Zoey： Hey， Tobin， ①why the long face？

Tobin： Oh， Zoey， you wouldnt understand.

Zoey： Try me.

Tobin： Well， its stupid， really. Its just that I…well…Im not feeling too confident lately.

Zoey： ②Well， that came out of the blue. You did a great job in the meeting today. Your presentation may have won a new client for us！

Tobin： Well， thanks， Zoey， ③but that client was already kind of a done deal. Im not sure I had anything to do with that. And lately， I dunno， ④but I feel like my work isnt turning any heads. ⑤I guess Im just not up to par around here.

And ever since Alice left me…

Zoey： ⑥Whoa， whoa， TMI.

Tobin： Right. Im thinking about going to talk to HR about it. I just dont feel like Im good enough to be here.

Zoey： Im glad you opened up to me about this. I dont think you have anything to worry about.

Tobin： Really？

Zoey： Yeah. Your work is fine， your life is fine. All you need to do is to practice being confident.

Tobin： I can practise confidence？

Zoey： Of course you can！ Confidence is a skill， just like anything else. In fact， the most important thing to remember about confidence is that most people dont feel confident at all. The people who do feel confident have probably practised it.

Tobin： But in the meeting today， I was clearly less confident than the other presenters. I 1）stuttered a lot…

Zoey： Did you？ I didnt notice， and I bet nobody else did， either. The truth is， people are usually too worried about themselves to pay too much attention to

anyone else. If you make a few mistakes here

and there， ⑦chances are nobody will judge

you for it.

Tobin： Well， thats good to know.

Zoey： In fact， before people even hear you

speak， what they notice most about you is

your clothes. Dressing well will make other

people think youre more confident， and then

its easier to believe in yourself. Remember：

⑧the clothes make the man！

Tobin： Hm， in that case， I really didnt dress

the right way today. Sorry.

Zoey： Dont apologize for that！ Every time you apologize， you make yourself seem smaller. Sure， its polite to apologize when you really make a mistake， but dont overdo it！

Tobin： Whoa， OK. Anything else？

Zoey： The thing that helps me is to keep reminding myself of the things I do really well. ⑨Remember yesterday， when Anderson tore into me about that error I missed in the company report？ I felt pretty low about that， but then I went home and made my favorite meal.

Tobin： Whats that got to do with confidence？

佐薇：嘿，托宾，为什么一副愁眉苦脸的样子？

托宾：哦，佐薇，你不会明白。

佐薇：试着说说看。

托宾：嗯，很蠢，真的。就是我……我最近感觉没什么自信。

佐薇：哦，真出乎我意料。你今天在会议上表现得很出色，你的演示会为我们赢得一位新客户！

托宾：嗯，谢谢，佐薇，但是跟那个客户已经是最终签约了，我不确定自己跟这事有什么关系。而且最近，我也不知道，但我觉得我的工作无人关注，我想我在这里达不到需要的水平。而且自从艾丽丝离开了我……

佐薇：哇，哇，你说得太多了。

托宾：没错。我正考虑跟人力资源部谈谈这事，我觉得自己在这里做得不够好。

佐薇：我很高兴你能跟我敞开心扉谈论这些，我觉得你不用担心任何事情。

托宾：真的？

佐薇：是的。你的工作很好，你的生活很好。你需要做的就是训练你的自信。托宾：自信也可以训练出来的？

佐薇：当然可以！自信是种技巧，就像其他技巧一样。事实上，关于自信最重要的一点就是记住：大多数人都感觉不自信。感觉自信的人很可能是训练过。托宾：但在今天的会议上，我很明显没有其他演示者自信，我很多时候说得结结巴巴……

