英语每日一听 | 每天少于5分钟

• 第2851期:Do we give weight too much weight?

  Take your height in metres, square it, then divide it by your weight in kilograms. That's how you calculate your body mass index, or BMI. If it's between 18 and 25, your weight is healthy. If it's over, it isn't. So far, so simple. BMI has become a popular metric for people to check their health.把你的身高（以米为单位）平方，然后用这个数去除以你的体重（以千克为单位）。这就是计算你的身体质量指数（BMI）的方法。如果BMI介于18到25之间，你的体重被认为是健康的；如果高于这个范围，则不健康。到目前为止，这很简单。BMI已经成为人们检查自身健康状况的一个常用指标。On a population level, data backs this up. People with a high BMI are statistically more likely to develop conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and some types of cancer along with other health problems. Checking BMI could be a way for people to easily assess their health and decide if they need to make any lifestyle changes.从人群层面来看，数据支持这一点。统计显示，BMI较高的人更容易出现高血压、糖尿病、关节炎以及某些类型的癌症等健康问题。检查BMI可以让人们更容易评估自身健康状况，并决定是否需要作出生活方式上的改变。However, BMI does not give the full picture. It's known that it's less accurate for some groups of people, such as children, the elderly or athletes. The measure was devised in the 19th Century by a Belgian mathematician, and this may be why the figures are more accurate for Europeans than other ethnicities. There are also several important factors that it doesn't measure. Someone who is very active may have significant weight from muscle. BMI doesn't differentiate between this or the visceral fat that is linked with negative health outcomes. It doesn't account for the range of nutrients or the level of cholesterol in someone's diet. What this means is that people can have a high BMI and be relatively healthy, while others may have a low BMI but be unhealthy.然而，BMI并不能提供全貌。众所周知，它对某些群体的准确度较低，比如儿童、老年人或运动员。BMI由一位比利时数学家在19世纪提出，这可能也是它对欧洲人比对其他种族更准确的原因。此外，还有一些重要因素是它无法衡量的。一个经常锻炼的人可能因为肌肉较多而体重偏高，而BMI无法区分肌肉重量与对健康不利的内脏脂肪。它也无法衡量一个人的营养摄入结构或胆固醇水平。也就是说，有些人BMI较高但相对健康，而另一些人BMI较低却并不健康。The simplicity of BMI is attractive, it's also very visible and fits with society's perception of the importance of weight. However, dependence on it as an indication of health can cause stigma. People can feel judged because of their weight. This sometimes leads people to avoid going to the doctors if they know they're likely to be questioned on it. While BMI may be a useful measure, experts remind us that it should always be considered alongside other measures, such as blood pressure, blood sugar level, cholesterol level and others.BMI的简单性很吸引人，它也很直观，并且符合社会对体重重要性的普遍看法。然而，把它当成健康的主要指标可能会让人感到被污名化，人们可能因为体重而感到被评判。这有时会导致一些人因为害怕被询问体重而避免看医生。虽然BMI是一个有用的指标，但专家提醒我们，它应该与其他指标一起考虑，例如血压、血糖、胆固醇水平等。

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• 第2850期:The artisan economy

