THE PROBLEM 問題
    I work for a small consultancy and over the past two years have fallen in love with someone senior to me. We are close friends and socialize and though I've never said anything, I think she knows how I feel. Sometimes I get mixed signals that may indicate she feels for me too. The rational part of me thinks of resigning so she is not compromised by my feelings (which have been noticed by colleagues). The fantastical side hopes that if I resign, I'd be able to ask her out. Any suggestions?
    我在一家小型咨詢公司工作。過去兩年里，我喜歡上了一個職位比我高的人。我們是親密的朋友，也有所交往。盡管我從沒說過什么，但我想她知道我對她的感覺。有時我會接收到一些含混不清的信號，讓我覺的她可能也對我有意思。理性的我考慮辭職，以免她因為我的感情（同事們已經(jīng)看出來了）而受到傷害。而不切實際的我則幻想著，如果我辭職，就能夠約她出去了。你有什么建議嗎？
    LUCY (Manager, male, 42) 露西（經(jīng)理，男，51歲）
    If you were a suitor in a fairy tale who had been set three tests to prove your love, you would certainly win your prize.
    如果你是童話故事里的追求者，需要接受三個考驗，以證明你的愛情，你肯定會贏得獎品。
    You have loved this princess doggedly for two years. You are so worried about protecting her reputation that you are ready to give up your job in the deepest recession of your lifetime. And your most secret fantasy is not of ravishing her but of simply being able to ask her out.
    兩年來你堅定地愛著這位公主。你一心想著保護她的聲譽，甚至準備辭去工作，哪怕你正面對這一輩子最嚴重的經(jīng)濟衰退。你內(nèi)心最隱秘的幻想不是讓她迷上你，而只是能夠與她約會。
    One doesn't get much more chivalrous than that.把商務(wù)英語頁面加入收藏夾
    沒有人能夠比你更具有騎士風度了。
    Alas, this isn't a fairy tale; it is a common tale of office romance in which the doling out of prizes goes according to harsher rules.
    哎，可惜這不是童話。這不過是常見的辦公室戀情，發(fā)放獎品的規(guī)則要苛刻得多。
    Your colleagues have noticed your devotion and are almost certainly laughing at you behind your back.What interests me more, though, is her reaction. Most women in offices find the doggy infatuation of male colleagues whom they do not desire irritating at best and repulsive at worst.
    你的同事們已看出你傾心于她，他們肯定常常在背后笑你。但我更感興趣的是她的反應(yīng)。當被不喜歡的男同事迷戀上時，多數(shù)女人至少會覺得生氣，最壞的可能是心生厭惡。
    The fact that she is not put off by your attentions and is even prepared to favour you as a friend could mean that she is emotionally warped and gets a thrill out of being loved in vain by underlings.Or it could mean she is in love with you too.
    她沒有對你的關(guān)注感到反感，甚至準備把你當成好朋友，可能說明她情感上有些扭曲，下屬徒勞的愛戀讓她感到興奮。要不就是她也喜歡你。
    The only way to find out is to ask her. The good news is that there is absolutely no need to give up your job in order to do this. Half the population (including me, as it happens) meets their husband or wife at work and, as long as she isn't your direct boss and as long as you don't behave in a vulgar manner in the office, there is no reason you should not go out together.
    想知道答案，的辦法是直接問她。好消息是，你絕對沒有必要為此辭職。有一半的人（碰巧也包括我）是在工作中結(jié)識他們的伴侶的，只要她不是你的頂頭上司，只要你不在辦公室里炫耀，你們沒有理由不能出去約會。
    The only problem is what will happen if she says No. You will lose your special ambiguous friendship with her, and going to work with a broken heart may make the office a grim place for a while.
    的問題是，如果她拒絕你，后果會怎樣。你會失去與她之間那種特殊而曖昧的友情，并帶著一顆破碎的心去工作，有一段時間，辦公室將成為你的傷心地。