The shift from offices to kitchen tables among white-collar workers in 2020 seems unprecedented, and only possible with Slack and Zoom. But it is nothing new. Indeed, the history of home-working suggests some surprising parallels with today.

2020年，白領(lǐng)從辦公室到餐桌的工作模式轉(zhuǎn)變似乎是前所未有的，且多虧了Slack和Zoom這兩個(gè)軟件才得以實(shí)現(xiàn)。但這并不是什么新鮮事。事實(shí)上，在家工作的歷史與今天有一些驚人的相似之處。The emergence of capitalism in Britain and elsewhere from the 1600s to the mid-19th century did not take place primarily in factories, but in people’s houses. Workers made everything from dresses to shoes to matchboxes in their kitchens or bedrooms. When Adam Smith wrote “The Wealth of Nations” in 1776, it was perfectly common to work from home. Smith famously described the operation of the division of labour in pin-making, but not in a dark, satanic mill. He was describing a “small manufactory” of perhaps ten people—which could well have been in or attached to somebody’s house.

掃描下方二維碼，進(jìn)入“每日一練”免費(fèi)在線測(cè)試

從17世紀(jì)到19世紀(jì)中葉，資本主義在英國(guó)和其他地方的產(chǎn)生主要不是在工廠里，而是人們的家里。工人們?cè)谒麄兊膹N房或臥室里制作各種東西，從衣服到鞋子、火柴盒。亞當(dāng)·斯密在1776年寫下《國(guó)富論》時(shí)，在家工作是非常普遍的。他對(duì)于針制造中的勞動(dòng)分工描述尤為著 名，但不是在黑暗、邪惡的作坊中。根據(jù)他的描述，是大約有十個(gè)人的“小工廠”——它很可能在某人的房子里，或者是某人房子的一部分。It is not easy to put exact numbers on how many people have worked from home during different historical periods. Even in Britain, where economic data reach farther back than in any other country, little reliable labour-force data exist until the mid-1800s. Other sources left clues, however. One relates to the meaning of the word “house”. Today it connotes domesticity. But up until the 19th century it had a much broader definition, with the suffix “-house” encompassing economic production, too. In “A Christmas Carol”, Scrooge works in a “counting-house”. Architecture offers other hints. In Britain, many 18th-century houses still have unusually large upstairs windows; cloth-weavers, who worked there, needed as much light as they could get.

在不同的歷史時(shí)期，很難準(zhǔn)確統(tǒng)計(jì)有多少人在家工作。即使在英國(guó)，經(jīng)濟(jì)數(shù)據(jù)比其他任何國(guó)家都要久遠(yuǎn)，到19世紀(jì)中葉，可靠的勞動(dòng)力數(shù)據(jù)還很少。然而，其他資源留下了線索。其中一個(gè)與“房子”一詞的含義有關(guān)。今天它意味著家庭生活。但在19世紀(jì)，它有了更廣泛的定義， “XX房子”也包括經(jīng)濟(jì)生產(chǎn)活動(dòng)。在《圣誕頌歌》中，斯克魯奇在一個(gè)“帳房”工作。建筑給了我們其他提示。在英國(guó)，許多18世紀(jì)的房子上層窗戶依然非常大;在那里工作的織布工需要盡可能多的光線。The emergence of an at-home industrial workforce had two main causes. The growth of global trade and the rise in per-person income from the 1600s onwards raised demand for manufactured goods such as woollens and watches.

在家工作這種工業(yè)勞動(dòng)力的出現(xiàn)有兩個(gè)主要原因。自17世紀(jì)以來，全球貿(mào)易增長(zhǎng)和人均收入增加提高了對(duì)羊毛和手表等制成品的需求Home-workers may have been poorly paid relative to factory folk, but they could earn income by other means. That was not the only advantage. Home-workers in rural or semi-rural areas could forage for fuel and food, and so boost their meagre incomes. Home-workers also had more control over their time. So long as the work was done to the required standard and on time, they were not told exactly when or how to do it. That was in sharp contrast to the factory, where every aspect of life was planned in advance and workers were closely monitored. And home-workers could decide on the exact mix between work and leisure—in contrast to factory workers, who either worked the 12- or 14-hour days stipulated by the factory owner or none at all. People also got more sleep. This greater autonomy was especially important for mothers. In a world where men did little by way of family work, women could combine child care with contributing to the family income. It was far from easy. Sometimes women would give their infants “Godfrey’s Cordial”, a mixture of sugar syrup and laudanum, to knock them out for a while. But home-working allowed for the combination of paid work and family work in a way that the factory system did not. As factories spread, female labour-force participation fell.