  We're in the midst of a craft revolution. We're seeing explosive growth in many consumer products categories. There is no one definition, I would say, but oftentimes there are artisanal products, locally sourced, handmade, and sometimes made in small batches.我们正处在一场手工艺革命的浪潮之中。我们看到许多消费品类别都在出现爆炸式增长。虽然没有一个统一的定义，但通常它们是手工制作的产品、本地采购、手工打造，有时以小批量方式生产。It resonates with many of the megatrends that we see with consumers, particularly millennials who are really looking for something very authentic. They like to take risks and try new products. Right now, it's primarily a U.S. phenomenon, but we're seeing growth in many markets outside the U.S. as well.这与我们看到的许多消费大趋势相契合，尤其是千禧一代，他们非常追求真实的东西。他们喜欢冒险、尝试新产品。目前这主要是一种美国现象，但我们也在看到美国以外许多市场的增长。We really think the craft revolution will be a global phenomenon over the next 10 years. We're seeing the craft revolution across many categories. You know, when you think about restaurants, the whole farm-to-table concept is a great example of craft.我们确实认为，在未来10年内，手工艺革命将成为全球现象。我们在许多类别中都看到了这种手工艺浪潮。例如，当你想到餐饮业时，“从农场到餐桌”的理念就是一个典型的手工化代表。You're seeing it in cosmetics. Handmade soap, for example, is really a growing part of that industry. I think most importantly, where we're seeing the most and the fastest growth we're seeing is really in the alcoholic beverages.你也能在化妆品领域看到这种趋势。例如手工皂，已成为该行业快速增长的部分。而我认为最重要的是，我们看到增长最多、增速最快的领域其实是酒精类饮品。Beer and spirits are examples of where we're seeing really a true craft revolution playing out. Craft beer is the most developed and largest segment within craft. It's about 10% of the total industry volume, independent crafts, and if you include some of the craft-style brands that are owned by the major companies, it's actually as large as 13%, 14%.啤酒和烈酒是我们看到真正的手工革命正在发生的典型例子。在所有手工领域中，精酿啤酒是发展最成熟、规模最大的部分。独立精酿啤酒约占整个行业销量的10%，如果再算上大公司拥有的精酿风格品牌，比例实际上可达到13%至14%。It's interesting because it's not a new concept per se. Craft beers have been around since the 80s and 90s, really started out as some of the smaller microbrewery developing their own beer in their garages, and I think the last 10 years, we've seen such explosive growth in craft beer. And we think that over the next five years, the craft beer segment could be as big as 20% of the total industry volume.有趣的是，这本身并不是一个新概念。精酿啤酒从80年代、90年代就已经出现，最早是一些小型的家庭微型酿酒厂在车库里自行酿造。而在过去10年，我们看到了精酿啤酒的爆炸式增长。我们认为，在未来五年内，精酿啤酒可能会增长到整个行业规模的20%。Craft spirits is smaller than beer. Today we think it's about 2% to 3% of the total industry volume, but what's interesting and fascinating is that this is growing at a really faster rate than beer. Many of the craft spirits brands are growing 40%, 50%, and really it touches on across many categories within spirits.精酿烈酒目前比啤酒小得多。现在我们估计它占整个行业的2%到3%。但有趣的是，它的增长速度比啤酒还要快。许多精酿烈酒品牌正以40%至50%的速度增长，而且涵盖烈酒中的多个类别。So it's not just the whiskey phenomenon, but you're seeing it in vodka, you're seeing it in gin. The other thing that's interesting is when you think about the number of distilleries that are actually popping up, it's very close to where beer was 10, 15 years ago. So think about the trajectory that craft spirits could be on for the next 10 years, really replicating what beer went through on the craft side.所以这不只是威士忌的现象，你能在伏特加、杜松子酒中都看到这一趋势。另一个有趣的点是，当你观察新成立的蒸馏厂的数量时，它与啤酒在10到15年前的情况非常相似。所以想象一下未来10年精酿烈酒的发展轨迹，很可能会复制精酿啤酒过去的路径。Interestingly, I think what you have to keep in mind is the consequences of what all this means for some of the larger players. Some are buying some of these smaller craft brands, some are trying to develop their own brands organically, but certainly the competitive intensity has been rising and we think will continue to rise as a result of just the proliferation and the competitive pressure from these craft beer brands. So the rise of craft is here to stay.值得注意的是，我们必须考虑这些变化对大型企业意味着什么。一些大公司正在收购小型精酿品牌，一些则试图自行开发手工风格产品。但无论如何，竞争强度正在上升，且我们认为会持续上升，因为精酿品牌数量迅速增加并带来了巨大的竞争压力。因此，手工艺浪潮势不可挡。In some categories we think the craft will really take over the mainstream segments in that particular category, and like it or not, the larger companies really have to deal with the consequences of what that means. It's not just an impact on the consumers, but how the companies are dealing with that will really define how the industry impacts the broader trends over time.在某些类别中，我们认为手工化甚至会取代该类别的主流市场。不管大型企业愿不愿意，它们都必须应对这种变化带来的影响。这不仅影响消费者行为，更影响企业如何调整策略，而这些变化将最终塑造整个行业如何影响未来更广泛的趋势。

