「招聘」世界上最辛苦的工作
此前，国外一家公司（Rehtom Inc.）在报纸和网上发布了一则招聘广告，希望招募一位运营总监（Director of Operations），并对应聘者进行视频面试。
面试官首先向应聘者们介绍职位详情：一周七天，每天24小时都得站着（mostly standing up），同时需要不停地弯腰（bending down），随叫随到，几乎没有时间休息，节假日依然需要上班...
所有的应聘者都认为这是一个玩笑，不人道，太疯狂，
而面试官明确表示，这份工作合法，并且世界上有几亿人都在毫无怨言地干着。
最后当真实职位被公布时，所有面试者笑了，也落泪了...
祝福天下所有伟大的母亲节日快乐！
借此机会，在找资料时发现了卫报这篇文章观点与众不同，我们来看看。
无注释原文：
Sorry, but being a mother is not the most important job in the world
The Guardian
Being a mother is not the most important job in the world. There, I said it. Nor is it the toughest job, despite what the 92% of people polled in Parents Magazine reckon.
For any woman who uses that line, consider this: if this is meant to exalt motherhood, then why is the line always used to sell toilet cleaner? And if being a mother is that important, why aren’t all the highly paid men with stellar careers not devoting their lives to raising children? After all, I never hear "being a father is the most important job in the world".
The deification of mothers not only delegitimises the relationship fathers, neighbours, friends, grandparents, teachers and carers have with children, it also diminishes the immense worth and value of these relationships. How do gay dads feel about this line, I wonder? Or the single dads, stepdads or granddads? No matter how devoted and hard working you are, fellas, you’ll always be second best.
I’m also confused as to what makes you a mother. Is it the actual birth? Or is a "mother" simply a term to describe an expectation to care for children without payment? Is this empty slogan used to compensate women for gouging holes from potential careers by spending years out of the workplace without recognition?
Enabling this dogma devalues the unpaid labor of rearing children as much as it strategically devalues women’s worth at work. If being a mother were a job there’d be a selection process, pay, holidays, a superior to report to, performance assessments, Friday drinks, and you could resign from your job and get another one because you didn’t like the people you were working with. It’s not a vocation either – being a mother is a relationship.
Even if it were a job, there is no way being a professional mother could be the hardest when compared to working 16 hours a day in a clothing factory in Bangladesh, making bricks in an Indian kiln, or being a Chinese miner. Nor could it ever be considered the most important job in comparison with a surgeon who saves lives, anyone running a nation, or a judge deciding on people’s destiny.
There is also a curious sliding scale to the argument. "Working career mums" are at the lower end of the spectrum, and stay at home mothers are at the highest echelons, with ascending increments for each child you have. The more hours of drudgery you endure the more of a mother you are and, therefore, the more important your job is. The more you outsource domestic labour and childcare to participate in the workforce, the less of a mother you are.
It really is time to drop the slogan. It only encourages mothers to stay socially and financially hobbled, it alienates fathers, discourages other significant relationships between children and adults and allows men to continue to enjoy the privileges associated with heteronormative roles in nuclear families (despite men sucked into this having their choices limited as well).
It’s fine to use "motherhood" as a credential if you're talking about something related to actual motherhood, like breastfeeding. But if you're using "motherhood" to assert that you care more about humanity than the next person, if you're using it as a shorthand to imply that you are a more compassionate and hard-working person than the women and men standing around you, then feel free to get over yourself.
- ◆ -
注：中文文本为机器翻译仅供参考，并非一一对应
含注释全文：
Sorry, but being a mother is not the most important job in the world
The Guardian
Being a mother is not the most important job in the world. There, I said it. Nor is it the toughest job, despite what the 92% of people polled in Parents Magazine reckon.
做母亲并不是世界上最重要的工作。我说过了。它也不是最艰难的工作，尽管《父母》杂志调查的92%的人这样认为。
poll
1）作名词，表示“民意测验；民意调查”，英文解释为“A poll is a survey in which people are asked their opinions about something, usually in order to find out how popular something is or what people intend to do in the future.”复数形式polls可以特指“选举投票；计票”（the process of voting at an election; the process of counting the votes），举个🌰：
Polls show that the European treaty has gained support in Denmark.
