跟《经济学人》学英文：2024年08月03日这期 What is the point of industry awards?

What is the point of industry awards?

Booze, sweat and plexiglass

booze：美 [buz] 酒精饮料；烈酒；<俚>喝酒

sweat：英 [swet] 汗水；辛勤劳动 注意发音

plexiglass：美 ['pleksɪˌglɑs] 树脂玻璃；塑胶玻璃

原文：

Industry awards are ridiculous and ubiquitous. That both of these things are

true is doubtless a sad commentary on the human condition. But it also tells

you something about the things that employees value.

行业奖项很可笑，无处不在。这两件事都是真的，这无疑是对人类状况的一个悲哀的评论。但它也告诉你一些员工看重的东西。

原文：

The ridiculousness is obvious. All the attributes of glamorous awards shows

are replicated save for one ingredient: glamour. At awards shows on TV,

almost everyone looks comfortable in their glad rags. At industry awards

shows, almost no one does. The bow ties are clip-on; the talk is of when the

tuxedo has to be returned to the rental shop. Every so often someone

suddenly goes over on her new heels and disappears spectacularly from

view. There is a sense of excitement but mainly because the drinks are free.

Everyone is a bit sweaty.

可笑之处显而易见。迷人的颁奖典礼的所有特征都被复制了，除了一个成分:魅力。在电视上的颁奖典礼上，几乎每个人都穿着他们的漂亮衣服显得很自在。在行业颁奖典礼上，几乎没有人是这样的。蝴蝶结领结是夹上去的；人们谈论的是何时把礼服归还给租赁店。每隔一段时间就有人突然在她的新高跟鞋上摔倒，壮观地消失在视线中。有一种兴奋的感觉，但主要是因为饮料是免费的。每个人都有点出汗。

学习：

attributes：属性；象征；特质

glamorous：美 [ˈɡlæmərəs] 富有魅力的；迷人的；光鲜亮丽的；

glamour：美 [ˈɡlæmər] 魅力；吸引力；诱惑力（多因财富或地位所致）

awards show：颁奖典礼

glad rags：特定场合穿的衣服；最好的衣服

解释：指人们穿着的漂亮或正式的衣服，通常是为特殊场合准备的。

例子：She put on her glad rags for the big party. (她穿上了漂亮的衣服去参加那个盛大的派对。)

bow ties：领结

解释：指蝴蝶结领结。

例子：He wore a bow tie to the formal dinner. (他在正式晚宴上戴了蝴蝶结领结。)

tuxedo：美 [təkˈsidoʊ] （男士在正式社交场合穿的）无尾晚礼服

rental shop：租赁店

every so often：偶尔；不时

save for：唯一的例外

解释：除…之外。用来表示唯一的例外。

例子：The room was empty save for a single chair. (房间里除了一个椅子之外什么都没有。)

go over：失去平衡，突然摔倒

解释：在这里指突然摔倒或失去平衡。

例子：She went over on the icy sidewalk and hurt her ankle. (她在结冰的路面上摔倒，扭伤了脚踝。)

原文：

There is a brief moment of anticipation when the identity of the celebrity

host for the evening is revealed, followed by an even briefer moment of

silence, then the sound of 400 people asking “Who’s that?”. The host will

attempt to strike a serious note about the importance of the work that all the

nominees do (how the world depends on the composites industry, why

baking soda will end poverty) while guests neck the bubbly and

surreptitiously pocket copies of the menu.

当当晚的名人主持人的身份揭晓时，有一个短暂的期待时刻，接着是更短暂的沉默，然后是400人问“那是谁？”。主持人将试图严肃地强调所有被提名者所做工作的重要性(世界如何依赖于复合材料行业，为什么小苏打将结束贫困)，而客人们在快速喝香槟并偷偷拿走菜单的副本。

学习：

composites：美 [kəm’poʊzɪts] 复合材料；（composite的复数）

baking soda：小苏打；碳酸氢钠；发酵粉

bubbly：美 [ˈbəb(ə)li] 起泡酒；气泡饮料；（通常指）香槟酒

surreptitiously：美 [ˌsʌrəp’tɪʃəslɪ] 秘密地；暗中地；偷偷摸摸地

neck：一饮而尽

解释：快速喝完或一饮而尽。

例子：He necked his beer and ordered another one. (他一口气喝完了啤酒，然后又点了一杯。)

neck the bubbly：快速地喝掉香槟

解释：快速喝掉香槟。

例子：At the wedding reception, everyone was necking the bubbly to celebrate. (在婚宴上，每个人都在快速喝香槟庆祝。)

pocket: 偷偷拿走，藏起来

解释：偷偷拿走、藏起来。

例子：He pocketed the pen when no one was looking. (当没人看见时，他偷偷把笔拿走了。)

copies of the menu： 菜单的副本

解释：菜单的副本。

例子：They took copies of the menu as souvenirs from the special dinner. (他们拿了菜单的副本作为这次特别晚餐的纪念品。)

原文：

Then it’s on to the main event. When the awards are actually handed out,

pictures of the nominees are shown on a screen so you can see what

everyone looks like sober (and ten years younger). Some categories are so

absurd that you start to suspect someone is playing a practical joke. Britain’s

water industry really does compete to win the award for “Leakage Initiative

of the Year”; the wedding industry hands out a gong for the best barn venue.

