LL: Well, to be honest Li Hua, it was a bit stressful. One of our ad campaigns was not successful and my boss had a total meltdown. He is such a hothead.

LH: A hothead? 你是说老板性情急躁，动不动就发脾气吗？

LL: Yes, exactly, a hothead means someone who gets very angry very quickly. When something makes a hothead mad, you absolutely do not want to be around him.

LH: 没错，急脾气的人要是生气了，最好是离他们远点，否则一不小心就成了出气筒。

LL: That is exactly right, a hothead can really be dangerous sometimes, though often they'll just throw a tantrum and be done with it.

LH: 他们倒是出气了，可旁边的人却要跟着倒霉。快说说，你们老板当时什么反应？

LL: Well, when he heard that the campaign was not successful, he blamed ME. He was such a hothead, he slammed down his coffee mug and broke it.

LH: 那咖啡还不洒得到处都是？

LL: It got all over his shirt. This got him even angrier.

LH: 太可怕了。我有个同学，就是典型的hothead。

LL: In what way, Li Hua?

LH: 比方说吧，前不久他的一篇作文，教授只给了C，他气得脸红脖子粗，竟然把课本一下子扔到地上。He is such a hothead.

LL: Wow, what did your professor do?

LH: 教授当时已经走了，可教室里还有很多人，大家都没想到他的脾气如此暴躁。对了，刚才说到一半，那你们老板是什么时候消的气呢？

LL: He didn't talk to anyone for the rest of the day. He just stormed off to his office. Because he was such a hothead, no one dared to knock on his door.

LH: 可想而知，办公室里的气氛肯定一天都好不了。

LL: Well, the afternoon actually turned out alright.

LH: Oh? And why was that?

LL: Once he stormed off, the boss was out of everyone's hair for the rest of the day. It was pretty relaxing from there on out.

******

LH: Larry, 广告没做好，你那些同事是不是也特别气馁？

LL: No one was happy, of course, but I would say that everybody managed to keep an even keel.

LH: An even what?

LL: Even keel. It means to stay calm or keep your cool, like a boat on calm water.

LH: 我明白了，even keel就是情绪稳定。老板发那么大的火，换成我，肯定没法保持even keel.

LL: I'll admit I was pretty nervous when my boss became such a hothead, but I was able to maintain an even keel.

LH: 还好你没有过于激动，在这种情况下，是很容易说错话的。

LL: Exactly, I find that when I'm at work, the best policy is to always try to keep an even keel. That way I can speak clearly and be focused on what I have to do.

LH: 我觉得，你们老板真应该去上Anger Management控制情绪的课。

LL: That's right. He was such a hothead.

LH: 你发现没有，身边有个脾气急躁的人，自己也容易受影响。

LL: That's true, Li Hua, sometimes being around someone who is worked up can get you feeling pretty tense as well.

LH: 反过来说，周围人都保持镇静，发脾气的人也容易冷静下来。

LL: Yes. It was good that only my boss lost his cool and everyone else kept an even keel. It would have been a very stressful afternoon otherwise.

LH: 一点没错。

LL: What about you, Li Hua? When your classmate became such a hothead, were you able to keep an even keel?

LH: 我跟本没想到that guy was such a hot head. 吓得我赶快收拾东西开遛。不过说实话，作文得低分，是挺让人沮丧的。

LL: I thought you always did well on papers.

LH: 我上个月宏观经济学的作文就得了C+。

LL: You seem to have recovered from the shock though.