Damon： How do you do it？

Elena： Well， first， you put the paper in the tray， like so. And then you push this big green…

Damon： No， I’m not talking about how to use the new copier， though we probably should have a talk about that later. It is pretty tricky to get the hang of it. But， anyway， I’m talking about being a working mom.

Elena： You wanna become a working mom？ I think you lack the proper equipment. You’d definitely need to change your hardware and software for that…

Damon： Ha ha. Forget about me. ①You’re the real 1）trooper here.②You must be the busiest woman on earth， with a never ending list of responsibilities here at work， and then all those 2）rugrats to keep track of at home. I honestly have no idea how you can do it. I’d probably call in sick everyday.

Elena： You really wanna know the secret？

Damon： Yes. Please， tell me！

Elena： It’s all about finding that perfect balance.

Damon： So you don’t fall over and hit your head？

Elena： Ha ha， but no. I’m referring to that ever-delicate balance between work and， well， everything else.

Damon： So what’re we talking here， a 60-40 split between work and the kids， or 70-30？

Elena： I know you like to joke， and I really hope you’re kidding. The balance involves as much family time as the job will allow. I mean， those kids are a part of me， now and forever. ③This job， and pretty much any job， is just a means to an end.

Damon： And what is the end that justifies the means？

Elena： The kids’ happiness and their wellbeing.

Damon： But doesn’t your work performance suffer as a result？

Elena： On the contrary. I simply focus my attention on the most important tasks， and pass on any 3）erroneous assignments to others who have the time.

Damon： What if a document needs immediate attention？

Elena： I’ll ask the boss which 4）pending assignment he wants me to set aside for the time being， in order to finish the more urgent task in time.

Damon： ④So those days， when we used to pull all-nighters in college， are a thing of the past？

Elena： If you really wanna pull all-nighters again， just have a kid. You’ll spend more waking nights than you bargained for.

Damon： What are you like around the house， anyway？ Are you like the cleanest， most organized mom on the planet？

Elena： Far from it. It’d be impossible. I mean， I used to make cookies 5）from scratch， but now I just buy the Pillsbury dough. And I always planned the coolest， most 6）lavish parties， but now I just don’t have the time， or the energy for that matter.

Damon： You never cease to amaze me， Elena. Your husband is a very lucky man.

Elena： You should tell him that. Maybe then he’ll stop taking me for granted…

戴蒙：你是怎么做到的？

埃琳娜：好吧，首先，你把紙放進(jìn)紙槽內(nèi)，像這樣子。然后你按這個(gè)大綠……

戴蒙：不，我不是在說怎么用這臺(tái)新的復(fù)印機(jī)，盡管我們稍后也許需要談到這個(gè)問題，它真的很難操作。但是，不管怎樣，我說的是當(dāng)一名職場(chǎng)媽媽。

埃琳娜：你想當(dāng)一名職場(chǎng)媽媽？我想你缺乏一些適當(dāng)?shù)脑O(shè)備。你肯定得為此改變你的軟件和硬件……

戴蒙：哈哈，別說我。你是這里真正的勇士。你一定是這世上最忙的女人，在工作中有無休止的任務(wù)，在家里又要管著那些小屁孩兒。說實(shí)話我真的不知道你是怎么辦到的。我也許會(huì)每天都打電話（到公司）請(qǐng)病假。

埃琳娜：你真的想知道其中的奧秘？

戴蒙：嗯。求你了，告訴我！

埃琳娜：就是要找到完美的平衡。

戴蒙：所以你不會(huì)摔破頭？

埃琳娜：哈哈，我不是說這個(gè)。我指的是找到工作與其他所有事情微妙的平衡點(diǎn)。

戴蒙：所以我們說的是什么，孩子與工作四六開，還是三七開？

埃琳娜：我知道你喜歡開玩笑，而且我也真的希望你在開玩笑。這個(gè)平衡是在工作允許的情況下盡可能抽出時(shí)間給家里。我的意思是，那些孩子是我的一部分，現(xiàn)在是以后也是。這份工作，或者任何一份工作，都只是（謀生）的一種手段。

戴蒙：那么你做這些事的最終目的是什么？埃琳娜：為了孩子的幸?？鞓贰?/p>

戴蒙：但是你的工作不會(huì)受到影響嗎？

埃琳娜：完全不會(huì)。我只會(huì)把精力放在最重要的任務(wù)上，把那些不適當(dāng)?shù)娜蝿?wù)交給其他有時(shí)間的人。

戴蒙：那么如果一份文件需要馬上處理呢？

埃琳娜：為了準(zhǔn)時(shí)完成更緊急的任務(wù)，我會(huì)問老板哪些未完成的工作他想讓我暫時(shí)放一放。戴蒙：那么那些我們?cè)诖髮W(xué)挑燈夜戰(zhàn)的日子已經(jīng)成為過去了？

埃琳娜：如果你真的想再熬夜，就生個(gè)孩子吧。你會(huì)比你渴望的有更多的無眠夜。

戴蒙：那你在家里是怎樣的？你是世界上最愛干凈、最愛整潔的媽媽嗎？

埃琳娜：遠(yuǎn)非如此。這是不可能的。我的意思是，我過去常常從頭開始做曲奇餅，但是現(xiàn)在我只會(huì)去買皮爾斯伯里的面團(tuán)。我從前總是會(huì)計(jì)劃最棒、最豪華的派對(duì)，但現(xiàn)在我沒有時(shí)間，或者是精力去做這些事。

戴蒙：你總是讓我感到驚訝，埃琳娜。你的丈夫很幸運(yùn)。

埃琳娜：你應(yīng)該告訴他。這樣也許他就不會(huì)把我做的事當(dāng)作理所當(dāng)然了。

Smart Sentences

①You’re the real trooper here. 你是這里真正的勇士。

real trooper： acting like a soldier（像個(gè)戰(zhàn)士般行事）。例如：

John has been a timid scholar all his life， but he was a real trooper when he was volunteering at the earthquake relief center.

約翰一生都是個(gè)怕事的學(xué)者，但他在地震救援中心做志愿者時(shí)，卻像個(gè)士兵一般行事。

② You must be the busiest woman on earth， with a never ending list of responsibilities here at work， and then all those rugrats to keep track of at home.你一定是這世上最忙的女人，在工作中有無休止的任務(wù)，在家里又要管著那些小屁孩兒。

keep track （of sb./sth.）： continue to be informed or know about sb. or sth.（了解對(duì)某人的情況/某事的進(jìn)展）。例如：

My mom has been keeping track of how we spend our money.

媽媽一直都對(duì)我們?cè)鯓踊ㄥX很了解。

③ This job， and pretty much any job， is just a means to an end. 這份工作，或者任何一份工作，都

只是（謀生）的一種手段。

a means to an end： sth. that you are not interested in but that you do because it will help you to achieve sth.（僅僅是達(dá)到目的的方法）。例如：

Mike has no interest in academic work. For him， college is just a means to an end for later in life.

邁克對(duì)學(xué)業(yè)毫無興趣，上大學(xué)只不過是他為日后生活打算的一件事罷了。

④ So those days， when we used to pull all-nighters in college， are a thing of the past？ 那么那些我們?cè)诖髮W(xué)挑燈夜戰(zhàn)的日子已經(jīng)成為過去了？

pull an all-nighter： stay up all night to work on sth.（熬通宵）。例如：

I’ve got a 30-page paper due tomorrow morning， and I haven’t even started writing it yet. I guess I’ll be pulling an all-nighter！

我明天早上得交一份30頁的論文，現(xiàn)在我都還沒有動(dòng)筆，我估摸今晚得熬一個(gè)通宵了！