大学英语（第四册）复习（原文及全文翻译）——Unit 10 - Why People Work（人为什么工作）

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Unit 10 - Why People Work

Do you view work as a burden or an opportunity? Are you the kind of person who looks for ways to save your energy or the kind that finds spending your energy satisfying? Why do people like to complain about work? Find the answers to question like these in the following essay.

WHY PEOPLE WORK

Leonard R. Sayles

Jobs and work do much more than most of us realize to provide happiness and contentment. We're all used to thinking that work provides the material things of life -- the goods and services that make possible our modern civilization. But we are much less conscious of the extent to which work provides the more intangible, but more crucial, psychological well-being that can make the difference between a full and an empty life.

Historically, work has been associated with slavery and sin and punishment. And in our own day we are used to hearing the traditional complaints: "I can't wait for my vacation," "I wish I could stay home today," "My boss treats me poorly," "I've got too much work to do and not enough time to do it." Against this background, it may well come as a surprise to learn that not only psychologists but other behavioral scientists have come to accept the positive contribution of work to the individual's happiness and sense of personal achievement. Work is more than a necessity for most human beings; it is the focus of their lives, the source of their identity and creativity.

Rather than a punishment or a burden, work is the opportunity to realize one's potential. Many psychiatrists heading mental health clinics have observed its healing effect. A good many patients who feel depressed in clinics gain renewed self-confidence when gainfully employed and lose some, if not all, of their most acute symptoms. Increasingly, institutions dealing with mental health problems are establishing workshops wherein those too sick to get a job in "outside" industry can work, while every effort is exerted to arrange "real" jobs for those well enough to work outside.

And the reverse is true, too. For large numbers of people, the absence of work is harmful to their health. Retirement often brings many problems surrounding the "What do I do with myself?" question, even though there may be no financial cares. Large numbers of people regularly get headaches and other illnesses on weekends when they don't have their jobs to go to, and must fend for themselves. It has been observed that unemployment, quite aside from exerting financial pressures, brings enormous psychological troubles and that many individuals deteriorate rapidly when jobless.

But why? Why should work be such a significant source of human satisfaction? A good share of the answer rests in the kind of pride that is stimulated by the job, by the activity of accomplishing.

Pride in Accomplishment

The human being longs for a sense of being accomplished, of being able to do things, with his hand, with his mind, with his will. Each of us wants to feel he or she has the ability to do something that is meaningful and that serves as a tribute to our inherent abilities.

It is easiest to see this in the craftsman who lovingly shapes some cheap material into an object that may be either useful or beautiful or both. You can see the carpenter or bricklayer stand aside and admire the product of his personal skill.

But even where there is no obvious end product that is solely attributable to one person's skill, researchers have found that employees find pride in accomplishment. Our own research in hospitals suggests that even the housekeeping and laundry staffs take pride in the fact that in their own ways they are helping to cure sick people -- and thus accomplishing good deal.

We're often misled by the complaints surrounding difficult work; deep down most people regard their own capacity to conquer the tough job as the mark of their own unique personality. Complaining is just part of working after all, how else do you know who you are, except as you can demonstrate the ability of your mind to control your limbs and hands and words? You are, in significant measure, what you can do.

Some are deceived into thinking that people like to store up energy, to rest and save themselves as much as possible. Just the opposite. It is energy expenditure that is satisfying.

Just watch an employee who must deal with countless other people because his or her job is at some central point in a communications network: a salesman at a busy counter, a stock broker on the phone, a customer representative. They will tell you how much skill and experience it takes to answer countless questions and handle various kinds of personalities every hour of the day. Not everyone can interact with such persistence and over long hours, but those who do, pride themselves on a distinctive ability that contributes mightily to the running of the organization.

But work is more than accomplishment and pride in being able to command the job, because except for a few craftsmen and artists most work takes place "out in the world," with and through other people.

