英语PK台 第949期:翻译入门(18)

 So it came as a bit of a shock, when I attended my 15th reunion last summer, to learn how many of my former classmates weren’t overjoyed by their professional lives — in fact, they were miserable¹.
当我去年夏天参加第15次同学会时，我感到有些震惊。因为我发现，以前的同学中有许多人对自己的职业生活并没有欣喜若狂——事实上，他们很痛苦。

Most of us were living relatively² normal, basically content lives. But even among my more sanguine³ classmates, there was a lingering sense of professional disappointment. They talked about missed promotions⁴, disaffected⁵ children and billable hours in divorce court. They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, tedious or just plain bad.
我们中的大多数都过着相对正常、基本满足的生活。但即使在我那些比较乐观的同学中间，职业上的失望情绪也挥之不去。他们谈论着错失的晋升机会、疏远的孩子以及离婚法庭的可计费时数。他们抱怨工作没有成就感、单调乏味，或者干脆就是糟糕。

Why? Based on my own conversations with classmates and the research I began reviewing, the answer comes down to oppressive hours, political infighting, increased competition sparked by globalization, an “always-on culture” bred by the internet — but also something that’s hard for these professionals to put their finger on, an underlying⁶ sense that their work isn’t worth the grueling effort they’re putting into it.
为什么会这样呢？根据我跟同学的对话，以及开始查阅的研究，答案可以归结为难以忍受的工作时数、政治内耗、全球化带来的竞争加剧、互联网孕育出的“永远在线文化”——但还有这些职场人士也说不清的原因，那是一种隐隐的感觉——他们的工作不值得他们投入那么多辛苦。

For those who do find themselves miserable at work, it’s an important reminder⁷ that the smoothest life paths sometimes fail to teach us about what really brings us satisfaction day to day. According to studies, additional salary and benefits don’t reliably contribute to worker satisfaction. Much more important are things like whether a job provides a sense of autonomy — the ability to control your time and the authority to act on your unique expertise⁸. People want to work alongside others whom they respect (and, optimally⁹, enjoy spending time with) and who seem to respect them in return.
对于那些感觉在工作中很痛苦的人来说，这是一个重要的提示：一帆风顺的人生道路有时并不能教会我们，什么才是每天都能带来真正满足感的东西。根据多项研究，一旦你能为自己和家人提供经济上的支持，额外的工资和福利并不一定会提高员工的满意度。更重要的事情是，诸如工作是否能提供自主权——能够控制时间的能力，以及根据自己的独特专长行事的权力。人们希望与他们尊重的人一起工作（最好还能一起消磨时间），以及对方似乎也尊重他们。

And finally, workers want to feel that their labors¹⁰ are meaningful. We want to feel that we’re making the world better, even if it’s as small a matter as helping¹¹ a shopper find the right product at the grocery store. You can be a salesperson¹², or a toll¹³ collector, but if you see your goal as solving people’s problems, then each day presents 100 opportunities to improve someone’s life, and your satisfaction increases dramatically. Finding meaning, whether as a banker or a janitor¹⁴, is difficult work. Usually life, rather than a business-school classroom, is the place to learn how to do it.
最后，员工想要感到他们付出的劳动是有意义的。我们想要感到我们在让世界变得更好，即便只是像帮购物者在杂货店找到对的产品这样的小事情。你可以是一名销售，或收费员，但如果你把你的目标看成是帮人解决问题，那么每天都会有100个机会帮助他人改善生活，而且你的满足感会大幅提升。无论是银行家还是清洁工，寻找人生意义都是一项艰难的工作。这通常要在生活中去学习，而不是在商学院的课堂里。

1 miserable   

adj.悲惨的，痛苦的；可怜的，糟糕的

参考例句：

• It was miserable of you to make fun of him.你取笑他，这是可耻的。
• Her past life was miserable.她过去的生活很苦。

2 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

3 sanguine   

adj.充满希望的，乐观的，血红色的

参考例句：

• He has a sanguine attitude to life.他对于人生有乐观的看法。
• He is not very sanguine about our chances of success.他对我们成功的机会不太乐观。

4 promotions   

促进( promotion的名词复数 )； 提升； 推广； 宣传

参考例句：

• All services or promotions must have an appeal and wide application. 所有服务或促销工作都必须具有吸引力和广泛的适用性。
• He promptly directed the highest promotions and decorations for General MacArthur. 他授予麦克阿瑟将军以最高的官阶和勋奖。

5 disaffected   

adj.（政治上）不满的，叛离的

参考例句：

• He attracts disaffected voters.他吸引了心怀不满的选民们。
• Environmental issues provided a rallying point for people disaffected with the government.环境问题把对政府不满的人们凝聚了起来。

6 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

7 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

8 expertise   

n.专门知识(或技能等)，专长

参考例句：

• We were amazed at his expertise on the ski slopes.他斜坡滑雪的技能使我们赞叹不已。
• You really have the technical expertise in a new breakthrough.让你真正在专业技术上有一个全新的突破。

9 optimally   

最佳

参考例句：

• In the classic script for a Cartel, the group sets a unified optimally exploiting price structure. 按照卡特尔的传统范本，这个集团制定出一个统一的最有利于剥削的价格结构。 来自辞典例句
• RF power LDMOS with a trench drift region is optimally designed. 对射频功率LDMOS槽形漂移区的结构进行了优化设计。 来自互联网

10 labors   

v.努力争取(for)( labor的第三人称单数 )；苦干；详细分析；（指引擎）缓慢而困难地运转

参考例句：

• He was tiresome in contending for the value of his own labors. 他老为他自己劳动的价值而争强斗胜，令人生厌。 来自辞典例句
• Farm labors used to hire themselves out for the summer. 农业劳动者夏季常去当雇工。 来自辞典例句

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 salesperson   

n.售货员，营业员，店员

参考例句：

• A salesperson works in a shop.售货员在商店工作。
• Vanessa is a salesperson in a woman's wear department.凡妮莎是女装部的售货员。

13 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

14 janitor   

n.看门人，管门人

参考例句：

• The janitor wiped on the windows with his rags.看门人用褴褛的衣服擦着窗户。
• The janitor swept the floors and locked up the building every night.那个看门人每天晚上负责打扫大楼的地板和锁门。