Others are even more prestigious. “The Supreme Award is the highest

accolade at the Brick Awards” is not a made-up sentence.

接下来就是重头戏了。当奖项实际颁发时，被提名者的照片会显示在屏幕上，这样你就可以看到每个人看起来都很清醒(而且年轻了10岁)。一些类别是如此荒谬，以至于你开始怀疑有人在搞恶作剧。英国的水行业确实在竞争赢得“年度渗漏倡议”奖；婚礼行业为最佳谷仓场地颁奖。其他人甚至更有声望。“最高奖项是砖块奖的最高荣誉”不是杜撰的句子。

学习：

hand out: 颁发，分发

解释：颁发、分发。

例子：The teacher handed out the test papers to the students. (老师把试卷发给了学生们。)

awards are handed out：颁奖

practical joke：恶作剧；玩笑

gong：奖章

accolade：美 [ˈækəˌleɪd] 荣誉；赞扬；奖励；

sober：清醒的（未喝醉的）

解释：清醒的（未醉的）；（在这里）指候选人在屏幕上展示的照片，表现出他们清醒时的样子。

例子：He looked much different when sober compared to when he was partying. (他清醒时的样子和在聚会时的样子差别很大。)

原文：

No one involved thinks this is a completely fair fight. The pool of candidates

may well be self-selecting: nominees often send in their own entries. The

judging process is usually opaque. It costs a lot of money to attend awards

dinners and you would not blame the organisers for making sure that the

trophies are shared out a bit. It’s not quite a case of “all must have prizes”.

But if your firm stumped up for a platinum table with a magnum of

champagne and a guaranteed position at the front of the ballroom, it

probably expects something in return.

没有人认为这是一场完全公平的战斗。候选人很可能是自己挑选的:被提名者通常会提交他们自己的作品。评判过程通常是不透明的。参加颁奖晚宴要花很多钱，你不会责怪组织者确保奖杯被分一点。这不完全是“所有人都必须有奖”的问题。但如果你的公司掏钱买了一张配有一大瓶香槟的白金桌子，并保证在舞厅前排有一个位置，它可能会期待一些回报。

学习：

fair fight：公平的斗争

trophies：美 [ˈtroʊfiz] 奖杯；（trophy的复数）

platinum：美 [ˈplætɪnəm] 铂；白金；

magnum：美 [ˈmæɡnəm] 大瓶；大容量瓶

ballroom：舞厅；跳舞场所；宴会厅

entries： 在评选中提交的作品

• 解释：在比赛或评选中提交的参赛作品或申请。
• 例子：The competition received over 500 entries from participants around the world. (比赛收到了来自世界各地的500多份参赛作品。)

stump up：支付一大笔钱

解释：支付（通常是指一大笔钱）。

例子：They had to stump up a significant amount of money to secure the venue for the event. (他们不得不支付一大笔钱来确保活动场地。)

原文：

The winners don’t care about any of that. (The losers try to look

magnanimous and then write bitter columns like this one.) When their names

are announced, they sway to the front and grin awkwardly for a

photographer. They return to their tables clutching a gigantic piece of

plexiglass; colleagues crowd round to examine it as though it were the

Rosetta Stone. Once every category, attendee and weak joke has been

exhausted, the host wraps up. People head to the bar for a final drink. “Is it

still free?” they ask hopefully.

赢家不在乎这些。(输的人尽量装大度，然后写这样的苦情专栏。)当他们的名字被宣布时，他们晃到前面，尴尬地笑着让摄影师拍照。他们回到自己的桌子，手里拿着一块巨大的有机玻璃；同事们围过来检查它，就好像它是罗塞塔石碑一样。一旦每个类别、出席者和无力的笑话都讲完了，主持人就结束了。人们去酒吧喝最后一杯。“还免费吗？”他们满怀希望地问道。

学习：

magnanimous：美 [mæɡˈnænəməs] （尤指对敌人或对手）宽宏大量的；慷慨的；

grin：露齿笑；咧嘴笑；（因忍耐或尴尬而）勉强笑

clutching：抓住；紧握；（clutch的现在分词）

wrap up：圆满完成；圆满结束（工作、协议等）

解释：结束（活动、会议等）。

例子：The host wrapped up the ceremony with a final speech. (主持人用最后的演讲结束了典礼。)

Once every category, attendee and weak joke has been exhausted, the host wraps up.

