Making Fun of the Boss: Everyday Dialogues

Per evitare un'atmosfera tesa e sgradevole, durante il discorso del tuo capo è meglio mantenere la calma.

USAx2
Molly Malcolm

Speaker (American accent)

Bandera UK
Sarah Davison

Speaker (UK accent)

Aggiornato il giorno

473 EVERYDAY DIALOGUES Shutter

Ascolta questo articolo

Stampare

Clara: Don’t laugh, that’s your boss giving a speech!

Susanne: I’m not laughing, I’m smiling in encouragement.

Clara: Oh, come on, I can see you smirk.

Susanne: Oh, OK, but look at that toupée — it’s ridiculous! It looks like a flattened hamster.

Clara: Stop it. You’re cracking me up.

Susanne: No one’ll take him seriously with that rug on his head. If he bends down, do you think it’ll fall off?

Clara: Enough! I’m going to wet myself.

Susanne: Now that would be funny!

Clara: You think so? That’s not very nice of you! But shush, he’s starting to notice us. Put that smile back on your face.

Susanne: OK, putting my encouraging smile back on.

Clara: I said a smile, not a pained grimace!

Susanne: I can’t smile naturally on demand! Oh no. Why is everyone looking at us? We’re in trouble now…

NOW LET’S REVIEW THe VOCABULARY!

A smirk is a self-satisfied, mocking smile.

A toupée is an artificial hairpiece worn to cover a bald spot.

To crack someone up is a colloquial way of saying to make someone laugh a lot.

When you regard someone as important and worthy of attention, you are taking them seriously.

A rug is a piece of carpet, used here as an insult to describe the toupée.

To wet oneself literally means to urinate in your clothes. It is used to indicate you are laughing so much, you are not able to control your bodily functions.

Shush! is an exclamation used to tell someone to be quiet.

A pained grimace is a forced, unnatural smile that makes you look like you are in pain.

When you do something on demand, you do it as soon as or whenever it is required.

ITA 473 COVER ok

Questo articolo appartiene al numero August 2024 della rivista Speak Up.

April Fools’ Day: Just Joking

Culture

April Fools’ Day: Just Joking

Anche le tradizioni più semplici e divertenti hanno un'origine storica affascinante. In quali circostanze e per quali motivi il 1° aprile è stato considerato il "Pesce d'aprile" in diverse culture?

Graziella Del Ciuco

Waitangi Day: A Celebration of New Zealand’s History
Adobe Stock

Culture

Waitangi Day: A Celebration of New Zealand’s History

Questa giornata è una festa annuale celebrata in Nuova Zelanda per commemorare la firma del trattato tra il popolo maori e la corona britannica nel 1840. Scopriamo come viene celebrata e cosa rappresenta oggi per il Paese.

Sarah Davison

More in Explore

English for the Modern Workplace

Tips and resources

English for the Modern Workplace

Impara a comunicare in un luogo di lavoro globalizzato insieme ad Iboux.

Jenize Hechter, B2B Team Leader Iboux Corporate

TODAY’S TOP STORIES

A Short Story: Frost Fair

Fiction

A Short Story: Frost Fair

Lo spettacolo del Tamigi ghiacciato trasforma Londra in uno scenario unico, dove una storia di amicizia inizialmente meravigliosa si trasforma rapidamente in un incubo.

Rachel Roberts

Sentence Structure in English: Rules and Common Mistakes
iStock

Grammar

Sentence Structure in English: Rules and Common Mistakes

Imparare a costruire frasi in inglese può sembrare complicato all'inizio, ma una volta che comprendi la struttura di base, diventa molto più facile. Ti offriamo una guida semplice per iniziare a scrivere le tue frasi.

Natalie Gommon