第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：总剧情

精彩对白

Ryan: Poor Steve has worked here for seven years. He's never had a meeting with me before or passed me in the hall or told me a story in the break room. And that's because I don't work here. I work for another company that lends me out to pussies like Steve's boss who don't have the balls to sack their own employees, and in some cases, for good reason. Because people do crazy shit when they get fired.

Steve: Did I do something wrong? I mean, is there something I could do differently here?

Ryan: This is not an assessment of your productivity. You gotta try not to take this personally.

Steve: "Don't take it personally."

Ryan: Steven, I want you to review this packet. Take it seriously. I think you're gonna find a lot of good answers in here. I'm sure this is gonna be very helpful, a packet.

Steve: Thank you. A packet.

Ryan: Well, anybody who ever built an empire or changed the world sat where you are right now. And it's because they sat there they were able to do it. That's the truth. I'm gonna need your keycard. Great. Okay. Now, I want you to take the day, go get together your personal things, and then tomorrow, you get yourself some exercise. You go out for a jog, you give yourself some routines, and pretty soon you find your legs.

Steve: How do I get in touch with you?

Ryan: Don't worry, we'll be in touch with you soon. This is just the beginning. I'll never see Steve again. Thank you. To know me is to fly with me. This is where I live. When I run my card, the system automatically prompts the desk clerk to greet me with this exact statement.

Clerk: Pleasure to see you again, Mr. Bingham.

Ryan: It's these kinds of systemized, friendly touches that keep my world in orbit. All the things you probably hate about traveling, the recycled air, the artificial lighting, the digital juice dispensers, the cheap sushi, are warm reminders that I'm home.

Waitress: Do you want the cancer?

Ryan: The what?

Waitress: Do you want the cancer?

Ryan: The cancer?

Waitress: The can, sir?

Ryan: No. I'm fine, thank you. How much does your life weigh? Imagine for a second that you're carrying a backpack. I want you to feel the straps on your shoulders. Feel them? Now I want you to pack it with all the stuff that you have in your life. You start with the little things, the things on shelves and in drawers, the knickknacks, the collectibles. Feel the weight as that adds up. Then you start adding larger stuff, clothes, tabletop appliances, lamps, linens, your TV. The backpack should be getting pretty heavy now. And you go bigger. Your couch, bed, your kitchen table. Stuff it all in there. Your car, get it in there. Your home, whether it's a studio apartment or a two-bedroom house, I want you to stuff it all into that backpack. Now try to walk. It's kind of hard, isn't it? This is what we do to ourselves on a daily basis. We weigh ourselves down until we can't even move. And make no mistake, moving is living. Now, I'm gonna set that backpack on fire. What do you want to take out of it? Photos? Photos are for people who can't remember. Drink some ginkgo and let the photos burn. In fact, let everything burn and imagine waking up tomorrow with nothing. It's kind of exhilarating, isn't it?[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：总剧情

 

1. break room: 休息室，茶水间。

2. pussy: 猫，小姑娘。瑞恩在这里的意思是“我在另一家公司工作，为斯蒂夫的老板这样的懦夫出面。”

3. have the balls to do: 有胆量。

Balls在这里比喻“勇气、胆量”。例如：I don't have the balls to say that.（我可没有胆量那样说。）

4. keycard: 门卡，钥匙卡。

5. take the day: 今天休息，在这里相当于take the day off。瑞恩在这里的意思是“我要你今天就开始休息。”

6. find one's legs: 对自己的能力开始有信心，找到方向，在社会上站稳脚跟。

我们在说幼儿find one's legs时，通常指幼儿开始能站立、行走。而find one's sea-legs则指“开始不晕船，（经过初期晕船后）开始习惯于船上的颠簸”。

7. run the card: 刷卡。

8. recycled air：循环空气。

在大多数商业航班中，机舱里的空气一半来自飞机外面的新鲜空气，一半来自机舱内的循环空气。新鲜空气先通过压缩机压缩，然后再与机舱内的循环空气混合，循环空气要经过过滤。

9. dispenser：自动售货机。

我们平时所说的ATM自动取款机全称为automated teller machine，也称为cash machine。

10.sushi: 寿司，日本食物，小饼状冷米饭配生鱼片等。

11.weigh down: 压垮，过度忧虑。

此外，weigh down还可以用来表示“加强”，例如：Jane weighed down her repertory with these plays.（简加上这几出戏，使她的演出剧目得到了加强。）

这里再向大家介绍几个含有weigh的短语。

to weigh one's words 斟酌措词

to weigh on sb 使某人心情沉重

to weigh anchor 起锚[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：总剧情

1.我在另一家公司工作，为斯蒂夫的老板这样的懦夫出面，他们不敢解雇自己的员工。

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2.现在，我要你今天就开始休息。

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3.我刷卡的时候，系统会自动让柜员用这一句话跟我问好。

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4.感觉挺兴奋的，是吧？

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答案见下期

《在云端》精讲之六 参考答案
1. Jim's got cold feet.
2. I haven't been to bat. I haven't been in the dugout.
3. I can't stop from thinking, "What's the point?"
4. And we're all on running clocks.

[page]

第一页：片段欣赏
第二页：巧学口语
第三页：小小翻译家
第四页：总剧情

 

      乔治·克鲁尼饰演的是一名叫瑞恩·宾厄姆的公司裁员专家，他的工作是飞来飞去为各地公司去解决麻烦，他人生的目标则是乘坐飞机积攒的英里数达到100万，从而晋升为白金会员。

      但瑞恩这种“在路上”的生活方式却受到了新人的威胁，一个名叫娜塔莉（安娜·肯德里克饰）的大学毕业新生发明了一种互联网远程会议系统，让裁员变得轻松省事，也让瑞恩的工作显得毫无必要。正所谓不是冤家不聚头，瑞恩的新任务竟然是带领娜塔莉熟悉工作环境，他的飞行之旅终于有了个不那么和谐的伙伴……

      瑞恩的工作让他必须经常面对各种被裁人员痛苦、愤怒和绝望的情绪，为了证明娜塔莉的想法是非常天真和非常错误的，他把娜塔莉带进他负责的一项裁员任务当中。但正当娜塔莉开始意识到自己的职业是非常令人沮丧之时，瑞恩却开始质疑自己的生活方式……

      电影还有另一条线索，瑞恩在机场遇到了他的梦中情人、恰好也是他的同行亚历克斯（维拉·法梅加饰），他们之间的浪漫关系在机场的一次次偶遇中慢慢展开。

      工作和事业问题，甚至还有那么点爱情都要逼仄机舱和密闭候机楼里完成。他们能体会到局促不安和令人困惑浪漫么？影片的前半个小时有些无聊，但慢慢地你会被编剧的才华和乔治·克鲁尼的演技所吸引。这是一部意味深长的电影，里面的台词很精辟，特别是瑞恩的“背包理论”。