关于远程办公与写作

疫情极大地推动了各种形式的数字交流。视频会议平台已经演变成了动词。风投资本家在观看虚拟推介后做出选择。

双语精读

of Remote Work and Writing: the Written Word will Flourish in the Post-pandemic Workplace

远程办公与写作：书面文字将在疫情后的工作场所中蓬勃发展

The pandemic has given a big shove to all forms of digital communication. Video-conferencing platforms have become verbs. Venture capitalists make their bets after watching virtual pitches.

疫情极大地推动了各种形式的数字交流。视频会议平台已经演变成了动词。风投资本家在观看虚拟推介后做出选择。

Products like Loom and mmhmm help workers send pre-recorded video messages to their colleagues. More than a third of Slack users each week are now "huddling" -- using the product's new audio feature to talk to each other. And all this is before the metaverse turns everyone into an avatar.

像Loom和mmhmm这样的产品可以帮助员工将预先录制的视频信息发送给同事。每周都有超过三分之一的Slack用户“聚在一起”，通过该产品新推出的音频功能互相交谈。这一切都发生在元宇宙将每个人变成虚拟化身之前。

A workplace dominated by time on screens may seem bound to favour newer, faster and more visual ways of transmitting information. But an old form of communication -- writing -- is also flourishing.

一个被屏幕时间支配的工作场所似乎注定会青睐更新、更快、更直观的信息传递方式。但是“写作”这种古老的交流方式也在蓬勃发展。

And not just dashed-off emails and entries on virtual whiteboards, but slow, time-intensive writing. The strengths of the written word have not been diminished by the pandemic era. In some ways they are ideally suited to it.

不仅仅是匆忙写成的电子邮件和虚拟白板上的事项记录，还有缓慢、耗时的写作。书面文字的力量并没有被疫情时代减弱。在某些方面，它们最适合疫情时代。

The value of writing is a staple in management thinking. "The discipline of writing something down is the first step toward making it happen," reckoned Lee Iacocca, a quotable titan of the American car industry.

写作的价值是管理思维的重要组成部分。“把事情写下来是实现它的第一步，”美国汽车行业的著名巨头李·艾柯卡如是说道。

Jeff Bezos banned slide decks from meetings of senior Amazon executives back in 2004, in favour of well-structured memos. "PowerPoint-style presentations somehow give permission to gloss over ideas," he wrote.

早在2004年，杰夫·贝索斯就禁止亚马逊高管在会议上使用幻灯片，而是赞成使用条理分明的备忘录。他写道：“幻灯片形式的演示在某种程度上会允许人们掩饰自己的想法。”

Some executives write for themselves. Andrew Bosworth, a bigwig at Meta (formerly Facebook), has a blog in which he muses interestingly on many topics, including on writing itself: "In my experience, discussion expands the space of possibilities while writing reduces it to its most essential components."

一些高管会自己写作。Meta（前身为Facebook）的大人物安德鲁·博斯沃思有一个博客，他在播客中对许多话题进行了有趣的思考，包括写作本身：“根据我的经验，讨论扩大了可能性的空间，而写作则将其缩减为最重要的组成部分。”

Others do so to reach an audience. Shareholder letters from Larry Fink and Warren Buffett are the corporate equivalent of a blockbuster book launch.

还有人用书写来吸引观众。拉里·芬克和沃伦·巴菲特写给股东的信相当于一场轰动的新书发布会。

But the move to remote working has enhanced the value of writing to the entire organisation, not just the corner office.

不过，转向远程工作不仅提高了写作对于高管的价值，对整个组织来说也是如此。

When tasks are being handed off to colleagues in other locations, or people are working on a project "asynchronously", meaning at a time of their choosing, comprehensive documentation is crucial.

当任务被移交给在其他地方的同事，或者是当人们在自己选择的时间“异步”处理一个项目时，准备好一份详实的文档是至关重要的。

When new employees start work on something, they want the back story. When veterans depart an organisation, they should leave knowledge behind.

