我为何离开《金融时报》去教书

 　　A year from now, I will not be at my desk at the Financial Times writing mocking columns about the madness of corporate¹ life.

　　明年这时候，我将不再坐在英国《金融时报》（简称FT）的工位上写着嘲讽疯狂公司生活的专栏，

　　I will be standing² in front of a classroom of teenagers in an inner London school teaching them the basic rules of trigonometry.

　　而是会站在内伦敦一所学校的教室里，给一班青少年学生讲授三角函数的基本原理。

　　There are various things about this change of career that are irregular.

　　这次职业变动有好些地方不寻常。

　　One is that I’m doing it rather late — I’ll be 58 when I start.

　　一是我转行较晚——等我开始执教时就58岁了。

　　Another is that I am making this announcement rather early. I’m not actually off until July.

　　二是我公布消息较早——实际上我要到明年7月份才正式离职。

　　The reason I’m giving so much notice is I want to persuade you to jack³ in whatever you are doing and come with me.

　　我之所以提早这么多宣布消息，是想说服你们抛下正在从事的无论什么工作，加入我的行列。

　　Or rather I want to persuade you if you are a) of a certain age b) doggedly⁴ determined⁵ c) based in London and d) fancy the idea of teaching maths, science or languages, where the shortage of teachers is worst.

　　准确地说，我打算说服的是这样的你：a) 到了一定岁数 b) 意志坚定 c) 生活在伦敦 以及d) 对教授数学、科学或英文这几门最缺老师的科目有兴趣。

　　During the past few months, in cahoots with people who know what they are doing, I’ve been setting up an organisation⁶ to encourage bankers, lawyers and accountants to spend the rest of their careers in the classroom.

　　过去几个月，我跟一帮靠谱的人混在一起，在创办一个组织，目的是鼓励银行业人士、律师和会计师们将剩余的职业生涯奉献给讲台。

　　Our outfit⁷ is called Now Teach, and aims to do a version of what Teach First has done so brilliantly — convincing the brightest graduates that teaching is a cool and noble thing to do before trotting⁸ off to work for McKinsey/PwC/Goldman — only the other way round.

　　我们这个组织叫Now Teach（现在教书吧），我们力图效仿Teach First（先教书吧），说服那些最聪明的人相信，教书是又酷又崇高的职业，只不过Teach First是鼓励最优秀的毕业生，在投奔麦肯锡(McKinsey)、普华永道(PwC)或高盛(Goldman)之前先去教书，

　　We want to convince people who have spent a career at McKinsey or wherever that teaching is a cool and noble thing to do afterwards.

　　而我们是反过来，想说服那些已经在麦肯锡或别的什么地方度过了一段职业生涯的人改行去教书。

　　Not everyone thinks this is a great idea.

　　并不是每人都认为这是个好主意。

　　When I told my fellow columnist⁹ Gideon Rachman about it he looked at me in befuddlement¹⁰.

　　当我告诉我的专栏作家同事吉迪恩.拉赫曼(Gideon Rachman)这个消息时，他不解地看着我。

　　Let me see if I’ve understood, he said, brow furrowed¹¹.

　　让我确认下我的理解对不对，他皱着眉头说，

　　You are leaving a job you are good at, where you get money, praise, freedom, glamour¹² and flexibility¹³.

　　你要离开一份你很擅长、薪水不错、为你带来赞赏、非常自由、光鲜体面而且非常灵活的工作，

　　You are swapping¹⁴ it for something that is less well paid, difficult, has no freedom, no glamour, is intensely stressful and you may be rubbish at it.

　　换一份待遇较差、难度较高、不自由、不光鲜、压力非常大而且你可能非常不擅长的工作。

　　Or am I missing something?

　　还是我有什么考虑漏了？

　　The answer, Gideon, is yes you are.

　　回答是，吉迪恩，你确实没考虑全。

　　Nobody can go on doing the same thing forever.

　　没有人能一直干同样的事。

　　In most jobs two decades is plenty.

　　大多数工作干上20年已经很长了。

　　I’ve stuck at mine for 31 years because my job is the nicest in the world.

　　就因为我这份工作简直是世界上最好的工作，我才一直干了31年。

　　But even so, it has been long enough.

　　但即便如此，这也够长了。

　　With jobs, as with parties, it is best to leave when you are still having a good time.

　　对待工作，应该像对待派对一样，最好在你仍意犹未尽时离场。

　　For me, the thought of starting over, learning something that is new and terrifyingly hard, is part of the point.

　　对我来说，从头再来、去学一些全新又十分困难的东西，恰恰是部分意义所在。

　　So is the thought of being in a staffroom with colleagues who are my children’s age.

　　与一群跟我的孩子们年龄相仿的同事们共处一个教研室也是部分意义所在。

　　But the biggest thing, which readers may find hard to swallow given my entire career has been based on ridiculing¹⁵ others, is that, for my next act, I want to be useful.

　　但最主要的意义在于，我希望在我的下一段人生旅程里做一个有用的人。考虑到鄙人整个职业生涯均建立在讽刺他人的基础上，这一点或许会让我的读者们难以置信。

　　Yes, I know sticking pins in pompous¹⁶ chief executives is useful in a meta kind of way but that’s not the kind of useful I have in mind.

