M: Man, it was crazy at work today!

L：真的？你们办公室今天发生什么事啦？

M: My friend George was late again, so the boss canned him!

L：你的朋友George今天上班迟到，你们老板对他怎么了？对他大喊大叫吗？

M: No, it's much worse than that. The boss canned him. In other words, the boss fired him!

L：什么？你是说George被解雇了。所以To be canned就是被解雇的意思啊？

M: Yeah, here, "canned" is the past form of "to can," which means "to put something in a can," or slang for "to throw something in the trash can".

L：噢，这里canned就是把什么东西扔到垃圾桶。可这跟解雇人有什么关系呢？

M: Hehheh, when your boss "cans" you, he's getting rid of you. It is like he is throwing you in the trash can.

L：原来这是一种比喻啊。不过这种说法听起来挺吓人的。Michael，你觉得George应该被解雇吗？

M: To tell the truth, George was not a very good employee. If I were the boss, I would have canned him too.

L：哎呀，Michael，你这么说你的朋友未免太过份了吧！George又没做坏事，为什么要解雇他啊？

M: Well, George was often very late to work. This month, he came in late a least four times. The boss warned George many times before he finally canned him.

L：看来你一点也不同情George。要是我的朋友碰上这种倒霉事，我至少也会替他难过啊。

M: Hmph. When George was late, it caused me and the other employees a lot of trouble. No one is really sad that he was canned.

L：也许你说得没错。如果每个人都象George这样老迟到，那会给其他人造成多大的麻烦啊。

M: Well, you are right and wrong. Because George was canned, we all have a lot more work to do right now.

L：对，希望你们公司会赶快雇一个人来接替George的工作。

M: I'm sure they will.

L：哎，Michael，你有没有担心过自己有一天会被老板解雇呢？

M: Me? Not at all. I'm a good worker, and I kiss up to the boss all the time.

L：你说你工作表现很好，而且你还经常亲你的老板。哎呀，Michael，你好恶心哦，你的老板不是男的吗？

M: No no no...I said I "kiss up to" my boss. To "kiss up to" someone is to try to be extra friendly to someone so they will treat you well.

L：那你到底是怎么样“kiss up to”你的boss呢？

M: Well, when I want to "kiss up to" the boss, I might bring him coffee, or help him clean the office. I also try to say nice things about him and his family, or tell him he just looks really cool.

L：噢，现在我懂了。你不用说的那么好听，“kiss up to”无非就是拍什么人的马屁嘛。哎呀，真没想到，你还是个马屁精啊。你不怕同事看不起你啊？

M: No, not at all. All of the employees kiss up to my boss. Actually, there's nothing wrong with that, because our boss is a really nice guy.

L：如果你的老板真象你说的那么好，或许讨好他也没什么错。

M: I Guess kissing up to someone can be useful, but not so that everyone hates you.

L：你说的没错，拍马屁有时候是挺管用的，不过要是搞得人人都讨厌你，那就太不值得了。

M: Don't worry about me. I don't want the boss to do anything for me, I just don't want to be canned.

L：其实我才应该向你学几招，去讨好讨好我的老板，也让他对我另眼相看。

　　今天李华学会了两个常用语：to be canned和to kiss up to。To be canned在这里就是被解雇的意思，kiss up to是讨好某人，拍马屁的意思。