民意测验显示，欧洲条约已经在丹麦获得支持。
2）作动词，表示“对…进行民意调查”，英文解释为“If you are polled on something, you are asked what you think about it as part of a survey.”举个🌰：
More than 2,000 people were polled.
2000多人接受了民意调查。
3）作动词，表示“获得…选票”，英文解释为“If a political party or a candidate polls a particular number or percentage of votes, they get that number or percentage of votes in an election.”举个🌰：
The result showed he had polled enough votes to force a second ballot.
结果显示他获得了足够的选票来促使第二轮选举。
reckon
表示“想；认为”，英文解释为“to think sth or have an opinion about sth”举个🌰：
I reckon (that) I'm going to get that job.
我认为我会得到那份工作。
For any woman who uses that line, consider this: if this is meant to exalt motherhood, then why is the line always used to sell toilet cleaner? And if being a mother is that important, why aren't all the highly paid men with stellar careers not devoting their lives to raising children? After all, I never hear "being a father is the most important job in the world".
对于任何使用这一说法的女性来说，请考虑一下：如果这句话是为了赞美母亲的身份，那么为什么这句话总是被用来卖厕所清洁剂？如果做母亲真的那么重要，为什么那些拥有辉煌事业的高薪男人不把他们的生命投入到养育孩子中去呢？毕竟，我从未听说过“做父亲是世界上最重要的工作”。
exalt
exalt /ɪɡˈzɔːlt/表示“盛赞”，英文解释为“To exalt someone or something means to praise them very highly.”举个🌰：
His work exalts all those virtues that we are taught to hold dear.
他的作品盛赞了所有那些我们被教导要珍视的美德。
stellar
stellar /ˈstelə(r)/表示“杰出的；优秀的”，英文解释为“A stellar person or thing is considered to be very good.”举个🌰：
The French companies are registering stellar profits.
法国各家公司都获利丰厚。
The deification of mothers not only delegitimises the relationship fathers, neighbours, friends, grandparents, teachers and carers have with children, it also diminishes the immense worth and value of these relationships. How do gay dads feel about this line, I wonder? Or the single dads, stepdads or granddads? No matter how devoted and hard working you are, fellas, you'll always be second best.
对母亲的神化不仅弱化了父亲、邻居、朋友、祖父母、教师和看护者们与孩子的关系，而且还削弱了这些关系的巨大价值。我想知道，同性恋的父亲们对这句话有什么感受？或者那些单身父亲、继父或祖父？无论你有多么投入和努力，伙计们，你永远是第二好的。
deification
deification /ˌdiːɪfɪˈkeɪʃən/ 表示“神圣化”，英文解释为“If you talk about the deification of someone or something, you mean that they are regarded with very great respect and are not criticized at all.”如：the deification of science 科学神圣化。
delegitimise
表示“（使）失去合法性”，英文解释为“to make something seem not valid or not acceptable”举个🌰：
If he does not take part in the election, it would delegitimize the entire electoral process.
如果他不参加选举，整个选举过程就会失去合法性。
diminish
1）表示“减少；（使）减弱，缩减；降低”，英文解释为“to become or to make sth become smaller, weaker, etc.”举个🌰：
His influence has diminished with time.
随着时间的推移，他的影响已不如从前了。
2）表示“贬低；贬损；轻视”，英文解释为“to make sb/sth seem less important than they really are”举个🌰：
I don't wish to diminish the importance of their contribution.
我并不想贬低他们所作贡献的重要性。
I'm also confused as to what makes you a mother. Is it the actual birth? Or is a "mother" simply a term to describe an expectation to care for children without payment? Is this empty slogan used to compensate women for gouging holes from potential careers by spending years out of the workplace without recognition?
我也很困惑，是什么让你成为母亲？是分娩本身吗？还是“母亲”仅仅是一个描述无偿照顾孩子的期望的词？这个空洞的口号是因为妇女多年以来想在潜在事业的职场谋得一席之地而未得到认可从而补偿她们的吗？
as to
表示“关于，至于”，英文解释为“about”举个🌰：
There's no decision as to when the work might start.
