- Published on
奥巴马的新纪录片揭示工作真相(中)
- Authors
这很可能就是这部纪录片的主要价值所在：极少能看到工薪阶级的日常生活被如此清晰、如此诚实地呈现在电视上。
双语精读
"Working" is a limited Netflix series hosted by Barack Obama and produced in part by Higher Ground, the production company he and Michelle Obama founded.
《工作》是由奥巴马主持的单季网飞纪录片，其中部分内容由他和米歇尔·奥巴马创立的高地制片公司制作。
In a voice-over, the former president tells us the production was inspired by Studs Terkel's pathbreaking 1974 oral history, "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do," a hefty book that relayed the thoughts and stories of a wide swath of Americans, placing their words democratically side by side.
在画外音中，这位前总统告诉我们，这部纪录片的灵感来自斯塔兹·特克尔于1974年出版的开创性口述历史著作：《工作：人们谈论自己每天做些什么以及他们对此有何感受》。这本大部头传达了各色美国人的想法和故事，将他们所说的内容平等地并置一处。
The show's four episodes, made available last month, aim for something similar, spending time with workers at all levels of the three companies it focuses on -- letting viewers viscerally compare, say, the lives of a Manhattan housekeeper and the CEO of the conglomerate that owns the hotel where she works.
《工作》共有四集，已于上个月播出，其目标与特克尔的《工作》类似，即与它所关注的三家公司的各级员工共度一段时间，让观众直观地比较曼哈顿的一位酒店清洁工和这家酒店所属集团CEO的不同生活。
Money was clearly spent on this program. The cameras are slick, the angles creative, the songs expensively licensed. This may well be the production's chief value: It is shockingly rare to see the daily lives of working-class people represented on TV so plainly and honestly, let alone with such a budget.
很明显，这个纪录片项目是花了钱的。镜头拍摄很精美，角度很有创意，配乐的版权费很贵。这很可能就是这部纪录片的主要价值所在：极少能看到工薪阶级的日常生活被如此清晰、如此诚实地呈现在电视上，更不用说还有如此高的制作预算。
In that context, watching Sheila's meeting spiral out of control feels almost as subversive and revelatory as Terkel's book. The problem arises when the show attempts to explain what, specifically, has gone wrong to make that eruption possible.
在这种背景下，看着希拉的会议陷入失控，会让人感觉这几乎和特克尔的书一样具有颠覆性和启发性。当纪录片试图解释到底是哪里出了问题，从而导致了这种爆发时，问题就出现了。
Try as it might to stay close to the workers, the series can't resist its periodic voice-overs, in which Obama delivers industrial-grade doses of information over spiffy archival footage of domestic workers or the movie "Wall Street" or the economist Milton Friedman.
尽管纪录片试图与工作的人们保持比较近的距离，但还是忍不住定期播放画外音，在画外音中，奥巴马传递着高密度信息，并佐以家政工作者、电影《华尔街》或经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼的精美档案视频。
The scripts touch on all sorts of systemic forces, from the workers left out of the New Deal to the macroeconomics of the decline of the middle class. The fact that the show needs to reach all the way back to the New Deal era underlines a key problem: America's perception of its own workplaces may be astonishingly out of date, steeped in denial about just how profoundly things have changed.
剧本触及了各种各样的系统性力量，从被新政排除在外的工人，到中产阶级衰落的宏观经济情况。该纪录片需要一直追溯到新政时代，这一事实突显了一个关键问题：美国人对本国工作环境的看法可能已经过时得令人惊讶，完全否认情况已经发生了多么深刻的变化。
The series wants to hang around working people, as Terkel did, to understand their hopes and dreams and contradictions. But it also wants to put forward an argument about what's happened to American workers that involves catching the viewer up on several decades of complex changes -- all presented by a politician who, you can't help noting, happened to be in charge of the country for a key stretch of the time being explored.
