2024新高三·英语暑假作业 第1周 第5天

2024新高三·英语暑假作业

第1周 第5天

______月______日    星期__________    姓名：__________

【外刊精读】
文章来自卫报
They say the lunch break is dying — but don’t give up your hour of freedom
A long time ago, when I worked in an office, we used to take lunch quite seriously. This meant getting up from our desks, walking on our legs, and eating with another human being for the purposes of chat. Sometimes this even happened outside, or at a restaurant. It seems absurd now. Who has the time to hang out in the middle of the day or drop $20 on a sandwich when you could be sitting at your desk, staring at the internet, grazing leftovers from a plastic container from home? (Or, if you’re already at home, let’s be honest, taking a nap.)
If this killjoy reflex is a side-effect of age – for most people, time becomes less their own as they get older – it is also, it seems, a sign of the times. Two recent pieces of research in the US indicate that, over the past four or five years, Americans have been spending less money at lunchtime – 3.3% less, according to a payments app, Square – and also moving around less in the middle of the day.
A study into post-Covid downtown recovery by the University of Toronto earlier this year found that in the central business districts of most North American cities there has been a marked “decrease in activity levels during working hours” since the pandemic. This is partly due to the rise in remote working. But it may also be that the very concept of a lunch hour is on the wane.
In the US, how we eat weekday lunches has always been a barometer for cultural attitudes towards work. Think back to 1987 and the movie Wall Street, in which Gordon Gekko’s “lunch is for wimps” was itself an echo of David Mamet’s “coffee is for closers”, from Glengarry Glen Ross.
Competitive productivity, a solid feature of American and British cultural life for the past 40 years, will probably always be with us in some form or another. What’s curious is that, in an era of high inflation and wage stagnation, it seems likely that skipping lunch is less an expression of thrusting ambition – Deals! Deals! Projects! Projects! – and more like a piece of dowdy expediency.
It has to be said that I’m fairly dowdy about lunch these days myself. I would rather take an hour at the end of the day than spend one fannying about in the middle. The only thing worse than the person who wants to meet you for lunch is the person who wants to meet you for breakfast (no one wants your breakfast meeting, stop it). The French are, I’m sure, still eating three-course meals before strolling back to their desks at 3pm, but that doesn’t work here, in the land of two weeks’ annual holiday and no mandated maternity leave. Etc etc.
As I type this, I realise I don’t believe any of this, which makes an elevated case for what is, in fact, entrenched social and physical laziness. The truth is, I don’t go out or meet people for lunch because most of the time I can’t be bothered. I’d rather stare at the internet or move things around my apartment under the auspices of “tidying up”.
This seems like a bad thing. At the very least, it has nothing to do with productivity. There is, I’m sure, a case to be made that socialising, moving around, or taking your head out of work in the middle of the day is actively good for your output. (Not to mention your emotional and physical health.) Skipping your lunch hour feels like part of a larger bait-and-switch, on a continuum with zero-hours contracts, gig labour, no security, no benefits – all bad deals that were presented by employers as opportunities for us to enjoy greater freedom. You can, of course, take all the lunch break you want if you’re on your own clock. In which case, why take any lunch break at all?
Still, the conditioning dies hard. Lunch is for wimps. By not taking lunch, I am signalling to myself that I’m highly productive, without actually having to do any work. Back in the day, there was a woman, a friend of a friend, who used to preface her lunch dates with the phrase: “I only get an hour.” We used to think this was funny and vaguely pathetic, so that “I only get an hour” became a byword for being a sad worker bee. I have to say, I don’t think it looks that way, now.

一、请写出下列单词词义
1. absurd ____________________     2. hang out ____________________
3. graze ____________________     4. leftover ____________________
5. killjoy ____________________     6. reflex ____________________
7. side-effect ____________________     8. concept ____________________
9. on the wane ____________________     10. barometer ____________________
11. wimp ____________________     12. stagnation ____________________
13. thrusting ____________________     14. dowdy ____________________
15. expediency ____________________     16. would rather ____________________
17. stroll ____________________     18. mandated ____________________
19. maternity leave ____________________     20. elevated ____________________
21. entrenched ____________________     22. auspice ____________________
23. tidy up ____________________     24. bait-and-switch ____________________
25. on a continuum with ____________________     26. vaguely ____________________
27. pathetic ____________________     28. byword ____________________
二、用下列单词的正确形式填空
absurd   hang out   concept   side-effect   would rather   tidy up   pathetic   vaguely
1. Such events do not prove a connection between a drug and a _______________.
2. I _______________ die than live like that again.
3. His collegues were surprised at his _______________ behaviour.
4. Let’s _______________ before mom comes!
5. He speaks in _______________ rather than specifics.
6. The animal gave a _______________ little whimper.
7. What’s your favorite place to _______________?
8. I can still _______________ recall being taken to the hospital.
三、请翻译下列句子
1. This meant getting up from our desks, walking on our legs, and eating with another human being for the purposes of chat.

