06 Work Harder to Make Less Money付出与回报的反比关系
导读
本文的语篇模式为揭示问题并分析问题，或者说是现象解释型，符合英语中先结论后原因的思维模式。本文将从经济风险和新的现实情况两个角度展开论述。文章的主题是美国经济政策变化对中产阶级家庭带来的新的经济上的威胁。开篇就提到美国中产阶级家庭经济正面临着巨大的风险，随后分析出现这种风险的两大原因，最后指明了这些经济上的风险很可能会招致政治上的影响。
During the past generation, the American middle-class family that once could count on hard work and fair play to keep itself financially secure had been transformed by economic risk and new realties. Now a pink slip, a bad diagnosis, or a disappearing spouse can reduce a family from solidly middle class to newly poor in a few months.
In just one generation, millions of mothers have gone to work, transforming basic family economics. Scholars, policymakers, and critics of all stripes have debated the social implications of these changes, but few have looked at the side effect: family risk has risen as well. Today's families have budgeted to the limits of their new two-paycheck status.As a result, they have lost the parachute they once had in times of financial setback—a back-up earner（usually Mom）who could go into the workforce if the primary earner got laid off or fell sick. This “added-worker effect” could support the safety net offered by unemployment insurance or disability insurance to help families weather bad times. But today, a disruption to family fortunes can no longer be made up with extra income from an otherwise-stay-at-home partner.
During the same period, families have been asked to absorb much more risk in their retirement income. Steelworkers, airline employees, and now those in the auto industry are joining millions of families who must worry about interest rates, stock market fluctuation, and the harsh reality that they may outlive their retirement money. For much of the past year, President Bush campaigned to move Social Security to a saving-account model, with retirees trading much or all of their guaranteed payments for payments depending on investment returns. For younger families the picture is not any better. Both the absolute cost of healthcare and the share of it borne by families have risen—and newly fashionable health-saving plans are spreading from legislative halls to Wal-Mart workers, with much higher deductibles and a large new dose of investment risk for families' future healthcare. Even demographics are working against the middle class family, as the odds of having a weak elderly parent—and all the attendant need for physical and financial assistance—have jumped eightfold in just one generation.
From the middle-class family perspective, much of this, understandably, looks far less like an opportunity to exercise more financial responsibility, and a good deal more like a frightening acceleration of the wholesale shift of financial risk onto their already overburdened shoulders. The financial fallout has begun, and the political fallout may not be far behind.
在上一代人中，美国中产阶级家庭依靠努力工作和公平竞争就能保持稳定的经济状况，而如今经济风险和新的现实状况使这一切发生了改变。现在，一份解雇通知书、一个不利的诊断结果或者一个配偶的去世都可能在几个月之内将一个家庭从稳定的中产阶层家庭降格成一个新贫困家庭。
就在十几年里，数百万母亲都要出去工作，改变了根本的家庭经济状况。学者、决策者以及各类批评人士对这些变化的社会意义争论不休，但是，很少有人关注这些变化的副作用——家庭的风险也增加了。如今的家庭根据其新的双收入限度安排开支。因此，它们失去了它们在经济萧条时期曾经有过的缓解举措——一个后备挣钱者（通常是妈妈），如果家庭的主要挣钱者失业了或者病倒了，她可以出去工作。这种“额外工人效应”可以维护失业保险或残疾保险提供的安全网，以便帮助家庭渡过难关。但现在，家庭财产的损失再也不可能通过待在家里的其他伴侣的额外收入弥补了。
在同一时期，家庭被要求在其退休收入中承担更多风险。钢铁厂的工人、航空公司的职员以及汽车产业的员工成为数百万不得不担心利率、股市波动以及可能比其退休收入存在时间更长的严酷现实的家庭。在去年的大多数时间里，布什总统一直致力于将社会保险体制转变成一种储蓄存款账户模式——要求退休人员将其大多数或所有保障报酬用来交换依靠投资回报所得的报酬。对于更年轻的家庭来说，前景并不是更乐观。卫生保健和家庭承担份额的绝对成本都上涨了——最近实施的健康储蓄计划正在从立法机关扩展到沃尔玛的员工，其可减免税高得多，并且给家庭未来的卫生保健带来许多新投资风险。甚至人口统计状况也对中产阶层家庭不利，因为有一个体弱、年迈的父（母）亲——以及由此而产生的所有物资和经济援助——的可能性就在十几年内增长了8倍。
从中产阶层家庭的角度来看，大多数情况是可以理解的，这根本不像一种发挥更多支付能力的机会，而是像令人恐惧地加速将经济风险大规模转向那些已经负担过重的家庭。经济副作用已经开始，政治副作用可能也将开始。
Cloze
完形填空
It is this failure of the heart — Forster calls it elsewhere “the undeveloped heart” —which lies 1 the root, which makes human relations impossible, which stands in the 2 of the Beloved Republic.The whole drama of A Passage to India is played 3 an oppressive, inescapable background of brutal sunlight, gathering in strength as the hot season descends. The sun is both a character and a symbol, the symbol of power without beauty and intellect without love, a master from 4 dominion there is no escape. In this atmosphere human relationships, even within the closed group of the ruling race, wither and are formalized, while real friendship between Indians and English becomes 5 impossible. Even the friendship between Fielding and Aziz, valuable and important as it is, is kept alive 6 by constant ef fort and fails in the 7 of full flowering.
Key
1. at 2. way 3. before 4. whose 5. almost 6. only 7. end
Translation Practices
翻译练习
（1）Textual Translation（篇章翻译）
很高兴我深得女人青睐，但谢天谢地，我绝非好色之徒。尽管已婚女人有意于我时——这是常事——我会感动，但多责不在我。我从不鼓励这样的一时冲动，还会尽量让她们恢复平静，以便保持与她们的夫君——如果认识的话——的友谊，或者与她们本人的适度关系。不过，这种事比你想象的要少，因为每次我到已婚朋友的府上做客，都刻意携一位靓女同行。这些女孩各行各业都有：模特啦、舞女啦、新星啦、演员啦、职业网球手啦、歌手啦、富家女啦什么的，还有自由世界许多国家外交官的女儿们，真的是形形色色。
_______________
（2）Sentence Translation（句子翻译）
①有子曰：“信近于义，言可复也；恭近于礼，远耻辱也；因不失其亲，亦可宗也。”
_______________
②子曰：“君子食无求饱，居无求安，敏于事而慎于言，就有道而正焉，可谓好学也已。”
_______________
参考译文
(1) I am pleased that I am attractive to women but grateful I'm no bounder. Though I'm touched when married women fall in love with me, as frequently as they do, I am rarely to blame. I never encourage these fits and do my best to get them over their derangements so as not to lose the friendships of their husbands when they are known to me, or the neutral friendship of the ladies themselves. This happens less than you might think, however, for whenever I am a houseguest of a married friend I usually make it a point to bring along a girl. These girls are from all walks of life—models, show girls, starlets, actresses, tennis professionals, singers, heiresses and the daughters of the diplomats of many nations of the free world. All walks.
(2) ①You Zi said, “You should keep honest in line with righteousness. Only by doing so can you carry out your words. Respectfulness must agree with standards of morality. Only this can help you avoid shame. Make sure that all people whom you rely on are reliable. This point is well worth learning.”
②Confucius said, “Gentlemen seek neither sufficient food nor comfortable lives, but they are nimble in action and cautious in words and go to noble-minded people so as to perfect themselves day by day. If they do like this, then they can be thought perfect in learning.”