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• 第2849期:The four-day week

  It's becoming increasingly popular for businesses to only accept payments by card. Yes. London's bus network has been cashless since 2014.越来越多的商家只接受刷卡支付。是的，伦敦的公交系统从 2014 年起就已经全面取消现金支付了。And now there are many food and drink outlets in the UK that only accept payment by card. We're looking at the benefits of a cashless company.现在英国有许多餐饮店也仅接受刷卡支付。我们现在要讨论无现金公司的好处。Yes, specifically in the hospitality trade. If you think about in the past, Richard, restaurants. Imagine the scenario. Saturday night, they've done very well, OK.是的，尤其是在餐饮与服务行业。想想过去吧，Richard，比如餐馆。想象一个场景：星期六晚上，他们生意很好。They've had a lot of customers, well, a lot of orders. They've taken a lot of money. What happens at the end of the evening?有很多顾客、很多订单，收入也很多。那么在晚上打烊后会发生什么？Well, obviously the first thing is, after they close, they've got to count the cash, haven't they? They've got to count the takings for the night and record it.首先显而易见的是，打烊后他们必须清点现金，对吧？必须数清这晚的收入并记录下来。And it needs to be checked with the receipts. Exactly. So that takes up a lot of time and resources.而且还需要与收据核对。没错。所以这会占用大量时间和人力资源。And then, of course, if it's night time, they've got to hang on to that money, probably keep it in a safe. If it's a Saturday night, they've got to keep all that cash safe and then probably not be able to take it to the bank, what, until Monday morning?而且，如果是晚上，他们必须妥善保管这些现金，可能要放在保险箱里。如果是星期六晚上，他们需要整晚保管所有现金，并可能直到周一早上才能存入银行。And the bank is the other problem as well, of course, Jackie, because banks will charge customers if they deposit large amounts of cash.银行也是一个问题，Jackie，因为银行在客户存入大量现金时会收取费用。What kind of bank charges do restaurants have a year then, about?那餐馆一年大概要付多少银行手续费呢？Well, it can be as much as from £3,000 to £5,000 for a decent-sized restaurant, and obviously the chains pay much more than that.一家规模不错的餐馆一年大约要支付 3,000 到 5,000 英镑，连锁店则要付更多。Actually, even when people paid with their cards in the past, it wasn't easy or cheap for the restaurants either. The card processing system was much more complicated than it is now.事实上，即使过去顾客使用银行卡支付，对餐馆来说也不简单或便宜。当时的刷卡处理系统比现在复杂得多。OK, so you're talking about people putting their cards into the machine, the handheld machine? Exactly, yes.你是指顾客把卡插进那种手持刷卡机？没错。They had different cards, different fees, some were accepted, some weren't, different card readers. The process is much more streamlined now.当时不同的卡收费不同，有些能刷，有些不能，而且刷卡机也不统一。现在这个流程已经顺畅多了。Yeah, and I think that the card readers, they're much cheaper and easier to use, aren't they, for restaurants?是的，而且现在的刷卡机对餐馆来说更便宜、更容易使用了，对吧？Yes, and interestingly enough, in addition to that, at one particular McDonald's branch, where they introduced cashless kiosks, i.e. they wouldn't take cash at all, the values of the individual orders went up by 30%.是的，而且很有趣的是，在某家麦当劳分店，他们引入了完全不接受现金的自助点餐机后，单笔订单金额竟然上涨了 30%。Well, I suppose people are more willing to spend more if it's with a card, as opposed to putting their hands in their pockets for cash.嗯，我想人们在刷卡时更愿意多花钱，相比掏出现金要更轻松。Certainly would seem so. So maybe, perhaps after all, we are moving towards a cashless society.确实如此。所以或许，我们正在迈向一个无现金社会。However, interestingly, the Bank of England has observed that despite the rate of card transactions soaring, and actually back in 2016, purchases using a debit card overtook cash for the first time in the UK, the volume of cash in circulation is at a record high, which sounds a bit strange.不过有趣的是，英格兰银行观察到，尽管银行卡交易量大幅上升——实际上早在 2016 年英国借记卡消费就首次超过现金——但市场上流通的现金量却创下历史新高，这听起来有点奇怪。And the number of British people who only deal in cash, which is about 2.7 million, is also rising.而只使用现金的人数也在上升，约有 270 万英国人只使用现金交易。So why is that then? Well, there's a number of reasons.那为什么会这样呢？原因有很多。People are hoarding money after the 2008 crash.人们在 2008 年金融危机后开始囤积现金。They're stuffing it underneath their mattresses again, are they?他们又把现金塞回床垫下面了吗？Yeah, sounds a bit strange. But perhaps most interestingly, there's a booming criminal economy.是的，听起来有点奇怪。但也许最值得注意的是，黑色经济正在蓬勃发展。Cash in hand, avoiding taxes, etc. Exactly.比如私下收现金、逃税等等。没错。So cards are great for restaurants, but not necessarily for all businesses.所以刷卡支付对餐馆很有帮助，但不一定适用于所有行业。