当新员工开始做某项工作时，他们需要知道之前的进展。当老员工离开组织时，他们应该将自己所了解的信息留下。

Writing everything down sounds like an almighty pain. But so is turning up to a meeting and not having the foggiest what was decided last time out.

把所有的东西都写下来听起来是一件万分痛苦的事情。但出席会议时对上次会议作出的决定一头雾水也很痛苦。

Software developers have already worked out the value of the written word. A research programme from Google into the ingredients of successful technology projects found that teams with high-quality documentation deliver software faster and more reliably.

软件开发者已经弄清楚了书面文字的价值。谷歌对成功技术项目要素的研究发现，拥有高质量文档的团队能够更快、更可靠地交付软件。

Gitlab, a code-hosting platform whose workforce is wholly remote, frames the secret of successful asynchronous working thus: "How would I deliver this message, present this work, or move this project forward right now if no one else on my team (or in my company) were awake?"

Gitlab是一个所有人员都远程办公的代码托管平台，它指出了成功进行异步工作的秘诀：“如果我的团队（或公司）中没有其他人醒着，我该如何传递信息、展示工作，或者就在此刻推进这个项目？”

Gitlab's answer is "textual communication". Its gospel is a handbook that is publicly available, stretches to more than 3,000 pages and lays out all of its internal processes.

Gitlab给出的答案是“文本交流”。它的准则是一本公开可得的3000多页的手册，列出了公司的所有内部流程。

The deliberation and discipline required by writing is helpful in other contexts, too. "Brainwriting" is a brainstorming technique, used by Slack among others, in which participants are given time to put down their ideas before discussion begins.

写作所需要的审慎和自律在其他场景中也很有帮助。“书面头脑风暴”是一种包括Slack在内的公司都在使用的头脑风暴技巧。在讨论开始前，参与者有时间来把自己的想法写下来。

