TED演讲:性格的迷思--你究竟是谁(7)

 I had a consulting contract I shared with a colleague who's as different from me as two people can possibly be. 我跟一名同事共同，负责一项咨询业务，我跟他是截然不同的两个人。

First, his name is Tom. Mine isn't. 首先，他叫汤姆。我不叫汤姆。

Secondly¹, he's six foot five. I have a tendency not to be. 其次，他身高1米96。我这辈子是不指望了。

And thirdly, he's as extroverted² a person as you could find. I am seriously introverted. 第三点，他是个及其外向的人。而我十分内向。

I overload³ so much, I can't even have a cup of coffee after three in the afternoon and expect to sleep in the evening. 我心思很重，我要是下午三点之后喝了杯咖啡，那晚上就别想睡了。

We had seconded to this project a fellow called Michael.  我们还有一个助手，叫麦克。

And Michael almost brought the project to a crashing halt.  麦克几乎把整个项目给搞砸了。

So the person who seconded him asked Tom and me,  麦克的继任者问我和汤姆，

"What do you make of Michael?"  “你们怎么评价麦克？”

Well, I'll tell you what Tom said in a minute. He spoke⁴ in classic "extrovert-ese." 我稍后再告诉你汤姆是怎么说的。他的回答是非常典型的外向型。

And here is how extroverted ears heard what I said, which is actually pretty accurate. 而我的回答嘛，其实在外向者听来应该是非常精确的。

I said, "Well Michael does have a tendency at times of behaving in a way that some of us might see 我说，“其实，麦克有时候的一些做法，在我们某些人看来

as perhaps more assertive⁵ than is normally called for."  也许过于自信了，可能有时候有点过分。”

Tom rolled his eyes and he said,  汤姆翻了个白眼说，

"Brian, that's what I said: he's an asshole!" “布莱恩，这不就是我刚刚说的：他就是个混蛋！”

1 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

2 extroverted   

a.性格外向的

参考例句：

• Do you think you are introverted or extroverted? 你认为你性格内向还是外向？
• Are you introverted or extroverted? 你个性内向还是外向？ 来自轻松英语会话---联想2000词(上)

3 overload   

vt.使超载；n.超载

参考例句：

• Don't overload the boat or it will sink.别超载，否则船会沉。
• Large meals overload the digestive system.吃得太饱会加重消化系统的负担。

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。