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奥巴马的新纪录片揭示工作真相(下)
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在里根时代之后，大众电视节目倾向于追随高端专业人士，或者看起来更像《老友记》或《宋飞正传》。
双语精读
Did politicians participate in all that denial? This issue goes unaddressed, but the series does touch on the idea that popular media has long neglected the workplace.
政客们参与了所有这些否认吗？这个问题没有得到处理，但这部纪录片确实触及了一个问题，就是大众媒体长期以来忽视了职场。
Television, Obama argues at one point, used to be full of representations of working and middle-class people and their jobs -- say, in Norman Lear shows like "Good Times" or "All in the Family."
奥巴马曾称，电视上曾经有很多表现工薪阶层和中产阶级及其工作的内容，比如，诺曼·利尔的《好时光》或《全家福》等节目。
After the Reagan era, though, popular shows tended to follow upscale professionals, or to look more like "Friends" or "Seinfeld," portraying people who lived comfortably despite being vaguely or fancifully employed.
然而，在里根时代之后，大众电视节目倾向于追随高端专业人士，或者看起来更像《老友记》或《宋飞正传》，剧中人物的工作或模糊不清或不切实际，但都过着舒适的生活。
The nation's jobs have shifted from industrial to service work, but even that seismic change -- a work force now epitomized by nurses, waiters, retail clerks, delivery drivers -- is rarely reflected in the stories we consume.
美国的工作已经从工业转向服务业，但即使是这种翻天覆地的变化--现在的劳动力以护士、服务员、零售店员和快递司机为代表--也很少反映在我们消费的故事中。
Neither are developments like the erosion of job security, the rise of erratic scheduling, the invasive workplace surveillance -- changes that marked Obama's very own era in the White House.
工作保障的削弱、日益不确定的工作时间安排、工作监控的入侵也很少得到反映，这些变化都是奥巴马入主白宫时代的标志。
"Obtuseness in 'respectable' quarters is not a new phenomenon," Terkel writes in his book. He offers the example of Henry Mayhew, whose 19th-century reports on working people in London "astonished and horrified readers of The Morning Chronicle."
特克尔在他的书中写道："‘体面'群体的迟钝并不是一个新现象。"他举了亨利·梅休的例子，梅休在19世纪关于伦敦劳动人民的报道让《早间纪事报》的读者"感到震惊和惊骇"。
The writer Barbara Ehrenreich later cataloged the way journalists and scholars "discovered" poverty in the 1960s after the breathless enthusiasm of the postwar economy cooled. ("We seem to have suddenly awakened," the critic Dwight Macdonald wrote in a New Yorker review of one book on the topic, "to the fact that mass poverty persists.")
作家芭芭拉·艾伦瑞克后来记录了当人们对战后经济的无暇喘息的热情冷却后，记者和学者如何在20世纪60年代"发现"贫困。(评论家德怀特·麦克唐纳在《纽约客》上对关于这一主题的一本书的评论中写道："我们似乎突然意识到，大规模贫困仍然存在。"）
It's easy to sense something similar in the audience for a documentary like "Working" -- a sudden, belated understanding of the indignities creeping up toward even the most insulated professionals, and a growing sense of the workplace as a site of urgent, high-stakes conflict.
在纪录片《工作》的观众中，很容易察觉类似的现象：突然且过晚地意识到即便是对于最受到保护的专业人士，尊严的缺失也在悄然发生，以及日益察觉到职场是一个发生着紧迫的高风险冲突的地方。
In the final episode, Obama suggests his biggest worry is polarization, a fear of the problems that will arise if we cannot pay people enough for them to find dignity in their work.
在最后一集中，奥巴马表示他最大的担忧是两极分化，担心如果我们不能支付足够的工资，让人们在工作中找到尊严，就会出现各种问题。
Terkel's own animating concerns were more jarringly radical and succinct: He began his book with the admonition that since it was about work, it was, "by its very nature, about violence -- to the spirit as well as to the body."
