The bonsai emits a gentle warmth, but why am I sweating, ashamed? People are shallow and restless in their ways, but how much should I punish them - how much blood should I suck? It is difficult to be just right. Ling, once an extraordinary partner in life and crime, now is not above gossiping about trivial, worldly matters, always talking a mile a minute. Garrulity, is it all that she's got, or is it that, as they say, the donkey of Qian is down to his last kick?
You can never hear this kind of brunt retort in any office in the.
An American boss would say "why do you think you deserve a rise?"
If he really say "you should feel lucky that I didn't deduct your pay.", he better says it with a big smile (means jokingly). Otherwise, it is the high time for the receiving end to polish his or her resume and take the hike. It's a free world.
从中文角度来讲，“你凭什么要我给你加工资，我没扣你钱就已经很不错了”这句话本来就是一种brunt retort,如果使用“What do you think you deserve a raise?”，的确很符合英美的说话习惯，但是可能会失去原文暗含的那种offensive的味道。请问在保留原文的这种风格的基础上，应该如何以更符合英美人习惯的方式来翻译呢？
You'll have to give me some convincing reasons. You may not like it, but since our business is sagging (as a result of the Sept. 11 disaster and so on), we are actually considering the possibility of having to cut some salaries.
Are you out of your mind? You should feel lucky that I didn't cut your pay.
Footnote:
Because I have never heard of that kind of retort, so I have to make it up.
FYI
My company reduced the work load after Sept 11th. Surely, no pay for those none workdays. A smart way to cut the pay and retain the workforce. Fortunately we still got 3% pay raise across the borad at the end of the year.