每天都在經歷著午間危機

Mid-day Crisis

Wendy： Hey Pete， looks like you’re starting to drag your legs a bit over there. What’s the matter？

Peter： Funny you should mention me dragging， cuz it really feels like I’m on my last legs at this point. I’m running on empty here.

Wendy： Have you not been getting enough sleep lately？

Peter： I’m sure that’s part of it. I mean， I’ve been sleeping， just not so soundly.

Wendy： What do you think could be the reason？ Is there too much work to do？

Peter： You know what I think？

Wendy： Obviously not.

Peter： ①Ever since I moved back to the US and took this marketing job， I haven’t slept a wink. And I’m pretty sure that I’m suffering through a mid-day crisis.

Wendy： Never heard of it. But I do know what a mid-life crisis is. I remember how my dad， when he was about 45 years old， blew all his savings on a cherry-red Ferrari. And Mom went absolutely ballistic！

Peter： Well， I can assure you that will not be happening anytime soon. Especially since a mid-life crisis involves more of an awakening， whereas a mid-day crisis is all about being too tired to work.

Wendy： But enlighten me， what does coming to America have to do with being exhausted in the afternoons？ And don’t try to pull that old 1）jetlag excuse on me， cuz you’ve been here for a few months now.

Peter： It’s because， in China， we got to take a nap in the office right after lunch， from about 1：00-2：00. And I’d always wake up refreshed and ready to take on the world. But now， as the day wears on， I start to slow down and become less productive. And since we’re obviously not allowed to slip a little nap into our daily routines here， I honestly have no idea what I’m gonna do to keep me going all day！

Wendy： ②How about a nice shot of espresso to 2）perk you up？

Peter： That’s a good thought. ③But， just like after a sugar rush， I tend to crash after a while and， at that point， I’ll be down for the count. I’d probably be better off just slapping myself in the face， like I had to do on long road trips in my college years.

Wendy： But do you really want to show up to a big meeting sporting a giant red handprint， or multiple handprints， slapped across your face？

Peter： Yeah. You’re right. I guess this mid-day crisis is really getting to me.

Wendy： How about we go grab a couple lattes， put our heads together， and try to figure a way out of this personal energy crisis？ Sound like a plan？

Peter： Sorry， I was starting to 3）doze off. What did you say？

Wendy： Geez， this is gonna be harder than I thought…

溫迪：嘿，皮特，你那邊看起來開始有點放慢腳步了。發生什么事了？

彼得：真巧了，你會提到我放慢腳步，因為此時此刻我真的感覺要崩潰了。我快要筋疲力盡了。

溫迪：你最近是不是沒有足夠的睡眠？

彼得：我肯定那是部分原因。我的意思是，我有在睡覺，只是睡得不深。

溫迪：你認為是什么原因？是因為有太多工作要做嗎？

彼得：你知道我的想法？

溫迪：很明顯我不知道。

彼得：自從我調回美國，接受了這個市場營銷的工作，我就無法入睡。而且我很肯定我正在遭受午間危機癥狀的困擾。

溫迪：從沒聽過這詞。但我確實知道中年危機是什么。我記得我爸爸大概45歲的時候，把他所有的積蓄都揮霍在一輛櫻桃紅的法拉利跑車上，我媽媽簡直火冒三丈！

彼得：嗯，我可以向你保證那在近期都不會發生。尤其是因為中年危機更多包含一種覺醒，而午間危機是關于太累而無法工作的問題。

溫迪：但是你告訴我，來到美國跟下午困乏有什么關系嗎？不要用倒時差這個老借口來敷衍我，因為你已經在這里幾個月了。

彼得：因為在中國，我們午飯后會在辦公室里打個小盹，從大概一點到兩點。我醒來后總是神采奕奕，準備擔負起世界的責任。但是現在，隨著時間的流逝，我開始速度變慢，效率變低。因為我們這里很明顯不允許在日常工作中打個小盹，老實說我真不知道要怎樣持續工作一整天。

溫迪：來杯好喝的意大利濃咖啡讓你振作起來如何？

彼得：這個想法不錯。但是，就像是吃了超多糖果暫時的亢奮過后，一會兒我就會崩潰，到那時，我就徹底完蛋了。我最好還是摑自己的臉，就像大學期間我在長距離的公路旅途中必須做的一樣。

溫迪：但你掌摑自己，臉上留下觸目的一個巨大紅掌印，或幾個掌印，你真的想這樣出現在大型會議上嗎？

彼得：沒錯，你說得對。我估計這個午間危機癥狀確確實實在影響著我。

溫迪：我們去買幾杯拿鐵咖啡，一起集思廣益，努力想出一個辦法來對付這種個人精力危機的問題，你覺得怎樣？聽起來不錯吧？

彼得：不好意思，我已經開始打盹了，你剛才說什么？

溫迪：天啊，這比我想的要難得多……

Smart Sentences

① Ever since I moved back to the US and took this marketing job， I haven’t slept a wink.

自從我調回美國，接受了這個市場營銷的工作，我就無法入睡。

not sleep a wink： not sleep at all（沒有睡覺，無法入睡）。例如：

I was so excited about having my upcoming first Thanksgiving that I didn’t sleep a wink last night.

馬上要過第一個感恩節了，我太興奮以至于昨晚無法入睡。

② How about a nice shot of espresso to perk you up？

來杯好喝的意大利濃咖啡讓你振作起來如何？

perk sb. up： make sb. more cheerful and lively， especially after feeling tired or bored（振作起來，活躍起來）。例如：

Jason is good at perking them up with his jokes.

賈森善于講些笑話讓他們活躍起來。

③ But， just like after a sugar rush， I tend to crash after a while and， at that point， I’ll be down for the count.

但是，就像是吃了超多糖果暫時的亢奮過后，一會兒我就會崩潰，到那時，我就徹底完蛋了。

down for the count： defeated by an opponent， unable to recover（被擊敗的，被徹底打敗的）。例如：

It’s safe to say the company is down for the count with its heavy debt and poor sales.

公司負債累累，而且銷售沒有起色，可以肯定地說它已經沒救了。