这部纪录片希望像特克尔一样待在劳动者身边，去理解他们的希望、梦想和矛盾。但它也想论述美国劳动者遭遇了什么，其中涉及让观众了解几十年来有哪些复杂的变化。所有这些都是由一位政治家主持的，而你不禁要指出，在纪录片所探讨的一段关键时期，他恰好掌管着这个国家。
词汇预习
context [高考]
美[ˈkɑːntekst] | 英[ˈkɒntekst]
n. 上下文；环境；背景
viewer [高考]
美[ˈvjuːər] | 英[ˈvjuːə(r)]
n. 观看者；电视观众；观察器
industrial [高考]
美[ɪnˈdʌstriəl] | 英[ɪnˈdʌstriəl]
adj. 工业的；产业的 n. 工业公司
stretch [高考]
美[stretʃ] | 英[stretʃ]
v. 伸展；延伸；伸出；舒展 n. 伸展；弹性；舒展；一片 adj.有弹力的
astonishingly [高考]
美[ə'stɒnɪʃɪŋlɪ] | 英[ə'stɒnɪʃɪŋlɪ]
adv. 惊人地；异常地
eruption [高考]
美[ɪ'rʌpʃ(ə)n] | 英[ɪ'rʌpʃ(ə)n]
n. 爆发；喷发；出疹；长牙
economist [高考]
美[ɪˈkɑnəmɪst] | 英[ɪˈkɒnəmɪst]
n. 经济学家；[古]节俭的人
charge [高考]
美[tʃɑːrdʒ] | 英[tʃɑːdʒ]
n. 责任；电荷；指控；费用；照顾；主管 vi. 要价；充电；向前冲，冲锋；记在账上 vt. 控诉；赊账；给…充电；委以重任；归罪于；装填（炸药等） 【名】（Charge）（英）查奇
complex [高考]
美[kəmˈpleks , ˈkɑːmpleks] | 英[ˈkɒmpleks]
adj. 复杂的；合成的；复合的 n. 综合体；复合体；[医]综合症状；[心]情结
decline [高考]
美[dɪˈklaɪn] | 英[dɪˈklaɪn]
v. 下降；减少；变弱；拒绝；倾斜 n. 减少，衰退
former [高考]
美[ˈfɔːrmər] | 英[ˈfɔːmə(r)]
adj. 前者的；前任的；以前的 n. 创造者；[英]学校某一年级的学生
rare [高考]
美[rer] | 英[reə(r)]
adj. 罕见的；珍贵的；煎得嫩的
chief [高考]
美[tʃiːf] | 英[tʃiːf]
adj. 主要的；首要的 n. 首领
budget [高考]
美[ˈbʌdʒɪt] | 英[ˈbʌdʒɪt]
n. 预算 vt. 编预算；为 ... 做预算 vi. 节省开支 adj. 廉价的；不贵的
resist [高考]
美[rɪˈzɪst] | 英[rɪˈzɪst]
v. 抵制；抵抗；反抗；忍住 n. 防蚀涂层
oral [高考]
美[ˈɔːrəl] | 英[ˈɔːrəl]
adj. 口头的；口部的；口语的 n. 口试
politician [高考]
美[ˌpɑːləˈtɪʃn] | 英[ˌpɒləˈtɪʃn]
n. 政治家；政客
in part [高考]
美[ɪn pɑːrt] | 英[ɪn pɑːt]
部分地
in charge [高考]
美[ɪn tʃɑːrdʒ] | 英[ɪn tʃɑːdʒ]
adj. 负责；主管
out of control [高考]
美[aʊt əv kənˈtroʊl] | 英[aʊt ɒv kənˈtrəʊl]
失去控制
in charge of [高考]
美[ɪn tʃɑːrdʒ əv] | 英[ɪn tʃɑːdʒ ɒv]
负责； 主管
hang around [高考]
美[hæŋ əˈraʊnd] | 英[hæŋ əˈraund]
闲荡； 徘徊； 逗留
aim for [高考]
美[em fɔr] | 英[eim fɔ:]
瞄准； 以 ... 为目标
let alone [高考]
美[let ə'loʊn] | 英[let ə'ləʊn]
不打扰； 不惊动； 更别提
out of date [高考]
美[ˌaʊt əv ˈdeɪt] | 英[ˌaʊt əv ˈdeɪt]
过时的； 过期的
put forward [高考]
