【明報專訊】Gervase: Were you at the reception at City Hall yesterday?
格瓦斯：你昨天有沒有出席市政廳的招待會？
Margie: I was. It's not surprising we didn't bump into each other, there were a lot of people there.
瑪姬：有啊，當時很多人，也難怪我們沒碰見。
Gervase: And quite a few celebrities. I saw Arno Garton the crime writer.
格瓦斯：還有不少名人。我見到寫罪惡小說的亞諾．加頓。
Margie: Oh, I love his books. They're so full of suspense. And I got quite close to Zoe Barr, you know, the film director.
瑪姬：啊，我愛讀他的書，內容十分驚險緊張。我昨天則幾乎走到佐伊．巴爾身邊，就是那個電影導演。
Gervase: Yes, I just caught a glimpse of her. She's hot at the moment because her latest film's tipped to get an Oscar.
格瓦斯：是啊，我在人群中也瞥見她。她目前是個紅人，最新拍的一齣電影不少人都認為會贏得奧斯卡獎。
Margie: I saw something else as well. My boyfriend's brother. He's in his last year at film school and he managed to get into conversation with her.
瑪姬：我還見到我男朋友的弟弟。他今年就要在電影學校畢業，昨天跟佐伊．巴爾攀談起來。
Gervase: He must be a smart operator.
格瓦斯：他一定很會鑽營。
Margie: Oh yes, and you should have heard him sucking up to her, saying what a fantastic director she was and how her latest film was bound to get an Oscar.
瑪姬：不錯。可惜你沒聽見他怎樣拍佐伊．巴爾馬屁，說她是個了不起的導演，又說她最新拍的那一齣電影一定會贏得奧斯卡獎。
Gervase: Something tells me he was fishing for a job.
格瓦斯：我猜他是有心找工作。
Margie: Absolutely. I can't say I blame him. The competition to get into the film industry is horrendous, so he was making the most of his opportunity.
瑪姬：你說得對。也不能怪他。要入電影圈工作，競爭非常劇烈，他一定要善用機會。
To suck up to someone 是俚語，帶貶義，指討好某人，例如：①Dictators invariably surround themselves with people who suck up to them（獨裁者總是親近給他們吮癰舐痔者）。②Our boss is a wise man. Sucking up to him will get you nowhere（我們的老闆可不蠢。拍他馬屁並沒有好處）。
■作者簡介︰專研中英文，著有時事評論、英語學習、散文等書籍。
