Get your act together

[00:00.02]A woman from Japan was telling a friend about her trip to the United States.#
一位来自日本的女性正在给朋友讲述自己的美国之旅。#

[00:06.39]The woman had visited major businesses and investment companies in New York City and Chicago.#
她去纽约和芝加哥走访了大型商业和投资公司。#

[00:13.98]”I studied English before I left home,” she said. #
她说：“离家之前我学了英语。”#

[00:18.90]”But I still was not sure that people were speaking English.” #
“但我还是不确定他们讲的是英语。”#

[00:24.38]Her problem is easy to understand.#
她的迷惑很容易理解。#

[00:27.94]Americans in business are like people who are in business anywhere.#
美国商务人士和其他地方的商务人士一样。#

[00:33.42]They have a language of their own.#
他们都自己的一套语言。#

[00:36.68]Some of the words and expressions deal with the special areas of their work.#
有的词语和表达方式是专门用在工作领域的。#

[00:42.76]Other expressions are borrowed from different kinds of work such as the theater and movie industry.#
还有一些表达借用自戏剧、电影等别的行业。#

[00:50.91]One such saying is “get your act together”.#
其中的一个说法就是get your act together。#

[00:55.68]When things go wrong in a business, an employer may get angry. #
当业务上出现问题，雇主很生气。#

[01:02.24]He may shout, “Stop making mistakes. Get your act together.”#
他或许会叫道：“别犯错了！行动起来！”#

[01:08.78]Or, if the employer is calmer, he may say, “Let us get our act together.”#
或许，这个雇主比较平静，他会说：“让我们行动起来吧！”#

[01:17.02]Either way, the meaning is the same.#
无论怎么说，两种说法的意思是一样的。#

[01:20.99]Getting your act together is getting organized.#
Getting your act together是组织起来的意思。#

[01:26.11]In business, it usually means to develop a calm and orderly plan of action.#
在商业中，通常表示制定一个平静有序的行动计划。#

[01:33.42]It is difficult to tell exactly where the saying began.#
很难说这个说法从何时开始的。#

[01:38.65]But, it is probable that it was in the theater or movie industry.#
但或许是在戏剧或电影行业。#

[01:44.26]Perhaps one of the actors was nervous and made a lot of mistakes.#
或许一个演员紧张犯了不少错。#

[01:49.73]The director may have said, ” Calm down, now. Get your act together.”#
导演会说：“平静下，提高下演技。”#

[01:56.67]Word expert James Rogers says the expression was common by the late nineteen seventies.#
词语专家James Rogers说，这个说法在20世纪70年代末很常用。#

[02:04.27]Mister Rogers says the Manchester Guardian newspaper used it in 1978.#
Roger说，曼彻斯特卫报在1978年使用了这个表达。#

[02:11.67]The newspaper said a reform policy required that the British government get its act together.#
该报称，一项改革政策要求英国政府共同行动起来。#

[02:19.42]Now, this expression is heard often when officials of a company meet.#
如今，这个用法在公司职员开会时常用到。#

[02:25.07]One company even called its yearly report, “Getting Our Act Together.”#
甚至有家公司给年报取名为“让我们一起努力”。