时差N小时 挣扎求生

Anyone who can swim understands that to breathe, it is necessary to keep your head above the water even if the rest of your body is submerged. In a sudden flood, however, people who never learned how to swim may find themselves struggling to keep their heads above the unexpected rush of water.

任何会游泳的人都知道，游泳时要保持呼吸。必须把头露出水面，即使你身体的其它部分已被淹没。然而，当面对突如其来的洪水时，不会游泳的人可能会发现自己需要拼命把头露出水面。

In the same way, in business, you always try to make a profit and avoid loss, but sometimes, bad financial decisions or a sudden downturn in the economy can flood you with payments due, reduce your profits, and make you feel like you are drowning in debt. At such times, you might say that financially, you are struggling to keep your head above water. You are still not totally desperate, meaning you are not in such a bad situation that you will immediately become bankrupt¹, but you don't know how long you can continue to stay afloat.

同样的道理，在商业活动中，你总是试图盈利、避免损失。但有时候，糟糕的财务决策或突然的经济萧条都可能使你面临大量应付款项，利润减少，甚至债台高筑。在这种时候，你可能会说，你正在债务洪水中努力将头露出水面。你没有完全绝望，这意味着你还不至于马上破产，但你不知道你还需要像这样漂流多久。

1 bankrupt   

n.破产者；adj.破产的；vt.使...破产

参考例句：

• That factory has gone bankrupt.那家工厂倒了。
• The enemy's scheme went bankrupt.敌人的计谋破产了。