日本电视塔跨年倒数完竟直接关灯

近日，聚集在日本札幌电视塔下倒数跨年的人们震惊了，刚过12点，“电视塔”立刻下班——熄灯了。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Which of the following best reflects the writer's tone towards millennials as “work martyrs”?

A. Sympathetic but critical of their choices.

B. Completely dismissive of their efforts.

C. Neutral and focused on presenting research findings.

D. Optimistic about their potential to balance work and life.

无注释原文：

Why you shouldn't work at full capacity

From: BBC

Have you ever felt like you couldn't take time off work because nobody could do your job while you're away? Do you drop all of your personal plans to work late nights and weekends, and feel guilty simply leaving the office on time?

If any of the above sounds familiar, then you may be one of the growing number of so-called “work martyrs” who are drastically changing company culture and leading to a rise in cases of stress and burnout.

Binal Patel is the first person to admit he's a work martyr and that he's been suffering from mild burnout by sacrificing all of his free time for his career.

The 25-year old data scientist from Raleigh, North Carolina in the US, says his problems began two years ago when he dove headfirst into a new job at a start-up running analytics for the healthcare industry. There were just 12 employees at the time, and Patel remembers setting the bar a bit too high, working “12 hours a day at 200%.”

At first, the positive recognition was addicting, but the recent university graduate soon realised that taking on masochistic amounts of work was unsustainable.

“Over time, your company expects you to work at that initial level because that's what you've done before, and you expect yourself to be at that level because that's what you've been putting in,” he says. “But working that hard all the time just isn't feasible.”

Patel found himself becoming less productive and efficient the more hours he put in. He says it took an emotional toll, too, “because you expect yourself to be at a higher level.”

Patel is not alone in this predicament. According to a new study from The Workforce Institute at Kronos, 81% of salaried employees in the US report that they work outside of their standard work hours, with 29% doing it three or more days per week. A separate study from the US-based Project: Time Off campaign found that millennials, in particular, are much more likely to become work martyrs than their older peers at a rate of 43%, compared with an average of just 29% across all workers.

Experts caution that more time in the office doesn't equate to a better worker, and that bosses need to set clear goals to prevent building potential team burnout into their plans. If not, the repercussions of a stressed-out workforce will become more pronounced as millennials move into management roles and expect the same level of presenteeism from their subordinates.

“What's the future of our work-life balance if this is the mentality we're fostering,” says Katie Denis, lead researcher at Project: Time Off. There needs to be a drastic change in attitude among millennials, “or we'll see much bigger problems on the horizon.”

Studies from Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health have linked overworking with numerous stress-related health problems, including depression, impaired sleep and heavy drinking. Meanwhile, a new study of American, Australian and European workers found that those putting in 55 hours or more per week had a 33% greater risk of stroke and 13% greater risk of coronary heart disease when compared with their peers working a standard 40-hour week.

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为BBC官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Why you shouldn't work at full capacity

From: BBC

Have you ever felt like you couldn't take time off work because nobody could do your job while you're away? Do you drop all of your personal plans to work late nights and weekends, and feel guilty simply leaving the office on time?

你是否感觉不能休假，因为没人能在你离开的时候接替你的工作？你是否会放弃所有的个人计划，利用晚上和周末的时间加班工作？甚至会因为按时下班感到愧疚？

If any of the above sounds familiar, then you may be one of the growing number of so-called “work martyrs” who are drastically changing company culture and leading to a rise in cases of stress and burnout.