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• 第2848期:The four-day week

  Back in March 2018, an insurance company from New Zealand started a landmark trial with its company staff. It decided to trial a four-day working week. Almost 250 staff at Perpetual Guardian took part.早在 2018 年 3 月，新西兰一家保险公司开始对员工进行一项具有里程碑意义的试验：他们决定试行每周四天工作制。大约有 250 名来自 Perpetual Guardian 的员工参与了这项试验。We're looking at the pros and cons of working a four-day week. Right, Jackie. So that New Zealand company, what was the result of their trial? The employees completed surveys before they did the trial and after they did the trial.我们现在要讨论每周四天工作制的利与弊。好的，Jackie。那么那家新西兰公司，他们的试验结果如何？员工们在试验前和试验后都填写了问卷调查。And it was upon reading the results that the company declared it was a great success and decided to adopt the new schedule full-time.在看到调查结果后，公司宣布试验非常成功，并决定永久采用这一新的工作安排。OK. So why was it such a great success then? Well, there were three factors that they looked at.好的。那么它为何如此成功？他们主要从三个因素进行评估。And overall, staff reported lower stress levels, higher levels of job satisfaction. Interesting. And also an improved sense of work-life balance.总体而言，员工表示压力降低、工作满意度提高——很有趣——而且工作与生活的平衡感也有所提升。OK. That sounds obvious. The employees loved it. What did the firm get out of it?好的，这听起来很合理。员工很喜欢。那么公司从中获得了什么呢？Actually, because there was less stress, productivity increased. People who enjoy their job at the end of the day work better. Fantastic.实际上，由于压力减少，生产力反而提高了。喜欢自己工作的人最终会做得更好。太棒了。But actually, the four-day week, it's nothing new, is it? No, they've had it in America for some time. Richard, the difference is, in America, you still work 40 hours, right? But you just do it over four days.不过事实上，每周四天工作制并不新鲜，对吧？对，美国很早以前就有了。Richard，不同之处在于，美国人仍然工作 40 小时，只是把这 40 小时压缩在四天内完成。So you still do the same number of hours as you did in five days, but you do it in the four days.也就是说，你工作时长一样，只是从五天集中到四天中。Exactly. You're working a 10-hour day instead. The important thing here was that people worked fewer hours got paid the same.没错，你每天工作 10 小时。这里重要的是，人们工作更少的时间，却拿同样的薪水。They worked for four days but got paid for five. Exactly.他们只工作四天，但拿五天的工资。没错。So a four-day week then, it can't all be good then, surely?所以每周四天工作制肯定也不是全都是好处吧？Well, I suppose there is a possibility that if you're working harder for four days, you could actually come the fourth day, become less productive.嗯，我想有一种可能是，如果你在四天内更拼命工作，到了第四天你的效率可能反而下降。And also those on a four-day week, they may feel some pressure to come into meetings on that fifth day when they're not there. Or work from home.此外，实行四天工作制的人，可能会感到压力必须在他们本不应该上班的第五天参加会议，或在家工作。OK, it was a great success then, this four-day week. But why did the company actually go for it in the first place?好的，这个四天工作制非常成功。但是，公司当初为什么会尝试这样的制度？Yeah, new technology, Richard. I mean, you know, the use of computers.嗯，是因为新科技，Richard。比如电脑的使用。People always thought, didn't they, that in the future, it wasn't that long ago, they said in the future, people will be working more from home and having a more relaxed work-life balance.人们一直认为——直到不久前还这样说——未来大家会更多在家工作，拥有更轻松的工作与生活平衡。Yeah, they always said people will be working less in the future, didn't they? But it appears that people are actually working more.是啊，他们总说未来人们会工作得更少，对吧？但事实似乎是人们现在反而工作得更多。Exactly. You can't get away from the office nowadays, can you, with emails and phone calls, etc.没错，如今你完全无法远离办公室邮件、电话等。No. It's created a culture where workers are required to be constantly available to work.是的，这创造了一种文化：员工必须随时待命。You see that all the time, Richard. And with our friends, they're on the phone or answering emails at the weekend.你经常能看到这样的情况，Richard。我们的朋友们在周末也在打电话或回邮件。Now that company in New Zealand did one thing. But they've been trying something else in France, haven't they?那家新西兰公司采取了一种方式。但法国采取了另一种方式，对吧？Yeah, France realised that work was spilling into after hours. So they tried a different approach.是的，法国意识到工作不断侵入下班时间，于是他们尝试不同的方式。And this was getting companies to make regulations that stopped employees responding to emails, answering phones after a certain time.他们让公司制定规定，禁止员工在特定时间后回复邮件或接电话。But I wonder, it's interesting, the four-day week. It works for some companies. I wonder if it's the future.不过我很好奇，四天工作制很有趣。它对一些公司有效。我想知道这是否会成为未来趋势。Yes, I think it depends on the company itself, doesn't it? Some companies can lend their ways to four days where it might be impossible for others.是的，我想这取决于公司本身。有些公司可以适应四天工作制，而另一些公司则完全无法实行。Anyway, do you work for a company who does a four-day working week? Or would you like to see it introduced to your company? 总之，你的公司实行四天工作制吗？或者你希望公司引入这样的制度吗？