特克尔更具鼓动性的担忧以更刺耳、更激进、更简洁的方式被表达出来：他在书的开篇处警告说，因为本书是关于工作的，所以"从本质上讲，本书是关于暴力的--无论是对精神还是对身体。"
Obama is not quite there. His "Working" wants to show us what America's jobs look like today, and to wake us to the possibility that we have spent too long underestimating their profound, dignity-robbing, politically consequential transformation.
奥巴马没有做到这个地步。他的《工作》想要向我们展示美国现今的工作是什么样子，并让我们意识到，我们可能太久以来都低估了工作所发生的深刻的、剥夺尊严的、具有政治意义的变革。
The series would need hours of explanatory montage to make up for all that lost time; if there's anything it makes clear, it's that the problem is far larger and more urgent than a few hours of television can aim to capture.
这部纪录片需要好几个小时的蒙太奇镜头来做出解释，才能弥补所有那些失去的时间，如果它解释清楚了什么东西的话，那就是工作问题远比几个小时的电视节目所能表达的要更加庞大和紧迫。
词汇预习
issue [高考]
美[ˈɪʃuː] | 英[ˈɪʃuː]
n. 问题，议题，争论点；（报纸、杂志等的）期刊号；发放，分配；（新股票或邮票等的）发行；子女，后嗣；流出，发出 v. 发表，颁布；分发，分配；正式发行；流出，发出；由……产生，由…得出
site [高考]
美[saɪt] | 英[saɪt]
n. 地点；位置；现场 vt. 使 ... 位于
economy [高考]
美[ɪˈkɑːnəmi] | 英[ɪˈkɒnəmi]
n. 经济；节约 adj. 经济的；廉价的
despite [高考]
美[dɪˈspaɪt] | 英[dɪˈspaɪt]
prep. 尽管；不管 n. 憎恨；轻视
industrial [高考]
美[ɪnˈdʌstriəl] | 英[ɪnˈdʌstriəl]
adj. 工业的；产业的 n. 工业公司
enthusiasm [高考]
美[ɪnˈθuːziæzəm] | 英[ɪnˈθjuːziæzəm]
n. 热情；热心；热衷的事物
critic [高考]
美[ˈkrɪtɪk] | 英[ˈkrɪtɪk]
n. 评论家；批评家
poverty [高考]
美[ˈpɑːvərti] | 英[ˈpɒvəti]
n. 贫困；贫乏；劣质
rarely [高考]
美[ˈrerli] | 英[ˈreəli]
adv. 很少；难得
capture [高考]
美[ˈkæptʃər] | 英[ˈkæptʃə(r)]
vt. 捕获；占领；夺取；吸引；(用照片等)留存 n. 捕获；战利品
respectable [高考]
美[rɪˈspektəbl] | 英[rɪˈspektəbl]
adj. 值得尊重的；体面的；不错的；可观的
transformation [高考]
美[ˌtrænsfərˈmeɪʃn] | 英[ˌtrænsfəˈmeɪʃn]
n. 转型；转化；改造
middle-class [高考]
美[ˌmɪdl ˈklæs] | 英[ˈmidlˈklɑ:s]
adj. 中产阶级的
consequential [高考]
美[ˌkɑnsəˈkwenʃl] | 英[ˌkɒnsɪˈkwenʃl]
adj. 重要的；间接的；随之发生的；自高自大的
profound [高考]
美[prəˈfaʊnd] | 英[prəˈfaʊnd]
adj. 深奥的；渊博的；极度的；意义深远的
media [高考]
美[ˈmiːdiə] | 英[ˈmiːdiə]
n. 传播媒介；(medium的复数)媒体；新闻媒介
possibility [高考]
美[ˌpɑːsəˈbɪləti] | 英[ˌpɒsəˈbɪləti]
n. 可能；可能性；可能的事情；潜在的价值
mass [高考]
美[ mæs] | 英[mæs]
n. 大量；块；众多 adj. 大规模的；群众的 v. 集中 n. 弥撒曲；弥撒
consume [高考]
美[kənˈsuːm] | 英[kənˈsjuːm]
v. 消耗；吃；毁灭；烧毁
security [高考]