美[pʊt 'fɔːrwəd] | 英[pʊt 'fɔːwəd]
v. 提出
limited [高考]
美[ˈlɪmɪtɪd] | 英[ˈlɪmɪtɪd]
adj. 有限的；被限制的
domestic [高考]
美[dəˈmestɪk] | 英[dəˈmestɪk]
adj. 家庭的；国内的；驯养的 n. 佣人；家仆
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
where [高考]
美[wer] | 英[weə(r)]
adv. 在哪里；在那个地方 conj. 在 ... 地方
perception [四级]
美[pərˈsepʃn] | 英[pəˈsepʃn]
n. 观念；洞察力；认识能力
profoundly [四级]
美[prəˈfaʊndli] | 英[prəˈfaʊndli]
adv. 深深地；深刻地
shockingly [四级]
美['ʃɒkɪŋlɪ] | 英['ʃɒkɪŋlɪ]
adv. 恶劣地；极端地
honestly [四级]
美[ˈɑːnɪstli] | 英[ˈɒnɪstli]
adv. 诚实地；老实地；的确；实在
side by side [四级]
美[saɪd baɪ saɪd] | 英[saɪd baɪ saɪd]
肩并肩地； 一起
periodic [四级]
美[ˌpɪriˈɑːdɪk] | 英[ˌpɪəriˈɒdɪk]
adj. 周期的；定期的；间歇的；完句的
working-class [六级]
美[ˈwəkɪŋ klæs] | 英[ˈwɜ:kɪŋ klɑ:s]
adj. 工人阶级的
denial [六级]
美[dɪˈnaɪəl] | 英[dɪˈnaɪəl]
n. 否认；拒绝
spiral [六级]
美[ˈspaɪrəl] | 英[ˈspaɪrəl]
n. 螺旋；螺旋形之物；不断恶化、增加或减少 v. 螺旋移动；盘旋上升；不断恶化、增加或减少 adj. 螺旋形的；盘旋的
out of [六级]
美[aʊt ʌv] | 英[aut ɔv]
prep. 离…一段距离；从…里；离开 ...；出于
all the way [专四]
美[ɔl ði we] | 英[ɔ:l ðə wei]
一路上,自始至终,特地
housekeeper [专八]
美[ˈhaʊsˌkipɚ] | 英[ˈhaʊski:pə(r)]
n. 主妇；女管家
works [专八]
美[wəks] | 英[wə:ks]
n. 工厂；修建；机器部件；全套物品
subversive [专八]
美[səbˈvɜrsɪv] | 英[səbˈvɜ:sɪv]
adj. 颠覆性的；破坏性的 n. 破坏份子；危险份子
hefty [专八]
美[ˈhɛfti] | 英[ˈhefti]
adj. 重的；肌肉发达的；异常大的；相当多的
touch on [考研]
美[tʌtʃ ɑːn] | 英[tʌtʃ ɒn]
触及； 论及； 简略提到； 涉及
重点讲解
"Working" is a limited Netflix series hosted by Barack Obama and produced in part by Higher Ground, the production company he and Michelle Obama founded.
《工作》是由奥巴马主持的单季网飞纪录片，其中部分内容由他和米歇尔·奥巴马创立的高地制片公司制作。
hefty adj.
1. （人或物）大且重的
【例】a hefty basketball player 高大强壮的篮球运动员
2. （数量）相当大的；相当多的
【例】a hefty profit 非常可观的利润
relay n. & v.
1. 作名词：接力；接班；轮换
【例】pass the relay baton 传递接力棒
The children at our school have to be fed in two relays.
本校学童只得分两批就餐。
2. 作动词：转发，转达（信息，消息）
【例】He relayed the message to his boss.