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• 第2847期:The sportswriter

  I'm talking to Simon. Hi Simon. Hi.我正在和西蒙说话。嗨，西蒙。嗨。Who is hoping to become a full-time freelance sports writer. Am I right about that? Yes, just about, yes.他希望成为一名全职自由体育作家。我这样说对吗？是的，差不多，是的。What kind of sports do you write about? Well, at the moment I only write about football.你写哪种运动？嗯，目前我只写足球。That's my specialist subject and that is done in two directions. I have always followed Manchester City Football Club, so that is my English arm of the football writing. And because I'm a resident of Lisbon, I also write about Portuguese football affairs.那是我的专长，而且分为两个方向。我一直关注曼城足球俱乐部，所以那是我足球写作的英格兰部分。而由于我住在里斯本，我也写葡萄牙足球的相关事务。Manchester City, you write about Manchester City. I do. Who do you write for? I write predominantly for ESPN.曼城，你写曼城的内容。是的。你主要为谁写？我主要为 ESPN 写作。Right. So I have a contract with them to produce three or four Manchester City-related articles per week. Per week? Per week.好的。我和他们有合约，每周需要写三到四篇与曼城相关的文章。每周？每周。And you find enough to write about per week? Always. And how long have you been doing that for? I've been doing that for about six or seven years, I think.那你每周都能找到足够的题材？总是能。你这样做多久了？我想大概六七年了。And then you said your other arm, as it were, is writing about Portuguese football. Tell me about that.你刚才还说你的另一部分写作是关于葡萄牙足球的。说说这个吧。Well, there's a huge global interest in the English Premier League, obviously, so there's a lot of competition amongst sports writers, football writers, to get their work published. There is not so much being done in the area of Portuguese football, so it's more of a niche market.嗯，全球对英超的兴趣非常大，所以体育记者、足球记者之间竞争激烈，想发表文章很难。而关于葡萄牙足球的内容并不多，所以这是一个更小众的市场。I write for an English-language website called portugol.net, which is run by a friend of mine in Lisbon. It's the biggest and most well-known English-language site covering Portuguese football.我为一个叫 portugol.net 的英文网站写稿，它由我在里斯本的朋友经营。这是最大、最知名的英文葡萄牙足球网站。Am I right in saying then, both... for both the Manchester City writing and for the Portugal writing, your writings appear on the internet only? No, it can be in print as well.那么我这样说对吗——无论是写曼城还是写葡萄牙足球，你的文章都是发表在网络上？不，也可以是纸媒。OK. Sometimes... sometimes... there's a lot of website-based stuff, but I write, for example, for the Irish Examiner.好。有时候……有很多是在线内容，但比如我也会为《Irish Examiner》（爱尔兰观察家报）写稿。All right. Again, about Manchester City. So that will be a newspaper?好的，又是关于曼城的。这是纸媒吗？