书城外语流行文化篇(老外最想和你聊的101个英语话题)
9793000000072

第72章 Marriage and Family 家庭两性(4)

A good place to start in “finding time” is to look at your lifestyle(注重生活质量)。 I’ve seen statistics that say the average adult in America watches 30-40 hours of television a week。 You could take a portion of that time to develop a side business that could either get you out of debt (so you don’t have to work extra to make debt payments) or help you transition into a career that gives you more money and flexibility with your time。

Realize that in the beginning you may have to sacrifice some time to get it back later(意识到年轻的时候拿身体换钱,年老的时候拿钱来换身体)。

Find some motivations in your life(找寻生活动力) that will pull you toward finding ways of having more time。

对澳大利亚家庭来说,如果一对夫妇抚养着两个未成年的孩子,那么他们每年至少需要赚11万澳元(约合人民币64万元),才能过得像样。为了维持心目中最起码的物质水准,夫妻二人必须都从事全职工作才能赚到足够的钱,这样花在家人身上的时间就会减少。很多家长为了提高家庭收入,牺牲节假日消遣或与家人团聚的时间去工作。虽然家庭收入逐年增加,但却失去了陪伴孩子和享受生活的机会。

Key words & Sentences

关键词句全知道

Not Enough time to Enjoy Life, or NETTEL, refers to the rising pool of households headed by two high-income-earning, full-time-working parents with dependent children。

NETTEL(Not Enough time to Enjoy Life,无暇享受生活,简称“奈特尔”)指夫妻为高收入全职人员、家中又有孩子需要照顾的家庭。

Here are two parents working full-time earning lots of money but struggling to balance the commitments that come with a demanding job and an even more demanding family life。

这样的家庭中,父母全职工作,收入也不少,但无法同时兼顾工作职责和家庭生活。

In many families it’s a case of got enough money but hasn’t got enough time to enjoy life。

很多家庭都是有钱却没时间享受生活。

These stressed-out Nettel parents are forever scheduling, scheming and diarizing about how to execute the next day’s events。

这些压力重重的“奈特尔(NETTEL)”父母永远都在排日程、列计划,记录着要怎样完成第二天的事务。

And, by some bizarre twist of logic, many of these parents seem to revel in the scheduling frenzy。

而且,基于某种奇怪的逻辑,这些父母似乎很享受这种日程堆积的状态。

In a materialistic go-getter world, a couple’s ability to juggle and to control life’s commercial and familial demands merely confirms their superior “alpha” status。

因为在崇尚物质第一的世界里,一对夫妇调节和掌控财务及家庭需求的能力就能够证明他们超级“强者”的地位。

Not Enough Time to Enjoy Life, or NETTEL, refers to the rising pool of households headed by two high-income-earning, full-time-working parents with dependent children。

大部分喜欢钱也喜欢闲,但是天下没有免费的午餐,事实是钱和闲没法兼得,于是就出现了这样一种家庭:NETTEL“有钱没闲家庭”。

You are supposed to enjoy life, not be stressed out all the time。 If you spend most of your days stressed about everything that going on at work, you are not at the right job。

你本应该享受生活,不该时时刻刻感到压力。如果你的大部分时间都在工作,感到压力很大,说明你没有得到一份好的工作。

If you are working your butt off and not getting paid enough to pay your bills, you might be overqualified and underpaid for your position。 Go find a job that pays what you deserve。

如果你拼命工作还是入不敷出,你可能没得到与你自身价值相符的酬劳。去找一份能够给你应有报酬的工作吧。

Census data shows “Nettel” families have increased by 39 percent between the 2001 and 2006 censuses in Australia。

统计数据表明,在2001年到2006年,澳大利亚“奈特尔家庭”数量上涨了39%,达到了15万个。

The “Nettel” family is replacing the “traditional nuclear family” where there was just one breadwinner, leaving families with enough money but have problems managing the commitments of a demanding job and an even more demanding family life。

