2019年经济学人 巴托比职场专栏--年会不要太正式(2)

 

In Bartleby’s experience, office parties come in three types. The first is the sitdown lunch, in which you are inevitably¹ seated next to someone whose name you do not know, even though you have spent five years politely nodding at them when you pass in the corridor. Two hours of social awkwardness ensue. The second type of do is the evening event with excruciatingly loud music. On the plus side, no one can hear you speak so it does not matter if you have forgotten their names; on the down side, after half an hour everyone over 30 is so deafened² that they wish they were at home with a nice book or a box set of “The West Wing”.

根据巴托比的经验，办公室派对有三种类型。第一种是“坐下式”午餐，你不可避免地要坐在一个你不认识的人旁边，即使你已经花了五年的时间在走廊里礼貌地向他点头致意。随之而来的是两个小时的社交尴尬。第二种是晚上的活动，伴随着震耳欲聋的音乐。好的一面是，没有人能听到你说话，所以就算你忘了他们的名字也没关系；但不好的一面是，半小时后，30岁以上的人都耳聋了，更希望能在家里看本好书或看《白宫风云》。

The third sort of event is the stand-up do with drinks and nibbles³, when the food is never enough to absorb the alcohol and you are permanently⁴ caught in a state of angst over whether you are boring the person you are talking to more than they are boring you.

第三种是饮料和小酌，当食物不够吸收酒精时，你就会陷入一种永久的焦虑状态，担心与你交谈的人是否比你更无聊。

Naturally, there is an economic answer and it is specialisation. Think of Adam Smith’s pin factory where everyone plays their different part; let everyone have the party they want. Some may want to down the prosecco but others may be happier only to gorge⁵ on cake.

自然，有一个经济上的答案，那就是因人制宜。想想亚当·斯密的别针工厂，每个人都扮演着不同的角色；让每个人都有他们想要的聚会。有些人可能想喝下普罗塞克葡萄酒，但另一些人可能更乐意大快朵颐地吃蛋糕。

Seasonal⁶ events at The Economist⁷ are highly segregated⁸. The leader writers sit quietly in a corner, sipping¹⁰ sherry and discussing structural¹¹ reform; the Keynesians borrow money off the rest of the staff to pay for their drinks; believers in central-bank independence down pints¹² of beer in feats¹³ of “quantitative drinking”; neoclassical economists¹⁴ sip⁹ water, arguing that no rational person would consume alcohol, given the risks of hangovers and liver damage; while those who favour modern monetary¹⁵ theory guzzle¹⁶ vodka shots on the ground that it is impossible to get drunk if you control your own alcohol supply.

《经济学人》的大型派对是高度灵活的。领袖作家们静静地坐在角落里，啜饮着雪利酒，讨论着结构性改革；凯恩斯主义者从其他员工那里借钱来买饮料；相信央行独立性的人在“定量饮酒”的壮举中畅饮几品脱啤酒；新古典主义经济学家喝水，他们认为，考虑到宿醉和肝损伤的风险，理性的人是不会喝酒的；而那些支持现代货币理论的人则狂饮伏特加，理由是如果你控制自己的酒精供应，就不可能喝醉。

In short, it is easier to enjoy yourself if you can do so in your own fashion. And that may include not partying at all. If managers think staff would rather spend time at home than attend, let them; the company will save money. Last, but not least, if managers must make a speech, keep it short. Something along the lines of “You’ve all done very well this year, good luck next.” Save the Churchillian rhetoric¹⁷ for the annual general meeting.

简而言之，如果你能按照自己的方式去做，你会更容易享受生活。这可能包括完全不参加聚会。如果经理们认为员工宁愿呆在家里也不愿参加派对，那就任他们去吧；公司也省钱了。最后，但并非最不重要的一点是，如果经理们必须做一次演讲，一定要简短。：类似于“你们今年都做得很好，祝明年好运。”把丘吉尔式的花言巧语留给年度股东大会吧。

1 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

2 deafened   

使聋( deafen的过去式和过去分词 )； 使隔音

参考例句：

• A hard blow on the ear deafened him for life. 耳朵上挨的一记猛击使他耳聋了一辈子。
• The noise deafened us. 嘈杂声把我们吵聋了。

3 nibbles   

vt.& vi.啃，一点一点地咬（nibble的第三人称单数形式）

参考例句：

• A fish nibbles at the bait. 一条鱼在轻轻地啃鱼饵。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Units of four bits are sometimes referred to as nibbles. 有时将四位数字组成的单元叫做半字节。 来自辞典例句

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 gorge   

n.咽喉，胃，暴食，山峡；v.塞饱，狼吞虎咽地吃

参考例句：

• East of the gorge leveled out.峡谷东面地势变得平坦起来。
• It made my gorge rise to hear the news.这消息令我作呕。

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

8 segregated   

分开的； 被隔离的

参考例句：

• a culture in which women are segregated from men 妇女受到隔离歧视的文化
• The doctor segregated the child sick with scarlet fever. 大夫把患猩红热的孩子隔离起来。

9 sip   

v.小口地喝，抿，呷；n.一小口的量

参考例句：

• She took a sip of the cocktail.她啜饮一口鸡尾酒。
• Elizabeth took a sip of the hot coffee.伊丽莎白呷了一口热咖啡。

10 sipping   

v.小口喝，呷，抿( sip的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• She sat in the sun, idly sipping a cool drink. 她坐在阳光下懒洋洋地抿着冷饮。
• She sat there, sipping at her tea. 她坐在那儿抿着茶。

11 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

12 pints   

n.品脱( pint的名词复数 )；一品脱啤酒

参考例句：

• I drew off three pints of beer from the barrel. 我从酒桶里抽出三品脱啤酒。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Two pints today, please. 今天请来两品脱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 feats   

功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He used to astound his friends with feats of physical endurance. 过去，他表现出来的惊人耐力常让朋友们大吃一惊。
• His heroic feats made him a legend in his own time. 他的英雄业绩使他成了他那个时代的传奇人物。

14 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

16 guzzle   

v.狂饮，暴食

参考例句：

• Melissa had guzzled gin and tonics like they were lemonade.梅利莎像喝柠檬汽水一样大口地喝着加奎宁水的杜松子酒。
• Pigs guzzle their food.猪总是狼吞虎咽地吃东西。

17 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。