美[sɪˈkjʊrəti] | 英[sɪˈkjʊərəti]
n. 安全；保证；证券；债券；抵押；防护措施
violence [高考]
美[ˈvaɪələns] | 英[ˈvaɪələns]
n. 猛烈；暴力；暴行；强暴
phenomenon [高考]
美[fəˈnɑːmɪnən] | 英[fəˈnɒmɪnən]
n. 现象；奇人；奇事
urgent [高考]
美[ˈɜːrdʒənt] | 英[ˈɜːdʒənt]
adj. 紧急的；急迫的；坚持要求的
arise [高考]
美[əˈraɪz] | 英[əˈraɪz]
vi. 出现；升起；上升；发生；起来
participate [高考]
美[pɑːrˈtɪsɪpeɪt] | 英[pɑːˈtɪsɪpeɪt]
vi. 参加；参与 vt. 分享
dignity [高考]
美[ˈdɪɡnəti] | 英[ˈdɪɡnəti]
n. 尊严；高贵；端庄
breathless [高考]
美[ˈbreθləs] | 英[ˈbreθləs]
adj. 喘不过气来的
make up for [高考]
美[meɪk ʌp fɔːr] | 英[meɪk ʌp fɔː]
补偿； 弥补
participate in [高考]
美[pɑrˈtɪsəˌpet ɪn] | 英[pɑ:ˈtisipeit in]
参与； 参加
episode [高考]
美[ˈepɪsoʊd] | 英[ˈepɪsəʊd]
n. 一段情节；片段；轶事；插曲
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
erosion [高考]
美[ɪˈroʊʒn] | 英[ɪˈrəʊʒn]
n. 腐蚀；侵蚀；减少，流失
workplace [高考]
美[ˈwɜːrkpleɪs] | 英[ˈwɜːkpleɪs]
n. 工作场所
would [高考]
美[wʊd , wəd] | 英[wʊd , wəd]
aux. 将；可能；大概；总会；愿意；will的过去式
radical [四级]
美[ˈrædɪkl] | 英[ˈrædɪkl]
adj.激进的；彻底的；基本的 n.自由基；激进分子；游离基
retail [四级]
美[ˈriːteɪl , rɪˈteɪl] | 英[ˈriːteɪl , rɪˈteɪl]
n. 零售 vt. 零售；传述 adv. 以零售形式
comfortably [四级]
美[ˈkʌmftəbli] | 英[ˈkʌmftəbli]
adv. 舒服地；容易地；充裕地
politically [四级]
美[pəˈlɪtɪklɪ] | 英[pəˈlɪtɪkli]
adv. 政治上地
as to [四级]
美[æz tu] | 英[æz tu]
prep. 关于
full of [四级]
美[fʊl ʌv] | 英[ful ɔv]
充满 ...
invasive [六级]
美[ɪnˈvesɪv] | 英[ɪnˈveɪsɪv]
adj. 侵入的；侵略性的；攻击性的
denial [六级]
美[dɪˈnaɪəl] | 英[dɪˈnaɪəl]
n. 否认；拒绝
surveillance [六级]
美[sɜːrˈveɪləns] | 英[sɜːˈveɪləns]
n. 监视；监督
explanatory [专八]
美[ɪkˈsplænətɔri] | 英[ɪkˈsplænətri]
adj. 说明的；解释的
montage [专八]
美[ˌmɑnˈtɑʒ] | 英[ˌmɒnˈtɑ:ʒ]
n. 蒙太奇；混成画；拼集的照片；剪辑 v. 运用或结合用蒙太奇手法的
erratic [专八]
美[ɪˈrætɪk] | 英[ɪˈrætɪk]
adj. 古怪的；飘忽不定的；不稳定的
postwar [考研]
美[ˈpostˈwɔr] | 英['pəʊst'wɔ:]
adj. 战后的
upscale [考研]
美[ˌʌpˈskeɪl] | 英[ˌʌpˈskeɪl]
adj. 高消费的；高端的 adv. 高消费地；高级地 vt. 提高；提升
touch on [考研]
美[tʌtʃ ɑːn] | 英[tʌtʃ ɒn]
触及； 论及； 简略提到； 涉及
marked [托福]
美[mɑːrkt] | 英[mɑːkt]
adj. 有记号的；显著的；受监视的 v. 弄污；打分；留意；做标记（动词mark的过去式和过去分词）
重点讲解
Did politicians participate in all that denial? This issue goes unaddressed, but the series does touch on the idea that popular media has long neglected the workplace.