Esprit de corps

Perhaps an example will make the point:

I remember viewing a half dozen men in a chair factory whose job it was to bend several pieces of steel and attach them so that a folding chair would result. While there were ten or twelve of these "teams" that worked together, one in particular was known for its perfect coordination and lightning-like efforts. The men knew they were good. They would work in spurts for twenty or thirty minutes before taking a break -- to show themselves, bystanders and other groups what it was to be superbly skilled and self-controlled, to be the best in the factory.

When I talked with them, each expressed enormous pride in being a part of the fastest, best team. And this sense of belonging to an accomplished work group is one of the distinctive satisfactions of the world of work.

One further word about work group satisfactions. Unlike many other aspects of life, relationships among people at work tend to be simpler, less complicated, somewhat less emotional. This is not to say there aren't arguments and jealousies, but, on the whole, behavioral research discloses that human relations at work are just easier, perhaps because they are more regular and predictable and thus simpler to adjust to than the sporadic, the more intense and less regular relationships in the community. And the work group also gently pressures its members to learn how to adjust to one another so that the "rough edges" are worked off because people know they must do certain things with and through one another each day.

Beyond the team and the work group, there is the organization, whether it be company or hospital or university. The same pride in being part of a well-coordinated, successful unit is derived from being part of a larger collectivity. Working for a company that is thought of as being part of the best in the community can provide employees with both status and self-confidence. They assume, usually with good reason, that others regard them more highly, even envy them, and that they are more competent than the average because of this association with a "winner," a prestigious institution. We in truth bask in the reflected glory of the institution, and we seek ways of asserting our membership so that others will know and can recognize our good fortune.

参考译文——人为什么工作

你将工作视为负担还是机会？你是那种想尽办法保存精力的人还是发觉消耗精力令人满足的人？人们为什么喜欢抱怨工作？在下文中寻找答案吧。

人为什么工作

伦纳德·R·塞尔斯

职业和工作在使人得到幸福与满足方面所起的作用比我们大多数人意识到的要多得多。我们都习惯于认为工作为人生提供物质的东西——提供使我们的现代文明成为可能的商品和服务。但是我们对工作在促进精神生活方面所起的作用，则知之甚少。这方面的作用难以捉摸，却更加至关重要，它是人生过得充实还是空虚的决定性因素。

在历史上，工作一直与奴役、罪恶和惩罚联系在一起。现今我们还常常听到那些老一套的怨言：“我巴不得早点放假”，“今天我要是呆在家里该多好”，“我的老板待我不好”，“我的事情多得来不及做”等等。在这种情况下，当你得悉心理学家们以及其他的行为科学家们都认为，工作对个人幸福和个人成就起着积极作用时，你很可能会感到惊奇。对大多数人来说，工作不仅仅是一种必需，它还是人们生活的焦点，是他们的个性和创造性的源泉。

工作不是惩罚，也不是负担，工作为个人潜在能力的发挥提供机会。许多精神病诊所的主治医生观察到工作的治疗作用。许许多多在诊所里显得精神抑郁的病人，一旦受聘从事有一定收益的工作时，便重新获得自信，并失去部分（如果不是全部的话）最严重的症状。越来越多的处理精神病问题的机构建立起工场，病情过重在“外面的”工厂里找不到工作的病人，可以在那里工作。与此同时，这些机构还竭尽全力为那些身体条件尚可在外面工作的人，安排“真正的”工作。

反过来也是一样。对许多人来说，没有工作反而对他们的健康有害。退休即使没有引起经济上的忧虑，也常常带来“今后我该怎样生活才好?”之类的许多问题。许多人一到周末因为不上班而必须自行安排生活便产生头痛及其他不适。人们还观察到，失业除了产生经济压力之外，还造成许多心理上的病痛，很多人一旦失业，身体便迅速恶化。