奈特尔家庭正在取代传统的单核家庭:在单核家庭里,只有一个人供养家庭,使全家经济充裕,与此同时,他要独力处理一份苛刻的工作,甚至苛刻的家庭生活所遭遇的各种问题。

Many parents work during holiday time in order to improve family income at the expense of leisure or family reunion。

很多家长为了提高家庭收入,牺牲节假日消遣或与家人团聚的时间去工作。

Although the family income increases every year, but they lose the opportunities of accompanying children and enjoying life。

虽然家庭收入逐年增加,但却失去了陪伴孩子和享受生活的机会。

What sounds or impressions are you making on the people around you? Think about it。 Your words, phrases, even your message may soon be forgotten but believe me, good or bad, your melody lingers。

周围的人对你是什么评价?想想自己曾经的言辞以及那些我们发出去就忘了的短信,相信我,无论好坏都是你自己的演奏。

“No time to enjoy life” has become a common problem of such families; working almost becomes the whole of the “Nettle” families。

“无暇享受生活”成为这类家庭的通病,工作几乎是“奈特尔”人生活的全部。

The so-called saying is “poor family has everything to worry about”, the economic level of the couple, directly or indirectly affect the happiness of a family。

所谓“贫贱夫妻百事哀”,夫妻二人的经济水平直接或间接地影响着一个家庭的幸福。

As a social phenomenon, the NETTLE families are not a step backward。

作为一种社会现象来说,“奈特尔”家庭的出现并不是一种倒退。

This is due to the development of the whole society, including individuals in the workplace of the struggle entering a new stage。

这是由于整个社会的发展,包括个人在职场上的奋斗,也进入了一个新的阶段。

But this kind of advancement does not necessarily bring happiness to every individual or family。

但是这种“进步”并不一定会为个人或家庭带来幸福。

In addition to the objective reasons of social development, personal values and the different understanding of life or work, are also causes of the “Nettle” families。

除社会发展的客观原因以外,个人的价值观以及对生活或工作的理解不同,也成为“奈特尔”家庭产生的原因。

For example, what is your purpose? to make money? or to live a better life? a different purpose will bring changes in behavior。

比如说你的目的是什么,是为了挣钱,还是为了过上更好的生活,不同的目的就会带来行为上的变化。

Sometimes, “Nettle family” do have time to enjoy life, but their allocation of time has erred–they put life in second place。

有时候,“奈特尔家庭”并不是没有时间去享受生活,而是他们如何对时间进行分配出现了偏差——他们往往将生活摆放在第二位。

But if the money came in first, it will have a negative impact in a family。

可是如果把挣钱排在第一位,会为一个家庭带来负面影响。

Now the generally definition of success is to have a decent material life, and if you do not meet it, you will lose some happiness。

现在普遍对于成功的定义,都是过上体面的物质生活,如果你没有达到,在情感上就会丧失一定的幸福感。

Let’s Talk!

开始交流吧!

Daisy: Do you know what is a Nettel Family?

黛西:你知道什么是“奈特尔家庭”吗?

George: What is that?

乔治:什么是奈特尔?

Daisy: You are out。 Nettel means double income, not enough time to enjoy life。

黛西:你落伍了。奈特尔就是“两份收入,没有时间享受生活的家庭”。

George: Oh, I got it。

乔治:哦,我知道了。

Daisy: This word was coined by an Australian。 Census data shows “Nettel” families have increased by 39 percent between the 2001 and 2006 censuses in Australia。

黛西:这个词是由一个澳大利亚人发明的。2001年到2006年,澳大利亚“奈特尔家庭”数量上涨了39%,有15万个呢。

George: In fact, not only in Australia, in China there are also many “Nettel” families。

乔治:其实,不仅仅在澳大利亚,在中国也有许多奈特尔家庭呢。

Daisy: You are right。 The CPI is so high in China now。 Parents are really stressed。

黛西:是啊,你看现在中国的价格指数那么高,有孩子的父母压力都很大的。

George: Nowadays, everything is so expensive。 To raise a child demands a lot of money。

乔治:现在什么都贵,养个孩子要花很多钱。