英文短篇故事（纽约）463 The Fast Food Worker

 　　He was dog-tired. He plopped onto the worn sofa. His sister said, "You look beat. Did you just run a marathon?" He said, "I wish. I can run a marathon in less than four hours. I just finished my shift¹. It was eight and a half hours. No lunch, no breaks." She said, "That's inhuman²! That's inhumane! That's illegal! They can't make you work for over eight hours straight without even one break! You need to call a lawyer right now." He said, "I'm too tired to call a lawyer. Besides, who can afford one? It was super-busy. My coworker was out sick. I was the only one making sandwiches all day. My manager thanked me. He said to eat anything I wanted after I clocked out. So I did. I think I ate one of everything we sell." She said, "You're not tired from working. You're tired from eating!"

1 shift   

n.交换，变化，移动，接班者；vt.更替，移转，变声；vi.改变，定责，更衣

参考例句：

• Lend me a hand to shift this box,will you?来帮一下忙，把这箱子搬开，好吗？
• A sudden shift in the wind warned of the coming storm.风向的突然改变预示暴风雨来临。

2 inhuman   

adj.残忍的，不人道的，无人性的

参考例句：

• We must unite the workers in fighting against inhuman conditions.我们必须使工人们团结起来反对那些难以忍受的工作条件。
• It was inhuman to refuse him permission to see his wife.不容许他去看自己的妻子是太不近人情了。