Anyone who can swim understands that to breathe,it is necessary to keep your head above the watereven if the rest of your body is submerged. In asudden flood, however, people who never learnedhow to swim may find themselves struggling to keeptheir heads above the unexpected rush of water.

任何会游泳的人都知道，游泳时要保持呼吸。必须把头露出水面，即使你身体的其它部分已被淹没。然而，当面对突如其来的洪水时，不会游泳的人可能会发现自己需要拼命把头露出水面。

In the same way, in business, you always try to make a profit and avoid loss, but sometimes,bad financial decisions or a sudden downturn in the economy can flood you with payments due,reduce your profits, and make you feel like you are drowning in debt. At such times, you mightsay that financially, you are struggling to keep your head above water. You are still not totallydesperate, meaning you are not in such a bad situation that you will immediately becomebankrupt, but you don't know how long you can continue to stay afloat.

同样的道理，在商业活动中，你总是试图盈利、避免损失。但有时候，糟糕的财务决策或突然的经济萧条都可能使你面临大量应付款项，利润减少，甚至债台高筑。在这种时候，你可能会说，你正在债务洪水中努力将头露出水面。你没有完全绝望，这意味着你还不至于马上破产，但你不知道你还需要像这样漂流多久。

一些above的习语：

1. to be a cut above... 指比某些人或事物好的多，也就是「较佳」、「略胜一筹」的意思。

例句：I thought I was a cut above the other kids.

我以为自己高人一等。

2. to be head and shoulders above 指比背景相似的人或事物来的好，也就是「超越」的意思。

例句：As far as she was concerned, her husbandstood head and shoulders above any other man.

在她看来,她丈夫比任何其他人都行。

3. to stick your head above the parapet 是勇敢说出有可能恼毛他人的諫言，也就是「仗义执言」的意思。

例句：Kearton was one of the very few to put his head above the corporate parapet and speakhis mind in public.

吉尔顿是极少数敢于在公共场合说出自己想法的人之一。