经济学人253:电影《恶老板》引发一场蹩脚的争论

 　　Horrible Bosses

　　恶老板

　　Truth is nicer than fiction

　　现实比电影好得多

　　A horrible film is generating a lame¹ debate

　　一部糟糕的电影引发一场蹩脚的争论

　　Horrible bosses come in many flavours. There are psychopaths, bullies² and prats. Incompetent³ bosses are irksome, too. The bosses at New Line Cinema are not incompetent, in that their films make money, but they are still villains⁴. For “Horrible Bosses”, their latest offering, is a crime against art and common sense. The viewer is expected to believe that being propositioned by Jennifer Aniston is so traumatic that it would drive a man to plot her murder. Kevin Spacey (pictured) plays a more convincing psychoboss. But his talents are wasted on a lame script.

　　糟糕的老板会以多种形式出现。有精神病患，恶棍还有傻蛋。蹩脚老板也令人生厌。然而新线影院的老板们并不蹩脚，因为他们的电影能赚钱，但是他们做的还不够好。因为他们的最新作品《恶老板》，犯下了反艺术和常识之罪。剧组期望中的观众会觉得詹妮弗.安妮斯顿的挑逗是如此令人痛苦，以致于他们觉得剧中人物会对她起谋杀之心。凯文.史派西（如图）则扮演了一位更加令人信服的变态老板。但是他的才能却浪费在不尽如人意的剧本上。

　　To make matters worse, the film has inspired a torrent⁵ of management drivel. OfficeTeam, a recruiter, warns of “Horrible Boss Syndrome”, which “can have serious implications” for morale⁶. An American survey finds that 46% of employees have worked for an unreasonable⁷ boss at some point. Nell Minow, a critic, says the film reflects “the bitterness of the post-meltdown era”

　　.

　　而更糟糕的是，这部影片激起了一阵狂潮，矛头直指管理层。一位招聘人员OfficeTeam提醒人们要警惕“恶老板综合症”对员工士气造成的严重影响。美国的一项调查发现，46%的雇员都曾在职业生涯中遇到过不近乎人情的老板。批评家Nell Minow表示，该影片反映了“后衰退时代的痛苦”。

　　All this fuss suggests, not that bosses are growing more horrible, but that employees expect them to be more agreeable. Laws ban discrimination, the internet allows people to air their complaints and the prevailing⁸ management culture emphasises sensitivity.

　　所有这些小题大做的抱怨表明，老板们并没有变得更加糟糕，而是员工们希望他们变得更加讨人喜欢。法律禁止歧视，因特网允许人们发布怨言，而当前盛行的管理文化则强调关爱体贴。

　　The monsters of the past knew no such checks. John Henry Patterson, who founded the National Cash Register Company in 1884, would set the desks of inept⁹ employees on fire. To find similarly forceful bosses today, one must look East. When Zhang Ruimin took over Haier, a Chinese white-goods company, in 1984, he smashed one of the company’s products to pieces with a sledgehammer to show what he thought of its quality. Hollywood could use a few bosses like Mr Zhang.

　　过去的恐怖老板不懂得这样对待员工。1884年一手创立美国计算机服务公司的John Henry Patterson会放火把无所作为的员工的桌子烧掉。今天要想再找出同样强有力的老板，必须把目光投向东方。当1984年张瑞敏接管中国白色家电公司海尔之时，他用一把大锤子把公司的一件产品砸成碎片，以表明他对公司产品质量的看法。好莱坞可以用些像张先生这样的老板。

1 lame   

adj.跛的，(辩解、论据等)无说服力的

参考例句：

• The lame man needs a stick when he walks.那跛脚男子走路时需借助拐棍。
• I don't believe his story.It'sounds a bit lame.我不信他讲的那一套。他的话听起来有些靠不住。

2 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

3 incompetent   

adj.无能力的，不能胜任的

参考例句：

• He is utterly incompetent at his job.他完全不能胜任他的工作。
• He is incompetent at working with his hands.他动手能力不行。

4 villains   

n.恶棍( villain的名词复数 )；罪犯；（小说、戏剧等中的）反面人物；淘气鬼

参考例句：

• The impression of villains was inescapable. 留下恶棍的印象是不可避免的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some villains robbed the widow of the savings. 有几个歹徒将寡妇的积蓄劫走了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

5 torrent   

n.激流，洪流；爆发，(话语等的)连发

参考例句：

• The torrent scoured a channel down the hillside. 急流沿着山坡冲出了一条沟。
• Her pent-up anger was released in a torrent of words.她压抑的愤怒以滔滔不绝的话爆发了出来。

6 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

7 unreasonable   

adj.不讲道理的，不合情理的，过度的

参考例句：

• I know that they made the most unreasonable demands on you.我知道他们对你提出了最不合理的要求。
• They spend an unreasonable amount of money on clothes.他们花在衣服上的钱太多了。

8 prevailing   

adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的

参考例句：

• She wears a fashionable hair style prevailing in the city.她的发型是这个城市流行的款式。
• This reflects attitudes and values prevailing in society.这反映了社会上盛行的态度和价值观。

9 inept   

adj.不恰当的，荒谬的，拙劣的

参考例句：

• Whan an inept remark to make on such a formal occasion.在如此正式的场合，怎么说这样不恰当的话。
• He's quite inept at tennis.他打网球太笨。