#创作挑战赛#
这是Jaden的第50篇英语碎碎念
本文来自CNBC
（美国消费者新闻与商业频道，
美国NBC环球集团持有的全球
性财经有线电视卫星新闻台）。
内容是关于中国年轻人“躺平”
以及内卷相关问题。
‘I accept being ordinary’: China’s youth are turning their backs on (=reject/abandon，转身背对引申为「抛弃，背弃」) hustle culture
“Tang ping” and “bai lan” reflect the intense competition (=rat race / fierce/stiff/rising/increased/tough competition，激烈竞争) faced by (=confronted by，面对) young Chinese today, said Jia Miao, an assistant professor from NYU Shanghai.
Crystal Guo says she typically (=usually，一般) works for about six months to a year before quitting (=leave her job / her resignation / resign / bow out，辞职).
It’s what the 30-year-old describes as her new lifestyle of “intermittent (=sporadic/periodic，断断续续、间歇性) working and persistent (=unrelenting，持续性) lying flat.”
间歇性工作，持续性躺平，哈哈哈哈哈，我吃酸柠檬了
Young people in China are growing (=become，变得) disillusioned (=disenchanted / crestfallen，不再抱幻想，实质是一种「沮丧失望 disappointed/frustrated」情绪) and frustrated with work and life, and some are now turning their backs on a crushing (=very bad，毁灭性的) hustle culture (内卷文化) as they face challenges ranging from (=including，从...到...) rising unemployment to layoffs (=stop employing sb / be fired / be made redundant / get laid off / be sacked/dismissed/discharged / be retrenched，解雇，裁员) and economic uncertainty (=economic instability，经济不确定性).
■ hustle culture
单纯根据字面理解为「喧嚣文化」可能会摸不着头脑，灵活翻译为「内卷文化」，也可以理解为「996文化」。指的是为了追求自己的职涯目标，必须一整天24小时处于随时可以工作的状态，若忙里偷闲，反而会产生罪恶感的心态。
支持内卷文化的最根源想法就是只要努力工作，任何人都可以获得成功。
hustle作为动词可以表示「推搡」，有一层强迫 force/push的意味在其中，这不就像被其他人卷到而被迫一起卷的你吗？
■ 经济不确定性，也可以理解为「经济动荡/冲击/波动/不稳定/不景气」，甚至是「经济萧条」，它们的意思都是相通的。
将相近意思的表达放在一起串记，打通壁垒，才能更灵活更有效率地学习英语，有的放矢、事半功倍❤
① economic uncertainty/instability/volatility / shaky economy 经济不稳定
② economic turbulence/tumult/turmoil/upheaval/disruption 经济动荡
③ economic woes/recession / a depression / an economic depression / listless economy 经济萧条
④ economic shock / economic collapse 经济冲击
⑤ a faltering global economy / economic downturn/decline/slump/slowdown / sluggish economy 经济衰退
⑥ changing economic situations
The competition is so intense that some say they’ve given up on their dreams and aspirations (=ambition / dynamism / fire in the/one’s belly，志向抱负).
■ so adj that，so that 从句，太...以至于....
The concept of “tang ping” — which means “lying flat” in Chinese — became a popularized term (=word / buzzword(网络流行梗)，不译为「专业领域的术语」，而是「某个词、说法」) in China last year.
■ 关于「躺平」就可以用英语表示为：...“tang ping”,“lying flat” in Chinese, ...
It was one of the top 10 internet buzzwords in China in 2021, according to the National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center.
■ 国家语言资源监测与研究中心
National Language Resource Monitoring and Research Center
由教育部语言文字信息管理司创建，目的在于让更多学者对我们的语言国情有更多的定量了解，对国家语言资源进行动态的分析与管理 ，并运用现代化手段加以处理和利用，提高汉语在世界上的影响力。
“The popularity of this word reflects the stress and disappointment young people feel,” said Jia Miao, an assistant professor (助理教授) of sociology from New York University Shanghai.
■ assistant professor 助理教授
职位比副教授(associate professor)低一级的大学老师
“Tang ping is the rejection of overworking, where you let things be (顺其自然) and do the bare minimum (做最低限度的事，也就是做最少的事),” said Miao.
■ 「顺其自然」的N种表达
① let things be
② let nature take its course
③ take each day as it comes / take it one day at a time
④ drift into it
⑤ benign(a.) neglect(n.)
In March this year, another Chinese term emerged (=happen / occur / appear / show up / there be句型，出现) online.
Reflecting (=show/imply/suggest/indicate/mean/mirror/represent/reveal/refer to，反映) an attitude toward life, the term “bai lan” is translated to mean “let it rot.”
■ 一个关于translate在词典上没有解释的用法，但在外刊中很常见，意思是「A翻译过来的意思是B」
① A translates to B
② A is translated to B
根据语料库的数据显示，主动的用法要常见一点，如果要用在写作里建议大家用主动
Posts related to (=about/on/concerning/regarding/with regard to，关于) the topic have garnered more than 91 million views on Chinese social media giant Weibo as of Wednesday.
■ 我们又学到「摆烂」的翻译：
...“bai lan”, “let it rot”in Chinese, ...
, “let it rot”in Chinese, 可以用作插入语，来解释说明bai lan
■ 获得阅读量/点击量 get
① xxx amassed 2.9 million views
② hit a billion views
③ garnered an accumulated view of 2.7 billion
④ has drawn in a whopping 2.6 billion views
The popularity of this word reflects the stress (=pressure)and disappointment young people feel.