这是为什么呢？为什么工作竟然是人们获得满足的如此重要的源泉呢？最主要的答案就在于，工作和通过工作所取得的成就，能激起一种自豪感。

对成就的自豪

人们渴求取得成就，渴望有能力用自己的手，用自己的脑，凭自己的意志办成事情。我们每个人都希望自己能够做出有意义并能显示出自己天赋的事来。

这一点最容易在工匠身上看出来。他深情地将某一种价值不高的材料做成一件或是有用，或是美观，或是两者兼备的东西。你可以看到木匠或砖瓦匠常站到一边，欣赏自己的产品。

研究人员还发现，即使在没有明显的最终产品可以显示个人专长的场合，雇员们也对工作成就感到自豪。我们自己在医院的调查表明，即便勤杂人员和洗衣房的职工，也对自己的工作引以为荣，他们通过自身的工作协助治好了病人——因而也就作出了不少成绩。

我们常常被抱怨工作困难的言论所误导。在内心深处，多数人把自己善于解决棘手问题的本领看作个人的出众之处。发牢骚也是工作的一部分。说到底，如果你不显示出驾驭自己言行的能力，那你还有什么别的办法来认识你自己呢？在很大程度上，你就是你所能成就的事情。

有些人误认为人们喜欢积蓄精力，喜欢休息，并尽可能保养自己。事实恰恰相反。消耗精力才真正给人以满足。

试看一位因其工作处于某个通信网络的中心位置而必须与无数的其他人打交道的雇员：一个繁忙柜台上的售货员,一个手不离电话的股票经纪人，或是一个客户代理人，他们会告诉你，每时每刻回答无数个问题以及应付各种各样的人物该需要怎样的本领和经验。不是每个人都能以这样的韧性长时间地与人周旋的。但是能够这样做的人，都为自己具有出众才能，能对所在单位的运转作出巨大贡献而感到自豪。

但是工作不光是成就和能够胜任工作的自豪，因为除了少数工匠和艺术家的工作之外，大部分工作是在“外面”进行的，是与别人合作或通过别人来完成的。

团体精神

或许一个例子就能把这点说明白。

我记得曾在一家椅子厂见过6个工人，他们的工作是将几根钢管弯曲并组成一把折椅。 虽然同在一起工作的有10个或20个这样的“组”，有一个组因配合默契、动作神速而特别有名。这班人深知自己能干。他们常常要猛干二三十分钟才肯休息一会儿——以便向自己、向旁观者以及向其他班组展示技术高超、善于自我克制的全厂最佳的班组是一个什么样儿。

当我与他们交谈时，他们每个人都为自己是最快最好的班组一员而深感自豪。这种自己属于一个有娴熟技巧的班组的意识，是工作带来的最突出的满足感之一。

关于从工作班组中获得满足还要再讲一点。与生活中许多其他方面不同的是，工作人员之间的关系趋于简单，不那么复杂，且较少感情色彩。这不是说工作中没有争论、嫉妒。但总的来讲，行为科学研究揭示，工作中人与人之间较好相处。这或许是因为工作上的人际关系较有规律，更易于预料，因此更容易协调，而在社会上，人与人之间的关系是断断续续的，比较紧张，而且较少有规律可循。另外，工作班组也会对其成员稍稍施加压力，促使他们学会相互协调，消除“摩擦”，因为人们知道他们每天都要共同努力，相互协作，才能完成一定的工作。

在工作班、组之上又有更高一级的组织，它或许是公司、医院，或许是大学。在一个更大的集体中工作，如同在一个配合默契的成功的单位工作一样，其成员也能获得同样的自豪。在一个被公认为是社会上最好的公司之一工作，可以给雇员带来社会地位和自信心。他们常常不无道理地认为，因为他们是与一个“胜利者”，一个有威望的机构联系在一起的，别人更加看重他们，甚至羡慕他们。他们也自认比普通人更能干。事实上，我们常常沉浸在这种机构所折射出的荣誉里洋洋自得，我们还想方设法表明自己的这种身份，以使别人了解并承认自己的好运气。

参考资料：

1. http://www.kekenet/menu/200602/3944.shtml

2. http://www.kekenet/daxue/201612/463324.shtml

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