词汇预习

essential [高考]
美[ɪˈsenʃl] | 英[ɪˈsenʃl]
adj. 本质的；必要的；重要的 n. 要素；必需品
code [高考]
美[koʊd] | 英[kəʊd]
n. 密码；法规；准则 v. 制成法典；把 ... 编码
virtual [高考]
美[ˈvɜːrtʃuəl] | 英[ˈvɜːtʃuəl]
adj. 实质的；【计】虚拟的
launch [高考]
美[lɔːntʃ] | 英[lɔːntʃ]
v. 发起；推出（新产品）；发射；使(船)下水 n. 发射；发行，投放市场；下水；汽艇
corporate [高考]
美[ˈkɔːrpərət] | 英[ˈkɔːpərət]
adj. 法人的；公司的；社团的；共同的；全体的
publicly [高考]
美['pʌblɪkli] | 英['pʌblɪkli]
adv. 公开地；公然地；以公众名义
discipline [高考]
美[ˈdɪsəplɪn] | 英[ˈdɪsəplɪn]
n. 纪律；训练；学科 vt. 训练；惩罚
audio [高考]
美[ˈɔːdioʊ] | 英[ˈɔːdiəʊ]
adj. 声音的；成音频率的 n. 音频；音响设备
depart [高考]
美[dɪˈpɑːrt] | 英[dɪˈpɑːt]
vt. 离开 vi. 离开；死亡
intensive [高考]
美[ɪnˈtensɪv] | 英[ɪnˈtensɪv]
adj. 密集的；彻底的；精细的；强调的；加强的，集中的 n. 加强器；加强剂；【语】强义词[词首]
internal [高考]
美[ɪnˈtɜːrnl] | 英[ɪnˈtɜːnl]
adj. 国内的；内部的；身内的
formerly [高考]
美[ˈfɔːrmərli] | 英[ˈfɔːməli]
adv. 以前；从前
handbook [高考]
美[ˈhændbʊk] | 英[ˈhændbʊk]
n. 手册；指南
workforce [高考]
美[ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs] | 英[ˈwɜːkfɔːs]
n. 劳动力；工人总数；职工总数
comprehensive [高考]
美[ˌkɑːmprɪˈhensɪv] | 英[ˌkɒmprɪˈhensɪv]
adj. 全面的；广泛的；综合的；理解的
equivalent [高考]
美[ɪˈkwɪvələnt] | 英[ɪˈkwɪvələnt]
adj. 等价的相等的 n. 相等物
documentation [高考]
美[ˌdɑːkjumenˈteɪʃn] | 英[ˌdɒkjumenˈteɪʃn]
n. 文件；证明文件；史实；[计]文件编制
thus [高考]
美[ðʌs] | 英[ðʌs]
adv. 这样；如此；因此；从而
deliver [高考]
美[dɪˈlɪvər] | 英[dɪˈlɪvə(r)]
v. 递送；发表（演讲）；交付；解救；生（孩子）；接生；履行；投掷
technique [高考]
美[tekˈniːk] | 英[tekˈniːk]
n. 技术；技巧；技能
entire [高考]
美[ɪnˈtaɪər] | 英[ɪnˈtaɪə(r)]
adj. 全部的；整个的；完全的 n. 全部；整体；〈英〉一种黑啤酒；种马
found [高考]
美[faʊnd] | 英[faʊnd]
v. 建立；创立；创办；铸造；找到，发现 adj. (文艺作品等)找到的；已包括在价款[租金等]之内的 n. 不另外收费的供应品[服务等]
remote [高考]
美[rɪˈmoʊt] | 英[rɪˈməʊt]
adj. 遥远的；偏僻的；远程的；(感情等)距离很大 n. 远程操作
software [高考]
美[ˈsɔːftwer] | 英[ˈsɒftweə(r)]
n. 软件
platform [高考]
美[ˈplætfɔːrm] | 英[ˈplætfɔːm]
n. 平台，站台，月台，讲台，(政党的)政纲 v. 把…放在台上；起草政纲；站在讲台上演说
slide [高考]
美[slaɪd] | 英[slaɪd]
vi. 滑动；下滑；滑入；悄悄地溜走 vt. 使滑动 n. 幻灯片；滑坡；滑动；雪崩
favour [高考]
美[ˈfeɪvər] | 英[ˈfeɪvə(r)]
n. 恩惠；支持；喜爱；偏爱 v. 支持；偏袒；有利于；长得像
organisation [高考]
美[ˌɔːrɡənəˈzeɪʃn] | 英[ˌɔːɡənaɪˈzeɪʃn]
n. 组织；团体；条理
bound [高考]
美[baʊnd] | 英[baʊnd]
adj. 必定的；有义务的；受约束的；装订的 vi. 跳；跳跃前进；猛涨 n. 跳跃；范围；界限
have [高考]
美[hæv , həv] | 英[hæv , həv]
aux. 已经 vt. 有；吃；得到；从事；允许；雇用；享有 n. [常用复数]富人，有产者，有钱人；富国
thinking [高考]
美[ˈθɪŋkɪŋ] | 英[ˈθɪŋkɪŋ]
n. 思考；思想 adj. 好思考的；有理性的
crucial [高考]
美[ˈkruːʃl] | 英[ˈkruːʃl]
adj. 决定性的；关键的
era [高考]
美[ˈɪrə] | 英[ˈɪərə]
n. 纪元；时代；年代
wholly [四级]
美[ˈhoʊlli] | 英[ˈhəʊlli]
adv. 完全地；全部地；一概
workplace [四级]
美[ˈwɜːrkpleɪs] | 英[ˈwɜːkpleɪs]
n. 工作场所
high-quality [四级]
美['haɪkw'ɒlɪtɪ] | 英['haɪkw'ɒlɪtɪ]
adj. 高质量的；高级的
staple [四级]
美[ˈsteɪpl] | 英[ˈsteɪpl]
adj. (食物、产品或活动)主要的，基本的 n. 主要部分，重要内容；订书钉 vt. 用订书机装订；把…分级
ideally [四级]
美[aɪˈdiəli] | 英[aɪ'di:əlɪ]
adv. 理想地；完美地；观念上地
interestingly [四级]
美[ ˈɪntrəstɪŋli,ˈɪntrestɪŋli] | 英[ˈɪntrəstɪŋli; ˈɪntrestɪŋli]
adv. 有趣地
up to [四级]
美[ʌp tu] | 英[ʌp tu]
胜任；直到；多达；该由 ... 决定
deliberation [四级]
美[dɪˌlɪbəˈreʃən] | 英[dɪˌlɪbəˈreɪʃn]
n. 熟虑；审议；从容
reliably [六级]
美[rɪˈlaɪəblɪ] | 英[rɪ'laɪəblɪ]
adv. 可靠地；可信赖地；确实地
shove [六级]
美[ʃʌv] | 英[ʃʌv]
v. 推挤；撞；乱塞；乱放 n. 推；挤
in favour of [六级]
美[ɪn ˈfeɪvər əv] | 英[ɪn ˈfeɪvə(r) ɒv]
赞成；支持
decided [专四]
美[dɪˈsaɪdɪd] | 英[dɪˈsaɪdɪd]
adj. 确定的；坚决的
turning [专八]
美[ˈtɜːrnɪŋ] | 英[ˈtɜːnɪŋ]
n. 旋转；回转；转向
almighty [专八]
美[ɔːlˈmaɪti] | 英[ɔːlˈmaɪti]
adj. 万能的；极大的 adv. 极度地
gloss [专八]
美[glɔs] | 英[glɒs]
n. 光彩；光泽；虚饰 n. 注释；注解 v. 掩盖；（使）有光泽 v. 作注释
textual [考研]
美[ˈtɛkstʃuəl] | 英[ˈtekstʃuəl]
adj. 本文的；原文的

