Barry召集公司同事開會,有個壞消息要宣布。
Barry: Well, folks...I'm afraid I have some bad news. Our lawyers told me this morning that we are being sued.
Chris: Sued? Who's suing us?
Susan: And on what grounds?
B: An Australian man named John Smith alleged that his microwave exploded while he was using it last year. Mr. Smith suffered injuries and he wants compensation.
C: How much compensation does he want?
B: His lawyers are asking for two million dollars.
S: Two million! That's insane!
Barry說,公司被告了,We are being sued. sued is spelled s-u-e-d, sued, 是控告、起訴的意思。Susan問,起訴罪名是什么,on what grounds? grounds,在這里是理由、根據(jù)的意思。
Barry說,原告是一個澳大利亞人,被微波爐炸傷,索賠兩百萬美元,Susan覺得,That's insane! 這簡直是瘋了!
C: This is how the game is played. They ask for millions but it's usually a negotiating tactic.
B: Yeah, Chris is probably right. The figure of two million dollars is a place to begin bargaining from. They are probably hoping to settle the case quickly.
S: But Barry, we don't manufacture microwave ovens! How in the world are we responsible for an accident like this?
B: We might not manufacture microwaves, but our company does make a heat-sensing component that is part of many microwaves. Maybe Chris can shed some light on this, Chris?
Chris說,對方要價兩百萬只是一種談判策略, a negotiating tactic。Barry也覺得對方希望settle the case quickly,盡快了結(jié)案子。可是,公司不生產(chǎn)微波爐,為什么要為微波爐爆炸賠錢呢?Barry請Chris給大家解釋一下,shed some light on this. Chris說,
C: If I'm not mistaken, you're referring to our company's sensor chips. They are small chips that help control how heat is regulated.
S: So our chip made the microwave blow up?
C: Not exactly. The chip might have malfunctioned, but I doubt it. We test those products very rigorously and our quality control is strong. I don't think we are responsible for the explosion.
S: I don't believe the sensor could cause an explosion. We are innocent! This lawsuit is totally without merit!
原來,他們公司生產(chǎn)的sensor chip感應(yīng)芯片是微波爐的感熱部件。不過Chris說,公司質(zhì)檢很嚴(yán)格,所以芯片應(yīng)該和微波爐爆炸無關(guān)。這么說,This lawsuit is totally without merit, 這樁訴訟完全就是無理取鬧。那么,公司要如何應(yīng)對這樁官司呢?我們下次繼續(xù)聽。