佐薇：是吗？我没留意到，我打赌其他人也没留意到。事实是，人们通常太担心自己以至于没有留意到别人。如果你偶尔犯些错误，很可能没人会因此批判

你。

托宾：嗯，很高兴知道这些。

佐薇：事实上，人们甚至在听你讲话前，他们最留意的是你的穿着。穿着得体会让其他人认为你更有自信，也会让你更相信自己。记住：人靠衣装！

托宾：如果那样的话，今天我真的没

有穿着得体。抱歉。

佐薇：别为这事道歉！每次你道歉，就会使自己显得更渺小。确实，当你真的做错事了，道歉是种礼貌，但是不要做过头了。

托宾：哇，好的。还有吗？

佐薇：有一点能帮助我的就是：不断提起那些自己真的做得很好的事情。还记得昨天我因为在公司报告中出了错漏，而被安得生狠狠地训了一顿吗？我因此感到情绪很低落，于是我回家做了自己最喜爱的大餐。

托宾：那跟自信有什么关系？

Zoey： It just helped to remind myself that， even if Im not perfect at work， I can still cook a mean 2）mac n cheese！

佐薇：那只是用于提醒我自己：尽管工作方面不能十全十美，但我仍能烹饪一顿美味可口的奶酪马克罗尼意面！

Smart Sentences

① Why the long face？ 为什么一副愁眉苦脸的样子？

a long face： a discontented or sullen facial expression（阴郁的面容，不悦的表情）。例如：

Dont go to Mrs. Thomas if you dont have to. Shes had a long face all morning.

没事儿别去找汤姆斯夫人，她整个上午都黑着个脸。

② Well， that came out of the blue. 哦，真出乎我意料。

out of the blue： sth. happens suddenly（突然地）。例如：

The strike came out of the blue and caught everyone off guard.罢工的发生没有先兆，所有人都被打了个措手不及。

③ But that client was already kind of a done deal.但是跟那个客户已经是最终签约了。

a done deal： a final decision or agreement（最终决定，最终协议）。例如：

The merge is not a done deal. We still have to get an okay from the government.

合并还不是定数，我们还要得到政府部门的许可。

④ But I feel like my work isnt turning any heads.但我觉得我的工作无人关注。

turn heads： sth. or sb. is getting attention or has come to be noticed（引起注意，受到关注）。例如：

Brian didnt expect to turn any heads， but his design was highly praised.

布莱恩没想有人会关注他，但他的设计获得了很高的评价。

⑤ I guess Im just not up to par around here. 我想我在这里达不到需要的水平。

up to par： as good as the standard or average； up to standard（达到一般水平，达到标准）。例如：

The manager said that the report was not up to par and gave it back to the team to do over again.

经理说报告没有达到标准，把它退回给小组重做。

⑥ Whoa， whoa， TMI. 哇，哇，你说得太多了。

TMI： = too much information， an expression of distaste or boredom at the information being offered（用以表达对他人喋喋不休的不悦，或不耐烦）。例如：

—I heard that John is quitting， but I think Jim should leave， not John. But Jim wouldnt go because he is Susies pet. I dont think Susie is a good supervisorcause Chris…

我听说约翰要辞职，可我觉得应该走的是吉姆，而不是约翰。可吉姆不会走呢，因为他最听苏茜话了。我觉得苏茜不是个好上司，因为克里斯……

—TMI！Stop. Dont have time for that.

什么乱七八糟的。别说了，没那个闲功夫。

⑦ Chances are nobody will judge you for it.很可能没人会因此批判你。

chances are…： its very likely sth. is true（某事很可能是真的）。例如：

Chances are I have to take a makeup test next week.我下星期很可能要补考。

⑧ The clothes make the man！ 人靠衣装！

Clothes make the man.： a proverb， people will judge sb. according to the way he/she dresses（谚语，人靠衣装）。例如：

If you follow that clothes make the man at interviews， you will miss great talents.

如果你在面试时遵循人靠衣装的法则，那你就会错过好人才。

⑨ Remember yesterday， when Anderson tore into me about that error I missed in the company report？ 还记得昨天我因为在公司报告中出了错漏，而被安得生狠狠地训了一顿吗？

tear into sb.： criticize sb. very angrily and strongly（严厉批评某人）。例如：

Mr. Lin tore into Kelly about mistaking meter for yard.凯莉把米当成码，被林先生狠狠地批评了一通。