政客们参与了所有这些否认吗？这个问题没有得到处理，但这部纪录片确实触及了一个问题，就是大众媒体长期以来忽视了职场。
unaddressed adj.
1. 未写地址的
【例】The letter was unaddressed and unsigned.
信上没写地址，也没签名。
2. 未经处理的；未被考虑的
【例】The issue of bullying was left unaddressed by school officials.
霸凌问题未得到校方处理。
【近义词】unsolved/unresolved adj. 未解决的；未解答的
Television, Obama argues at one point, used to be full of representations of working and middle-class people and their jobs -- say, in Norman Lear shows like "Good Times" or "All in the Family."
奥巴马曾称，电视上曾经有很多表现工薪阶层和中产阶级及其工作的内容，比如，诺曼·利尔的《好时光》或《全家福》等节目。
upscale adj. 高档的；高级的
【例】an upscale restaurant 高级餐厅
【近义词】upmarket/high-end adj. 高端的
【反义词】downscale adj. 低端的
fanciful adj.
1. 空想的；想象的
【例】a fanciful notion 毫无根据的想法
2. 奇思妙想的；别出心裁的
【例】a fanciful dress 款式奇特的裙子
After the Reagan era, though, popular shows tended to follow upscale professionals, or to look more like "Friends" or "Seinfeld," portraying people who lived comfortably despite being vaguely or fancifully employed.
然而，在里根时代之后，大众电视节目倾向于追随高端专业人士，或者看起来更像《老友记》或《宋飞正传》，剧中人物的工作或模糊不清或不切实际，但都过着舒适的生活。
upscale adj. 高档的；高级的
【例】an upscale restaurant 高级餐厅
【近义词】upmarket/high-end adj. 高端的
【反义词】downscale adj. 低端的
fanciful adj.
1. 空想的；想象的
【例】a fanciful notion 毫无根据的想法
2. 奇思妙想的；别出心裁的
【例】a fanciful dress 款式奇特的裙子
The nation's jobs have shifted from industrial to service work, but even that seismic change -- a work force now epitomized by nurses, waiters, retail clerks, delivery drivers -- is rarely reflected in the stories we consume.
美国的工作已经从工业转向服务业，但即使是这种翻天覆地的变化--现在的劳动力以护士、服务员、零售店员和快递司机为代表--也很少反映在我们消费的故事中。
seismic adj. 地震的；影响深远的
【例】seismic waves/a seismic shift 地震波/剧变
epitomize v. 代表；作为……的缩影
【例】These movies seem to epitomize the 1950s.
这些影片似乎就是20世纪50年代的缩影。
【近义词】exemplify v. 作为……的典型例子
erratic adj. 不规则的；不确定的；不稳定的
【例】an erratic player/the erratic stock market/the erratic movement 发挥不稳定的运动员/涨落不定的股市/行踪不定
【近义词】unpredictable adj. 无法预料的
mark v.
1. 是……的迹象；标志（某事发生）
【例】The agreement marks a new phase in international relations.
这一协议标志着国际关系新时期的到来。
2. 赋予某种特征
【例】a life marked by suffering 饱受痛苦的一生
3. 庆祝；纪念
【例】a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war
纪念战争结束50周年的庆典
Neither are developments like the erosion of job security, the rise of erratic scheduling, the invasive workplace surveillance -- changes that marked Obama's very own era in the White House.
工作保障的削弱、日益不确定的工作时间安排、工作监控的入侵也很少得到反映，这些变化都是奥巴马入主白宫时代的标志。
seismic adj. 地震的；影响深远的
【例】seismic waves/a seismic shift 地震波/剧变
epitomize v. 代表；作为……的缩影
【例】These movies seem to epitomize the 1950s.
这些影片似乎就是20世纪50年代的缩影。
【近义词】exemplify v. 作为……的典型例子
erratic adj. 不规则的；不确定的；不稳定的
【例】an erratic player/the erratic stock market/the erratic movement 发挥不稳定的运动员/涨落不定的股市/行踪不定
【近义词】unpredictable adj. 无法预料的
mark v.