重点讲解

of Remote Work and Writing: the Written Word will Flourish in the Post-pandemic Workplace

远程办公与写作：书面文字将在疫情后的工作场所中蓬勃发展

flourish /ˈflʌrɪʃ/ v. & n.

1. 作动词：

（1）繁荣；昌盛；兴旺

【例】Few businesses are flourishing in the present economic climate.

在目前的经济气候下，很少有企业兴旺发达。

（2）茁壮成长；健康幸福

【例】These plants flourish in a damp climate.

这些植物在潮湿的气候下长势茂盛。

【近义词】thrive /θraɪv/ 兴旺发达；繁荣；蓬勃发展

【例】New businesses thrive in this area. 新商家在这一地区蓬勃兴起。

2. 作名词，（为引起注意的）夸张动作

【例】He opened the door for her with a flourish. 他做了一个夸张动作为她开了门。

The pandemic has given a big shove to all forms of digital communication. Video-conferencing platforms have become verbs. Venture capitalists make their bets after watching virtual pitches.

疫情极大地推动了各种形式的数字交流。视频会议平台已经演变成了动词。风投资本家在观看虚拟推介后做出选择。

shove [ʃʌv] v. & n. 猛推

1. 作动词

【例】The door wouldn't open no matter how hard she shoved.

她怎么使劲推，门都推不开。

2. 作名词

【例】She gave Gracie a shove toward the house.

她把格雷西向那所房子猛地一推。

venture [ˈventʃər]

1. 作名词，（尤指有风险的）企业，商业，投机活动，经营项目

【例】a Russian-American joint venture 一个俄美合资的风险项目

2. 作动词，冒险去（某处）

【例】People are afraid to venture out for fear of sniper attacks.

