By Joshua Ogden-Davis/肝腦涂地

說到“開會”，我想大家一定對這個詞不陌生。班會、晨會、例會、慶功會……從小到大，我們經歷過無數(shù)個大大小小的會議。在職場中，“開會”更是我們的家常便飯。然而，有些會議可能并不是那么有趣或者有意義。每天上班已經很累，還要應付似乎總也開不完的各種會議，這讓很多白領們吃不消，走神、不在狀態(tài)是常有的事，甚至還會有人昏睡過去，讓旁人大跌眼鏡。

Emmanuel： Hey， Charlotte， what did you think of my presentation this morning？

Charlotte： Oh， hey， Manny. I…uh…could you…could you remind me what your presentation was about？

Emmanuel： I presented on the companys financial prospects over the next 1）quarter.

Charlotte： Oh， right， of course. Well， yeah， I thought it was…a solid presentation. Lots of pictures and graphs， things grab peoples attention.

Emmanuel： Thanks！ I do try to make the presentations pretty fun. What else？ What about content？

Charlotte： Well， the content was…interesting， of course…very informative.

Emmanuel： Uh huh…anything more specific？

Charlotte： Um， well…not really. ①To be honest， I kind of tuned out for most of the presentation…

伊曼紐爾：嘿，夏洛特，你覺得我今天早上的演示怎么樣？

夏洛特：噢，嘿，伊曼紐爾。我……呃……你能……你能提醒我一下你的演示內容嗎？

伊曼紐爾：我演示的是公司下一季度的財政預算。

夏洛特：噢，對，當然。嗯，對，我認為這……這是一個不錯的演示。很多圖表，很吸引人。

伊曼紐爾：謝謝！我確實努力地讓演示變得有趣。還有嗎？內容方面呢？

夏洛特：嗯，內容的話……當然有趣……非常詳盡。

伊曼紐爾：嗯嗯……能更具體點嗎？

夏洛特：呃，好吧……不能。老實說，我對演示的大部分內容都沒怎么注意……

Emmanuel： What？ I thought you just said it grabbed your attention！

Charlotte： ②Oh， yeah， it was a really 2）flashy PPT， but I zoned out anyway. Dont take it personally， it happens to me all the time！

Emmanuel： To tell you the truth， it happens to me sometimes， too.

Charlotte： Im glad Im not the only one！ Why does that always happen？ Every time I go to a meeting， I just cant stay awake for the life of me.

Emmanuel： I dont know， either. ③I can be feeling fine before the meeting， but as soon as someone gets up to give a presentation， its like， boom！ Lights out！

Charlotte： I never knew I had a 3）kindred spirit. ④I always thought I was an isolated case.

Emmanuel： Me， too. I wonder how many other people feel this way？

Charlotte： God only knows. Anyway， the question to ask is： how are we gonna beat this thing？

Emmanuel： Ive tried everything. ⑤Coffee doesnt do the trick. Ive even tried doing jumping jacks before the meeting to 4）rev up my system！

Charlotte： Tell me about it！ ⑥Im almost at my wits end. I even signed up for a meditation class， just to practice sitting down and staring into space without zoning out！ Emmanuel： ⑦Wow， youve really taken this to the extreme！ How did the meditation thing work out？

Charlotte： Not so well. I can meditate during meetings， but then I really cant focus on what the presenter is talking about. Emmanuel： So are we hopeless？

Charlotte： ⑧Well， I dont want to throw in the towel just yet. What else can we try？

Emmanuel： Ive racked my brain again and again and come up with nothing.

Charlotte： Well， I guess theres only one solution.

Emmanuel： What do you mean？

Charlotte： The answer is so obvious. ⑨Its staring us in the face！ Cant you see it？

Emmanuel： Im afraid I cant. Youre going to have to help me out with this one.

Charlotte： ⑩It seems like well just have to bite the bullet and just get interested in the presentation！