至于工作什么时候开始，还没有作出决定。
slogan /ˈsləʊɡən/
表示“口号；广告语”，英文解释为“A slogan is a short phrase that is easy to remember. Slogans are used in advertisements and by political parties and other organizations who want people to remember what they are saying or selling.”
gouge sth out (of sth)
表示“抠出某物；挖出某物”，英文解释为“to remove or form sth by digging into a surface”举个🌰：
Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills.
冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
Enabling this dogma devalues the unpaid labor of rearing children as much as it strategically devalues women's worth at work. If being a mother were a job there'd be a selection process, pay, holidays, a superior to report to, performance assessments, Friday drinks, and you could resign from your job and get another one because you didn't like the people you were working with. It’s not a vocation either – being a mother is a relationship.
启用这种教条是为了贬低养育孩子的无偿劳动，就像它从战略上贬低妇女在工作中的价值一样。如果做母亲是一份工作，就会有一个选择过程，有工资，有假期，有要汇报的上司，有绩效评估，有星期五的饮料，而且你可以辞去你的工作并得到另一份工作，因为你不喜欢你的同事。这也不是一种职业--做母亲是一种关系。
dogma
dogma /ˈdɒɡmə/ 表示“教义；教理；信条；教条”，英文解释为“( often disapproving ) a belief or set of beliefs held by a group or organization, which others are expected to accept without argument”如：one of the central dogmas of the Church 这个教会的核心教义之一。
rear
表示“抚养；养育；培养”，英文解释为“to care for young children or animals until they are fully grown”举个🌰：
She reared a family of five on her own.
她一个人养活五个孩子。
resign
表示“辞职；辞去（某职务）”，英文解释为“to officially tell sb that you are leaving your job, an organization, etc.”举个🌰：
He resigned his position last month.
他上个月辞去了他的职位。
Even if it were a job, there is no way being a professional mother could be the hardest when compared to working 16 hours a day in a clothing factory in Bangladesh, making bricks in an Indian kiln, or being a Chinese miner. Nor could it ever be considered the most important job in comparison with a surgeon who saves lives, anyone running a nation, or a judge deciding on people's destiny.
即使它是一份工作，与在孟加拉国（Bangladesh）的服装厂每天工作16个小时、在印度的窑场制砖或做中国的矿工相比，做一个职业母亲也不可能是最辛苦的。与拯救生命的外科医生、管理国家的人或决定人民命运的法官相比，它也不可能被认为是最重要的工作。
kiln
kiln /kɪln/ 表示“窑”，英文解释为“A kiln is an oven that is used to bake pottery and bricks in order to make them hard.”
surgeon
surgeon /ˈsɜːdʒən/ 表示“外科医生”，英文解释为“a doctor who is trained to perform surgery (= medical operations that involve cutting open a person's body) .”
There is also a curious sliding scale to the argument. "Working career mums" are at the lower end of the spectrum, and stay at home mothers are at the highest echelons, with ascending increments for each child you have. The more hours of drudgery you endure the more of a mother you are and, therefore, the more important your job is. The more you outsource domestic labour and childcare to participate in the workforce, the less of a mother you are.
这种说法也有一个奇怪的滑动刻度。“工作的母亲”处于最低端，而呆在家里的母亲则处于最高层，你有一个孩子，就有一个递增的增量。你忍受的苦差事时间越长，你就越算是一个母亲，因此，你的工作就越重要。你越是把家务劳动和照顾孩子的工作外包给劳动力，你就越不算是一个母亲。
spectrum
spectrum /ˈspɛktrəm/可以表示“范围；各层次；系列；幅度”（a complete or wide range of related qualities, ideas, etc.）如：a broad spectrum of interests 广泛的兴趣范围，举个🌰：
echelons
echelon /ˈɛʃəˌlɒn/ 通常复数，表示“等级；阶层”，英文解释为“An echelon in an organization or society is a level or rank in it.”如：the lower echelons of society 社会的底层。
📺美剧《犯罪心理》（Criminal Minds）第五季中的台词提到：She'll be at home in Nashville's upper echelon. 她住在纳什维尔高级住宅区。
ascending
表示“升 (序) 的”，英文解释为“If a group of things is arranged in ascending order, each thing is bigger, greater, or more important than the thing before it.”举个🌰：
Now draw or trace ten dinosaurs in ascending order of size.
