各种大会小会是否让你昏昏欲睡？

By Joshua Ogden-Davis/肝脑涂地

说到“开会”，我想大家一定对这个词不陌生。班会、晨会、例会、庆功会……从小到大，我们经历过无数个大大小小的会议。在职场中，“开会”更是我们的家常便饭。然而，有些会议可能并不是那么有趣或者有意义。每天上班已经很累，还要应付似乎总也开不完的各种会议，这让很多白领们吃不消，走神、不在状态是常有的事，甚至还会有人昏睡过去，让旁人大跌眼镜。

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…

伊曼纽尔：嘿，夏洛特，你觉得我今天早上的演示怎么样？

夏洛特：噢，嘿，伊曼纽尔。我……呃……你能……你能提醒我一下你的演示内容吗？

伊曼纽尔：我演示的是公司下一季度的财政预算。

夏洛特：噢，对，当然。嗯，对，我认为这……这是一个不错的演示。很多图表，很吸引人。

伊曼纽尔：谢谢！我确实努力地让演示变得有趣。还有吗？内容方面呢？

夏洛特：嗯，内容的话……当然有趣……非常详尽。

伊曼纽尔：嗯嗯……能更具体点吗？

夏洛特：呃，好吧……不能。老实说，我对演示的大部分内容都没怎么注意……

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…

伊曼纽尔：什么？我想你刚刚才说它能吸引你！

夏洛特：噢，对，这是个非常出色的演示，但是我走神了。我不是针对你，我总是会这样！

伊曼纽尔：老实说，我有时也会这样。夏洛特：很高兴我不是唯一的一个！为什么这种情况总是会发生？每次我去开会，总是不能保持清醒。

伊曼纽尔：我也不知道为什么。开会前我还好好的，但是当有人站起来做演示的时候，那就像，砰！我马上就倒下去睡了！

夏洛特：我从来不知道别人也有类似的感觉。我一直认为我是个特例。

伊曼纽尔：我也是。我在想还有多少人有这种感觉呢？

夏洛特：谁知道呢。不管怎样，问题是：我们怎样克服这种情况？

伊曼纽尔：我能试的都试了。喝咖啡根本没用。我甚至在开会前试过单脚跳来提神！

夏洛特：你说对了！我快没辙了！我甚至报名去参加冥想课程，只是去练习坐下来盯着眼前的事物而不会走神！

伊曼纽尔：哇，你真的走极端了！那个冥想课有用吗？

夏洛特：不怎么样。我能在开会时冥想，但是却不能把注意力放在演讲的内容上。

伊曼纽尔：那么我们是不是没救了？夏洛特：好吧，我还不想认输。我们还能尝试什么？

伊曼纽尔：我绞尽脑汁也想不出来了。夏洛特：好吧，我想只有一个解决办法了。

伊曼纽尔：你什么意思？

夏洛特：答案很明显，就在我们面前！你没看到吗？

伊曼纽尔：我恐怕不能。你要帮我解决它。

夏洛特：那么我们只好咬紧牙关，试着对演示感兴趣了！

伊曼纽尔：噢。哥们儿。我不确定自己能够这样……

Smart Sentences

① To be honest， I kind of tuned out for most of the presentation… 老实说，我对演示的大部分内容都没怎么注意……

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

He eventually learned to tune out the childrens screaming.渐渐地，他学会了对孩子们的尖叫充耳不闻。

② Oh， yeah， it was a really flashy PPT， but I zoned out anyway. 噢，对，这是个非常出色的演示，但是我走神了。

zone out： stop paying attention， lose interest（不关心，失去兴趣）。例如：

She always zoned out in biology class.

她上生物课时总是走神。

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！ 开会前我还好好的，但是当有人站起来做演示的时候，那就像，砰！我马上就倒下去睡了！

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

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

约翰教授一开始讲课，我就很闷，事后啥也想不起来。

④ I always thought I was an isolated case. 我一直认为我是个特例。

an isolated case： a very uncommon situation（不常见的情况，孤立的现象）。例如：

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

你的情况并不特殊，许多大学生都有很大的压力。

⑤ Coffee doesnt do the trick. 喝咖啡根本没用。

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

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

无论什么时候我想平静下来，听音乐总是有用的。

⑥ Im almost at my wits end. 我快没辙了！

at ones wits end： at the limit of ones mental resources； utterly at a loss（智穷计尽，不知所措）。例如：

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

在解决我母亲与妻子之间矛盾的问题上，我真的是无计可施了。

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

take sth. to the extreme： do or say sth. that is considered beyond the norm（走极端，采取极端的手段）。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.

虽说少吃脂肪是一种健康的饮食方式，但有些人走极端，一点肉也不吃。

⑧ Well， I dont want to throw in the towel just yet. 好吧，我还不想认输。

throw in the towel： stop trying to do sth.， believing things wont be successful（投降，认输）。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，决定放弃，不再考了。

⑨ Its staring us in the face！ 就在我们面前！

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

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

事实一直摆在我妈妈面前，可她就是不愿意承认。

⑩ It seems like well just have to bite the bullet and just get interested in the presentation！ 那么我们只好咬紧牙关，试着对演示感兴趣了！

bite the bullet： face a painful or unpleasant situation bravely（勇敢地行动，硬着头皮顶下去）。例如：

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

我们已经拖了太久了，是时候勇敢面对，把它解决了。