1. 是……的迹象；标志（某事发生）
【例】The agreement marks a new phase in international relations.
这一协议标志着国际关系新时期的到来。
2. 赋予某种特征
【例】a life marked by suffering 饱受痛苦的一生
3. 庆祝；纪念
【例】a ceremony to mark the 50th anniversary of the end of the war
纪念战争结束50周年的庆典
"Obtuseness in ‘respectable' quarters is not a new phenomenon," Terkel writes in his book. He offers the example of Henry Mayhew, whose 19th-century reports on working people in London "astonished and horrified readers of The Morning Chronicle."
特克尔在他的书中写道："‘体面'群体的迟钝并不是一个新现象。"他举了亨利·梅休的例子，梅休在19世纪关于伦敦劳动人民的报道让《早间纪事报》的读者"感到震惊和惊骇"。
catalog n. & v.
1. 作名词：目录簿
【例】the library catalog/a mail-order catalog 图书馆目录/邮购商品目录
2. 作动词：列入目录；记载；记录
【例】They will hire a person to catalog the family's possessions.
他们会雇一个人，把家族财产逐条记录下来。
【辨析】category n. 类别；种类
awaken v.
1. 醒来；睡醒
【例】We awakened to another rainy day.
我们醒来发现又是一个下雨天。
2. 意识到
【例】I gradually awakened to the realization that our marriage was over.
我逐渐意识到我们的婚姻结束了。
【近义词】wake up to sth 意识到某事
persist v.
1. 坚持不懈地做
【例】persist in one’s efforts/persist with a policy 坚持不懈地努力/坚持一项政策
【近义词】persevere/carry on v. 坚持做
2. 持续存在
【例】If the pain persists, consult a doctor.
如果疼痛持续不退，请咨询医生。
【近义词】endure v. 持续存在；持久存在
The writer Barbara Ehrenreich later cataloged the way journalists and scholars "discovered" poverty in the 1960s after the breathless enthusiasm of the postwar economy cooled. ("We seem to have suddenly awakened," the critic Dwight Macdonald wrote in a New Yorker review of one book on the topic, "to the fact that mass poverty persists.")
作家芭芭拉·艾伦瑞克后来记录了当人们对战后经济的无暇喘息的热情冷却后，记者和学者如何在20世纪60年代"发现"贫困。(评论家德怀特·麦克唐纳在《纽约客》上对关于这一主题的一本书的评论中写道："我们似乎突然意识到，大规模贫困仍然存在。"）
catalog n. & v.
1. 作名词：目录簿
【例】the library catalog/a mail-order catalog 图书馆目录/邮购商品目录
2. 作动词：列入目录；记载；记录
【例】They will hire a person to catalog the family's possessions.
他们会雇一个人，把家族财产逐条记录下来。
【辨析】category n. 类别；种类
awaken v.
1. 醒来；睡醒
【例】We awakened to another rainy day.
我们醒来发现又是一个下雨天。
2. 意识到
【例】I gradually awakened to the realization that our marriage was over.
我逐渐意识到我们的婚姻结束了。
【近义词】wake up to sth 意识到某事
persist v.
1. 坚持不懈地做
【例】persist in one’s efforts/persist with a policy 坚持不懈地努力/坚持一项政策
【近义词】persevere/carry on v. 坚持做
2. 持续存在
【例】If the pain persists, consult a doctor.
如果疼痛持续不退，请咨询医生。
【近义词】endure v. 持续存在；持久存在
It's easy to sense something similar in the audience for a documentary like "Working" -- a sudden, belated understanding of the indignities creeping up toward even the most insulated professionals, and a growing sense of the workplace as a site of urgent, high-stakes conflict.
在纪录片《工作》的观众中，很容易察觉类似的现象：突然且过晚地意识到即便是对于最受到保护的专业人士，尊严的缺失也在悄然发生，以及日益察觉到职场是一个发生着紧迫的高风险冲突的地方。
insulate v.
