-
TEXT A
Will you be a worker or a
laborer?
你想做工作者还是劳役者?
1 To be truly happy, a
person must feel both free and important. People
are never happy if they
feel compelled
by society to do work they do not enjoy, or if
what they do enjoy is ignored by
society as having no value or
importance. In a society where slavery in the
strict sense has been
abolished, the
social indications around work, the value of work
and the salary, have degraded
many
laborers into modern slaves
—
一个人
要想真正快乐,
必须觉得自己既自由又重要。
如果觉得自己是受
社会逼迫而做自己不
喜欢的工作,或者自己喜欢的工作被认为没价值或不重要而遭社会忽
视,那他绝不会快乐。
在一个奴隶制度严格说来已经被废除的社会里,
< br>工作的社会含义、
工作的价值和薪水,
已经
把许多劳役者降格为现代奴隶
——“
薪奴
”
。
2
People
are
considered
laborers
if
their
job
has
an
adverse
effect
on
them,
yet
they
feel
compelled
to
continue
working
by
the
necessity
of
conforming
to
societal
expectations
and
earning the revenue to
support themselves and their families. The polar
opposite of labor is play.
When we play
a game, we enjoy what we are doing, but it is a
purely private pastime; society
does
not care when or whether we play.
如果人们的
工作对自己有负面的影响,
但为了遵从社会的期望或者挣钱养家糊口而被迫必须
继续工作,
那么他们就被认为是劳役者。
劳役的
对立面是玩乐。当我们玩游戏时,
我们很享
受正在做的事情,但
这仅仅是个人娱乐。社会对我们何时玩乐或者是否玩乐并不关心。
3 Between labor and play
stands work. People are labeled as workers if
their personal interests
coincide with
the jobs society pays them to do; what is
necessary labor from the point of view of
society
is
voluntary
play
from
the
individual's
personal
point
of
view.
Whether
a
job
is
to
be
designated as labor or work depends,
not on the job itself, but on the tastes of the
individual who
undertakes
it.
The
difference
does
not,
for
example,
correlate
with
the
difference
between
a
manual
and mental job or between jobs of low or high
esteem; a gardener covered in dirt in a
greenhouse
may
be
a
worker
while
a
well-dressed
city
mayor
may
prove
to
be
an
unhappy
laborer!
处于劳役和玩乐之间的就是工作。如果人们
的个人兴趣跟社会付酬让他们做的工作相吻合,
他们就被称为工作者。
< br>社会上看来一定是苦工的事情对个人来说却是自在的玩乐活动。
一份
活到底应定为工作还是劳役并不取决于其本身,
而是承担这份活的个人感受。
比如,
二者的
区别与是体力活还是脑力
活或尊严的高低没有关联。温室里满身尘土的园丁可能是工作者,
而衣冠楚楚的市长则可
能是一个不开心的劳役者!
4
People's attitude toward their work determines
everything. To workers, leisure means simply
the hours they need to relax and rest
in order to work efficiently. Workers are
therefore more
prone
to
dedicate
more
time
to
working,
taking
too
little
leisure
rather
than
too
much.
To
laborers, on the other
hand, leisure means autonomy from compulsion, so
it is natural for them
to imagine that
the fewer hours they have to spend laboring, and
the more hours they have free
for play,
the better.
人们对自己工作的态度决定了一切
。
对工作者而言,
闲暇只是为了更有效地工作而需要放松
休息的时间。因此,工作者更倾向于投入更多的时间工作,而花在休闲上的时间并非很多,
p>
而是很少。而对劳役者而言,休闲意味着从被迫状态中得到自主。因此,他们自然会想,花<
/p>
在劳作上的时间越少,自在玩乐的时间越多,则越好。
5 Besides the mere hours
spent in leisure, workers and laborers differ in
the amount of personal
satisfaction
they
derive
from
their
jobs.
Workers
who
enjoy
their
jobs
will
be
happier,
less
stressed, and generally more satisfied
with their lives. They will also work with more
diligence
and precision because they
have fostered a sense of personal pride in their
jobs. On the other
hand, laborers,
whose sole incentive is earning their livelihood,
feel that the time they spend on
the
daily grind is wasted and doesn't contribute to
their happiness. Instead of valuing all 24 hours
of their day as enjoyable and
productive hours, they gauge only the time spent
in leisure and play
as meaningful.
Unfortunately, laborers are all too commonplace,
and only a small percentage of
the
population is in the lucky position of being
workers.
除了花在闲暇上的时间不同,
工作者和劳役
者的区别还在于他们从工作中获得的个人满足感
不同。工作者喜欢自己的工作,感觉更快
乐,更轻松,通常对自己的生活更满意。他们工作
起来也会更勤奋,更精细,因为他们对
自己的工作已经产生了一种自豪感。
相反,
由于劳役
者的唯一动力是挣生活费,他们觉得每天花在苦差上的时间是一种浪费,不会让自己快乐。
他们不把每天的
24
小时都当作愉快有用的时光
,认为只有花在休闲娱乐上的时间才是有意
义的。不幸的是,劳役者太常见了,只有一小
部分人能有幸成为工作者。
6
In
recent
decades,
technological
innovation
and
the
division
of
labor
have
caused
major
economic changes by
eliminating the need for special strength or skill
in many fields and have
turned many
paid occupations with enjoyable work into boring
labor. Increasing productivity with
automated machines, such as robots, has
reduced the number of necessary laboring hours. It
is
possible to imagine an upcoming
society in which the majority of the population
will have almost
as much leisure time
as in earlier times was enjoyed by the medieval
aristocracy. The medieval
aristocrats
had an abundance of leisure time but often wasted
it in trivial pursuit of games and
fashion. Likewise, modern-day laborers
with too much leisure time may find it difficult
to refrain
from
the
addictive
and
trivial
pursuits
of
celebrity
gossip,
extravagant
fashion,
and
excessive
video games and TV
—
similar bad habits that
waste valuable time.