人们不敢冒险外出，害怕狙击手的袭击。

Products**** like**** Loom**** and mmhmm help**** workers send**** pre-recorded**** video messages**** to**** their colleagues****.**** More**** than**** a third of**** Slack users each**** week**** are now "huddling"**** --**** using the product's new audio feature to**** talk**** to**** each**** other.**** And all this**** is**** before**** the metaverse turns everyone**** into**** an**** avatar****.****

像Loom和mmhmm这样的产品可以帮助员工将预先录制的视频信息发送给同事。每周都有超过三分之一的Slack用户“聚在一起”，通过该产品新推出的音频功能互相交谈。这一切都发生在元宇宙将每个人变成虚拟化身之前。

A workplace dominated by**** time**** on**** screens may seem**** bound to**** favour**** newer,**** faster**** and more**** visual**** ways**** of**** transmitting**** information.**** But an**** old form**** of**** communication --**** writing --**** is**** also**** flourishing.****

一个被屏幕时间支配的工作场所似乎注定会青睐更新、更快、更直观的信息传递方式。但是“写作”这种古老的交流方式也在蓬勃发展。

And not just dashed-off emails and entries on virtual whiteboards, but slow, time-intensive writing. The strengths of the written word have not been diminished by the pandemic era. In some ways they are ideally suited to it.

不仅仅是匆忙写成的电子邮件和虚拟白板上的事项记录，还有缓慢、耗时的写作。书面文字的力量并没有被疫情时代减弱。在某些方面，它们最适合疫情时代。

dash off 迅速去做，匆匆地写

【例】He dashed off a couple of novels.

他匆匆地完成了几本小说。

diminish [dɪˈmɪnɪʃ]

1. 使减少；变少

【例】Federalism is intended to diminish the power of the central state.

联邦制度旨在削弱中央政府的权力。

2. 贬低

【例】He never put her down or diminished her.

他从未轻视过她或贬低过她。

写作的价值是管理思维的重要组成部分。“把事情写下来是实现它的第一步，”美国汽车行业的著名巨头李·艾柯卡如是说道。

gloss over 无视，草草了事

【例】Some foreign governments gloss over human rights abuses.

一些外国政府无视对人权的践踏问题。

早在2004年，杰夫·贝索斯就禁止亚马逊高管在会议上使用幻灯片，而是赞成使用条理分明的备忘录。他写道：“幻灯片形式的演示在某种程度上会允许人们掩饰自己的想法。”

gloss over 无视，草草了事

【例】Some foreign governments gloss over human rights abuses.

一些外国政府无视对人权的践踏问题。

Some executives write for themselves. Andrew Bosworth, a bigwig at Meta (formerly Facebook), has a blog in which he muses interestingly on many topics, including on writing itself: "In my experience, discussion expands the space of possibilities while writing reduces it to its most essential components."

一些高管会自己写作。Meta（前身为Facebook）的大人物安德鲁·博斯沃思有一个博客，他在播客中对许多话题进行了有趣的思考，包括写作本身：“根据我的经验，讨论扩大了可能性的空间，而写作则将其缩减为最重要的组成部分。”

bigwig [ˈbɪɡwɪɡ] n. 权贵之人；有重大影响的人

【例】She had to entertain some boring local bigwigs.

她不得不款待当地一些无聊的大人物。

Others do so to reach an audience. Shareholder letters from Larry Fink and Warren Buffett are the corporate equivalent of a blockbuster book launch.

还有人用书写来吸引观众。拉里·芬克和沃伦·巴菲特写给股东的信相当于一场轰动的新书发布会。

blockbuster [ˈblɑːkbʌstər] n. 一鸣惊人的事物，（尤指）非常成功的书（或电影）

【例】a Hollywood blockbuster 一部好莱坞大片

But the move**** to**** remote**** working has enhanced**** the value of**** writing to**** the entire**** organisation****,**** not just**** the corner**** office****.****

不过，转向远程工作不仅提高了写作对于高管的价值，对整个组织来说也是如此。

When**** tasks are being handed**** off to**** colleagues**** in**** other locations,**** or**** people**** are working on**** a project "asynchronously", meaning at**** a time**** of**** their choosing****,**** comprehensive documentation is**** crucial.****

当任务被移交给在其他地方的同事，或者是当人们在自己选择的时间“异步”处理一个项目时，准备好一份详实的文档是至关重要的。

When new employees start work on something, they want the back story. When veterans depart an organisation, they should leave knowledge behind.

