【原版杂志阅读】26期 Day 1：The small consolations of office irritations part 1

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Business | Bartleby
The small consolations of office irritations

The silver linings of interruptions and impostor syndrome 

Even people who love their jobs have a few gripes. Even people who excel at their work have their share of worries. The office environment makes it hard to concentrate; their colleagues are annoying beyond belief; their career path within the organisation is not obvious. There are aspects of the workplace, like “reply all” email threads and any kind of role-playing, which are completely beyond redemption. This column is here to administer the balm of consolation for some of work’s recurring irritations.

Start with a pervasive problem: being interrupted. You have muted notifications on Slack and cleared your calendar; the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 is playing; your fingers are poised above the keyboard and a thought of world-altering profundity is gradually taking shape in your mind. Then there is a knock at the door, and a colleague asks if you have a minute to discuss the air-conditioning. By the time they have gone, so has that momentous thought and any sense of well-being.

Context-switching of this sort is more than simply annoying. A survey conducted in 2021 found that it takes people nine and a half minutes to resume a focused state of mind after switching between apps. But there is a bright side to being interrupted. A paper by Harshad Puranik of the University of Illinois Chicago and his co-authors asked a sample of employees in America to record how often they were distracted by colleagues and to report their sense of belonging to their organisations. They found that being interrupted involves a social interaction with colleagues that can strengthen a worker’s feelings of connection. The next time a knock comes, remind yourself that at least you are not lonely.

What about some of the characters who make office life so teeth-grinding? Every company has its share of toadies who specialise in managing up: flattering the bosses and claiming more credit than is their due. Unctuousness is undoubtedly irritating. But it, too, can sometimes have wider benefits.

一、词汇部分

1. Consolation /ˌkɑːnsəˈleɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 使感到安慰的人（或事）；安慰；慰藉

前缀：con- 全部，共同，所有(com-come)

词根：sol- 太阳, 一（solar system, solar energy)

后缀：-ation 名词后缀

2. irritation  /ˌɪrɪˈteɪʃ(ə)n/ n. 恼怒; 恼人的事

前缀：ir-否定(i +辅音 + 相同的辅音 igg, ill-illegal)

词根：rit- 摩擦, 同ras-, rad- (ri 日—t他)

后缀：-ation 名词后缀

3. Impostor  /ɪmˈpɑːstər/ n. 假冒者; 冒名顶替者

前缀：im- 同in- 进入

词根：post-表示position 职位，位置

后缀：-or 名词后缀，多表人

4. gripe  /ɡraɪp/ n.  不停地抱怨

联想：gripe—ripe—pipe--stripe 

联系：gr—grab 抓（grab a coffee, grab a chair)

5.  toady /ˈtəʊdɪ/   n. 马屁精

词汇：toad 蟾蜍；癞蛤蟆

后缀：-y 形容词

联想：to—ady(melody, comedy) 唱

二、文章讲解

1. Even people (who love their jobs) have a few gripes. Even people who excel at their work have their share of worries. The office environment makes it hard to concentrate; their colleagues are annoying beyond belief; their career path within the organisation is not obvious. There are aspects of the workplace, like “reply all” email threads and any kind of role-playing, which are completely beyond redemption. This column is here to administer the balm of consolation for some of work’s recurring irritations.

1) 定语从句： who love their jobs —相当于形容词，修饰前面名词

判定：人 +who —定语从句

划分：从连接词开始，跨过从句自己的谓语动词，到后面第2个谓语动词括回

2）定语从句： who excel at their work

3）搭配：excel at 擅长；excellent adj. 特别好的（ex-cel-速度）

4）it —前文名词；it--to do sth; it—that..

5）annoying 烦人的；career path is not clear/obvious. 

6)  名词复数—展开

7）redemption 救赎；red-return + empt- 拿 + ion 

8) to do sth 去做某事

2. Start with a pervasive problem: being interrupted. You have muted notifications on Slack and cleared your calendar; the Prelude from Bach’s Cello Suite No 1 is playing; your fingers are poised above the keyboard and a thought of world-altering profundity is gradually taking shape in your mind. Then there is a knock at the door, and a colleague asks if you have a minute to discuss the air-conditioning. By the time they have gone, so has that momentous thought and any sense of well-being.

1）pervasive 广泛，宽泛的；interrupt 打断；Sorry to interrupt, —bankrupt 

2）notification n. 通知（not--note 知道）（notify v. 使之道）

3）描述画面的—3个；alter- 改变； profound adj. 深刻的+ity 

4） 宾语从句：if you have a minute to discuss the air-conditioning

（宾语—句子）

5）so + 谓语 +主语—so it is. 确实如此。so is it. 和上面一样。

没有提任何一个字annoying—-但是给你的感觉讨厌的事情，beyond redemption 

3. Context-switching of this sort is more than simply annoying. A survey conducted in 2021 found that it takes people nine and a half minutes to resume a focused state of mind after switching between apps. But there is a bright side to being interrupted. A paper by Harshad Puranik of the University of Illinois Chicago and his co-authors asked a sample of employees in America to record how often they were distracted by colleagues and to report their sense of belonging to their organisations. They found that being interrupted involves a social interaction with colleagues that can strengthen a worker’s feelings of connection. The next time a knock comes, remind yourself that at least you are not lonely.

1) switch 切换，转变；light switch 电灯开关；switch on/off—turn on/off

2） Context-switching of this sort —上文的一件小事，变成了一类

3）名词+动词过去分词—后置定语（后面的形容词）

4）宾语从句： that it takes people nine and a half minutes to resume a focused state of mind after switching between apps.

5）小表达： to resume a focused state of mind

6）a paper by A and B 

7) 宾语从句： how often they were distracted by colleagues

8）并列关系： to record …and to report

9) 宾语从句： that being interrupted involves a social interaction with colleagues that can strengthen a worker’s feelings of connection.

10）定语从句： that can strengthen a worker’s feelings of connection.

烦心事也有好处。

办公室的烦心事。

具体说明烦心事一。

烦心事带来的好处（consolation) 

三、段落翻译

即使热爱自己工作的人也会有一些抱怨。即使工作出色的人也有自己的烦恼。办公室环境让人难以集中注意力；讨厌的同事令人抓狂；自己在组织中的职业发展道路也不甚清晰。职场的某些方面——比如“回复所有人”的邮件线程以及任何的角色扮演——已经完全无可救药了。本文是要为一些在工作中反复出现的烦恼提供一丝慰藉。 

先从一个普遍的问题说起：被打扰。你已将Slack通知设置了静音，清空了日程表；巴赫《第一大提琴组曲》的前奏曲正在播放；你的手指已经在键盘上摆好，一个惊天动地的深刻想法在脑中逐渐成形。然后响起了敲门声，一个同事问你有没有时间讨论一下空调的事情。等到他们离开，那个伟大的念头也不见了踪影，任何泰然自若之感也随之消失。

这样的心境转换不只是令人恼火。2021年的一项调查发现，人们从一个应用切换到另一个后需要九分半钟时间才能恢复专注的状态。但被打扰也有好的一面。伊利诺伊大学芝加哥分校的哈沙德·普拉尼克（Harshad Puranik）等人在一篇论文中写道，他们请一些美国员工记录下他们被同事打扰分心的频率，并报告他们对所在组织的归属感。他们发现，被打扰也是一种与同事的社交互动，可以增强员工与他人的联结感。下次有人敲门时，提醒一下自己，至少你不孤单。