　　诚然，我知道戳破那些首席执行官的自负在某种意义上也是有用的，但那并不是我心目中的有用。

　　A few months ago I wrote a column pointing out that there were hardly any 50-somethings left in banking¹⁷, corporate law or most managerial jobs.

　　几个月前，我在一篇专栏文章中指出，在银行业、公司法或大多数管理职位上已难觅50几岁的人。

　　Underneath¹⁸, a prescient FT reader wrote: time for Teach Last? It is time.

　　一位有先见之明的FT读者留言道：到了终于去教书(Teach Last)的时候了？是的。

　　Schools need teachers.

　　学校需要老师。

　　My generation has mostly paid off mortgages; we have pensions and can afford a pay cut.

　　我们这代人大多已经还清了贷款；我们有退休金，也经得起减薪。

　　We will live until we are 100, and will work into our 70s.

　　我们将活到百岁，也将一直工作至年逾古稀。

　　If Leonard Cohen could do world tours until he was 80, I can surely find the energy needed to be in a classroom all day, teaching kids my favourite subject.

　　如果伦纳德.科恩(Leonard Cohen)可以环球巡演到80岁，我也肯定有精力在教室待一整天，教孩子们我最爱的科目。

　　Various people have protested that it won’t work as my generation will be hopeless at controlling unruly teenagers.

　　很多人断言那也没用，因为我这岁数的人不可能降得住那些难以管教的青少年。

　　But I’m not dumping myself and fellow Now Teach recruits in schools unsupported.

　　但我不会把我自己和Now Teach招募的其他人丢在学校里不管。

　　We are in partnership¹⁹ with Ark, the educational charity, which knows how to train teachers.

　　我们与教育慈善机构Ark有合作，Ark懂得如何培训教师。

　　I’ve sat in on some of its sessions and have learnt how to stand, and what to do with my voice to make kids behave.

　　我参加过他们的一些讲座，并学会了用怎样的站姿和语气能让孩子们老实。

　　I’ve practised in front of the mirror: I almost managed to scare myself.

　　我在镜子前演练过：我的威严几乎把自己都震慑住了。

　　For now I’m banning all FT readers from emailing me to say goodbye as I’m not off yet.

　　眼下我禁止所有FT读者们发告别邮件给我，因为我还没走。

　　I’m staying until the summer and, even then, will not be making a clean break.

　　我将一直待到明年夏天，即便到那时，我也不会跟FT一刀两断。

　　I will go on writing for the FT, whenever I have a spare minute from all that trigonometry.

　　在教授三角函数之余，我一有空就会继续为FT撰稿。

　　Instead, I want only to hear from people who have a view on Now Teach.

　　我只希望大家来信告诉我对Now Teach有何高见。

　　Better still, I want to hear from anyone who is ready to chuck in the corporate life and come with me.

　　我更愿意获悉有人已准备告别公司生活，加入我的行列。

1 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。

2 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

3 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

4 doggedly   

adv.顽强地，固执地

参考例句：

• He was still doggedly pursuing his studies.他仍然顽强地进行着自己的研究。
• He trudged doggedly on until he reached the flat.他顽强地、步履艰难地走着，一直走回了公寓。

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

7 outfit   

n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装

参考例句：

• Jenney bought a new outfit for her daughter's wedding.珍妮为参加女儿的婚礼买了一套新装。
• His father bought a ski outfit for him on his birthday.他父亲在他生日那天给他买了一套滑雪用具。

8 trotting   

小跑，急走( trot的现在分词 )； 匆匆忙忙地走

参考例句：

• The riders came trotting down the lane. 这骑手骑着马在小路上慢跑。
• Alan took the reins and the small horse started trotting. 艾伦抓住缰绳，小马开始慢跑起来。

9 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

10 befuddlement   

迷惘，昏迷，失常

参考例句：

• To add to the befuddlement, the expansion of the universe now seems to be accelerating, a process with truly mind-stretching consequences. 更叫人迷糊的是，现今宇宙的膨胀似乎正在加速之中，这真是让人连脑子也一起跟着膨胀。 来自辞典例句

11 furrowed   

v.犁田，开沟( furrow的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Overhead hung a summer sky furrowed with the rash of rockets. 头顶上的夏日夜空纵横着急疾而过的焰火。 来自辞典例句
• The car furrowed the loose sand as it crossed the desert. 车子横过沙漠，在松软的沙土上犁出了一道车辙。 来自辞典例句

12 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

13 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

14 swapping   

交换，交换技术

参考例句：

• The slow swapping and buying of horses went on. 马匹的买卖和交换就是这样慢慢地进行着。
• He was quite keen on swapping books with friends. 他非常热衷于和朋友们交换书籍。

15 ridiculing   

v.嘲笑，嘲弄，奚落( ridicule的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Proxmire has made himself quite a reputation out of ridiculing government expenditure he disagrees with. 普罗克斯迈尔对于他不同意花的政府开支总要取笑一番，他因此而名声大振。 来自辞典例句
• The demonstrators put on skits ridiculing the aggressors. 游行的人上演了活报剧来讽刺侵略者。 来自互联网

16 pompous   

adj.傲慢的，自大的；夸大的；豪华的

参考例句：

• He was somewhat pompous and had a high opinion of his own capabilities.他有点自大，自视甚高。
• He is a good man underneath his pompous appearance. 他的外表虽傲慢，其实是个好人。

17 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

18 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

19 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。