今日导读
自古以来,坊间都流行着"每逢佳节倍思亲",“过年过节常回家看看",但随着经济的不断发展和进步,打工人们似乎陷入了在工作与生活之间难以平衡的困境:是工作赚钱要紧还是探亲访友重要?尤其在中秋佳节这样的日子里,哪怕如愿喜提假期,我们就可以把工作完全抛到九霄云外了吗?若有同事因紧急突发状况联系到你,又该如何处理呢?让我们和 Jacob 老师,一起走进今天的文章学习。
带着问题听讲解
- 如何理解 a respite from 这个短语?如何用英文表示“法定假期”?
- 根据文章,什么才是最恰当的假期与工作之间的平衡呢?
二、原文讲解
Should you work ( a little ) on your holiday ?
你应该在假期(稍微地)工作一下吗?
American office workers of an envious disposition must avoid emailing colleagues in Europe this month . The inevitable " try me again in September" automatic rejoinder is unlikely to improve the mood of those spending most of their summer toiling .
嫉妒心重的美国白领们,这个月千万不要给欧洲同事们发邮件。毕竟收到"九月再联系我"这样的自动回复在所难免,这不大可能让埋头苦干了大半个夏天的人心情好转。
- Rare is the employee who leaves all their work behind these days . Plenty of people wil at least furtively scrol through emails while on the beach . Everyone has occasionaly shirked work . Now many workers are shirking holidays , too .
现在很少有员工把全部工作抛在脑后,大部分人最起码会在沙滩上偷偷摸摸地上下滚动屏幕,查看邮件。每个人都会时不时地逃避工作,如今很多人也在逃避假期。
Bosses are mostly mindful not to demand that their underlings do anything while on statutory leave . In Europe policymakers talk of a “ right to disconnect ", which allows employees to leave their day jobs behind during holidays . But the right is not an obligation . And some individuals might find a small dolop of work a respite from their time off .
老板们通常会注意在法定假期不给下属安排任何工作。在欧洲,决策者们正在讨论一项“断联权”,这项权利允许员工在休假期间暂时抛下日常工作不管。但权利并非义务,一些人也许会觉得少量的工作能让他们从假期中暂缓片刻。
A few workers find ways to delete the work email app from their phones . And there are arguments for being a holiday hardliner . Time away from work serves to clear the mind . Plenty of jobs now require a measure of inspiration .
个别员工想办法移除了手机上的工作邮件应用。对于要在假期工作,他们有理由拒不妥协:毕竟一段时间不工作有助于清空思绪,而现在很多工作都需要一定的灵感才能完成。
What is the right balance ? Nobody suggests toiling on leave at the same pace as in the ( home ) office . But most people will conclude that if a few minutes spent answering emails can save a stranded colleague hours of work , it would seem churlish not to step in . If nothing else ,keeping even a distant eye on things can make a return to the job - whether after a week off or even a month - less daunting . Who wants to deal with thousands of unread emails on their return ?
什么才是最恰当的平衡呢?倒是没有人觉得假期也该像在(家)办公室里一样高速运转。但大部分人还是认为,如果只需要花几分钟回复邮件就能救同事于水火之中,给他们省下几个小时的工作时间,这时候不伸出援手,岂不是很不厚道?别的不说,光是远距离地密切关注一下工作事务,也能让你在休息一周甚至一个月后重返工位时,不那么望而却步。毕竟,谁又想在休假结束后处理上千封未读邮件呢?
三、重点词汇
sb . of a disposition
具有某种性格的人
相关词汇: disposition ( n .性情、性格)
搭配短语: a cheerful disposition
搭配短语: an adventurous disposition
inevitable
adj .不可避免的
词根词缀: in —(表否定)
相关词汇: evitable ( adj .可避免的)
近义词: unavoidable
词根词缀: un —(表否定)
相关词汇: avoidable ( adj .可避免的)
try sb . again
再给某人打一次电话,再次联系某人
同义词: try sb . back
英文释义: to cal someone back on the telephone again
例句: I ＇ l try her again later .
rejoinder
n .(机智的)应答;(尖锐的)反驳
近义词: reply ( n .回复)
搭配短语: a witty rejoinder
toil
v 辛勤劳作,苦干
搭配短语: toil in the fields
搭配短语: toil in the factories
leave behind
留下,落下;刻意不去想某事
例句: Ileft my umbrella behind on the subway.
英文释义: to deliberately not think about something
furtively
adv .偷偷摸摸地,鬼鬼祟祟地
相关词汇: furtive ( adj .偷偷摸摸的,鬼鬼祟祟的）
搭配短语: a furtive glance
例句: I cast a furtive glance at his test sheets .
词根词缀:— ly (构成副词)
scroll through
滚动屏幕
相关词汇: scrol ( n .卷轴)
词性拓展: scroll ( v .滚动)
搭配短语: scrol up or down
搭配短语: scroll through a document
shirk
v .逃避(义务、责任)
近义词: avoid
搭配短语: shirk duties
搭配短语: shirk responsibilities
mindful
adj .留心的,注意的
词根词缀:— ful (充满…的)
相关词汇: mind ( n .注意力)
搭配短语: be mindful of sth ./ that ..
underling
n .下属;喽啰,跟班
词根词缀:— ling (幼小的;有某种属性的人)
相关词汇: duckling ( n .小鸭子)。
相关词汇: princeling ( n .小王子)
词根词缀: under -(职务、级别低的)
词义辨析: underling , employee
underling 虽然也可以表示“下属员工”,但它的用法稍带贬义,类似中文里的"跟班、走卒、小喽啰”,而同样可以表示"员工"的 employee 在用法的感情色彩上更趋中立,也显得更礼貌。
statutory
adj .法定的,依照法令的
词根词缀:— ory (作某种用途的)
相关词汇: statute ( n .法令,法规)
搭配短语: statutory age
搭配短语: statutory duty
搭配短语: statutory holiday
a dolop of
少量的
相关词汇: dollop ( n .少量)
a respite from
从…中得到喘息的机会
相关词汇: respite ( n .喘息,缓解,暂息)
英文释义: a short period of rest from something unpleasant
搭配短语: a respite from pressure
hardliner
n .强硬派;拒不妥协者
相关词汇: hardline ( adj .强硬的,不妥协的,坚定的)
例句: Margaret Thatcher was hardline on race .
词根词缀:— er (有.特性的人)
搭配短语: the hardliners in the party
clear the mind
清空思绪
同义词: clear the / your head
例句: A good walk might clear my head .
stranded
adj .搁浅的;被困住的,无处逃脱的
相关词汇: strand ( v .搁浅)
例句: A whale was stranded on the shore .
搭配短语: a stranded whale
例句: Hundreds of passengers were left stranded at the airport .
churlish
adj .不友好的,脾气坏的,粗鲁的
近义词: rude
step in
介入,插手,干预
例句: When she broke her leg , her coleague stepped in and took over .
keep an eye on sth .
密切留意;照看
近义词: look after
例句: Keep an eye on your brother while Im out , please .
daunting
adj .令人畏惧的
相关词汇: daunt ( v .使胆怯,使畏惧)
搭配短语: A daunts B
搭配短语: a daunting task
拓展阅读
关于"休假与工作之间的弹性”的讨论
are too high , that I don' t spend time with my family ,