2. Competitive productivity, a solid feature of American and British cultural life for the past 40 years, will probably always be with us in some form or another.

3. By not taking lunch, I am signalling to myself that I’m highly productive, without actually having to do any work.

参考答案

一、
1. absurd  英/əbˈsɜːd/｜美/əbˈsɜːrd/
adj. 愚蠢的，荒谬的；滑稽可笑的；荒诞派的
n. 荒诞，荒诞的事物 （the absurd）
2. hang out闲逛；闲荡；出去消遣
3. graze  英/ɡreɪz/｜美/ɡreɪz/
v. 吃草；放牧；擦过；擦伤，擦破；<非正式>经常吃零食而不吃正餐，吃很多零食；<美，非正式>随意地尝试（或体验、浏览）
n. 擦伤
4. leftover  英/ˈleftəʊvə(r)/｜美/ˈleftoʊvər/
n. 剩饭，剩菜（leftovers）；残存物，遗留物
adj. 剩下的，多余的
5. killjoy  英/ ˈkɪldʒɔɪ /｜美/ ˈkɪldʒɔɪ /
n. 令人扫兴的人；煞风景
6. reflex  英/ ˈriːfleks /｜美/ ˈriːfleks /
n. （对刺激的）本能反应；反射（作用）；反映物；反映形式；反射光
adj. 本能反应的；（角）大于180度的；（光）被反射的；反折的；反省的
7. side-effect  n. 副作用
8. concept  英/ ˈkɒnsept /｜美/ ˈkɑːnsept /
n. 概念，观念
adj. （围绕）某主题的；为表达一种想法而创造的
v. <非正式>想象，设想
9. on the wane  逐渐减少：指逐渐变小或减少
10. barometer  英/ bəˈrɒmɪtə(r) /｜美/ bəˈrɑːmɪtər /
n. 气压计，晴雨表；变化的标志，指标
11. wimp  英/ wɪmp /｜美/ wɪmp /
n. 懦弱的人，无能的人；瘦弱的男人
v. 畏缩；退缩
12. stagnation  英/ stæɡˈneɪʃ(ə)n /｜美/ stæɡˈneɪʃ(ə)n /
n. （一国经济的）不景气，停滞；（水）不流动
13. thrusting  英/ ˈθrʌstɪŋ /｜美/ ˈθrʌstɪŋ /
v. （用力）推；（用刀剑）刺，戳；（人）挤过；伸展；
adj. 积极进取的
14. dowdy  英/ ˈdaʊdi /｜美/ ˈdaʊdi /
adj. 懒散的；过时的；寒酸的
n. 懒散的女人；邋遢女人
15. expediency  英/ ɪkˈspiːdiənsi /｜美/ ɪkˈspiːdiənsi /
n. 方便，权宜；私利；权宜之计
16. would rather  宁愿，宁可：表示更愿意或更倾向于做某事或选择某事物
17. stroll  英/ strəʊl /｜美/ stroʊl /
v. 散步，闲逛；（体育比赛）轻而易举地获胜
n. 散步，溜达；（竞赛中）轻易的胜利
18. mandated  英/ ˈmændeɪtɪd /｜美/ ˈmændeɪtɪd /
adj. （国家）被托管的，委托统治的；依法的；获得授权的
v. 授权；命令；托管；强制执行（mandate 的过去式和过去分词）
19. maternity leave
n. 产假：公司给予母亲的休假时间，以照顾新生儿
20. elevated  英/ ˈelɪveɪtɪd /｜美/ ˈelɪveɪtɪd /
adj. 高出地面的，比（他物）高的；高尚的，睿智的；职位（或社会地位）高的；偏高的，高于正常的；欢欣的
n. 高架铁路
v. 提拔，晋升；举起，抬起；提高，使升高（elevate 的过去式和过去分词）
21. entrenched  英/ ɪnˈtrentʃt /｜美/ ɪnˈtrentʃt /
adj. 根深蒂固的；确立的，不容易改的
v. 确立；保证；挖掘壕沟（entrench 的过去分词）
22. auspice  英/ ˈɔːspɪs /｜美/ ˈɔːspɪs /
n. 赞助，主办；吉兆
23. tidy up
v. 整理、收拾或清理一个地方，使其变得有序或整洁
