By Joshua Ogden-Davis /肝腦涂地
在如今競爭空前激烈的職場,為了得到晉升的機(jī)會,許多人都使盡渾身解數(shù),好看的外表當(dāng)然被視為致勝的法寶之一。然而,現(xiàn)實(shí)并非如大家想的如此理所當(dāng)然。資深經(jīng)濟(jì)學(xué)家的研究發(fā)現(xiàn),男人長得帥意味著能比相貌普通的同事多掙22%的薪水,而長得漂亮卻不會讓女人擁有同樣的優(yōu)勢。一些人仍然認(rèn)為美貌和智慧在女人身上是不可共存的,因此漂亮的女人多被認(rèn)為工作能力不會太強(qiáng),但是這種“無腦金發(fā)美人”綜合癥的看法卻不會對男人的薪水造成影響。
Hugo: Good morning, Lola.
Lola: Oh, hey, Hugo.
Hugo: What were you and Sarah talking about just now?①You both looked pretty up in arms about something.
Lola: Oh, that? Well, we were just venting about Jenny. Hugo: Go on! What about her?
Lola: I mean, can you believe it?
Hugo: Believe what? Youre losing me here.
Lola: You havent heard? The boss picked her over Sarah for the new management position.
Hugo: Ouch! That cant be easy for Sarah, but then again, Jenny has been working hard lately.
Lola: Are you crazy? Sarah has been in the company for way longer than Jenny! Come on, dont pretend you dont know the real reason why Jenny got the promotion.
Hugo: You dont mean…you think Jenny got promoted just for her looks?
Lola: Well, what else could it be? Shes even been wearing short skirts lately, and putting on enough 1)makeup for an opera singer. Hugo: ②Be that as it may, she has been keeping her nose to the grindstone. Maybe she earned it with her sweat instead of her smile.
Lola: ③So youre sticking up for her, too? Sheesh, you men are all the same.
Hugo: Not necessarily. Actually, beauty can be a double-edged sword for professional women.
Lola: How could that possibly be?
Hugo: ④Well, its true that a lot of women can move up the ladder just by 2)flirting with the right manager, but its also easy to fall into the “dumb blonde” 3)stereotype.
Lola: Jennys a 4)brunette.
Hugo: Dont change the subject! The point is, some people still believe that a woman cant have both brains and beauty.
Lola: I guess thats true. A lot of people assume Im dumb just because Im so beautiful.
Hugo: Uh…exactly. Just because of your looks, you might get passed over for a promotion.
Lola: Well, thats not exactly fair, either. Being a woman sure isnt easy.
Hugo: ⑤Tell me about it. ⑥But actually, on this point, women really get the short end of the stick.
Lola: What are you talking about?
Hugo: Studies show that attractive men can earn 20% more than average-looking men.
Lola: What? How is that possible?
Hugo: Theres no “dumb blonde” stereotype for men. Basically, being handsome has no 5)downside.
Lola: ⑦So the lookers always get promoted more than the average Joe?
Hugo: You got it. Why do you think Edward got that promotion last year instead of me?
Lola: Hey, maybe youre right! Im gonna go tell Sarah about this right now!
Hugo: Hey! I was joking about Edward. Im totally hotter than him…arent I?
Lola: Uh…exactly. Oh, hey! Sarah! You wont believe what“Handsome Hugo” just told me…
雨果:早上好,勞拉。
勞拉:噢,嘿,雨果。
雨果:剛才你和莎拉在說什么?你們兩個(gè)看起來都很火大。
勞拉:噢,是嗎?好吧,我們在聊詹妮的事。
雨果:繼續(xù)!她怎么了?
勞拉:我的意思是,你能相信嗎?
雨果:相信什么?你把我弄糊涂了。
勞拉:你還沒聽說嗎?老板把新的管理職位給了她而不是莎拉。
雨果:哎喲!莎拉肯定接受不了,但是,詹妮最近工作很認(rèn)真。
勞拉:你沒事吧?莎拉來公司的時(shí)間比詹妮長得多。算了吧,別假裝你不知道詹妮升職的真正原因。
雨果:你的意思不會是……你認(rèn)為詹妮只是因?yàn)樗耐饷捕殻?/p>
勞拉:嗯,還有什么理由呢?她最近甚至穿上了超短裙,妝濃到都可以去唱戲了。
雨果:盡管如此,她最近一直在埋頭苦干。也許她不是靠外表而是靠努力取勝。
勞拉:所以你也替她說話對吧?哼,你們男人都一樣。
雨果:不一定。事實(shí)上,美貌對職場女性來說是把雙刃劍。
勞拉:那怎么可能?