“Bai lan is where young people refuse to put (=devote/exert/expend/invest/put in，可以表示「付出努力」的动词) further efforts [in life] because they just can’t see any hope in doing so,” Miao added.
说出了我的心声，工作了几年，发现很多事都不是简简单单靠努力就能实现的。
人脉、关系、机遇，很多是从父辈那一代积累沉淀下来的，家庭普通的人，是很难单纯通过努力改变命运而过上自己想要的生活的，也许我们拼不过那些会投胎的人，但我不希望，所有关注我公众号的小伙伴放弃初心，放弃热爱，放弃自己的坚持。
我们每个普通人做事一定会经历三个阶段：
第一阶段，涉世未深，知道可能徒劳无功，但会拼尽全力。
第二个阶段，打击迷茫，知道有些事就算拼尽全力，还是徒劳无功，于是开始和尚撞钟。
第三个阶段，知道徒劳无功，却还是想要拼尽全力。
这段话对大家说，也对自己说，希望你们都在第三阶段。
就像我每篇笔记结尾的那句话，「你所热爱的，就是你的生活」❤
The term first gained popularity (=become popular)among (=amongst，在...群体之中) players on popular video games like “League of Legends (英雄联盟),” according to Miao. It was initially used to describe players who retreat (=escape/retire(熟词僻义)，撤退) or give up during a difficult battle to take up (=accept，接受) “easier tasks” instead.
■ 表示「风靡，席卷，流行」的N种表达，替换 become popular
① xx becomes a craze
② xx mania is sweeping around China
③ xx takes China by storm
④ people are going wild for xx.
⑤ The craze for xx is certainly catching on
⑥ xx has taken off in a big way
⑦ xx has been sweeping China
⑧ xx has been all the rage
⑨ xx has a cult following among young people（有一群狂热粉丝，可以表示在某事物在某群体中很火）
⑩ has risen to be a national online sensation 火爆全网
⑪ xx gains popularity
Miao added: “This group of people are active Internet users, so this word became popular later even among non-players.”
■ 当我们想表达「互联网重度使用者」，就可以用active Internet users
Why the ‘quiet quitting’ trend went viral
While the anti-hustle mentality (= attitude / way of thinking，心态) of tang ping (lie flat) seems to have some parallels (=similar feature / affinity / resemblance / similarity / features in common / likeness，相似之处) to the so-called quiet quitting movement that gained popularity on TikTok last month, bai lan (let it rot) seems to be a more negative term, Miao pointed out (=note/argue，指出), saying that it refers to a state (=condition，状态) of deterioration (=exacerbation / aggravation / escalation(局势升级) / worsening，恶化) where “one gives up any possibility of hope.”
■ 安静辞职(quiet quitting)
本质是「拒绝加班」一个发源于TikTok的热门话题。
它并不是指真的离职，而是当你完成本职工作后，不再主动承担额外的工作，放弃在工作上超越自我的追求，对工作保持疏离。
What is the source (=reason/factor/ground/cause/root，原因) of this disillusionment among young people in China?
Unemployment and uncertainties
Both buzzwords, tang ping and bai lan, reflect the intense competition faced by young Chinese today, said Miao.
“While competition is expected (sth is expected，意料之中) in society, this is on top of uncertainty caused by the pandemic and… it’s been much harder this year for young people to find jobs.”
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the unemployment rate for those between the ages of 16 and 24 (年龄...到...的群体) was almost 20% in July, far above (=well above，远高于) the national urban jobless rate of 5.6%.
■ 表示「年龄...到...的群体」
① those between the ages of ... and ...
② those aged between ... and ...
③ those ranging in age from ... to ...
④ the ... to ... age group
⑤ those between ... and ... years of age
The unemployment rate for that age group was 16.2% one year ago.
China is facing a major slowdown (经济放缓), and many economists have cast doubts on (=question(v.) / raise questions about / dispute / raise eyebrows / discredit，质疑，其本质是「不赞同、反对」) whether the world’s second largest economy will be able to achieve its full-year growth target of around 5.5%. The Chinese economy grew just 0.4% in the second quarter.
Escapism (逃避现实)?
Speaking to CNBC in Mandarin, Guo said that she was laid off twice in less than a year, something she described as “quite incredulous (=unbelievable/incredible/sceptical/unconvincing/improbable/implausible/inconceivable ，难以置信的，有时暗含了一层对事物的发生感到「离奇、荒诞」的情绪).”
She was first retrenched (被裁员) in July last year, while working at a private company providing after-school education.
Guo was laid off when China implemented (=carry out，实施) the “double reduction (双减)” policy, which aimed to ease the burden of excessive (=too much，过度、过多的) off-campus tutoring (校外辅导) for students.
■ 实施某项政策，其本质就是为了让某些人遵守这项政策，所以「实施」可理解为「使...遵守」，
并且实施政策，是一个从无到有的过程，「实施」也可以理解为「发布某项政策」
都可以表达「实施政策」这个含义
① pursue(贯彻) / begin / impose / enforce / implemented / carry out 政策
② 政策 is in place
③ launch/release a policy / policy is officially launched
④ make sb follow / comply with / abide by / adhere to / conform to / obey 政策
■ 认为某事物「过多、过度的」，是觉得这样安排是「不合理的」
① excessive/ excess / too much / an excess of / inordinate / immoderate / undue / unconscionable
② unreasonable / irrational / unjustified
After traveling for half a year around China using her severance package (=severance pay，遣散费，解雇补偿金), Guo returned home to Shenzhen and found a job at a real estate company in February this year.
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