It's performance review time at Walker Publications. Supervisors and staff meet one-on-one. Together they see whether the past year's work goals have been reached. They then agree on goals for the coming year. Sheila, a staff writer, goes to Monica's office for her performance review--her first ever. As she knocks on Monica's door, she's a little nervous. Monica welcomes her with a smile and offers her a chair. Sheila carefully sits down and braces herself for the review.
是沃克出版社進行工作檢討的時候了。主管和職員們一對一單獨地會談，他們一同檢討過去一年的工作目標是否已達到；接著他們共同為來年訂定目標。一位寫作員席拉來到了蒙妮卡的辦公室做她畢生第一次的工作檢討。當她敲蒙妮卡的門時，心裡真是有些七上八下的。蒙妮卡帶著微笑歡迎她，並請她坐下。席拉謹慎地坐了下來，並打起精神來面對這次檢討。
one-on-one (adv) 一對一
brace (v) 振作；打起精神
performance review (n phr) 工作檢討
Conversation 1
Monica: You don't need to be nervous, Sheila.
Sheila: But I'm afraid you're going to tell me about all my mistakes.
Monica: Don't worry. If you were making big mistakes, I would have told you before now. I don't like giving people unpleasant surprises during performance reviews.
Sheila: Does that mean I'm doing a good job then?
Monica: Well, there's always room for improvement. But on the whole, I think you're doing a very good job.
會話一
蒙妮卡：妳不需要太緊張，席拉。
席 拉：但我怕您將告訴我，我犯過所有的錯誤。
蒙妮卡：別擔心，如果妳犯了大錯，之前就會告訴妳了。我並不喜歡在工作檢討時，給人出乎意料的不愉快。
席 拉：那麼這是不是意謂著我做得還算不錯？
蒙妮卡：嗯，總是還有改進的空間；但整體來看，我認為妳做得非常的好。
unpleasant (adj) 不愉快的；使人厭惡的
on the whole (adv phr) 就整體而言
Conversation 2
Monica: Last year, when you came to Walker Publications, we set some goals and objectives together, right?
Sheila: Yes. I've been working on them all year. How am I doing?
Monica: How do you feel you're doing? Have you met your goals?
Sheila: I think so. For example, by now I'm supposed to be able to write any article within two days. That is, without counting on coworkers for a lot of help. I'm doing that.
Monica: I've noticed. I'm happy to see your writing skills and speed improve.
會話二
蒙妮卡：去年當妳來到沃克出版社時，我們一起訂了一些目標，對吧？
席 拉：是的，我一整年都在努力地完成它們，不知我做得如何？
蒙妮卡：妳自己覺得呢？妳達到妳的目標了嗎？
席 拉：我認為是的。舉例來說好了，現在，我應該能在兩天內完成一篇文章，也就是不依賴其他同事的幫忙。我現在正是如此。
蒙妮卡：我也注意到了，我很高興看到妳的寫作技巧和速度都大有精進。
objective (n) 目標
count on someone 依賴某人
Conversation 3
Sheila: I'm also supposed to have learned how our magazines are put together. So I've been watching the editors and artists at work.
Monica: That's a good idea.
Sheila: I've also been studying our art and publishing software. I think I've learned a lot.
Monica: I think so, too. In fact, you've made some great suggestions. You have a good eye for design. How would you like to learn to do layout work?
Sheila: I'd love to!
Monica: Good. Let's write that down as a goal for the coming year.
會話三
席 拉：我也應該了解我們的雜誌是如何編整在一起的，所以我也在工作中注意觀察編輯及美編們如何工作。
蒙妮卡：真是很好的辦法。
席 拉：同時我也學了我們美術及排版的軟體，我想我學了不少。
蒙妮卡：我也認為如此。事實上，妳提出了一些很棒的建議。妳對設計有很好的鑑賞力，妳想要學學看怎麼做版面編排設計的工作嗎？
席 拉：非常樂意！
蒙妮卡：很好，讓我們把它寫下來當做來年的工作目標。
software (n) 軟體
have a good eye for something (v phr) 對...有鑑賞力
Conversation 4
Monica: Joining the writers' group was another one of your goals for last year, wasn't it?
Sheila: Well, yes.
Monica: Have you been meeting with them?
Sheila: Actually, no. You know how they read one another's articles and make suggestions? After my first article got chewed up, I was scared to attend any more.
Monica: Sheila, I'm sure the other writers were just trying to help you. Everyone needs feedback on their work. That's why we do these performance reviews--to help people work more effectively.
Sheila: OK. I'll start attending the writers' group again.
Monica: Good. Let's write that down, too. By the way, how do you feel about this performance review now? Still nervous?
Sheila: No. I'm enjoying it. In fact, I'm looking forward to the next one!
會話四
蒙妮卡：加入寫作組是妳去年的另一項目標，不是嗎？
席 拉：嗯，是的。
蒙妮卡：妳已經和他們會面過了嗎？
席 拉：事實上，沒有。您知道他們是如何閱讀彼此的文章，並提出建言嗎？在我第一篇文章被批閱了之後，我就很害怕再去參加了。
蒙妮卡：席拉，我相信其他寫作員只是想要幫助妳。每個人都需要別人對他的工作提出回應，那也就是我們為何要做工作檢討的原因——幫助人們能更有效率地工作。
席 拉：好吧，我會再開始參加寫作組的。
蒙妮卡：很好，讓我們也把它寫下來。順道一提的是，妳現在對這次的工作檢討感覺如何？還緊張嗎？
席 拉：不會了，我很喜歡。事實上，我已經開始期待下一次的檢討了！
feedback (n) 回饋；回應
effectively (adv) 有效地
chew up (idiom) 全盤批評；品頭論足
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