向前一步:第216期 让我们开始讨论吧(22)

 But her larger concern was whether she could manage the long hours in the White House and still see her family. 但她最大的担心是自己能否忍受得了白宫长时间的工作，同时还能兼顾家庭。

She put it beautifully: "I knew that whether this would work depended on two men. 她说得很有意思：“我知道这事成不成取决于两个男人。

So first I asked my husband if he could step in and take on more of the responsibility for the kids. 所以我先问我丈夫他能不能帮忙多管管孩子。

He said, 'Of course, it's your turn.' 他说：‘当然可以，你去吧。’

And then I told the Vice¹ President-elect that I really wanted to have dinner with my kids most nights. 然后我又对拜登说，我真的很想尽可能多回家和孩子一起吃晚饭。

And his response was, 'Well, you have a phone and I can call you when I need you after dinnertime.' 他的回答是：‘好啊，你有电话嘛，我可以在你吃晚饭的时候打电话给你。’”

Cynthia believes that the lesson of her story is "Don't be afraid to ask," even if it seems like a long shot. 辛西娅认为自己的经验就是“别害怕提问”，即使这件事看上去有可能不成功。

Being offered a senior job, especially after being at home for so long, presented a great opportunity. 有机会做高级职位的工作，尤其是在家里待了这么长时间，这可是个千载难逢的机会。

Many women would have accepted it without even trying to carve out the time they needed for their families. 许多女性也许还没来得及考虑家人的感受就会接受这份工作；

Others would have turned it down, assuming² that having dinner at home most nights was not negotiable. 一些女性也许直接就拒绝了，认为经常回家吃晚饭的要求是不可能被接受的。

Being forthright³ led to opportunity. 实际上，直言不讳反而更有利于把握机会。

Every job will demand some sacrifice. 每份工作都会要求做出某种牺牲，

The key is to avoid unnecessary sacrifice. 关键在于避免不必要的牺牲，

This is especially hard since our work culture values complete dedication⁴. 这在企业文化要求我们必须全心投入时变得尤为困难。

We worry that even mentioning other priorities⁵ makes us less valuable employees. 我担心的是，即使只是提到工作之外其他重要的事情，也会降低我们的价值。

I have faced this too. As I described, once I had children, I changed my working hours to be home for dinner. 我也得面对这个问题。就像前文提到的，一旦我有了孩子，就会调整工作时间争取回家吃晚饭，

But only fairly recently did I start talking about this change. 但直到最近我才开始做出这样的调整。

 

1 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

2 assuming   

如果

参考例句：

• You were mistaken in assuming it. 你这样臆断是错了。
• The country's industry is assuming a new aspect. 该国的工业正在呈现新的面貌。

3 forthright   

adj.直率的，直截了当的 [同]frank

参考例句：

• It's sometimes difficult to be forthright and not give offence.又直率又不得罪人，这有时很难办到。
• He told me forthright just why he refused to take my side.他直率地告诉我他不肯站在我这一边的原因。

4 dedication   

n.奉献，献身，致力，题献，献辞

参考例句：

• We admire her courage,compassion and dedication.我们钦佩她的勇气、爱心和奉献精神。
• Her dedication to her work was admirable.她对工作的奉献精神可钦可佩。

5 priorities   

n.先( priority的名词复数 )；优先；优先权；优先考虑的事

参考例句：

• The document provided a revealing insight into the government's priorities. 这份文件使人看出政府的轻重缓急是怎样安排的。
• We must work together to fund only our most important priorities. 我们必须共同努力，只为最重要的项目提供资金。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件