建议将8小时工作制缩短为7小时

近日，缩短工时成为两会热点。全国人大代表提出将每日8小时工作制缩至7小时，配套提高加班费标准并建立5年追溯机制，引发热议。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. Employees at Positivity Branding work 32 hours per week across four days. Compared with a conventional five-day 40-hour schedule, which statement is most accurate?

A. Employees work 25% fewer hours per week while maintaining the same daily workload.

B. Employees work the same total weekly hours but compress them into fewer days.

C. Employees reduce both weekly hours and daily working hours.

D. Employees work longer hours each day to compensate for the reduced workweek.

无注释原文：

The Dutch love four-day working weeks, but are they sustainable?

From: BBC

The Dutch have quietly adopted working just a four-day week. But what has been its impact, and can it last?

"Your kids are only young once," says Gavin Arm, co-founder of Amsterdam-based small business Positivity Branding.

"Most people, if they're running a company, they throw themselves into it and work, work, work to try and make it. And they're probably doing it for their kids.

"But then they look back when they're older and go 'I missed that part of their lives', and that's awful. We don't want to be like that."

Arm is speaking to me at the firm's cosy office in the Dutch capital's lively De Pijp neighbourhood. South of the city centre, it is known for its bustling markets, bohemian history and heavy gentrification.

His business, which he co-founded with colleague Bert de Wit, advises companies on their brand identity and packaging.

Arm and de Wit switched themselves and their staff to a four-day week seven years ago.

Employees did not have to take a cut in salary, and nor did they have to work longer hours on the four days. Instead, their hours remain at 32-per-week, or eight-per-day.

"The work-life balance was at the heart of it," adds de Wit, who disagrees with the suggestion that their staff are now doing less work for the same amount of money. Instead he puts it down to "working smarter not harder".

"In other countries they might spend a lot of time at work, but that doesn't mean they work a lot. Changing the culture and the mindset is the biggest challenge."

Working a four-day week has now been common across the Netherlands for a number of years, with even the largest companies getting on board.

Meanwhile, the country's biggest union, FNV, is continuing to lobby the Dutch government to make it the official recommendation. And, anyway, Dutch employees already have a legal right to request reduced hours.

"We like time to free up our mind. I get the best ideas when I walk my dog," says Marieke Pepers, chief people officer at the Dutch software firm Nmbrs.

She takes Friday off every week. "No one is expecting me, I get my inspiration, I'm in a better place, and the company is too."

Pepers adds that since the company switched to a four-day week "staff sickness is down, and retention is up". But she says that the idea was initially a hard sell.

"We had to convince investors. Our own people were sceptical at first, 'I'm already not capable of finishing my work in five days' [was one reaction].

"Some people were feeling pressure. But we just have to be super‑critical in how we prioritise our work, we cut back on meetings."

The Netherlands' quiet embrace of the four‑day working week has captured international attention. Dutch employees work an average of 32.1 hours per week, the lowest in the EU, and well below the bloc's average of 36 hours.

- ◆ -

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：

The Dutch love four-day working weeks, but are they sustainable?

From: BBC

The Dutch have quietly adopted working just a four-day week. But what has been its impact, and can it last?

荷兰人已经悄然采用了每周仅工作四天的制度，但这对社会造成了什么影响，又能持续多久？

"Your kids are only young once," says Gavin Arm, co-founder of Amsterdam-based small business Positivity Branding.

“孩子的童年只有一次，”总部位于阿姆斯特丹的小型企业“正向品牌”（Positivity Branding）的共同创办人加文·阿姆（Gavin Arm）说。

"Most people, if they're running a company, they throw themselves into it and work, work, work to try and make it. And they're probably doing it for their kids. But then they look back when they're older and go 'I missed that part of their lives', and that's awful. We don't want to be like that."

“大多数人创业时，会拼命工作、投入所有精力，为的是让事业成功。而他们通常也是为孩子努力，但等到年纪大了回头看，才发现错过了孩子的成长阶段——那太糟糕了。我们不想那样。”

表示“投身于；积极从事”，英文解释为“to do something actively and enthusiastically”举个🌰：She's thrown herself into this new job. 她满怀热情地做起了这份新工作。

Arm is speaking to me at the firm's cosy office in the Dutch capital's lively De Pijp neighbourhood. South of the city centre, it is known for its bustling markets, bohemian history and heavy gentrification.

