今天的課題是新年計劃（New Year's Resolutions）。它是國外辦公室年末或年初經常討論的話題之一。美國常見的新年計劃有哪些？知識人網為大家分享一段外方教授與訪問學者的相關對話，供各位訪問學者、博士後申請者參考。
NEW YEAR』S RESOLUTIONS
新年計劃
NEW YEAR』S RESOLUTIONS是什麼意思？
是指一月份第一周需要做的事情清單
If you are working abroad as a post-doc or a visiting scholar, get ready to start talking about your New Year’s Resolutions. It is common for everyone at your workplace to start sharing their resolutions and even make fun of colleagues who made the same resolutions every year but never fulfill them. Some workplaces may even make work-related New Year’s Resolutions as way to motive and unite coworkers.
如果您在海外做博士後或者訪問學者，現在就是準備您的新年計劃的時候啦。人們常常在辦公室裡談論自己的新年計劃、或者打趣那些每年計劃都是一樣卻又不曾實現的人。有些機構會要求大家制定一些和工作相關的新年計劃，以此來激勵和團結同事。
What are the most common New Year’s Resolutions in the United States?
美國最常見的新年計劃是什麼？
Dialogue對話
A: Dr. James Randall – Host Professor 詹姆斯·蘭達爾博士 - 接收方教授
B: Dr. Anna Liu – Academic Visitor 劉安娜教授 – 訪問學者
A: Happy New Year Anna! How’s the project going?
A：新年快樂，安娜！您的項目進展怎麼樣了？
B: Happy New Year James! We』ve made great achievements, the team is working these days on the latest findings and once we finish editing the report we will send it to you for your review.
B：新年快樂，詹姆斯！我們已經取得了很大的進展，團隊這些天全都聚焦在我們的最新發現上，一旦報告撰寫完畢，我們會馬上發給您。
A: Great. Can’t wait to read it. But since today is our last working day, I guess we will have to review this after the holiday. Plus, the laboratory is closing earlier today. Everyone will get off work at midday. By the way, what are your New Year’s Resolutions? I’m quite curious!
A：太好了。真是迫不及待地想看看。但是因為今天是我們今年最後一個工作日，我想我們可以在節假日後再檢閱這些報告。另外，今天實驗室關門會比較早。中午的時候所有同事都可以下班了。順便問一下，您的新年計劃是什麼？我非常好奇！
B: Well, this is a bit embarrassing but I put on some weight over the past 6 months. I guess I gained weight because I changed my diet drastically. So I really want to lose some weight and get fit. What about you?
B：好的，有點尷尬，因為上半年我體重漲了不少。我覺得可能是因為我的飲食變化太大了，所以我真的非常想減肥和健身。您的新年計劃是什麼呢？
A: Ha ha ha… Well, you’re not the only one. At least half of the scholars on the lab have the same resolution as you, including me! Hopefully, we will all stick to it and get fit next year.
A：哈哈哈……好吧，不只是您一個人。實驗室裡至少一半的同事都有同樣的困擾，我也是！希望，明年我們都能堅持減肥和健身。
B: Really? Hahaha… Well, at least I’m not the only one. However, I think our new diet plan should only begin in 2020. Tonight everyone is enjoying a big meal and having some drinks.
B：真的嗎？哈哈哈……好吧，至少我不是一個人在戰鬥。不過，我覺得我們新制定的節食計劃最好2020年再開始。今天晚上，每個人都一定要酒飽飯足的。
A: Yes, you read my mind! Tonight it’s all about celebrating, we』ll think about our weight next year. Well anyway, happy new year —again—. See you around!
A：對的，您和我想到一塊了！今晚就是慶祝的時間，明年再說減肥的事情。那麼，再次祝您新年快樂。晚點見！
B: Happy New Year!
B：新年快樂！
Insider Tip專業建議
Western countries tend to have more horizontal work environments, as opposed to China which have more hierarchical work environments. It is for this reason that most coworkers, regardless of their position, tend to call each other by their first name, and are more informal when talking.
在西方國家，大多機構都採用扁平化管理，而中國則剛好相反，大多機構都更多採用垂直化管理。正是這個原因，西方大部分的同事，不論職位高低，都喜歡相互稱呼彼此的名字，說話的時候也會更隨意。
The first time you meet a colleague or supervisor, don’t be surprise if they ask you to simply call them by their first name; they will also do the same when calling you.
您和您同事或者上司第一次見面的時候，當他們讓您叫他們名字的時候不必感到意外；他們也會用同樣的方式來稱呼您。