奇葩文化!上班睡觉成日本人勤奋象征!

 　　In most countries, sleeping on the job isn't just frowned upon, it may get you fired.

　　在大多数国家，工作时间睡觉不仅会让人不满，而且有可能让你被炒鱿鱼。

　　But in Japan, napping in the office is common and culturally accepted. And in fact, it is often seen as a subtle sign of diligence: You must be working yourself to exhaustion¹.

　　但在日本，在办公室打盹很常见，而且得到文化上的认可。事实上，它常被微妙的看作勤奋的象征：你肯定是工作得太累了。

　　The word for it is "inemuri". It is often translated as "sleeping on duty", but Dr Brigitte Steger, a senior lecturer in Japanese studies at Downing College, Cambridge, who has written a book on the topic, says it would be more accurate to render it as "sleeping while present".

　　日语中称呼这种行为的词汇是"inemuri"。它通常被翻译为"工作时间睡觉"，但剑桥大学唐宁学院日本研究的高级讲师布里吉特·斯泰格博士称，将它译作"在场睡觉"会更准确。

　　奇葩文化!上班睡觉成日本人勤奋象征!

　　That, she said, captures Japan's approach to time, where it's seen as possible to do multiple things simultaneously², if at a lower intensity³.

　　她表示，这种翻译表达出日本人对待时间的方式。在日本，人们认为同时做多件事是有可能的，尽管专注度会降低。

　　So you can get credit for attending that boring quarterly sales meeting while also dreaming of a beach vacation.

　　所以你能够一边参加枯燥的季度销售会议，一边幻想海滩度假。

　　Inemuri is most prevalent among more senior employees in white-collar professions, Dr Steger said. Junior employees tend to want to stay awake all day and be seen as energetic, and workers on assembly lines can't just nod off.

　　斯泰格表示，Inemuri在高级白领中最为普遍。初级职员往往想整天保持清醒，希望被看作充满活力，而生产线上的工人根本没法打盹。

　　Both sexes indulge in inemuri, but women are more likely to be criticised for it, especially if they sleep in a position that is considered unbecoming, Dr Steger said.

　　斯泰格还提到，两种性别的人都喜欢inemuri，但女性更有可能因之受到指责，尤其是在一个"小睡会被视为不得体"的职位上。

　　Inemuri has been practised in Japan for at least 1,000 years, and it is not restricted to the workplace. People may nap in department stores, cafes, restaurants or even a snug⁴ spot on a busy city sidewalk.

　　inemuri在日本已经存在了至少1000年，并且不限于工作场合。人们会在百货公司、咖啡馆、餐馆，乃至热闹的人行道上温暖舒适的地方小睡片刻。

　　"It's very unlikely, if you are sleeping on a train, that someone would try to rob you," said Dr Theodore C Bestor, a professor of social anthropology⁵ at Harvard University.

　　"你在车上睡觉时，不太可能出现打劫的情况，"哈佛大学社会人类学教授西奥多·C·贝斯特博士说道。

1 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

2 simultaneously   

adv.同时发生地，同时进行地

参考例句：

• The radar beam can track a number of targets almost simultaneously.雷达波几乎可以同时追着多个目标。
• The Windows allow a computer user to execute multiple programs simultaneously.Windows允许计算机用户同时运行多个程序。

3 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。

4 snug   

adj.温暖舒适的，合身的，安全的；v.使整洁干净，舒适地依靠，紧贴；n.（英）酒吧里的私房

参考例句：

• He showed us into a snug little sitting room.他领我们走进了一间温暖而舒适的小客厅。
• She had a small but snug home.她有个小小的但很舒适的家。

5 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。