他将这个消息转达给了他的老板。
a swath of 一长条（土地）
【例】The sheriff’s department polices a wide swath of the county.
治安部门管辖着县里的一大片地方。
In a voice-over, the former president tells us the production was inspired by Studs Terkel's pathbreaking 1974 oral history, "Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do," a hefty book that relayed the thoughts and stories of a wide swath of Americans, placing their words democratically side by side.
在画外音中，这位前总统告诉我们，这部纪录片的灵感来自斯塔兹·特克尔于1974年出版的开创性口述历史著作：《工作：人们谈论自己每天做些什么以及他们对此有何感受》。这本大部头传达了各色美国人的想法和故事，将他们所说的内容平等地并置一处。
hefty adj.
1. （人或物）大且重的
【例】a hefty basketball player 高大强壮的篮球运动员
2. （数量）相当大的；相当多的
【例】a hefty profit 非常可观的利润
relay n. & v.
1. 作名词：接力；接班；轮换
【例】pass the relay baton 传递接力棒
The children at our school have to be fed in two relays.
本校学童只得分两批就餐。
2. 作动词：转发，转达（信息，消息）
【例】He relayed the message to his boss.
他将这个消息转达给了他的老板。
a swath of 一长条（土地）
【例】The sheriff’s department polices a wide swath of the county.
治安部门管辖着县里的一大片地方。
The show's four episodes, made available last month, aim for something similar, spending time with workers at all levels of the three companies it focuses on -- letting viewers viscerally compare, say, the lives of a Manhattan housekeeper and the CEO of the conglomerate that owns the hotel where she works.
《工作》共有四集，已于上个月播出，其目标与特克尔的《工作》类似，即与它所关注的三家公司的各级员工共度一段时间，让观众直观地比较曼哈顿的一位酒店清洁工和这家酒店所属集团CEO的不同生活。
viscerally adv. 发自肺腑地；出自内心地
【例】They react viscerally and emotionally instead of applying objective rationale to a discussion.
他们的反应很情绪化，而不是客观理性地去进行讨论。
【拓展】visceral adj. 出自内心的；走心的
【例】His approach to acting is visceral rather than intellectual.
他的表演方式是用心而不是用脑子。
Money was clearly spent on this program. The cameras are slick, the angles creative, the songs expensively licensed. This may well be the production's chief value: It is shockingly rare to see the daily lives of working-class people represented on TV so plainly and honestly, let alone with such a budget.
很明显，这个纪录片项目是花了钱的。镜头拍摄很精美，角度很有创意，配乐的版权费很贵。这很可能就是这部纪录片的主要价值所在：极少能看到工薪阶级的日常生活被如此清晰、如此诚实地呈现在电视上，更不用说还有如此高的制作预算。
slick adj.
1. 华而不实的；花言巧语的
【例】a slick Hollywood production 制作精良的好莱坞电影
2. 娴熟的；灵巧的
【例】slick footwork 娴熟的步法
may/can well
1. 很有可能
【例】You may well be right.
你很可能是对的。
2. 有充分理由地
【例】You may well ask if such precision is really necessary!
你完全有理由问，这么精确有必要吗。
subversive adj. 颠覆性的；起破坏作用的
【例】That boy is a subversive influence in this class.
那男学生是班里的害群之马。
【拓展】subvert v. 暗中破坏
revelatory adj. 有启发性的；揭示性的
【例】a revelatory insight 有启发作用的见解
【拓展】reveal v. 揭示 revelation n. 启示
In that context, watching Sheila's meeting spiral out of control feels almost as subversive and revelatory as Terkel's book. The problem arises when the show attempts to explain what, specifically, has gone wrong to make that eruption possible.
在这种背景下，看着希拉的会议陷入失控，会让人感觉这几乎和特克尔的书一样具有颠覆性和启发性。当纪录片试图解释到底是哪里出了问题，从而导致了这种爆发时，问题就出现了。
slick adj.