现在按大小以升序画或描出10只恐龙。
increments
表示“增加量”，英文解释为“An increment in something or in the value of something is an amount by which it increases.”举个🌰：
The average yearly increment in productivity was 6 per cent.
生产率的年平均增长量是6%。
drudgery
drudgery /ˈdrʌdʒərɪ/ 表示“苦差事”，英文解释为“You use drudgery to refer to jobs and tasks which are boring or unpleasant but which must be done.”举个🌰：
People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.
人们想摆脱日常生活中的苦差事。
outsource
表示“外包；交外办理；外购”，英文解释为“to arrange for sb outside a company to do work or provide goods for that company”举个🌰：
We outsource all our computing work.
我们把全部计算机技术工作包给外边去做。
It really is time to drop the slogan. It only encourages mothers to stay socially and financially hobbled, it alienates fathers, discourages other significant relationships between children and adults and allows men to continue to enjoy the privileges associated with heteronormative roles in nuclear families (despite men sucked into this having their choices limited as well).
现在真的是时候抛弃这个口号了。它只会鼓励母亲在社会上和经济上继续受阻，它疏远了父亲，不鼓励儿童和成人之间的其他重要关系，并允许男性继续享受与核心家庭中异性恋角色相关的特权（尽管陷于此的男性的选择也受到限制）。
hobble
表示“约束，限制”，英文解释为“to limit something or control the freedom of someone”举个🌰：
A long list of amendments have hobbled the new legislation.
一长串修正案限制了这项新立法。
alienate /ˈeɪljəˌneɪt/
表示“使疏远；使不友好；离间”，英文解释为“to make sb less friendly or sympathetic towards you”举个🌰：
His comments have alienated a lot of young voters.
他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
heteronormative
表示“异性恋常态化的，异性恋霸权的，异性规范性的”，英文解释为“suggesting or believing that only heterosexual relationships are normal or right and that men and women have naturally different roles”举个🌰：
They reject heteronormative American family values.
他们摈弃了异性恋霸权的美国家庭价值。
suck into
表示“将…卷入（不快处境或坏事中）”，英文解释为“to cause someone or something to gradually become involved in an unpleasant situation or harmful activity”举个🌰：
I really don't to get involved in this argument, but I can feel myself being sucked into it.
我根本就不想与整个争论有任何瓜葛，不过我能感觉到自己被牵扯了进去。
It's fine to use "motherhood" as a credential if you're talking about something related to actual motherhood, like breastfeeding. But if you're using "motherhood" to assert that you care more about humanity than the next person, if you're using it as a shorthand to imply that you are a more compassionate and hard-working person than the women and men standing around you, then feel free to get over yourself.
如果你谈论的是与实际母亲身份有关的东西，比如母乳喂养（尽管不是所有的母亲都经历过这两种情况），那么用“母亲身份”作为一种凭证是可以的。但是，如果你用“母亲身份”来断言你比下一个人更关心人类，如果你用它作为简单指称来暗示你是一个比站在你周围的女人和男人更有同情心和努力工作的人，那就算了吧。
shorthand
表示“简约表达法”，英文解释为“You can use shorthand to mean a quick or simple way of referring to something.”举个🌰：
He uses the shorthand of "second age" for the group of younger people who are creating families.
他用“第二代”来简单指称那些更年轻、正在组建家庭的人。
get over yourself!
表示“得了吧；省省吧（尤用于当某人抱怨的时候，要求其不要自恃过高或自以为优于他人）”，英文解释为“something you say to tell someone to stop thinking that they are more important than other people, especially when they are complaining about something”。
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2015年2月8日
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