雨果:好吧,確實(shí)有很多女性因?yàn)榕c老板調(diào)情而晉升,但是她們很容易被貼上“無腦金發(fā)美女”的標(biāo)簽。
勞拉:詹妮是個(gè)黑牡丹。
雨果:別轉(zhuǎn)移話題!問題是,一些人還是認(rèn)為女性不可能同時(shí)擁有智慧和美貌。
勞拉:我想這是對的。很多人覺得我很笨,只是因?yàn)槲液芷痢?/p>
雨果:呃……正確。你可能只是憑借長相就可以升職。
勞拉:嗯,但這也很不公平。做一個(gè)女人真的很不容易。
雨果:可不是嘛。但事實(shí)上,在這方面,女性真的很吃虧。
勞拉:你在說什么?
雨果:研究表明長得帥的男性比相貌平平的男性要多掙20%的工資。勞拉:什么?這怎么可能?
雨果:對男性來講沒有“美貌無腦”這一說?;旧希L得帥沒有劣勢。
勞拉:所以長得好看的人總是比普通人擁有更多的晉升機(jī)會?
雨果:你懂了。你認(rèn)為為什么去年升職的是愛德華而不是我?
勞拉:嘿,也許你是對的!我現(xiàn)在就去跟莎拉說!
雨果:嘿!我只是在拿愛德華開玩笑。我肯定比他帥多了,不是嗎?
勞拉:呃……當(dāng)然。那我應(yīng)該對她說:“噢,嘿,莎拉!你不知道帥雨果剛告訴我什么……”
Smart Sentences
① You both looked pretty up in arms about something. 你們兩個(gè)看起來都很火大。
up in arms: outraged, angry(發(fā)怒,惱火)。例如:
There is no need to get up in arms over such a small matter.沒有必要為小事生氣。
② Be that as it may, she has been keeping her nose to the grindstone. 盡管如此,她最近一直在埋頭苦干。
be that as it may: used to express ones reservation about what the other person just said, same as “even if what you say is true”(用以表達(dá)對對方所說有所保留,等同于“even if what you say is true”)。例如:
—l dont think Wendy did that on purpose; shes been under a lot of pressures lately.
我覺得文迪不是故意的,她最近壓力很大。
—Be that as it may, she should not have said that to Mom and Dad.
即使那樣,她也不應(yīng)該對父母說那些話。
③ So youre sticking up for her, too? 所以你也替她說話對吧?
stick up for sb.: speak in favor of sb.(替某人說話)。例如:
Everyone was making unpleasant remarks about Jerry, but I stuck up for him.
人人都在說杰里的壞話,但我替他說話。
④ Well, its true that a lot of women can move up the ladder just by flirting with the right manager, but its also easy to fall into the “dumb blonde” stereotype. 好吧,確實(shí)有很多女性因?yàn)榕c老板調(diào)情而晉升,但是她們很容易被貼上“無腦金發(fā)美女”的標(biāo)簽。
move up the ladder: progress higher in an organization(晉升、往上走)。例如:
I dont envy her moving up the ladder, but Im interested in her improved analytical skills.
對于她的晉升,我并不羨慕,我對她分析能力的提高感興趣。
⑤ Tell me about it. 可不是嘛。
tell me about it: used to express agreement with the other person, same as “I had the same thought”(用于表達(dá)與他人意見一致,等同于“I had the same thought”)。例如:
—Danny and Joe are talking so loud over there and its really bothersome.
丹尼跟喬在那邊說話聲音太大,真煩人。
—Yeah, tell me about it.
唉,可不是嘛。
⑥ But actually, on this point, women really get the short end of the stick. 但事實(shí)上,在這方面,女性真的很吃虧。
get the short end of the stick: the smaller or less desirable part, rank, task, or amount(不足的一份,不公平的待遇)。例如:
Shes unhappy because she got the short end of the stick again.
再一次受到不公平待遇,她很不高興。
⑦ So the lookers always get promoted more than the average Joe? 所以長得好看的人總是比普通人擁有更多的晉升機(jī)會?
average Joe: a completely average person(普通人)。例如:
I dont have any high expectations. Im just an average Joe.
我沒有什么高要求,我只不過是個(gè)普通人。