阿姆在公司位于阿姆斯特丹热闹的德派普（De Pijp）地区雅致的办公室接受访问。该区位于市中心以南，以其热闹市集、波希米亚风情和高度的仕绅化而闻名。

英式 cosy 美式 cozy /ˈkəʊ.zi/ 表示“（尤指建筑物因为小及温暖而）温馨的，温暖舒适的，惬意的，安逸的”，英文解释为“comfortable and pleasant, especially (of a building) because of being small and warm”举个🌰：This room is nice and cosy in the winter. 这房间冬天十分温暖舒适。

作名词，表示“保暖罩”，英文解释为“a cover that you put on a teapot or a boiled egg to keep it warm”

bustling /ˈbʌs.lɪŋ/ 可以当形容词，表示“熙熙攘攘的；热闹的”，英文解释为“If a place is bustling, it is full of busy activity.”举个🌰：This used to be a bustling town but a lot of people have moved away over recent years. 这儿曾经是个繁荣的市镇，但近年来许多人都搬走了。

bustle本身作动词时，可以指“忙乱，忙忙碌碌；匆忙做”（to move around quickly, looking very busy）举个🌰：Jane bustled around the house, getting everything ready. 简在公寓里忙着把所有东西都准备好。

也可以直接作名词，短语：hustle and bustle表示“喧闹嘈杂”（noise and activity）举个🌰：I love the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. 我喜欢市场里的熙攘喧闹。

bohemian /bəʊˈhiː.mi.ən/ 表示“放荡不羁的文化人”，英文解释为“a person who is interested in artistic and unusual things, for example art, music, or literature, and lives in an informal way that ignores the usually accepted ways of behaving”

在这里，bohemian指的是“波西米亚风格的”或“放荡不羁的”，用来形容一种不拘小节、自由浪漫、富有艺术气息的文化氛围。

gentrification /ˌdʒen.trɪ.fɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/ 表示“（地区的）贵族化”，英文解释为“the process by which a place, especially part of a city, changes from being a poor area to a richer one, where people from a higher social class live”举个🌰：Ordinary working people have been priced out of East London by gentrification. 普通劳动人民因地区贵族化而被赶出了东伦敦。

His business, which he co-founded with colleague Bert de Wit, advises companies on their brand identity and packaging.

这家公司由阿姆和同事伯特·德·维特（Bert de Wit）共同创立，专门为企业提供品牌识别和包装设计的顾问服务。

Arm and de Wit switched themselves and their staff to a four-day week seven years ago.

七年前，两人决定让自己和员工全面采用四天工作周。

Employees did not have to take a cut in salary, and nor did they have to work longer hours on the four days. Instead, their hours remain at 32-per-week, or eight-per-day.

员工不需要减薪，也不需要在那四天延长工时。工时依然维持每周32小时、每天8小时。

"The work-life balance was at the heart of it," adds de Wit, who disagrees with the suggestion that their staff are now doing less work for the same amount of money. Instead he puts it down to "working smarter not harder".

“工作与生活的平衡是核心所在，”德·维特补充说。他不认同外界认为员工是在“少做事、多领钱”，反而认为关键在于“更聪明地工作，而不是更用力地工作”。

put sth down to sth表示“把…归因于…”，英文解释为“to think that a problem or situation is caused by a particular thing”举个🌰：I put the children's bad behaviour down to the fact that they were tired. 我认为孩子们表现不好是因为他们累了。

"In other countries they might spend a lot of time at work, but that doesn't mean they work a lot. Changing the culture and the mindset is the biggest challenge."

“在其他国家，人们可能花很多时间待在工作场所，但不代表他们真的工作很多。改变文化与思维模式才是最大挑战。”

mindset /ˈmaɪnd.set/ 表示“思想倾向；思维方式；观念模式”，英文解释为“a person's way of thinking and their opinions”如：to have a different/the same mindset 有不同/相同的思维方式。

Working a four-day week has now been common across the Netherlands for a number of years, with even the largest companies getting on board.