1. 使隔热；使隔音；使绝缘
【例】double-glazing of windows to insulate the house 给窗子安上双层玻璃，使房子隔热
2. 隔离（不良影响）
【例】They have found a way to insulate themselves against the cost of inflation.
他们找到了使自己免受通货膨胀损失的办法。
In the final episode, Obama suggests his biggest worry is polarization, a fear of the problems that will arise if we cannot pay people enough for them to find dignity in their work.
在最后一集中，奥巴马表示他最大的担忧是两极分化，担心如果我们不能支付足够的工资，让人们在工作中找到尊严，就会出现各种问题。
polarization n. 两极分化
【例】the polarization between the rich and the poor 富人与穷人的两极分化
【拓展】polarize v. 使截然对立
【例】The issue has polarized public opinion.
这个问题已使公众意见两极化。
animate v.
1. 使有活力；使生气勃勃
【例】A smile animated her face.
一抹笑容给她脸上平添了几分生气.
2. 鼓励；鼓动
【例】His cheerful words animated them to greater efforts.
他那令人振奋的话激励他们作出更大努力。
Terkel's own animating concerns were more jarringly radical and succinct: He began his book with the admonition that since it was about work, it was, "by its very nature, about violence -- to the spirit as well as to the body."
特克尔更具鼓动性的担忧以更刺耳、更激进、更简洁的方式被表达出来：他在书的开篇处警告说，因为本书是关于工作的，所以"从本质上讲，本书是关于暴力的--无论是对精神还是对身体。"
polarization n. 两极分化
【例】the polarization between the rich and the poor 富人与穷人的两极分化
【拓展】polarize v. 使截然对立
【例】The issue has polarized public opinion.
这个问题已使公众意见两极化。
animate v.
1. 使有活力；使生气勃勃
【例】A smile animated her face.
一抹笑容给她脸上平添了几分生气.
2. 鼓励；鼓动
【例】His cheerful words animated them to greater efforts.
他那令人振奋的话激励他们作出更大努力。
Obama is not quite there. His "Working" wants to show us what America's jobs look like today, and to wake us to the possibility that we have spent too long underestimating their profound, dignity-robbing, politically consequential transformation.
奥巴马没有做到这个地步。他的《工作》想要向我们展示美国现今的工作是什么样子，并让我们意识到，我们可能太久以来都低估了工作所发生的深刻的、剥夺尊严的、具有政治意义的变革。
capture v.
1. 捕捉；捕获
【例】to capture wild animals 捕捉野生动物
2. （用图画、文章、电影等准确地）表达，刻画
【例】The article captured the mood of the nation.
这篇文章把国民的情绪表达得淋漓尽致。
The series would need hours of explanatory montage to make up for all that lost time; if there's anything it makes clear, it's that the problem is far larger and more urgent than a few hours of television can aim to capture.
这部纪录片需要好几个小时的蒙太奇镜头来做出解释，才能弥补所有那些失去的时间，如果它解释清楚了什么东西的话，那就是工作问题远比几个小时的电视节目所能表达的要更加庞大和紧迫。
capture v.
1. 捕捉；捕获
【例】to capture wild animals 捕捉野生动物
2. （用图画、文章、电影等准确地）表达，刻画
【例】The article captured the mood of the nation.
这篇文章把国民的情绪表达得淋漓尽致。
课后练习
The example of “Friends” illustrates that ____.
A. the audience enjoys watching the story of working-class people
B. the life of upscale professionals is more attractive and interesting
C. the description of people’s jobs in TV shows is largely misleading
D. popular TV shows convey people’s wish for a comfortable life
One of the changes in American workplaces is ____.
A. the hardship of industrial workers
B. the rise of service workers
C. the emphasis on job security
D. the strict regulation of companies
The example of Barbara Ehrenreich shows that ____.
A. discrimination against manual jobs was common
B. economic slowdown resulted in disappointment
C. the issue of poverty was ignored for a long time
D. journalists failed to report social problems timely
What is the author’s opinion about “Working”?
A. Its depiction of America’s jobs is not radical enough.
B. It is a useful reminder of the transformation of jobs.
C. It gives incorrect explanations about the problem.
D. It proves that TV shows cannot solve any problem.