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Dialogue
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Jane: Hi, Sam. How's everything?
简：你好，萨姆。近来怎么样?
Sam: Great to see you, Jane.
萨姆：见到你真高兴，简。
Jane: I hear you got a new job with Babson Machines.
简：听说你在巴布森机械公司找了份新工作?
Sam: Yeah, it's true. I was really lucky. I started about six months ago; they haven't fired me yet. How's the factory?
萨姆：对，是这样。我运气还真不赖。我大约是在半年前开始干的，他们还没解雇我呢。厂里情况怎么样?
Jane: Ah, about the same as always.
简：咳，差不多是老样子。
Sam: You mean shirts are still coming out without collars or buttons?
萨姆：你是说生产出的衬衫还是缺领子、少钮扣的?
Jane: Sometimes it's just the collar and buttons without the shirt. The plant isn't famous for its efficiency, you know.
简：有时是光有领子钮扣没有衣片。你知道，这家厂并不是以效率出名的。
Sam: Well, I heard there are some changes at the factory. Something about music and a coffee break in the afternoons.
萨姆：哎，我听说厂里起了些变化。像放背景音乐啦，下午安排工作间喝咖啡休息时间什么的。
Jane: Music? Oh yeah. Yeah, I guess there is. A lot of good it does, though. The machines make so much noise we can't hear it anyway. And the coffee break! They give us only five minutes. If we run at top speed we can just make it to the coffee machine and back to our worktable.
简：背景音乐？喔，是啊，是啊，我想是有吧。说来那玩意儿好处还真不少。就是机器声太吵，我们根本听不见。再说工作间喝咖啡休息嘛，他们只给我们5分钟时间。要是我们用最快的速度奔跑，从工作台到咖啡机旁刚够我们跑上一个来回。
Sam: I can't believe this. I understood that Mr. Hobbs was all ready to make a lot of big changes down there at the factory.
萨姆：真叫人难以相信。我知道霍布森先生是做好充分准备，要让厂子大大改变面貌的。
Jane: Well, a couple of things have changed. We used to have dull gray walls to look at between operations. A couple of weeks ago, some painter came in and painted a huge picture of a perfect shirt ... with all its buttons, sleeves, and the collar. I guess management wanted to remind us of what we are supposed to be producing there. But can you imagine? A shirt! We see enough shirts all day. We don't need to look up from our work and find one painted on the walls.
简：唔，是有了点变化。过去我们在操作之余，只能看到四周黑乎乎、灰蒙蒙的墙。两三个星期前，来了个油漆工，在墙上画了好大一幅完完整整的衬衫——上面钮扣、袖子、领子样样齐全。我想厂方是想提醒我们在那儿该生产些什么东西。可你能想像吗？一件衬衫！我们整天看到的衬衫够多的了。还用得着让我们一抬起头，再看到墙壁上有件画着的衬衫吗？
Sam: You mean that big shirt doesn't make all of you want to produce more?
萨姆：你是说，这件大衬衫并没有让你们大伙儿想要多生产几件？
Jane: A lot of pictures might make us want to produce more, but a huge painted shirt? No way! Oh yes, one other change. Remember Big Jim in our math class? He used to work on buttons and he held up half the assembly line. Well, they promoted him from buttons to sleeves, with a raise in pay. Now he sits at the beginning of the line and holds up everybody. There's progress for you.
简：多几幅图片也许会让我们想多生产几件，可就凭墙上画着的这么一件大衬衫？没门！哎，对了，还有个变化。还记得和我们一起上数学课的大个子吉姆吗？他过去是干缝钮扣活的，半条流水线上的活都让他给耽搁了。嗨，他们把他从缝扣工提升为装袖工，还长了工资。这下他坐在流水线的最上首，把所有的活儿都给耽搁住了。你把这也叫做发展。
Sam: Ah, yes, progress: one step forward and two steps back!
萨姆：唔，是发展：进一步退两步！