24. bait-and-switch  n. 诱售法（以廉价商品招徕顾客，再兜售较高价商品）
25. on a continuum with
表示某件事与另一件事在同一连续体上，暗示它们之间存在某种渐进的关系或相似性
26. vaguely  英/ ˈveɪɡli /｜美/ ˈveɪɡli /
adv. 略微地，稍微地；不详细地，粗略地；茫然地，心不在焉地
27. pathetic    英/ pəˈθetɪk /｜美/ pəˈθetɪk /
adj. 令人怜悯的，可怜的；无用的，差劲的；感伤的
28. byword  英/ ˈbaɪwɜːd /｜美/ ˈbaɪwɜːrd /
n. 谚语，俗语；格言；笑柄
二、
1. side effect    2. would rather    3. absurd     4. tidy up     5. concepts
6. pathetic    7. hang out    8. vaguely
三、
1. 午餐时间意味着我们会离开工位，站起来走两步，和同事一起吃饭、聊天。
2. 在过去40年里，竞争性生产力一直是英美文化生活中根深蒂固的一面，这种现象或许会一直以某种形式存在。
3. 不吃午饭的我，似乎在向自己暗示我工作效率极高，而实际上我并不需要做任何工作。
参考译文：
很久以前，当我还在办公室工作的时候，我们对待午餐可是相当认真的。午餐时间意味着我们会离开工位，站起来走两步，和同事一起吃饭、聊天。有时候，我们甚至会到户外或者餐厅去。现在想想真的是太疯狂了。如今谁还有时间在大中午的时候闲逛，或者花20美元买个三明治呢？坐在办公桌前，刷刷网页，啃啃从家里带来的塑料盒饭不香吗？（或者，如果你在家办公的话，说实话，肯定会选择午睡。）
如果这种扼杀快乐的反射行为是年龄增长的副作用——因为对大多数人来说，随着年龄的增长，自己拥有的时间越来越少。不过，这似乎也反映了当下的时代风气。美国最近的两项研究表明，在过去四五年里，美国人在午餐时间的花销有所下降——根据支付应用Square的数据，下降了3.3%——而且人们在中午时分的活动量也呈下降趋势。
多伦多大学今年早些时候对疫情后市中心复苏情况的研究发现，自疫情暴发以来，北美大多数城市的中央商务区在工作时间内的活动水平有了显著的“下降”。这在一定程度上是由于远程工作的兴起。但这也可能意味着，午餐文化这个概念本身正在逐渐淡出人们的生活。
在美国，我们如何吃工作日的午餐，一直是衡量人们对工作文化态度的风向标。回想一下1987年的电影《华尔街》，其中戈登·盖柯的名言“只有懦夫才吃午餐”就呼应了大卫·马梅特在《大亨游戏》中“只有成功者才配喝咖啡”的这句话。
在过去40年里，竞争性生产力一直是英美文化生活中根深蒂固的一面，这种现象或许会一直以某种形式存在。有趣的是，在这个高通胀和工资停滞的时代，人们不吃午餐似乎不再是表达强烈进取心的一种方式——交易！交易！项目！项目！——反而更像是一种朴素的权宜之计。
不得不说，如今我对午餐也是相当随意。我宁愿把时间挪在下班之后，也不愿意在中午时分浪费一小时闲逛。比起那些想约你共进午餐的人更糟糕的，是那些想要和你共进早餐的人（没人想参加你的早餐会，别提了）。我敢肯定，法国人现在可能还保持着午餐吃三道菜，然后下午3点悠闲地回办公桌的习惯。但是这套做法在这里是行不通的，毕竟这里每年只有两周的年假，同时也没有法定产假等等。
在我敲下这些文字的时候，我突然意识到我其实根本不相信自己说的话，这番话反而更凸显了一个根深蒂固的问题：社会和身体的懒惰。事实上，我之所以不出门或与人共进午餐，大多数时候是因为我单纯不想折腾。我宁愿盯着电脑屏幕或者打着“整理”家务的幌子挪动一下家里的东西。
这听起来不是什么好事。至少跟生产力没什么关系。我确信，有理由认为花时间社交、活动身体，或是在工作日中午暂时从工作中抽离，对你的工作产出能带来积极影响。（更不用说你的情感和身体健康。）放弃午餐时间让人感觉像是掉进了一个更大的交换骗局，和零工时合同、零散工作、没有保障、没有福利这种做法如出一辙，所有这些都是雇主包装成给我们的所谓享受更多自由的不公平交易。当然，如果你按自己的时间表工作，你可以随意安排午饭时间。那么，既然你可以安排自己的时间，为什么还要特意腾出时间吃午饭呢？
然而，这种习惯性思维很难改变。午餐是给懦弱者的这种说法仍然在影响着我们。不吃午饭的我，似乎在向自己暗示我工作效率极高，而实际上我并不需要做任何工作。记得以前，有个朋友的朋友，她每次约午餐之前都会事先声明：“我只有一个小时”。我们以前总觉得这很好笑，也有点可怜，以至于“我只有一个小时”成了勤劳工蜂的代名词。不过，我必须说，现在我不这么看了。