外刊高翻十三课
什么才是一份“好工作”？
America's Professional Elite:
Wealthy, Successful and Miserable
美国职业精英：财富，成功和痛苦
So it came as a bit of a shock, when I attended my 15th reunion last summer, to learn how many of my former classmates weren’t overjoyed by their professional lives — in fact, they were miserable.
当我去年夏天参加第15次同学会时，我感到有些震惊。因为我发现，以前的同学中有许多人对自己的职业生活并没有欣喜若狂——事实上，他们很痛苦。
Most of us were living relatively normal, basically content lives. But even among my more sanguine classmates, there was a lingering sense of professional disappointment. They talked about missed promotions, disaffected children and billable hours in divorce court. They complained about jobs that were unfulfilling, tedious or just plain bad.
我们中的大多数都过着相对正常、基本满足的生活。但即使在我那些比较乐观的同学中间，职业上的失望情绪也挥之不去。他们谈论着错失的晋升机会、疏远的孩子以及离婚法庭的可计费时数。他们抱怨工作没有成就感、单调乏味，或者干脆就是糟糕。
Why? Based on my own conversations with classmates and the research I began reviewing, the answer comes down to oppressive hours, political infighting, increased competition sparked by globalization, an “always-on culture” bred by the internet — but also something that’s hard for these professionals to put their finger on, an underlying sense that their work isn’t worth the grueling effort they’re putting into it.
为什么会这样呢？根据我跟同学的对话，以及开始查阅的研究，答案可以归结为难以忍受的工作时数、政治内耗、全球化带来的竞争加剧、互联网孕育出的“永远在线文化”——但还有这些职场人士也说不清的原因，那是一种隐隐的感觉——他们的工作不值得他们投入那么多辛苦。
1、it came as a bit of a shock 令人震惊的= it’s shocking to find sth.
it comes as a bit of a surprise 令人奇怪的= it’s surprising...
2、reunion 团聚；团圆 e.g. family reunion 家人团聚class reunion 同学聚会
补充：national renewal/revitalization/rejuvenation 中华民族伟大复兴； 农村振兴只能用 vitalization
3、be overjoyed by sth. 对...过度开心，欣喜若狂
1、normal 正常的，一般的，这个词不要轻易用。e.g. I am a normal person. 我是正常人（精神正常的人）。
e.g. I am an ordinary person. 我是一个普通人。
e.g. China’s economy has entered a new normal.中国经济进入新常态。2、content 满足；满意 be contented with sth. 对...很满意
e.g. People live and work in peace and contentment. 人民安居乐业。 contentment (n.) 满足感
3、sanguine 充满信心的，乐观的
4、lingering 徘徊的，挥之不去的 sth. still lingers...物做主语
be hunted by...人做主语
e.g. sb. is hunted by the idea of doing sth. 做...的想法一直萦绕心头
5、missed promotions 错过的晋升机会
e.g. access to education 受教育的机会
6、disaffected children 疏远的孩子 affect 影响 affection 爱意
7、billable hours in divorce court 离婚法庭的律师费
billable hours 一般指律师或会计师按小时收费
8、complain 抱怨 complaint handle 信访工作
9、unfulfilling 不令人满意的，不令人称心的 fulfilling 满足感；成就感 unpopular 不得人心的
e.g. This idea is unpopular. 这个想法不得人心。
10、just plain bad 糟糕透了 just plain 干脆的；完全的+坏的东西
e.g. just plain stupid 蠢到家了 just plain poor 穷的叮当响
e.g. just plain ugly 丑的没法看
11、review 作动词较多，译为回顾；总结；论证 as we review this case 我们论证这个案例
e.g. review the past and plan the future 回顾过去展望未来
12、come down to...归结为= boil down to...
13、oppressive 压迫的；高压的
14、political infighting 政治内讧 infighting 内讧
15、increased competition 竞争增加
e.g. provide more financial support 加大资金支持力度
韩老师补充：像改善；完善；提高；减少；加大等词，翻译时用比较级。
e.g. We will work for improved bilateral relations. 我们为改善双边关系而努力。翻译原则：动词形容词化。
16、always-on culture 永远在线文化
17、put their finger on 搞明白；弄清楚= figure out
18、underlying sense 潜在的感觉 underlying reason 深层次的原因
e.g. There is an underlying sense behind sluggish global economy. 全球经济萧条的背后有深层次的原因。
underlie (V.)作为...的原因 A underlie B A是B的基础
e.g. What underlies your poor performance is laziness. 你的表现不好是因为懒惰。
19、grueling 千辛万苦；繁重而累人的
For those who do find themselves miserable at work, it’s an important reminder that the smoothest life paths sometimes fail to teach us about what really brings us satisfaction day to day. According to studies, additional salary and benefits don’t reliably contribute to worker satisfaction. Much more important are things like whether a job provides a sense of autonomy — the ability to control your time and the authority to act on your unique expertise. People want to work alongside others whom they respect (and, optimally, enjoy spending time with) and who seem to respect them in return.
对于那些感觉在工作中很痛苦的人来说，这是一个重要的提示：一帆风顺的人生道路有时并不能教会我们，什么才是每天都能带来真正满足感的东西。根据多项研究，一旦你能为自己和家人提供经济上的支持，额外的工资和福利并不一定会提高员工的满意度。更重要的事情是，诸如工作是否能提供自主权——能够控制时间的能力，以及根据自己的独特专长行事的权力。人们希望与他们尊重的人一起工作（最好还能一起消磨时间），以及对方似乎也尊重他们。
And finally, workers want to feel that their labors are meaningful. We want to feel that we’re making the world better, even if it’s as small a matter as helping a shopper find the right product at the grocery store. You can be a salesperson, or a toll collector, but if you see your goal as solving people’s problems, then each day presents 100 opportunities to improve someone’s life, and your satisfaction increases dramatically. Finding meaning, whether as a banker or a janitor, is difficult work. Usually life, rather than a business-school classroom, is the place to learn how to do it.
最后，员工想要感到他们付出的劳动是有意义的。我们想要感到我们在让世界变得更好，即便只是像帮购物者在杂货店找到对的产品这样的小事情。你可以是一名销售，或收费员，但如果你把你的目标看成是帮人解决问题，那么每天都会有100个机会帮助他人改善生活，而且你的满足感会大幅提升。无论是银行家还是清洁工，寻找人生意义都是一项艰难的工作。这通常要在生活中去学习，而不是在商学院的课堂里。
1、 life paths 人生道路
2、 additional salary and benefits 更好的薪酬福利
3、 reliably 可靠地
4、 contribute to 对...有积极促进作用；推动；提高；导致；造成
5、 autonomy 自主权
6、 optimally 最佳地；理想地
1、 labors 劳动力
2、 meaningful 有意义的
e.g. make a meaningful cut to your taxes. 在你的税收上大幅缩减
e.g. do sth. in a meaningful way 切实的做某事
补充：lip service 空话
3、 toll 收银员 death toll 死亡人数
e.g. take a heavy toll on... 对...造成不利影响。
e.g. Floods took a heave toll on crops. 洪水对农作物造成了严重影响。
4、present 提供 sth. presents sth for sb to do sth. 提供...
e.g. This project presents us with great opportunity to do....这个项目给我们提供了很好的机会...
5、increases dramatically 大幅提高
6、finding meaning 赋予意义 give meaning to life 赋予人生意义
e.g. give sth. a new face 赋予一个新面孔
e.g. give a human face to sth. 赋予人性的一面
7、janitor 清洁工
本课总结： No pain, no gain. No cross, no crown.