1. 华而不实的；花言巧语的
【例】a slick Hollywood production 制作精良的好莱坞电影
2. 娴熟的；灵巧的
【例】slick footwork 娴熟的步法
may/can well
1. 很有可能
【例】You may well be right.
你很可能是对的。
2. 有充分理由地
【例】You may well ask if such precision is really necessary!
你完全有理由问，这么精确有必要吗。
subversive adj. 颠覆性的；起破坏作用的
【例】That boy is a subversive influence in this class.
那男学生是班里的害群之马。
【拓展】subvert v. 暗中破坏
revelatory adj. 有启发性的；揭示性的
【例】a revelatory insight 有启发作用的见解
【拓展】reveal v. 揭示 revelation n. 启示
Try as it might to stay close to the workers, the series can't resist its periodic voice-overs, in which Obama delivers industrial-grade doses of information over spiffy archival footage of domestic workers or the movie "Wall Street" or the economist Milton Friedman.
尽管纪录片试图与工作的人们保持比较近的距离，但还是忍不住定期播放画外音，在画外音中，奥巴马传递着高密度信息，并佐以家政工作者、电影《华尔街》或经济学家米尔顿·弗里德曼的精美档案视频。
dose n. 剂量；一份；一次
【例】take a small dose of pills/receive a heavy dose of radiation 服用小剂量的药/接受大量辐射
【拓展】overdose n./v. 服药过多
The scripts touch on all sorts of systemic forces, from the workers left out of the New Deal to the macroeconomics of the decline of the middle class. The fact that the show needs to reach all the way back to the New Deal era underlines a key problem: America's perception of its own workplaces may be astonishingly out of date, steeped in denial about just how profoundly things have changed.
剧本触及了各种各样的系统性力量，从被新政排除在外的工人，到中产阶级衰落的宏观经济情况。该纪录片需要一直追溯到新政时代，这一事实突显了一个关键问题：美国人对本国工作环境的看法可能已经过时得令人惊讶，完全否认情况已经发生了多么深刻的变化。
be steeped in 浸淫；充满；包含
【例】The room was steeped in sunshine.
房间里洒满了阳光。
【搭配】steep oneself in sth 潜心做某事
【例】They spent a month steeping themselves in Chinese culture.
他们花了一个月时间潜心钻研中国文化。
The series wants to hang around working people, as Terkel did, to understand their hopes and dreams and contradictions. But it also wants to put forward an argument about what's happened to American workers that involves catching the viewer up on several decades of complex changes -- all presented by a politician who, you can't help noting, happened to be in charge of the country for a key stretch of the time being explored.
这部纪录片希望像特克尔一样待在劳动者身边，去理解他们的希望、梦想和矛盾。但它也想论述美国劳动者遭遇了什么，其中涉及让观众了解几十年来有哪些复杂的变化。所有这些都是由一位政治家主持的，而你不禁要指出，在纪录片所探讨的一段关键时期，他恰好掌管着这个国家。
catch up on sth
1. 补做（未做的事）
【例】I have a lot of homework to catch up on.
我有许多作业要补做。
2. （事后）了解某些消息
【例】Can someone catch me up on the latest developments?
有人跟我说一下最新的事态发展吗？
课后练习
What is the goal of “Working”?
A. It tries to prove Studs Terkel’s theory about working.
B. It aims to show sympathy and care to workers.
C. It tries to present different working lives objectively.
D. It aims to expose the gap between the rich and the poor.
According to the author, the major merit of “Working” is ____.
A. the considerable investment of money
B. the creativity and design of the production
C. the explanation and comments by Obama
D. the attention given to working-class people
The information provided by “Working” shows that ____.
A. it is rewarding to draw lessons from history
B. the documentary seeks to be all-inclusive
C. people are unaware of the changes in workplaces
D. a radical reform is needed to solve the problems
According to the author, the weakness of “Working” is that ____.
A. it fails to explain the cause of the problem
B. it contains too much historical context
C. it ignores the role played by politicians
D. it misunderstands the hopes of working people