Emmanuel： Oh， brother. Im not sure I can manage that…

伊曼紐爾：什么？我想你剛剛才說它能吸引你！

夏洛特：噢，對，這是個非常出色的演示，但是我走神了。我不是針對你，我總是會這樣！

伊曼紐爾：老實說，我有時也會這樣。夏洛特：很高興我不是唯一的一個！為什么這種情況總是會發(fā)生？每次我去開會，總是不能保持清醒。

伊曼紐爾：我也不知道為什么。開會前我還好好的，但是當有人站起來做演示的時候，那就像，砰！我馬上就倒下去睡了！

夏洛特：我從來不知道別人也有類似的感覺。我一直認為我是個特例。

伊曼紐爾：我也是。我在想還有多少人有這種感覺呢？

夏洛特：誰知道呢。不管怎樣，問題是：我們怎樣克服這種情況？

伊曼紐爾：我能試的都試了。喝咖啡根本沒用。我甚至在開會前試過單腳跳來提神！

夏洛特：你說對了！我快沒轍了！我甚至報名去參加冥想課程，只是去練習坐下來盯著眼前的事物而不會走神！

伊曼紐爾：哇，你真的走極端了！那個冥想課有用嗎？

夏洛特：不怎么樣。我能在開會時冥想，但是卻不能把注意力放在演講的內容上。

伊曼紐爾：那么我們是不是沒救了？夏洛特：好吧，我還不想認輸。我們還能嘗試什么？

伊曼紐爾：我絞盡腦汁也想不出來了。夏洛特：好吧，我想只有一個解決辦法了。

伊曼紐爾：你什么意思？

夏洛特：答案很明顯，就在我們面前！你沒看到嗎？

伊曼紐爾：我恐怕不能。你要幫我解決它。

夏洛特：那么我們只好咬緊牙關，試著對演示感興趣了！

伊曼紐爾：噢。哥們兒。我不確定自己能夠這樣……

Smart Sentences

① To be honest， I kind of tuned out for most of the presentation… 老實說，我對演示的大部分內容都沒怎么注意……

tune out： become unresponsive to； ignore（不注意，忽略）。例如：

He eventually learned to tune out the childrens screaming.漸漸地，他學會了對孩子們的尖叫充耳不聞。

② Oh， yeah， it was a really flashy PPT， but I zoned out anyway. 噢，對，這是個非常出色的演示，但是我走神了。

zone out： stop paying attention， lose interest（不關心，失去興趣）。例如：

She always zoned out in biology class.

她上生物課時總是走神。

③ I can be feeling fine before the meeting， but as soon as someone gets up to give a presentation， its like， boom！ Lights out！ 開會前我還好好的，但是當有人站起來做演示的時候，那就像，砰！我馬上就倒下去睡了！

lights out： make sb. very tired； cause sb. to fall asleep（讓某人非常疲倦；讓某人昏昏欲睡）。例如：

Whenever Prof. Johnson starts his lecture， its lights out. I can barely recall anything afterwards.

約翰教授一開始講課，我就很悶，事后啥也想不起來。

④ I always thought I was an isolated case. 我一直認為我是個特例。

an isolated case： a very uncommon situation（不常見的情況，孤立的現(xiàn)象）。例如：

You are not an isolated case， as a lot of university students are under a lot of pressure.

你的情況并不特殊，許多大學生都有很大的壓力。

⑤ Coffee doesnt do the trick. 喝咖啡根本沒用。

do the trick： bring about the desired result（有效，達到目的）。例如：

Whenever I want to calm down， music will do the trick.

無論什么時候我想平靜下來，聽音樂總是有用的。

⑥ Im almost at my wits end. 我快沒轍了！

at ones wits end： at the limit of ones mental resources； utterly at a loss（智窮計盡，不知所措）。例如：

Im really at my wits end in solving the problems between my mother and my wife.

在解決我母親與妻子之間矛盾的問題上，我真的是無計可施了。

⑦ Wow， youve really taken this to the extreme！ 哇，你真的走極端了！

take sth. to the extreme： do or say sth. that is considered beyond the norm（走極端，采取極端的手段）。例如：

Though not eating too much fat is considered a healthy diet， some take it to the extreme by not consuming meat at all.

雖說少吃脂肪是一種健康的飲食方式，但有些人走極端，一點肉也不吃。

⑧ Well， I dont want to throw in the towel just yet. 好吧，我還不想認輸。

throw in the towel： stop trying to do sth.， believing things wont be successful（投降，認輸）。例如：

My brother has decided to throw in the towel after seven attempts and will not take the TOEFL exam again.

我弟弟在考了七次托福后，決定放棄，不再考了。

⑨ Its staring us in the face！ 就在我們面前！

stare （sb.） in the face： plainly visible or obvious； force itself on （ones） attention（就在眼前，顯而易見，擺在面前）。例如：

The fact has been staring my mother in the face all along， but she just refuses to see it.

事實一直擺在我媽媽面前，可她就是不愿意承認。

⑩ It seems like well just have to bite the bullet and just get interested in the presentation！ 那么我們只好咬緊牙關，試著對演示感興趣了！

bite the bullet： face a painful or unpleasant situation bravely（勇敢地行動，硬著頭皮頂下去）。例如：

Well， weve delayed long enough. Now its time to bite the bullet and get it over with.

我們已經拖了太久了，是時候勇敢面對，把它解決了。