve been busting my butt for 6 years here， and now new people come in and the bosses start tossing around soft benefits all 4）willy-nilly？
Marco： Yep. That’s pretty much what it’s come to.
Sally： Well， that sucks.
Marco： Yes. Yes it does.
Sally： So maybe it’s time we called in some headhunters， to find out what soft benefits are being offered out there on the open market for a couple of underappreciated accountants.
Marco： I think you may be on to something there…
萨莉：哟！我累坏了。
马尔科：可不是嘛。每天早晨从我的停车位徒步所走的英里数我不知道我还能坚持多久。毫不夸张地说，从那里到这里要花将近20分钟。
萨莉：而我每天早晨来办公室前必须把我的孩子送到城区的另一端去日托，这让我日常的通勤时间又额外增加了半小时。
马尔科：让我生气的是，看着所有这些高层管理人员进来，签订新的合同，享受着所有这些软福利，而我们窝在这个小隔间里，处于公司的最底层。
萨莉：等等！现在是谁得到了什么？
马尔科：哦，你不知道吗？为了从全世界吸引最优秀的人才，公司囊括了越来越多的福利在他们的招聘计划中，这样准雇员就无法拒绝他们。
萨莉：我们正在谈论的是什么样的“软福利”？
马尔科：嗯，从哪里开始呢……我们新来的德国小分队得到了一排就在入口处最好的停车位，位于69层的家具齐全的办公室，甚至还有一把开启传说中的行政人员专用洗手间的钥匙！
萨莉：天啊！我原以为那行政人员洗手间仅仅就是个传言。
马尔科：哦，它确实是真的！邮件收发室的丽莎告诉过我。她有时会经过那里，当有人从里面出来的时候，她每次都看到蒸汽和雪茄的烟雾混合着从里面冒出来。天知道那些私下的握手交易是不是在那里达成的？
萨莉：好吧。但请不要告诉我他们对单亲妈妈会有额外的补贴，那就会伤我心了。
马尔科：那么或许我不该告诉你了……
萨莉：哦，痛快地说出来吧。
马尔科：在15楼有一个巨大的日托中心。
萨莉：哦，我以前见过那个地方。那价钱贵得无法承受。但回头想想，我总是看到职业妇女，估计是在我们公司任职的，带着她们的孩子坐电梯，她们总是在15层出电梯。她们是怎么支付得起那个地方的？
马尔科：因为新员工可以享受免费的日托福利直到他们的孩子开始上幼儿园，那对男人或女人都很重要。
萨莉：什么？你一定是在跟我开玩笑！我在这里勤勤恳恳工作了六年，现在新人进来，老板随随便便就开始合计发软福利了？
马尔科：没错。差不多就是那个样子。
萨莉：嗯，太糟了。
马尔科：是的，是这样。
萨莉：那么或许是时候我们打电话找一些猎头，看看公开市场那里有些什么软福利给几个被低估的会计人员。
马尔科：我想你可能意识到点什么了……
Smart Sentences
① Holy smokes！
天啊！
holy smokes： used to express one’s surprise， same as “what a surprise”（用以表示某人的惊讶，等同于“what a surprise”）。例如：You had a son！ Holy smokes！ When did that happen？
你生了个儿子，天啊！那是什么时候的事？
② Who knows what under-the-table handshake deals are being made in there？
天知道那些私下的握手交易是不是在那里达成的？
under-the-table： in secret， something done illegally（私下的，不法的）。例如：
The government is now cracking down on any under-the-table transactions.
现在政府正打击私下的交易。
③ And the prices are way out of my league.
那价钱贵得无法承受。
out of sb.’s league： too good or too expensive for sb.（对某人来说太好，或太贵了；够不着）。例如：
—Hey， the latest Huawei cellphone is so cool！
喂，华为最新款的手机太酷了！
—I know， but look at the price. It’s out of my league.
是的，但看看那价钱，我可买不起。