如果你很熟悉这些感受，你或许正是不断增多的所谓"工作殉道者"中的一员。这些人给企业文化带来了巨大改变，导致同事压力倍增，身心俱疲。

martyr /ˈmɑːtə/ 表示“殉教者；烈士”，英文解释为“A martyr is someone who is killed or made to suffer greatly because of their religious or political beliefs, and is admired and respected by people who share those beliefs.”

drastically /ˈdræs.tɪ.kəl.i/ 表示“彻底地，激烈地，大幅度地”，英文解释为“in a way that is severe and sudden or has very noticeable effects”举个🌰：Their budget has been drastically reduced. 他们的预算被大幅削减。

burnout /ˈbɜrnˌɑʊt/ 表示“极度劳累；疲劳过度”，英文解释为“extreme tiredness usually caused by working too much”如：employees complaining of/suffering burn-out 抱怨/感到极度劳累的员工。

📍根据世界卫生组织，职业过劳（Occupational burnout）是一种由慢性工作压力导致的症候群，症状包含“精神耗尽、对工作的心理距离增加、对工作的负面感觉、以及工作效率的减少”。职业过劳不被归类为一种医学疾病。

📍动词短语：burn (yourself) out，疲惫不堪，精疲力竭。

Binal Patel is the first person to admit he's a work martyr and that he's been suffering from mild burnout by sacrificing all of his free time for his career.

比纳尔·帕特尔（Binal Patel）是第一个承认自己是"工作殉道者"的人，他因为把所有的自由时间都奉献给工作而感到精疲力尽。

sacrifice /ˈsæk.rɪ.faɪs/ 表示“牺牲；献出”，英文解释为“the act of giving up something that is valuable to you in order to help someone else”举个🌰：We had to make sacrifices in order to pay for our children's education. 为了支付孩子们的教育费用，我们不得不作出牺牲。

The 25-year old data scientist from Raleigh, North Carolina in the US, says his problems began two years ago when he dove headfirst into a new job at a start-up running analytics for the healthcare industry. There were just 12 employees at the time, and Patel remembers setting the bar a bit too high, working “12 hours a day at 200%.”

这位来自美国北卡罗来纳州罗利市的25岁数据科学家表示，他的问题始于两年前，他当时一心想着加入一家创业公司，为医疗行业分析数据。该公司当时只有12名员工，而帕特尔清楚地记得自己当时把标准定得过高："每天工作12小时，完成200%的工作量。"

dive in/dive into sth表示“贸然投入到…之中，介入”，英文解释为“to start doing something suddenly and energetically, often without stopping to think”举个🌰：When he saw the children fighting, he just dived in to sort it out. 他看见孩子们打起来的时候，连忙介入制止。

startup / start-up /ˈstɑːt.ʌp/ 表示“刚起步的小企业，新兴小型企业；初创公司”，英文解释为“a small business that has just been started”如：start-up costs 创业成本，举个🌰：Start-ups are very vulnerable in the business world. 商界中刚起步的小企业非常脆弱。

作名词，表示“条状物”，英文解释为“a substance that has been made into a solid rectangular shape”如：a bar of soap 一块肥皂，a chocolate bar 一条巧克力棒。

作动词，表示“禁止，阻止”，英文解释为“If someone is barred from a place or from doing something, they are officially forbidden to go there or to do it.”举个🌰：The players are barred from drinking alcohol the night before a match. 运动员在参赛前夜不得喝酒。

🎬电影《逆转王牌》（Runner Runner）中的台词提到：He said I'd be barred from re-entering the country.他说我下次回国时会被禁止入境。

📍set the bar high/low = put the bar high/low 表示设定高/低标准、高/低要求（to set a high/low standard for something）

At first, the positive recognition was addicting, but the recent university graduate soon realised that taking on masochistic amounts of work was unsustainable.

他人的积极认可起初令人上瘾，但这个刚刚从大学毕业不久的年轻人很快意识到，这种自虐式的工作方式根本不可持续。

masochistic /ˌmæs.əˈkɪs.tɪk/ 表示“自虐狂的，受虐狂的”，英文解释为“enjoying an activity or situation that most people would find very unpleasant”举个🌰：The race is known for its masochistic mountain terrain. 这场比赛以其受虐般的山区地形而闻名。

unsustainable /ˌʌn.səˈsteɪ.nə.bəl/ 表示“无法以同一标准持续的；枯竭式开采资源的；不符合可持续发展的；不可持续的”，英文解释为“Something that is unsustainable cannot continue at the same rate；causing damage to the environment by using more of something than can be replaced naturally”举个🌰：This level of spending is unsustainable. 这种开销持续不了多久。

“Over time, your company expects you to work at that initial level because that's what you've done before, and you expect yourself to be at that level because that's what you've been putting in,” he says. “But working that hard all the time just isn't feasible.”

