为啥一周有两天周末 你想过吗？

 In a nation where people work more than anyone else in the industrialized world, the two-day weekend helps keep us sane¹.

工业化世界，大家都争相拼工作量，在这样的国家里，双休日有助我们保持理智。

No matter how exhausted² you are at your nine-to-five, the promise of two full days set aside for socializing, sleeping in, and brunching in the afternoon always looms³ on the horizon.

无论你朝九晚五有多劳累，都保证能匀出两整天时间参与社交、睡个懒觉、下午的时候早餐午餐并作一顿，而这正有愈演愈烈之势。

People working 200 years ago weren't so lucky.The modern work week began to emerge during the industrial revolution—thanks in part to our hard-partying predecessors⁴.

两百多年前的人可没那么幸运。现代工作周在工业革命期间应运而生，这多亏了我们夜夜笙歌的先祖们。

为啥一周有两天周末 你想过吗？

Reserving one holy day a week for rest and worship is an ancient tradition. Things took a turn in Britain during the 19th century when workers started using their one day off for pleasure. After cramming⁵ a week's worth of fun and debauchery into a single day, employees would often come into work the next morning hungover or end up taking the whole day off to recuperate⁶.

一周留出一天瞻礼日休息休息、做做礼拜是一古老传统。在19世纪的英国，事情发生了转折，工人们开始花一天时间享乐，而把整个星期的玩乐和逍遥压缩成一天后，员工们第二天早晨上班常常是宿醉未醒、或者要请上一天假恢复疲劳。

In the face of newly-formed labor⁷ unions and pressure from religious groups to keep Sundays holy, the five-day, 40-hour work week was signed into law with the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

当时工会成立不久、宗教团体又施加压力要求礼拜天作瞻礼，一周五天工作制、每周四十小时的工作量签署成为法律，写入了1938年颁布的《公平劳动标准法》中。

The practice of playing hooky on the first day of the work week, also known as "Saint Monday," became so common in the 19th century that many employers started making Saturdays a half-day as a compromise.

工作日第一天偷个懒，即人们所知的“圣周一”在19世纪非常普遍，不少雇主开始安排周六干半天活，作为折衷。

While the two-day weekend is a fairly recent phenomenon, today some people are working to extend it even longer.

尽管双休日这一现象近年才有，如今仍有人想要延长双休。

1 sane   

adj.心智健全的，神志清醒的，明智的，稳健的

参考例句：

• He was sane at the time of the murder.在凶杀案发生时他的神志是清醒的。
• He is a very sane person.他是一个很有头脑的人。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 looms   

n.织布机( loom的名词复数 )v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的第三人称单数 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• All were busily engaged,men at their ploughs,women at their looms. 大家都很忙，男的耕田，女的织布。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The factory has twenty-five looms. 那家工厂有25台织布机。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 predecessors   

n.前任( predecessor的名词复数 )；前辈；（被取代的）原有事物；前身

参考例句：

• The new government set about dismantling their predecessors' legislation. 新政府正着手废除其前任所制定的法律。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Will new plan be any more acceptable than its predecessors? 新计划比原先的计划更能令人满意吗？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 cramming   

n.塞满，填鸭式的用功v.塞入( cram的现在分词 )；填塞；塞满；（为考试而）死记硬背功课

参考例句：

• Being hungry for the whole morning, I couldn't help cramming myself. 我饿了一上午，禁不住狼吞虎咽了起来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She's cramming for her history exam. 她考历史之前临时抱佛脚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 recuperate   

v.恢复

参考例句：

• Stay in the hospital for a few more days to recuperate.再住院几天，好好地恢复。
• He went to the country to recuperate.他去乡下养病去了。

7 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。