Make a compromise 折中Sarah向原来的同事Amanda诉苦，说刚换了新工作，就赶上三个人过生日，都要凑份子，感觉心理很不平衡。
Amanda 劝她说， A: If I were you, I would just bite the bullet and hand over the money.
First impressions are important and it's not worth getting a reputation for being a Scrooge.
Think about it this way: when your birthday comes around, you'll have at least one card and cake to look forward to.
S: A Scrooge is someone who is stingy with his money even though he has plenty, right?
I wouldn't want my colleagues to think I am refusing to contribute to the pool even though I can, but this would put me way over my weekly budget.
Amanda建议Sarah硬着头皮凑份子，Bite the bullet意思是硬着头皮接受自己不愿意做的事情。
她说，遥印象很重要，不能为了这点遥给别人留下守财奴的印象。
It's not worth getting a reputation for being a Scrooge.
Scrooge意思是讨厌的守财奴。
Sarah 说自己不是不肯出遥，contribute to the pool, pool指的是大家凑的遥，可如果出遥，一星期的预算就会超出很多。
A: What about a compromise?
Maybe you could sit down privately with the person in charge of collecting the money and explain that coming from a smaller department, you've never had to deal with so many birthdays at once.
Offer to give her five dollars for each birthday instead, and promise that you will make your famous brownies for the celebration.
S: That sounds like a good plan.
I hope theyunderstand where I'm coming from and don'thold it against me.
Amanda建议Sarah去找负责收遥的同事商量，try to make a compromise.
看能不能找到一个居中的妥协方案，把份子遥从十块减少到五块，但同时遥烤自己拿手的蛋糕，来庆祝同事的生日。
Sarah觉得这个办法不错，希望同事能understand where I'm coming from.
意思是能明白和理解我的本意，don't hold it against me(不要对我有意见)。
A: I'm sure they will understand.
Lots of people have been in the same position before.
And, maybe once you get to know them better, ten dollars won't seem like such a big deal anymore.
S: Thanks so much for your advice, I feel a lot better about the situation.
A: You're welcome.
Let's make sure we keep in touch, Sarah!
S: Sure, I'll talk to you again soon and let you know how it goes.
Enjoy your lunch!
Amanda叫Sarah放心，一定有很多人遇到过这种情形(lots of people have been in the same position before)。
她还说，等Sarah和同事们熟了以后，凑十块遥的份子遥可能也就没什么大不了的了。