昨天我高高兴兴地去逛街，想买个名牌包，却生了一肚子气回来，因为那家店的服务态度太差了！店员看我不是常客，就爱搭不理的，我说要看看新上市的那种手提包，她们却说，“如果你只是看看，并不打算真买，就不要浪费我们的时间了！”您说说，这叫什么服务？！生气之余，我想到一个习惯用语：treat like dirt。
treat是对待的意思，dirt表示灰尘。treat someone like dirt，把某人当灰尘一样对待，意思就是“恶待”，“把别人看得一文不值”。
我在名牌包店受到的待遇就是这样。
- They treated me like dirt, so I won't go back to that shop.
那些服务员根本没把我放在眼里，我再也不会去那家店了。
服务员态度差，你大不了不再光顾他的店，可如果上司对你态度恶劣，你要怎么办呢？
- How did Alan manage to put up with his manager for so long? She gave him the worst assignments. She constantly criticized him in front of co-workers. She even took credit for some of his ideas. Finally, after being treated like dirt for almost a year, he quit. Good for him! He deserves to have a boss who values him.
真想不通艾伦怎么能忍他的上司这么久。这个上司总是把最难干的工作给他，老当着同事的面批评他，甚至偷他的好点子，自己去邀功。在将近一年的时间里，艾伦的上司简直不把他当人。他最后终于辞职了。这么做就对了！他应该有一个器重他的上司。
这段话让我想到电影《穿普拉达的恶魔》里那个女上司，She treated her staff like dirt，她对下属态度恶劣，又十分苛责，而且还觉得自己这么做天经地义！我最受不了这样的人。
说到别人怎么看待你，美国人有这么一句话：“You are what you do。” 也就是说，别人对你的看法往往会由你在事业上的成就所决定。这么说来，如果一个人没有工作，或者退休了，不就会遭人冷遇么？
- What is it about society today? When my generation was growing up, we were taught to respect our elders! These days, young people treat us like dirt. They show little interest in the sacrifices we made. They shove us into nursing homes. Most of them won't even offer us a seat on a crowded bus!
如今的社会是怎么了？我们这代人小时候，大人总教我们说，要尊敬老人！可今天的年轻人却把老人看得一文不值。对于我们这代人作出的牺牲，他们一点也不感兴趣。他们把我们扔进老人院就算完事儿。大部分年轻人甚至不会在拥挤的公车上给老人让个座位！
中国人总是教育子女要“尊老爱幼”，而西方社会似乎更看重年轻人的价值。不过，轻视和恶待老人的状况在每个国家都有，这也许是值得所有人反思的现象。
