商務英文解鎖 (1)

Pan out

That new strategy project didn’t “pan out”.

這句話的背景是我們與業務組合作一個策略案呈報至高層，過1–2周後我問主管專案的狀況，他回我這句，意思是進展沒有成功、不順利。這片語跟過去掏金潮的背景有關，使用掏金用的平底盤pan，篩出金子過程稱為pan out，意思是出現「正面」(掏出金子了!) 的進展。

• We’ll have to wait and see how the new marketing strategy pans out.Their attempt to start a new business didn’t pan out.I tried to get him a couple of jobs and they didn’t pan out.

Legwork

There is more “legwork” to be done before it comes to us

這句常是我們與其他組(尤其是sales或buyer)協作，需要等對方拿到客戶或廠商的一些資料供我們做分析，這裡指的蒐集訊息的工作還需要一些時間，我們應該還沒辦法開始分析工作。

• He made the plan, but I did the legwork.The professor wrote the book, but his students did most of the legwork in the library.Legwork usually involves interviewing witnesses, investigating evidence and following leads.

In (on) the cards

Recession seems to be “in (on) the cards”.

之前公司內部討論美國的總體經濟，大老闆們認為衰退很有可能會發生，因此我們要在庫存和人力部屬要提前規劃以因應接下來的難關。白話就是某事件在這付牌裡，即將會被打出來，意謂這事件十有八九要發生。我上網查了一下英式英文會使用on the cards。

• A promotion is in the cards for you if you keep up the good work.After months of planning, a family vacation is finally in the cards.With the new policy changes, layoffs might be on the cards.

Up to speed

How can we expect our customers to buy our own brand from us when we don’t buy it ourselves? So. . . next time you need water, snacks, toilet paper or cleaning products, go to your favorite XXX store or click on our website .In addition to buying what you need, it will keep you “up to speed” on how our stores and website are changing.

以上是多年前的前CEO周報，他鼓勵我們多了解我們自己品牌的產品，多多走進我們自己的直營店和官方網站，會讓我們更加了解店裡和網站的最新狀況，xxx 正在變得更好! 這裡的”UP TO SPEED”意味了解某事最新情況，可以搭配keep/ get / bring sb + UP TO SPEED 使用。

• Before we start the meeting, let’s bring everyone up to speed on the latest developments.The IT department needs to stay up to speed with the latest cybersecurity threats.She read several articles to get up to speed on the current political situation.

謝謝您花時間將此篇文章讀完，若覺得對您有幫助可以幫忙按個讚、分享來或是珍藏喔!也歡迎Follow我的Threads/ FB，持續追蹤生產力工具、商業分析、商業英文的實用範例，提升自己的職場力喔!