Meticulous

要聘請心思縝密的（meticulous）職員談何容易。首先，他必須非常熟悉行業和工作範疇的各項要求。亦要同時關顧實際的情況需要，作出適切的調整。做事還要很上心呢！

形容詞meticulous解「一絲不苟的、嚴謹的」，形容人非常小心、精確，並且非常注重每一個細節，是褒義詞。例句︰Although Helen was his least experienced employee, she was most conscientious and meticulous.（雖然海倫是他經驗最少的員工，但她是最認真和最一絲不苟的。）The party is fabulous. We appreciate the many hours of meticulous preparation you have put into it.（這個派對太棒了。我們感謝你花了大量時間精心準備。）

如果想形容人「過分挑剔、難以滿足」，則可以用fussy一字，帶貶義。例句︰The chef is very fussy about the kitchen；everything has to be spotlessly clean.（那廚師對廚房非常挑剔，所有東西都必須一塵不染。）He is fussy about his hair. He spends over an hour on doing his hair every morning.（他對頭髮很挑剔，每天早上花個多小時整理頭髮。）

（本欄逢周一、三、五刊登）