时差N小时 工作在压力之下

If you love your job, part of the reason may be that you freely chose the work that you do.

如果你喜欢你的工作，一部分的原因可能你轻轻松松就选定了你要做的工作。

You were not forced to do it. But imagine a situation during wartime in which there were some soldiers or guards with guns standing¹ above you, forcing you to do that same job. Suddenly it would not be pleasurable work anymore.

你不是被迫做的。但是假定这样一个情景：战争期间有很多士兵或一些带枪的警戒人员是你的顶头上司，强迫你去做那些完全相同的工作。刹那间你就会发现那些工作做起来并没有那么地令人舒心。

The fear that you might be harmed if you did not work quickly and efficiently² would be very stressful.

担心就是如果你没有快速而高效地做完工作，你可能会遭受惩罚，从而感到很有压力。

There would be a sense of danger as you worked below the level where the gunmen were standing.

当你在持枪者的眼皮子底下工作的时候总会感到有一丝的危险。

Working "under the gun" of a watchful³ and hostile master would make anyone nervous.

在被监视、被敌方控制的极大压力下工作会令任何人紧张。

Thus, although no one we can see nearby may have an actual gun, we use this idiom in any work situation where the workers are put under strong pressure to perform quickly and efficiently.

因此,虽然我们身边没有任何一个有真枪的人,我们通常将这则谚语用在一种工作条件下，这个工作状态就是工人们要顶着巨大的压力,快速高效地执行任务。

1 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。

2 efficiently   

adv.高效率地，有能力地

参考例句：

• The worker oils the machine to operate it more efficiently.工人给机器上油以使机器运转更有效。
• Local authorities have to learn to allocate resources efficiently.地方政府必须学会有效地分配资源。

3 watchful   

adj.注意的，警惕的

参考例句：

• The children played under the watchful eye of their father.孩子们在父亲的小心照看下玩耍。
• It is important that health organizations remain watchful.卫生组织保持警惕是极为重要的。