Mike出差刚回来,遇到同事Larry.
Larry: Hey, Mike! Good to have you back! You look exhausted!
Mike: Hi, Larry. Yeah, I’m totally beat. I can barely keep my eyes open!
L: Was it a rough trip?
M: Well, it was actually pretty productive, but all the flying really got to me.
L: Ah, jet lag…the scourge of business travelers.
M: Yep. I flew from Beijing to Boston for a meeting, and then hopped back on a plane for a flight to the trade fair in Frankfurt. Then back to Beijing before catching a train back here to Shanghai.
Mike出差回来十分疲惫,因为要倒时差Jet lag. Larry说时差是the scourge of business travelers. Scourge is spelled s-c-o-u-r-g-e, 意思是灾祸。Mike抱怨说,All the flying really got to me. 飞来飞去真是把我折腾坏了。说一件事情get to me,意思是这件事情对我产生了影响。
L: Wow! That’s a lot of traveling! No wonder you’re exhausted!
M: The worst thing was adjusting to the time zones! It’s so hard to get used to the difference!
L: Yeah, it’s hard. You know jet lag only hits if you travel east-west or west-east. You could fly from Germany to Cape Town in South Africa and you wouldn’t feel anything.
M: Right…because it’s all in the same time zone. Unfortunately for me…all my travel was between different time zones. I’ve gotta say: I’m really suffering! Why is jet lag so nasty?
Mike出差去的地方老是跨时区time zones,所以the worst thing was adjusting to the time zones. 最讨厌的就是倒时差。从一个时区进入另一个时区,为什么会有时差,让身体感觉不舒服呢?
L: Travel between time zones basically resets your body’s internal clock.
M: So when you travel between time zones your body is thrown off its cycle?
L: Exactly! Some experts say it takes a full day to recover from each time zone you cross.
M: Wow, that’s a long time. I’m going to need a few weeks off!
L: (Chuckle) That would be best, but unfortunately our boss isn’t quite that generous.
M: Is there anything I can do to make my jet lag less severe the next time I make an international trip?
Larry解释说,进入一个新时区,就要重新调整生物钟。Reset the body’s internal clock。换句话说,your body is thrown off its cycle,身体原来的作息周期被打乱了。To throw off, 意思是让一件事情偏离预期的轨道。比如,His performance in the game was thrown off by the injury,伤势让他的比赛表现受到了影响。有什么办法让倒时差不那么痛苦吗?我们下次继续听。