"久而久之，你的公司会期望你按照最初的水平来工作，因为你之前就是这么干的。你自己也希望达到这种水平，因为你的确做到过。"他说，"但一直这么努力工作根本不可行。"

feasible /ˈfiː.zə.bəl/ 表示“可行的；行得通的；做得到的”，英文解释为“able to be made, done, or achieved”举个🌰：With the extra resources, the project now seems feasible. 有了额外的资源，这个计划现在看来是可行的。

Patel found himself becoming less productive and efficient the more hours he put in. He says it took an emotional toll, too, “because you expect yourself to be at a higher level.”

帕特尔发现，工作时间越长，工作效果和工作效率就越差。这还会影响情绪，"因为你希望自己能达到更高的水平。"

take its/a toll 表示“造成损失（或伤亡、破坏）”，英文解释为“If something takes its/a toll, it causes suffering, deaths, or damage.”举个🌰：The problems of the past few months have taken their toll on her health and there are shadows under her eyes. 过去几个月里的问题影响了她的健康，她眼睛出现了黑眼圈。

Patel is not alone in this predicament. According to a new study from The Workforce Institute at Kronos, 81% of salaried employees in the US report that they work outside of their standard work hours, with 29% doing it three or more days per week. A separate study from the US-based Project: Time Off campaign found that millennials, in particular, are much more likely to become work martyrs than their older peers at a rate of 43%, compared with an average of just 29% across all workers.

帕特尔并非个例。根据克劳罗斯劳动力研究院（The Workforce Institute at Kronos）的数据，美国有81%受薪雇员有过加班经历，29%每周至少加班3天。另外一项名为Project：Time Off的研究也发现，"千禧一代"比老一辈更有可能成为"工作殉道者"，比例达到43%；而所有劳动者的平均比例仅为29%。

predicament /prɪˈdɪk.ə.mənt/ 表示“尴尬的处境，窘境，困境”，英文解释为“an unpleasant situation that is difficult to get out of”举个🌰：I'm in a bit of a predicament because I've accidentally accepted two invitations to dinner on the same night. 我有些左右为难，因为我无意间接受了同一天晚上两个晚餐的邀请。

millennial /mɪˈlen.i.əl/ 表示“2000年左右出生的人，千禧世代”，英文解释为“a person who was born around the time of the millennium, that is around the year 2000”

Experts caution that more time in the office doesn't equate to a better worker, and that bosses need to set clear goals to prevent building potential team burnout into their plans. If not, the repercussions of a stressed-out workforce will become more pronounced as millennials move into management roles and expect the same level of presenteeism from their subordinates.

专家警告称，在办公室里待的时间越长，未必表示员工越称职，而老板也需要设定明确的目标，避免因为自己制定的计划导致整个团队精疲力尽。否则，当千禧一代担任管理职位时，过量工作产生的影响就会更加严重，因为他们会期待自己的手下也表现出同等程度的"出勤主义"。

caution /ˈkɔː.ʃən/ 作名词，表示“谨慎，小心，慎重”，英文解释为“great care and attention”举个🌰：We need to proceed with/exercise caution (= be careful in taking action, making decisions, etc.) 我们必须谨慎行事。

作动词，表示“告诫，提醒”，英文解释为“to warn someone”举个🌰：The newspaper cautioned its readers against buying shares without getting good advice first. 报纸告诫读者事先没有获得好的建议，不要购买股票。

表示“相当于；等于”，英文解释为“to be equal to sth else”举个🌰：A $5 000 raise equates to 25%. 提薪5 000元相当于增加了25%。