相對(duì)于工廠工人來說，在家工作的人可能收入較低，但他們可以通過其他方式賺取收入。這不是唯一的有點(diǎn)。生活在農(nóng)村或郊區(qū)的工人可以尋找燃料和食物，從而增加他們微薄的收入。在家工作的人也能更好地控制自己的時(shí)間。只要工作按照要求的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)按時(shí)完成就行，不會(huì)對(duì)工作完成的時(shí)間和方式做出要求。這與工廠形成了鮮明的對(duì)比，在工廠里，生活的每個(gè)方面都是計(jì)劃好的，工人們受到密切監(jiān)視。在家工作的人靈活結(jié)合休閑和工作——與工廠工人相反，工廠工人要么按照工廠老板的規(guī)定每天工作12或14小時(shí)，要么根本不工作。在家工作的工人們也得到更多的睡眠。這種更大的自主權(quán)對(duì)母親來說尤其重要。在一個(gè)男人幾乎不做家務(wù)的世界里，女人可以兼顧照顧孩子和賺錢。這一點(diǎn)也不容易。有時(shí)候，女人會(huì)給她們的嬰兒喝“戈弗雷甜酒”，這是一種糖漿和鴉片酊的混合物，讓他們昏迷一段時(shí)間。但是在家工作允許工作和家庭相結(jié)合，這是工廠體系所不允許的。隨著工廠的擴(kuò)張，女性勞動(dòng)率下降。In 1920 Max Weber, a German sociologist, argued that the separation of the worker’s place of work from their home had “extraordinarily far-reaching” consequences. The factory was more efficient than the home-based system which had preceded it—but it was also a space in which workers had less control over their lives, and where they had much less fun. Today’s pandemic-induced shift back to the home could have similarly far-reaching effects.

1920年，德國(guó)社會(huì)學(xué)家馬克斯·韋伯(Max Weber)認(rèn)為，工人的工作場(chǎng)所與他們的家分開會(huì)產(chǎn)生“極其深遠(yuǎn)”的后果。與之前在家工作相比，在工廠工作更高效——但它也是一個(gè)工人對(duì)自己的生活控制力更弱、樂趣更少的地方。取決于它被證明有多持久，今年由疫情引發(fā)的回家工作潮可能會(huì)有同樣深遠(yuǎn)的影響。unprecedented adj.前所未有的;史無(wú) 前例的

never done or known beforee.g. The government took the unprecedented step of releasing confidential correspondence.政府史無(wú) 前例地公開了秘密通信。satanic adj.極其邪惡的;撒旦的

of or characteristic of Satane.g. a satanic laughter猙獰的笑connote vt.言外之意;暗示

(of a word) imply or suggest (an idea or feeling) in addition to the literal or primary meaninge.g. spinsterhood doesn’t connote failure 單身不意味著失敗encompass vt.包含

include comprehensivelye.g. No studies encompass all sectors of medical care.沒有一項(xiàng)研究涵蓋醫(yī)療保健的所有部門。forage vi.搜尋(食物等)

(of a person or animal) search widely for food or provisionse.g. A girl foraging grass for oxen 為牛找草料的女孩meagre adj.不足的;微薄的

(of something provided or available) lacking in quantity or qualitye.g. They were forced to supplement their meagre earnings.他們不得不想辦法補(bǔ)充自己微薄的收入。stipulate vt.規(guī)定(要求)，尤指作為合同或協(xié)議的一部分

demand or specify, typically as part of a bargain or agreenmente.g. He stipulated certain conditions before their marriage.他在婚前訂立了一些條件laudanum n.鴉片酊

knock sb out (藥物)使失去知覺;使昏睡

e.g. The sleeping pills soon knocked the patient out.安眠藥很快讓病人睡著了。

口譯： 翻譯資格考試二級(jí)口譯模擬題

筆譯： 翻譯資格考試二級(jí)筆譯模擬題

資料來源考試網(wǎng)校老師主講教材精講班課程，完整講義下載進(jìn)入個(gè)人中心>>