2020年经济学人 从疫情前到居家后(2)

Yet although offices will not disappear, it is hard to imagine that working life will return to BC ways. For more than a century workers have stuffed themselves onto crowded trains and buses, or endured traffic jams, to get into the office, and back, five days a week. For the past two months they have not had to commute¹, and will have enjoyed the hiatus.

尽管办公室不会消失，但是难以想象工作生活回归到冠状病毒爆发前的方式。一个多世纪以来，职员们把自己挤上拥挤的火车和公交，或者要忍受交通拥堵，去办公室，然后回来，一周工作五天。在过去的两个月里，他们不需要通勤，而且会享受这段空档期。

Employers, for their part, have maintained expensive digs in city centres because they needed to gather staff in one place. The rent is only part of the cost; there is the cleaning, lighting², printers, catering³ and security on top.When you work at home, you pay for your own utilities and food.

对于雇主来说，他们要在市中心维持昂贵的办公地点，因为他们需要把员工集中到一个地方。租金只是费用的一部分；还有清洁费、照明费、打印机费用、伙食费和保安的工资。当你在家办公时，你要支付自己的水电费或伙食费。

Many businesses and employees may thus have had their "Wizard of Oz" moment: the corporate⁴ HQ is shown to be an old man behind the curtain. Faith in the centralised office may never be restored.

许多企业和员工们可能都因此经历了自己的“绿野仙踪”的时刻：公司总部被证明是幕后的老人。对集中办公的信任可能永远不会恢复。

Another aspect of the AD era may be the disappearance⁵ of the five-day working week. Even before the pandemic many workers became used to taking phone calls or answering emails at the weekend. In the AD era the barrier between home and working life, a useful way of relieving stress, will be even harder to sustain.

居家后这一时代的另一个方面可能是五天制工作周的消失。甚至在疫情前，许多员工就习惯于在周末接电话或回复电子邮件。在居家后的时代，家庭和工作生活之间的隔阂是缓解压力的一种有效方式，这种隔阂将更难维持。

It may be lost altogether. Without the Monday-to-Friday commute, the weekend seems a more nebulous concept, as does the 9-to-5 working day. In future employees may work and take breaks when they please, with the company video call the only fixture⁶. The downside, however, is that the rhythm of life has been disrupted and new routines are needed: as Madness, a British pop group, sang about school in "Baggy⁷ Trousers", people are reduced to "trying different ways to make a difference to the days".

它可能会完全消失。没有周一到周五的通勤，周末似乎是一个更加模糊的概念，如同朝九晚五的工作日。今后，员工可以随意工作和休息，公司视频电话是唯一的固定器。然而，不利的一面在于生活节奏被打乱了，我们需要新的生活方式：正如英国流行乐队Madness为学校唱的“宽松的裤子”这个歌一样，人们被压迫到“尝试不同的生活方式来改变日子。”

Looking further out, the AD era may bring other changes. Some may decide to live in small towns where housing costs are lower, since they have no need to commute. Men will have fewer excuses to skip cleaning or child care if they are not disappearing to the office. In a sense, this is a return to normal: until the 19th century most people worked at or close to their homes. But social historians may still regard 2020 as the start of a new age.

展望未来，居家后的时代会带来其他改变。一些人可能决定住在小城镇，那里房价更低，因为他们不需要通勤。如果男人们没有出现在办公室，就不会有那么多的借口来逃避打扫或照顾孩子。从某种意义上说，这是回归平常：直到19世纪，大多数人都在家里或离家很近的地方工作。但是社会历史学家可能仍旧认为2020年是一个新时代的开始。

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

3 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

6 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

7 baggy   

adj.膨胀如袋的，宽松下垂的

参考例句：

• My T-shirt went all baggy in the wash.我的T恤越洗越大了。
• Baggy pants are meant to be stylish,not offensive.松松垮垮的裤子意味着时髦，而不是无礼。