如今，荷兰的四天工作周已行之有年，甚至大型企业也加入其中。

get on board意思是加入、参与、接受并开始实行某种做法。字面意思：上船（登上甲板）。引申含义：当一个人或组织“上船”时，意味着他们同意参与一个计划、支持一个项目，或者开始遵循一种新的趋势或规则。

Meanwhile, the country's biggest union, FNV, is continuing to lobby the Dutch government to make it the official recommendation. And, anyway, Dutch employees already have a legal right to request reduced hours.

同时，荷兰最大工会FNV持续游说政府将其纳入官方建议。更何况，荷兰员工本就有合法权利提出减少工时的请求。

作动词，表示“游说”；作名词，1）表示“游说团体，游说集团”，英文解释为“a group of people who try to persuade the government or an official group to do something”如：the anti-smoking lobby 反吸烟游说团体。

2）表示“大堂，大厅，门厅”，英文解释为“the (large) room into which the main entrance door opens in a hotel or other large building”

3）表示“（英国议会的）接见厅，会见厅，表决厅”，英文解释为“in the UK parliament, a room where someone meets a member of parliament who they have arranged to talk to, or one of the two passages that members of parliament walk through as a way of voting”

"We like time to free up our mind. I get the best ideas when I walk my dog," says Marieke Pepers, chief people officer at the Dutch software firm Nmbrs.

“我们喜欢让自己的脑袋有时间放空。我常在遛狗时得到最好的灵感，”荷兰软体公司Nmbrs的人力资源主管玛丽克·佩佩尔斯（Marieke Pepers） 说。

She takes Friday off every week. "No one is expecting me, I get my inspiration, I'm in a better place, and the company is too."

她每周都在周五休假。“那天没人找我，我能获得灵感、状态更好，公司也因此更佳。”

Pepers adds that since the company switched to a four-day week "staff sickness is down, and retention is up". But she says that the idea was initially a hard sell.

佩佩尔斯指出，公司改采四天工作周后，“员工病假下降、留任率上升”。但她也坦承，当初推行这项制度并不容易。

retention /rɪˈten.ʃən/ 表示“保留；保持；维持”，英文解释为“the continued use, existence, or possession of something or someone”如：water/heat retention 水分保持/热量滞留。

📍2023年政府工作报告Part 13提到：义务教育巩固率由93.8%提高到95.5%。The retention rate in nine-year compulsory education rose from 93.8 percent to 95.5 percent. 其中，The retention rate 巩固率是2013年公布的教育学名词，是指在特定教育阶段内，完成了某一年级学习的学生人数占这届学生入学时总人数的比例。

a hard sell的意思是一个很难让人接受的想法、一个很难推销的主张，或者一件很难办成的事。当你说某件事是a hard sell，意味着它不好卖、不好推行、不好让人点头同意。因为它可能太激进、太花钱、太违反常识，或者人们一开始根本不相信它有效。如果某件事是a soft sell，那就是大家很容易接受了。

"We had to convince investors. Our own people were sceptical at first, 'I'm already not capable of finishing my work in five days' [was one reaction].

“我们得先说服投资者。连公司内部的人一开始也很怀疑，觉得自己‘连五天都做不完工作，怎么可能四天？’”

sceptical /ˈskep.tɪ.kəl/ 表示“怀疑的，持怀疑态度的”，英文解释为“doubting that something is true or useful”举个🌰：Many experts remain sceptical about/of their claims. 很多专家对他们的主张仍然持怀疑态度。

"Some people were feeling pressure. But we just have to be super‑critical in how we prioritise our work, we cut back on meetings."

“有些人感受到压力。我们只需要对工作的优先顺序极度挑剔，并大量减少会议。”

The Netherlands' quiet embrace of the four‑day working week has captured international attention. Dutch employees work an average of 32.1 hours per week, the lowest in the EU, and well below the bloc's average of 36 hours.

荷兰悄然推行的四天工作制引起国际关注。荷兰员工平均每周只工作32.1小时，是欧盟国家中最少的，且远低于欧盟平均的36小时。

bloc /blɒk/ 表示“集团，阵营（指具有类似政治利益的国家或人的群体）”，英文解释为“a group of countries or people that have similar political interests”举个🌰：The European Union is a powerful trading/trade bloc. 欧盟是一个强大的贸易集团。

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