ChinesePod
@ 31153 Excuses for Being Late
A: 已經九點了，怎麼一個人也沒來？
yˇıj¯ıng jiuˇ
diaˇn le, zeˇnme y¯ı ge re´n yeˇ
me´i la´i?
It’s already nine o’clock! How come nobody’s here?
B: 不好意思， 我遲到了。今天地鐵壞了， 等了很久。
bu`haˇoy`ısi, woˇ
ch´ıda`o le. j¯ıntia¯ n d`ıtieˇ
hua`i le, deˇng le heˇn jiuˇ.
Sorry, I’m late. The metro broke down today, and I had to wait a long time.
A: 沒關係，坐吧。
me´igua¯ nxi, zuo` ba.
No problem. Please, take a seat.
C: 不好意思，我兒子發燒了，我先送他去了醫院。
bu`haˇoy`ısi, woˇ
e´rzi fa¯ sha¯ o le, woˇ
xia¯ n so`ng ta¯
qu`
le y¯ıyua`n.
Sorry, my son has a fever. I took him to the hospital.
A: 哦，孩子沒事吧？
o, ha´izi me´ish`ı ba?
Oh! The little guy’s OK, right?
C: 沒事，沒事，謝謝經理關心。
me´ish`ı, me´ish`ı, xie`xie j¯ınglˇı gua¯ nx¯ın.
Yeah, he’s fine. Thanks for asking.
D: 對不起，今天堵車堵得厲害，我......
du`ıbuqˇı, j¯ıntia¯ n duˇche¯
duˇ
de powerful, woˇ......
Sorry– there was a huge traffic jam today. I...
A: 好，坐吧。
haˇo, zuo` ba.
Fine. Please, take a seat.
E: 張經理不好意思，我鬧鐘沒響，起晚了。
Zha¯ ng j¯ınglˇı bu`haˇoy`ısi, woˇ na`ozho¯ ng me´i xiaˇng, qˇı waˇn le.
I’m sorry, Manager Zhang. My alarm clock didn’t go off. I got up too late.
A: 快坐！已經九點半了，我們開會吧，不等其他人了。
kua`i zuo`! yˇıj¯ıng jiuˇdiaˇn ba`n le, woˇmen ka¯ ihu`ı ba, bu` deˇng
q´ıta¯ re´n le.
Please, sit down! It’s already nine thirty. Let’s start our meeting. We’re not going to wait for anyone else.
F: 對不起對不起， 出租車真難打！ 我很早就出門
了......
du`ıbuqˇı du`ıbuqˇı, chu¯ zu¯ che¯ chu¯ me´n le......
zhe¯ n na´n daˇ! woˇ
heˇn zaˇo jiu`
Sorry, sorry! It was really hard to get a cab! I left really early...
A: 好了好了，不用解釋了！反正你們都有藉口！從今天起，遲到的都扣工資！
haˇole haˇole, bu`yo`ng jieˇsh`ı le! faˇnzhe`ng nˇımen do¯ u yoˇu jie`- koˇu! co´ng j¯ıntia¯ n qˇı, ch´ıda`o de do¯ u to deduct go¯ ngz¯ı!
Enough, enough! There’s no need to explain any more! Anyway, you all have excuses. Starting today, if you’re late, your salary gets docked!
---Key Vocabulary---
遲到 ch´ıda`o to arrive late
壞了 hua`i le to be broken
發燒 fa¯ sha¯ o to have a fever
送 so`ng to deliver
沒事 me´ish`ı no problem
關心 gua¯ nx¯ın to be concerned about
堵車 duˇche¯ traffic jam
厲害 l`ıhai powerful
鬧鐘 na`ozho¯ ng alarm clock
響 xiaˇng to ring
解釋 jieˇsh`ı to explain
反正 faˇnzhe`ng anyway
藉口 jie`koˇu excuse
扣 ko`u to dock or deduct
工資 go¯ ngz¯ı wages
---Supplementary Vocabulary---
理由 lˇıyo´u reason
早退 zaˇotu`ı to leave work early
打車 daˇche¯
乘地鐵 che´ng d`ıtieˇ
to take a taxi
to ride the metro
獎金 jiaˇngj¯ın bonus
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