2012公共英语一级考试阅读难点指导九

会计考友

There's been a shake-up.
我们俗称公司内/机构内一些重大的人事变更或大改革为地震，英文也有类似的说法：There's been a shake-up. (公司里有大改革/大变动)，或者可以说：The company has restructured. (公司改组)，人事变动有涉及升职或降职：I got promoted/demoted. (我被升职/降职)。
对 话
Rita: What's wrong? Everyone looks like they are shook up.
Shawn: The new manager has made some drastic changes.There's been a shake-up.
Rita: So lots of people have lost their jobs? That's just awful.
0 p4 _2 V4 D/ |3 j. j+ z/ s2 SShawn: No, it's much worse than that. Everyone still has a job but he's cut the morning coffee break out. We're all going through caffeine withdrawal. I can't keep my hand still at all.
莉达：为什么人人看来都心绪不宁？
$ V7 l; B( p4 S3 O( w+ H+ v. z尚伟：新来的经理作了重大的改革，公司里有大变动。
! d, p5 u' B5 C莉达：那么很多人被辞退吗？真的很糟糕。
" }  O# j1 k+ ?& _; I2 t; J6 G8 E尚伟：不，比这个更糟。没有人被辞退，只是他取消了早上的咖啡时间，人人在捱戒咖啡因之苦，我不能让手不抖动。
/ z, L; G% O. i( T+ J尚伟的公司取消喝咖啡时间，尚伟诉苦说：There's been a shake-up. We're all going through caffeine withdrawal（有大变动，人人在捱戒咖啡因之苦）。难怪莉达说：Everyone looks like they are shook up（人人看来都心绪不宁）。
Shake-up或shakeup是名词，指机构、制度等的改组或整顿，例如：(1) There was a company shakeup, and many lost their jobs.（公司改组，不少人失业了）。(2) The civil service needs a major shakeup.（公务员编制应大大整顿一下）。Shake up 也可以作动词，例如：The new board of directors has shaken up the company. （新的董事会把公司改组了）。留意shake的过去式是shook，过去分词(past participle)是shaken。
, @* c6 k! o6 q, I2 I( P* {读者也许会问：Everyone looks like they are shook up一语，are之后为什么不用分词shaken而用Shook？原来shake up假如解作 ‘使心烦意乱’，那shake字的过去分词作shook或shaken都可以，例如：She was badly shook/shaken up by her mother's death.（母亲去世，令她心情十分恶劣）。此外shook就不可作分词用。
以shakeup说 ‘改组’，是俗语用法；严谨的说法是reorganization，例如：The civil service needs a major reorganization、The new board of directors has reorganized the company。
最后说withdrawal。‘停服（兴奋剂等）’英文叫withdraw，名词是withdrawal，例如：It is difficult to withdraw from nicotine/withdrawal from nicotine is difficult（要戒掉尼古丁瘾可不容易）