2022年经济学人 办公室的考古学（2）

If your office still uses internal mail, with those special envelopes that have people’s names crossed out as they wend their way round an organisation¹, you are in a corporate² period drama.

如果你的办公室仍然在用那种有特殊信封的内部邮件，还会当人们在公司里走来走去时，把他们的名字从信封上划掉，那你就像是在拍一部公司历史剧。

But most offices still retain clues to the historical importance of paper.

但大多数办公室里仍然有几处线索表明，纸张在过去有多么重要。

Photocopiers³, scanners, shredders, guillotines and unfeasibly large staplers⁴ are echoes of a not-too-distant time when physical documents were a vital currency, when people assembled in a single room and shared ideas on pieces of paper.

复印机、扫描仪、碎纸机、切纸机以及超大的订书机，这些会让人想起，曾几何时，实物文件是公司里至关重要的通货，人们会聚在一个房间里，在纸上分享想法。

In-trays and out-trays are visible reminders⁵ of how information used to flow within organisations.

看到收文盘和发文盘就会想起人们以前是如何在公司内部传递信息的。

Noticeboards and business cards were once the best ways to convey news and contact details.

布告板和名片曾经是通知消息和交换联系方式的最佳方式。

Forecasts of the paperless office have been around for decades; they are not about to come true now.

无纸化办公室的预测已经存在了几十年；现在它们还不会成为现实。

But the stationery⁶ cupboard will be less well stocked in future.

但文具柜里的存货未来就不会这么满了。

Meetings between people in the office and those working remotely rely today on platforms like Zoom⁷ or Microsoft Teams.

如今，办公室里的人要和远程办公的人开会时，要依赖Zoom或Microsoft Teams等平台。

Hunt around, though, and you may find an object that was seen as useful back in those dim and distant days of 2019: the conference-call speakerphone.

不过，四处找找，你可能会发现一种在2019年那些昏暗遥远的日子里被视为有用的东西：免提会议电话机。

Looking a bit like a small spacecraft, this phone had to be plugged into a socket⁸ to work.

它看起来有点像一个小航天器，必须插入插座才能工作。

Lights would suddenly blink, and people would murmur⁹ in awe¹⁰.

工作时，灯光会突然闪烁，人们会敬畏地喃喃低语。

Someone would dial in, each button-press a loud beep.

有人拨号时，每按一个按钮，都会发出很响的哔哔声。

They would inevitably¹¹ hit the wrong one at some point and have to start again.

总会有人中途按错，不得不重新开始。

These rituals and others are now rarely performed; the phones themselves are gathering¹² dust on shelves, left behind by better technology and the abrupt¹³ rise of remote working.

诸如此类程序现在很少有人会做了；由于科技进步和远程办公的突然兴起，这些电话机已经被搁置在架子上吃灰了。

The very layout of many offices is a throwback to a pre-pandemic age.

许多办公室的布局本身就是疫情前的风格。

If you work in a place filled with identikit cubicles¹⁴, still have your own nameplate or sit at a desk tethered to the floor by a digestive system’s worth of cabling, you are in an environment that made sense when the whole workforce¹⁵ came to the office every day, even if they just got on with their own work in silence.

如果你工作的地方到处都是千篇一律的小隔间，里面有每个人的名牌，或是有长如大小肠的电脑缆线把办公桌拴在地板上，那么这就是以前的那种工作环境，那时候，所有人每天都会来办公室上班，即使每个人开始工作时都不发一言。

Now that the office’s comparative advantage is as a place to collaborate¹⁶ with other people, socialising, sofas and hot-desking are seen as the future.

既然办公室的比较优势在于为合作提供场所，那么社交、沙发和轮用办公桌就是人们眼中未来的样子。

Real archaeologists need tools and time to do their painstaking¹⁷ work: paint brushes, trowels, sieves¹⁸ and picks.

真正的考古学家要想完成艰苦工作，是需要时间和工具的，比如画笔、铲子、筛子和镐。

Corporate archaeology¹⁹ is easier: you just need eyes and a memory of how things used to be.

企业考古就容易多了：只需要眼睛和对过去事物的记忆。

But you also need to be quick.

但速度也要快。

As more and more workplaces are revamped for the hybrid²⁰ era, now is the time to take a careful look around the office.

随着越来越多工作场所为适应混合办公时代而进行改造，现在是时候仔细看看办公室了。

You may see something that will soon seem as dated as pneumatic tubes, typewriters and fax machines.

里面的东西可能很快就会像气动管、打字机和传真机一样过时了。

1 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

2 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

3 photocopiers   

n.影印机，复印机( photocopier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• I was quite taken with your line of photocopiers with collation and stapling capability. 我被贵公司能够自动整理和装订的系列复印机吸引住了。 来自辞典例句
• Printers, photocopiers and fax machines are modern office appliances. 打印机、印机和传真机是现代办公用具。 来自互联网

4 staplers   

n.（铁丝）订书机( stapler的名词复数 )；装订工；主要产品经营商；按纤维长短分级的人

参考例句：

• All our supplies can last quite some time except staplers. 除了订书机之外，我们的办公用品还能用一段时间。 来自互联网
• Last time you ordered some staplers. Do you any more? 您上次订了一些订书器，现在还要吗？ 来自互联网

5 reminders   

n.令人回忆起…的东西( reminder的名词复数 )；提醒…的东西；（告知该做某事的）通知单；提示信

参考例句：

• The film evokes chilling reminders of the war. 这部电影使人们回忆起战争的可怕场景。
• The strike has delayed the mailing of tax reminders. 罢工耽搁了催税单的投寄。

6 stationery   

n.文具；(配套的)信笺信封

参考例句：

• She works in the stationery department of a big store.她在一家大商店的文具部工作。
• There was something very comfortable in having plenty of stationery.文具一多，心里自会觉得踏实。

7 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

8 socket   

n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口

参考例句：

• He put the electric plug into the socket.他把电插头插入插座。
• The battery charger plugs into any mains socket.这个电池充电器可以插入任何类型的电源插座。

9 murmur   

n.低语，低声的怨言；v.低语，低声而言

参考例句：

• They paid the extra taxes without a murmur.他们毫无怨言地交了附加税。
• There was a low murmur of conversation in the hall.大厅里有窃窃私语声。

10 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

11 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

12 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

13 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

14 cubicles   

n.小卧室，斗室( cubicle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Security guards, operating inside bullet-proof glass cubicles, and speaking through microphones, scrutinized every arrival and departure. 警卫们在装有防弹玻璃的小室里值勤，通过麦克风细致盘问每一个进出的人。 来自辞典例句
• I guess they thought me content to stay in cubicles. 我猜他们认为我愿意呆在小房间里。 来自互联网

15 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

16 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

17 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

18 sieves   

筛，漏勺( sieve的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This thesis emphasized on the preparation of mesoporous molecular sieves MSU. 中孔分子筛MSU是当今认为在稳定性方面很有发展前途的一种催化新材料。
• The mesoporous silica molecular sieves Zr-MCM-41 were synthesized in ethylenediamine. 以乙二胺为碱性介质合成了Zr-MCM-41介孔分子筛。

19 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

20 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。