人们常常抱怨不想去上班，可对于我的一个朋友来说，她现在是更愿意去工作。她女儿最近整天都吵着要买一部智能手机做生日礼物，但是她丈夫坚决不同意。她丈夫觉得女儿还太小，很多事情还负不起责任。我朋友同意我丈夫的观点，可是也知道她女儿的很多朋友都用起了智能手机，所以不想让女儿觉得自己被拉下了。她这被夹在中间的状态，让我想到一句习惯用语，那就是：caught in the middle。
caught是catch的被动式，“被抓住”的意思；而middle是“中间”。caught in the middle的字面意思是“被夹在中间”，引申出来就是“左右为难”的意思。我朋友现在就处于左右为难的境地：
- She is caught in the middle regarding whether to buy her daughter a smart phone.
对于要不要给她女儿买智能手机这个问题，我朋友左右为难。
不过她的处境跟下面的例子里的人比起来不足一提？他有什么困扰呢？
- Ever since my mother came to live with us, life has been difficult. She and my wife don't get along. If one wants one thing, the other is complaining about it. It's a constant battle. And I don't like being caught in the middle. They should settle their differences without expecting me to get involved.
自从我妈妈开始来跟我们一起住之后，日子就不好过了。我妈妈跟我妻子真是合不来。其中一个人想要点什么，另一个人就会开始抱怨。这是个持续战。我真是左右为难。他们应该自己解决他们之间的问题。
这可真够为难的。婆媳关系一般都很难处理，而丈夫夹在中间，向着哪边都不好。
- Her husband gets caught in the middle whenever there's a conflict between his mom and his wife.
一旦他的妈妈和妻子起了冲突，作为丈夫他真是左右为难。
工作中有个好老板是福气。如果你的老板待人和气而又鼓励创新 ，你工作起来一定会干劲十足。可是下面这个例子里的人就不那么幸运了。他碰到了什么样的问题呢？
- My boss isn't making my job very easy. He assumes that I'll always be supportive of his decisions. The problem is that I think some of his ideas aren't good for the company. As a result, I find myself torn between wanting to be loyal and wanting to be honest. How can I overcome feeling caught in the middle?
由于我的老板，我的工作并不十分愉快。他认为我会支持赞成他所有的决定。问题是我认为他的有些想法对公司并不好。所有，我经常在忠诚和诚实之间左右为难。我怎么处理这种夹在中间的局面呢？
我也有过类似的经历！原来大学的时候我曾经去做过家教，可是那个家里的爸爸说一套，而妈妈又有另一套，弄的我不知道怎么才好。
- The parents of the child I'm tutoring have opposite views of what I should teach. I'm totally caught in the middle.