补充：

equate表示“将…等同于；等同于”，英文解释为“If you equate one thing with another, or if you say that one thing equates with another, you believe that they are strongly connected.”举个🌰：I'm always wary of men wearing suits, as I equate this with power and authority. 我总是提防着穿制服的人，因为我将其等同于权力及权威。The author doesn't equate liberalism and conservatism. 该作者没有将自由主义等同于保守主义。

repercussion /ˌriːpəˈkʌʃən/ 表示“后果”，英文解释为“If an action or event has repercussions, it causes unpleasant things to happen some time after the original action or event.”举个🌰：It was an effort which was to have painful repercussions. 那是一个将产生沉痛后果的尝试。

pronounced /prəˈnaʊnst/ 表示“明显的；明确的”，英文解释为“very noticeable or certain”举个🌰：She's a woman of very pronounced views which she is not afraid to air. 她是个从不讳言其观点的女人。

subordinate /səˈbɔː.dɪ.nət/ 表示“下属，下级”，英文解释为“a person who has a less important position than you in an organization”举个🌰：He left the routine checks to one of his subordinates. 他把例行检查交给了一个下属负责。

“What's the future of our work-life balance if this is the mentality we're fostering,” says Katie Denis, lead researcher at Project: Time Off. There needs to be a drastic change in attitude among millennials, “or we'll see much bigger problems on the horizon.”

"如果我们正在形成这样的心态，那么工作与生活之间的平衡未来将变成什么样子？"Project：Time Off首席研究员凯蒂·丹尼斯（Katie Denis）说。千禧一代需要大幅调整自己的态度，"否则会引发更加严重的问题。"

foster /ˈfɒs.tər/ 作动词，表示“鼓励；促进；培养”，英文解释为“to encourage the development or growth of ideas or feelings”举个🌰：I'm trying to foster an interest in classical music in my children. 我正努力培养我的孩子们对古典音乐的兴趣。

作形容词，表示“（在有限的一段时间内）（所）收养的，（所）代养的”，英文解释为“used to refer to someone or something connected with the care of children, usually for a limited time, by someone who is not the child's legal parent”如：a foster care/home/child/mother 非亲代养/寄养家庭/代养的孩子/养母。

表示“即将发生”，英文解释为“likely to happen or exist soon”举个🌰：There is no new drug on the horizon that will make this disease easier to treat. 目前还没有什么新药能使治疗这种疾病变得更容易。

Studies from Marianna Virtanen of the Finnish Institute of Occupational Health have linked overworking with numerous stress-related health problems, including depression, impaired sleep and heavy drinking. Meanwhile, a new study of American, Australian and European workers found that those putting in 55 hours or more per week had a 33% greater risk of stroke and 13% greater risk of coronary heart disease when compared with their peers working a standard 40-hour week.

芬兰劳动卫生研究所的玛丽安娜·维尔塔宁（Marianna Virtanen）进行的研究，将过度工作跟很多与压力有关的健康问题关联起来，包括抑郁症、睡眠障碍和严重酗酒。与此同时，针对美国、澳大利亚和欧洲职场人士的一份新研究发现，与每周工作40小时的人相比，每周至少工作55小时的人中风风险增加33%，冠心病风险也增加13%。

impaired /ɪmˈpeəd/ 表示“受损的，被削弱的”，英文解释为“damaged in a way that makes something less effective”举个🌰：She suffers from impaired vision/hearing. 她的视力/听力受损。

stroke /strəʊk/ 表示“中风”，英文解释为“a sudden change in the blood supply to a part of the brain, sometimes causing a loss of the ability to move particular parts of the body”举个🌰：She suffered/had a stroke that left her unable to speak. 她中风了，不能开口说话。

coronary /ˈkɒr.ən.ər.i/ 表示“动脉的，冠状动脉的”，英文解释为“relating to the arteries (= thick tubes) that supply blood to the muscles of the heart”举个🌰：Regular exercise reduces the risk of coronary heart disease. 经常锻炼身体能减少患冠心病的危险。

📍coronary artery表示“冠状动脉”（either of the two arteries that supply blood to the heart）

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