That's a weekly column on a Monday in the newspaper, which is sort of a reflective piece on what happened at the weekend.那是报纸上每周一的专栏，主要是对周末比赛的一些回顾性评论。If there are other people listening who have a passion for a sport and like writing about it, what advice would you give them if they wanted to do something like this as well?如果有其他人热爱某项运动，也喜欢写作，希望做类似的事情，你会给他们什么建议？If it's football, it's very difficult to get into because there is a cabal of well-known writers who almost always are chosen by the newspapers and the magazines to do their stuff for them.如果是足球，这个行业很难进入，因为报纸和杂志几乎都选择那群知名作者来写稿。So are you the Man City expert?所以你算是曼城专家吗？Because I'm so old, I do have an advantage over some of the younger guns because I go back further and I can add historical perspective to a lot of my articles, which some of the others can't unless they research it.因为我年纪大，我相比年轻作者有优势——我能回顾更久远的历史，可以在文章中加入历史视角，而其他人若不特别研究，就无法做到。And even then, they don't have the feel as someone who was actually there and lived through whichever period we're writing about or talking about.即使研究了，他们也没有那种亲历其境的感觉——不像真正经历过那个时代的人。So you've got the experience. Yes. Yeah.所以你有经验。是的，没错。But I would say just keep going and try and get yourself noticed.但我会说，坚持写，让别人注意到你。If you have the skill and the ability and you write in an interesting, informative and entertaining way, somebody somewhere will take you on.如果你有技巧、有能力，并且写得有趣、有信息量、有可读性，总会有人愿意用你的文章。They probably will not offer to pay you to start with. So be prepared to do work for free just to get your name out there.他们一开始可能不会付你钱，所以准备好先免费写稿，让自己的名字被看到。Now, I know you're not a full-time freelance worker. So although you seem to be very busy, it's still a step away then from it paying all your bills.我知道你还不是全职自由工作者。虽然你看起来很忙，但这些收入还不足以支付你所有的开销。Yes, it doesn't pay all my bills. That's why I also teach.是的，不能完全覆盖所有开支。所以我还要教书。My dream would be to be free of teaching and just to write because I'd like to be a creative writer as well as a contracted writer because there's not complete creativity with what I do.我的梦想是不再教书，只靠写作，因为我希望既能成为创意写作者，也能成为签约作者——我现在做的写作并不完全属于创意写作。And how are you going to get onto that next step? Very good question.那你要怎么迈向下一步？好问题。Just keep writing. The more writing I do, the more it gets noticed. The more people want stuff from you, the more people are prepared to pay for it.就是继续写。我写得越多，就越容易被注意到。越多人想要你的内容，就越多人愿意付费。And your passion shows through your writing. I hope so. I hope so.而且你的热情会通过你的文字展现出来。我希望如此，我希望如此。

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