当每个类别、参与者和无聊的笑话都结束后，主持人结束了活动。

sway: 轻轻晃动

sway to the front：轻轻晃动着走到前面

解释：轻轻摇摆或晃动。

例子：She swayed to the music as she danced. (她随着音乐轻轻摇摆着跳舞。)

crowd round：围聚

围聚，围拢。

例子：The children crowded round the magician to watch his tricks. (孩子们围聚在魔术师周围观看他的魔术表演。)

weak joke: 不怎么好笑的笑话

weak joke 是指一个不怎么好笑的笑话，通常是指那些缺乏创意或幽默感、不引人发笑的笑话。

例子

• At the awards dinner, the host told a weak joke that barely got any laughs from the audience. (在颁奖晚宴上，主持人讲了一个不怎么好笑的笑话，几乎没有引起观众的笑声。)
• Despite his weak jokes, the presenter managed to keep the audience engaged with his enthusiasm. (尽管他的笑话不怎么好笑，主持人还是通过他的热情让观众保持了兴趣。)

句中解释

• weak joke: Once every category, attendee and weak joke has been exhausted, the host wraps up.
• 当每个类别、参与者和不怎么好笑的笑话都结束后，主持人结束了活动。

原文：

If these ceremonies are so absurd, why do they persist? Some reasons are

obvious. A night out is fun. Awards do add lustre to the winners’ CVs: if you

were in the brick industry, you’d definitely like to be able to say that you

have won the Supreme Award. They can burnish the reputation of

overlooked departments within firms. And for the companies shelling out for

tables, awards are a little bit of cheap marketing to the outside world.

如果这些仪式如此荒谬，为什么还要坚持？有些原因显而易见。晚上出去玩很有趣。奖项的确为获奖者的简历增光添彩:如果你在制砖行业，你肯定会想说你获得了最高奖项。他们可以提高公司内部被忽视部门的声誉。对于那些花钱买桌子的公司来说，奖励是对外的一种廉价营销。

学习：

lustre：英 [ˈlʌstə] 光泽；光彩；光辉；

add lustre to the CVs：为简历增光添彩

burnish：美 [ˈbərnɪʃ] 提高；加强

burnish the reputation：提高声誉

Burnish 在这里的意思是“提升”或“改善”。在这个语境中，它指的是通过赢得奖项来提升或美化某个部门的声誉。

• 例子：Winning the prestigious award helped to burnish the company’s reputation in the industry. (赢得这个有声望的奖项有助于提升公司在行业中的声誉。)

shell out: 花费（很多钱）

Shell out 意思是“支付”或“花费（通常是指大量金钱）”。在这个语境中，它指的是公司为参加颁奖晚宴而支付的费用。

• 例子：The company shelled out a significant amount of money for a table at the awards dinner. (公司为颁奖晚宴的一张桌子支付了大量费用。)

原文：

But award ceremonies also survive because they tap into employees’ deeper

needs. They offer a sense of recognition, however imperfect, for your work.

There is validation in knowing that your boss put you forward for a gong, or

that the sanitation industry sees you as a rising star. Awards impart a sense of

collective purpose. This is not just a roomful of sweaty people; this is the

grounds-management industry and by God, it is something worth

celebrating.

但颁奖仪式也得以延续，因为它们触及了员工更深层的需求。他们为你的工作提供了一种认可感，不管它有多不完美。当你知道你的老板推荐你获得一枚奖章，或者卫生行业将你视为一颗冉冉升起的新星时，这是一种认可。奖项传递了一种集体使命感。这不仅仅是一屋子汗流浃背的人；这是场地管理行业，老天作证，这是值得庆祝的事情。

学习：

tap into：利用；开发；挖掘

Tap into 的意思是“利用”或“挖掘”。在这个语境中，它指的是颁奖典礼利用了员工的更深层次需求。

• 例子：The company managed to tap into the employees’ need for recognition and motivation. (公司设法利用了员工对认可和激励的需求。)

offer a sense of recognition：提供一种认可

gong：奖章

sanitation：美 [ˌsænɪˈteɪʃn] 环境卫生

collective purpose：集体使命感

impart：传授（知识或技能）；透露

Impart 的意思是“传递”或“赋予”。在这个语境中，它指的是奖项传递了一种集体目标感。

• 例子：The training imparted valuable skills to the participants. (培训为参与者传授了宝贵的技能。)

roomful：满房间

a roomful of：一屋子的

原文：

Awards can also make people feel as if they are on a team. Competition is

one of the central facts of capitalism, but for many employees the contest

can feel abstract. Once a year the civilised surroundings of a large hotel

ballroom provide a simulacrum of that competition. Over napkins folded

into flowers, nominees come face to face with the employees of rival

companies. Winners are greeted as heroes; losers get consoling pats on the

back. Awards are absurd, but they make you feel as if you belong.

奖项也能让人觉得自己是一个团队的。竞争是资本主义的核心事实之一，但对许多员工来说，竞争可能感觉很抽象。一年一度，一个大型酒店宴会厅的文明环境提供了这种竞争的模拟。在折叠成花的餐巾纸上，被提名者与竞争对手公司的员工面对面。胜利者被视为英雄；失败者得到安慰性的鼓励。奖项是荒谬的，但它让你有归属感。

学习：
simulacrum：美 [ˌsɪmjəˈleɪkrəm] 模拟物；不理想的模拟；模拟

consoling：安慰；抚慰；慰藉；（console的现在分词）

napkins：纸巾，餐巾纸

后记

2024年8月7日20点01分于上海。