经济学人158:现实要比电影好一点

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　　Horrible Bosses

　　恶老板

　　Truth is nicer than fiction

　　现实要比电影好一点

　　A horrible film is generating a lame¹ debate

　　一部恐怖电影引发的一场蹩脚争论

　　HORRIBLE bosses come in many flavours.

　　恶老板们总是各有各的恶。

　　There are psychopaths, bullies² and prats.

　　他们可能是神经病，是恶霸，是2B。

　　Incompetent³ bosses are irksome,too.

　　但不称职的老板也一样的招人烦。

　　The bosses at New Line Cinema are not incompetent, in that their films make money, but they are still villains⁴.

　　新线电影公司的老板不能说是不称职，因为该公司的电影能大卖，但是他们仍然算得上恶棍。

　　For “Horrible Bosses”, their latest offering, is a crime against art and common sense.

　　因为他们最新出品的电影《恶老板》简直就是对艺术的亵渎和常识的颠覆。

　　The viewer is expected to believe that being propositioned by Jennifer Aniston is so traumatic that it would drive a man to plot her murder.

　　他们要观众相信，被詹妮弗安妮斯顿调戏是件多么痛不欲生的事儿，逼得被调戏的家伙只能策划一场对她的谋杀。

　　Kevin Spacey plays a more convincing psychoboss. But his talents are wasted on a lame script.

　　而凯文史派西所扮演的神经病老板还让人信服一些，不过他的天赋也白白浪费在这个蹩脚的剧本上了。

　　To make matters worse, the film has inspired a torrent⁵ of management drivel.

　　更糟糕的是，这部电影引发了一场口水仗，矛头直指管理层。

　　OfficeTeam, a recruiter, warns of “Horrible Boss Syndrome”, which “can have serious implications” for morale⁶.

　　猎头公司OfficeTeam会警告你小心“恶老板综合征”，那样将对士气“有严重的影响”。

　　An American survey finds that 46% of employees have worked for an unreasonable⁷ boss at some point.

　　美国的一项调查表明，46%的员工在职业生涯中曾为不可理喻的老板工作过。

　　Nell Minow, a critic, says the film reflects “the bitterness of the post-meltdown era”.

　　而影评人内尔米诺说这部电影所反映的是“后危机时代的痛苦”

　　All this fuss suggests, not that bosses are growing more horrible, but that employees expect them to be more agreeable.

　　这些所有的不满说明，不是老板变得越来越可怕，而是雇员对老板和善可亲的期望越来越高。

　　Laws ban discrimination, the internet allows people to air their complaints and the prevailing⁸ management culture emphasises sensitivity.

　　因为法律禁止歧视，互联网的出现让又人们能随时广播他们对老板的抱怨不满，主流管理文化也都在强调管理要人性。

　　The monsters of the past knew no such checks.

　　过去的恶老板们可不吃这一套。

　　John Henry Patterson, who founded the National Cash Register Company in 1884, would set the desks of inept⁹ employees on fire.

　　于1884年创建国家收银机公司的约翰亨利帕特森会把那些笨手笨脚的员工的办公桌付之一炬。

　　To find similarly forceful bosses today, one must look East.

　　而如今要找到一个和帕特森一样强势的老板只能去东方国家了。

　　When Zhang Ruimin took over Haier, a Chinese white-goods company, in 1984, he smashed one of the company’s products to pieces with a sledgehammer to show what he thought of its quality.

　　1984年张瑞敏接管海尔—一家中国白色家电公司。当时他用一把大锤把该公司出产的一件电器敲得粉碎，为了表示他认为质量很差。

　　Hollywood could use a few bosses like Mr Zhang.

　　不过好莱坞倒是可以雇几个像张瑞敏这样的老板。

1 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

2 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

3 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

4 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

6 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

8 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

9 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。