向前一步:第120期 真实地表达自己的想法与情绪(16)

 　　When he came to her again with yet another question, she turned to him with a huge smile and said, 当他几天后找莱文提问题时，莱文笑容满面地对他说：

　　"I am going to answer all of your questions. I really am. “你的所有问题我都会回答，真的。

　　But right now, the only thing that is going to keep me from falling down on the floor and having a heart attack right in front of you 不过，如果你不怕我急得突发心脏病，

　　is for you to get out of your chair, go back to your desk, and write the paragraphs¹ we need for Congress²." 那么就请你赶紧把稿子写了。”

　　It worked beautifully. 这番话果然立刻起效。

　　A colleague³ at Google, Adam Freed, and I were frustrated⁴ by someone at work who was making our jobs very difficult. 在谷歌工作时，由于某位员工的个人原因，我们的工作很难开展。当时，亚当·弗里德和我常常感到泄气。

　　I met with her several times and earnestly⁵ explained that I felt that she was second-guessing our every move and preventing progress. 我和这个员工面谈过几次，并且非常诚心地向她解释说，我感觉她总是在事后对我们工作进行负面的评判，以致阻碍了项目的进展。

　　During each heartfelt discussion⁶, she would listen and nod and thank me for raising the matter. 在交流时，她都会边听边点头，并感谢我能如实相告。

　　I would leave feeling better. Then the situation would get worse. 当时我的心情也好了许多，但此后情况却没有任何好转。

　　Adam took a totally different approach. 弗里德和我采用的方式完全不同。

　　He invited her to lunch. 他邀请那位员工一起吃午餐、

　　They met at the Google cafe, chatted a bit, and then he looked at her and jokingly asked, "Why do you hate me?" 聊天，然后看着她，半开玩笑地问道：“你为什么会那么恨我呢？”

　　Where I had failed repeatedly⁷, Adam broke through. 我那过不去的坎儿，弗里德一下子就过去了。

　　She asked why he would make that joke, which gave him a chance to explain in a way she was able to hear. 她问他为什么要这么说，于是弗里德用她能真正接受的方式处理了这个问题。

　　Unfortunately, our sense of humor⁸ sometimes fails us when we need it most. 遗憾的是，当最需要幽默感的时候，我们往往力不从心。

　　When I get emotional⁹, it's very hard for me to treat a problem lightly. 当我情绪开始激动时，便很难轻松地面对问题。

1 paragraphs   

n.段落( paragraph的名词复数 )；短篇报道

参考例句：

• He transcribed two paragraphs from the book into his notebook. 他把书中的两段抄在笔记本上。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• The text falls into three paragraphs. 这篇课文共分3段。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

2 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

3 colleague   

n.同僚，同事

参考例句：

• He is a colleague of mine.他是我的同事。
• The professor paid a return visit to his American colleague.教授回访了他的美国同事。

4 frustrated   

adj.挫败的，失意的，泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的过去式和过去分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's very easy to get frustrated in this job. 这个工作很容易令人懊恼。
• The bad weather frustrated all our hopes of going out. 恶劣的天气破坏了我们出行的愿望。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 earnestly   

adv．认真地

参考例句：

• The boy earnestly asked that his application be granted. 那孩子热切地要求批准他的申请。
• I earnestly wish I could have been present at the meeting yesterday. 我倒真愿意能参加昨天的会议。

6 discussion   

n.讨论，谈论；论述

参考例句：

• It is certain he will come to the discussion.他肯定会来参加讨论。
• After months of discussion,a peace agreement is gradually taking shape.经过几个月的商讨，和平协议渐渐有了眉目。

7 repeatedly   

adv.重复地，再三地

参考例句：

• The loudspeakers blared the speech repeatedly.扬声器里反复大声地播送那篇演讲。
• He repeatedly beat his foot upon the floor.他反复用脚敲着地板。

8 humor   

n.(humour)幽默，诙谐

参考例句：

• He is distinguished for his sense of humor.他以其幽默感著称。
• American humor is founded largely on hyperbole.美式幽默主要以夸张为基础。

9 emotional   

adj.令人动情的；易动感情的；感情(上)的

参考例句：

• Emotional people don't stop to calculate.感情容易冲动的人做事往往不加考虑。
• This is an emotional scene in the play.这是剧中动人的一幕。