当新员工开始做某项工作时，他们需要知道之前的进展。当老员工离开组织时，他们应该将自己所了解的信息留下。

turn up

1. （意外地或终于）出现

【例】They finally turned up at nearly midnight.

他们终于在近午夜时出现了。

2. 找到，发现

【例】Investigations have never turned up any evidence.

调查从未发现过任何证据。

3. 调高（音量或热度）

【例】Can you turn up the TV?

你能把电视机的声音调大点吗？

Writing everything down sounds like an almighty pain. But so is turning up to a meeting and not having the foggiest what was decided last time out.

把所有的东西都写下来听起来是一件万分痛苦的事情。但出席会议时对上次会议作出的决定一头雾水也很痛苦。

turn up

1. （意外地或终于）出现

【例】They finally turned up at nearly midnight.

他们终于在近午夜时出现了。

2. 找到，发现

【例】Investigations have never turned up any evidence.

调查从未发现过任何证据。

3. 调高（音量或热度）

【例】Can you turn up the TV?

你能把电视机的声音调大点吗？

Software**** developers**** have**** already worked**** out the value of**** the written word****.**** A research**** programme from**** Google**** into**** the ingredients of**** successful**** technology**** projects**** found that**** teams with**** high****-quality documentation deliver software**** faster**** and more**** reliably****.****

软件开发者已经弄清楚了书面文字的价值。谷歌对成功技术项目要素的研究发现，拥有高质量文档的团队能够更快、更可靠地交付软件。

Gitlab****,**** a code****-hosting platform**** whose workforce is**** wholly**** remote****,**** frames**** the secret**** of**** successful**** asynchronous**** working thus****:**** "How**** would I deliver this**** message,**** present this**** work****,**** or**** move**** this**** project forward right now if**** no**** one else**** on**** my**** team**** (or in**** my**** company)**** were**** awake?"

Gitlab是一个所有人员都远程办公的代码托管平台，它指出了成功进行异步工作的秘诀：“如果我的团队（或公司）中没有其他人醒着，我该如何传递信息、展示工作，或者就在此刻推进这个项目？”

Gitlab****'s answer**** is**** "textual**** communication". Its gospel**** is**** a handbook**** that**** is**** publicly**** available,**** stretches to**** more**** than**** 3,000 pages and lays**** out all of**** its internal**** processes.****

Gitlab给出的答案是“文本交流”。它的准则是一本公开可得的3000多页的手册，列出了公司的所有内部流程。

The deliberation**** and discipline**** required**** by**** writing is**** helpful in**** other contexts****,**** too.**** "Brainwriting"**** is**** a brainstorming technique,**** used**** by**** Slack among others****,**** in**** which participants**** are given time**** to**** put down**** their ideas before**** discussion**** begins****.****

写作所需要的审慎和自律在其他场景中也很有帮助。“书面头脑风暴”是一种包括Slack在内的公司都在使用的头脑风暴技巧。在讨论开始前，参与者有时间来把自己的想法写下来。

课后练习

What can be learned from the first two paragraphs?
A. Digital technology has made huge breakthroughs.
B. The pandemic has promoted online communication.
C. Teamwork has been emphasized by most companies.
D. Writing has been regarded as time-consuming.
One of the strengths of writing in business management is that ____.
A. it encourages people to take action.
B. it helps people generate creative ideas.
C. it motivates people to try all possibilities.
D. it builds up trust among shareholders.
Writing facilitates remote working by ____.
A. reminding colleagues to finish tasks on time
B. transmitting information in a detailed manner
C. giving job training to newly arrived employees
D. recording the decisions made in every meeting
The example of Gitlab’s success shows that ____.
A. reliability is crucial to technology projects
B. flexibility of working schedule promotes teamwork
C. comprehensive documentation improves efficiency
D. brainwriting is more productive than brainstorming