近几十年,<
/p>
技术创新和劳动分工使许多领域不再需要专长或特殊技能,
导致了
重大经济变革,
把许多可以通过开心工作来挣钱的职业变成了枯燥的劳役。随着自动化机
器如机器人的使
用,日益提高的生产力减少了必要的劳作时间。可以想象,在即将到来的
社会中,
大多数人
会拥有同早期中世纪贵族一样多的闲暇时间。
中世纪贵族有大量的闲暇时间,
但却往往耗费
< br>在玩游戏和对时尚的无聊追求上。
同样,
有太多闲暇时间
的现代劳役者们会觉得很难摆脱那
些无聊又易上瘾的追求,
像名
人八卦、
奢华时尚、
过度电子游戏和电视等诸如此类浪费宝贵<
/p>
时间的坏习惯。
7 However, it's not necessary to take
such a toxic attitude toward such a positive thing
as leisure
time. In fact, in many
countries, people now use their leisure time to
improve their minds and
their working
conditions to create a happier, more contented
life. Lifelong learning can make the
difference
between
being
bored,
unhappy
laborers
and
workers
who
find
meaning
and
joy
in
their
employment and life.
classes from
pleasant diversions such as sports, art classes or
music to leadership development,
advanced accounting skills, or CAD
(computer-aided design), to name only a few.
不过,
没必要对休闲这种正面的事情采取如此否定的态度。事实上,目前在
很多国家,
人们
利用闲暇时间去提高认识,
改善工作环境,
以创造更快乐安逸的生活。
终身学习对做一
个乏
味不开心的劳役者,还是成为一个从职业和生活中发现意义和乐趣的工作者有重要的
影响。
“
继续教育
”
< br>或
“
体验学习
”
能提供一系列课程,略举几例,如从运动、艺术或音乐等休闲娱乐
课程到领导力
拓展、高级会计或
CAD
(计算机辅助设计)等。
8 Whatever the job,
people who enjoy their work find time passes
quickly. They hurl their passion
into
their work, be it physical like the work of a
smith, or more mental like that of a scientist or
an
artist. Even purely mental work can
suffice as an outlet, as aptly expressed by the
phrase
one's teeth into a problem
不管是什么工作,
喜欢自己工作的人总发现时间过得飞快。
< br>不管是铁匠的体力活,
还是像科
学家或艺术家从事的偏脑
力的活,
他们在工作中都会投入激情。
即便是纯脑力活也足以让
他
们挥洒激情,恰如短语表达的那样,
“
全身心投入问题中
”
。
9 Eventually, everyone has
to find a job and earn a living. Laborers are
slaving away at a job they
don't enjoy
for a small monetary reward, waiting all day until
they go home and play. But while
laborers
are
counting
down
the
hours,
workers
are
energized
and
focused,
taking
optimum
pleasure
in
the
task
at
hand.
By
choosing
a
job
that
is
both
useful
to
society
and
personally
fulfilling, workers maintain a
simultaneous sense of purpose and enthusiasm that
improves their
whole
lives.
So
in
the
end,
whatever
job
you
choose,
you
must
contend
with
this
essential
question: Will you be a laborer or a
worker?
最终,
每个人都得
找一份工作谋生。
劳役者仅为了一点金钱报酬,
像奴隶一样做自
己并不喜
欢的工作,
一天到晚等着回家玩乐。
< br>但是当劳役者倒数着时间之时,工作者则干劲十足,全
神贯注,
< br>从手头的任务中享受到最大的快乐。
他们通过选择一份有益社会、
成就自我的工作,
怀揣着一种使命感和热情,提升了自己的整个生活。因此到头
来,
不管你选择什么工作,都
必须面对这个根本问题
:“
你想做一名劳役者还是工作者?
”
TEXT B
The joy of a
prideful tradition
光荣传统带来的欢乐
1 I first met him in 1965,
when I rushed into his little shop to have the
heels of my shoes repaired.
He greeted
me with a cheerful smile and instant hospitality.
aren't you?
第一次见他是在
1965
年,当时我匆匆进入他的小店去修我的鞋跟。他露出开心的笑容,马
上热情地招呼我,
“
你刚搬到这附近,是吗?<
/p>
”
2
Indeed, I had moved into a house at the end of the
street only a week before.
的确,一周前我才刚搬进街道尽头的那栋房子。
3
“
这一
带挺好的,
”
他说,
“
你生活在这儿会开心的。
”
4 I sat there with my shoes off,
watching as he got ready to stitch up my shoes I'd
entrusted to
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
上一篇:unit2课文翻译
下一篇:初二英语阅读理解题库及答案11