slush fund秘密资金

把「没人开口」定义成一种行为，冷静又有杀伤力。

In other words, by their very ..., there was a ...

对同事总结对方失职时能用；对当事人当面说太重，场合要挑。

By saying nothing, they said everything. ／ Their silence was itself the cover-up.

正式

by their very silence 放慢，cover-up 重读收尾。

In other words, by their very delay, there was a decision. 换句话说，恰恰是他们的拖延，等于做了决定。

一句抱怨把匿名消息源的憋屈全说出来，短而准。

When is somebody gonna ...?

对同事吐槽没人担责时能用；正式会议别说 gonna，显随意。

When will someone put their name to this? ／ Is anyone ever going to speak on the record?

口语

gonna 轻读，go on the record 连成一串。

When is somebody gonna take responsibility for this mess? 这烂摊子到底什么时候才有人出来负责？

用一句夸奖完成排除法，把政治老手的自保说得很透。

Someone is too ... to do something.

对同事分析谁不会出面时能用；对当事人说像在背后评判，别用。

He is too careful to sign anything like that. ／ She would never get her hands dirty that way.

中性

too smart 重读，directly 后稍停，anything like that 顺读。

He is too careful to reply in writing. 他太谨慎了，不会用书面回复。

一句大实话，把被新闻毁掉的生活轻轻放下，反而更重。

My name's been in the papers too much.

对朋友说名声带来的麻烦时能用；公开场合别说，像在诉苦。

I have been in the news far too often. ／ My name keeps showing up where I don't want it.

中性

very hard 降调，too much 拖长收尾。

It's very hard. My name's been in the headlines too much. 很难。我的名字在头条上出现得太频繁了。

一个被动句，把「谁说了算」交代得干干净净。

Everything's cleared with ...

对同事说明审批层级时能用；对外说会显得在指责上级，别用。

Nothing moves without the White House. ／ It all has to be signed off upstairs.

中性

Everything's 弱读，White House 两个词都重读。

Everything's cleared with the legal team before we sign. 签字前什么事都要先过法务。