【精选】黄涛时文阅读45678黄涛时文阅读45678.docVIP

2014黄涛时文阅读(四) The horrors of hyper-connectivity and how to restore a degree of freedom 超度链接所带来的恐慌以及怎样恢复自由度 The Servant (1963) is one of those films that it is impossible to forget─a merciless dissection of the relationship between a scheming valet (played by Dirk Bogarde) and his dissolute master (James Fox). The valet exploits his masters weaknesses until he turns the tables: the story ends with a cringing Fox ministering to a lordly Bogarde. The film was an indictment of the class structure of Harold Macmillans Britain. But it is hard to watch it today without thinking of another fraught relationship─the one between business-folk and their smart-phones. 1963年拍摄的《仆人》是一部难以忘记的电影之一。它深刻地剖析了迪克·博嘉德的饰演的狡诈男仆和詹姆士·福克斯饰演的风流主人之间的关系。男仆利用了他主人的弱点，扭转局势反仆为主：故事的结尾是，谄媚的福克斯服侍起了高傲的博嘉德。这部电影揭露了麦克米伦统治英国时的阶级结构的弊病。但重新回顾这部电影，很难让人们不联想到另外一段难以处理的关系─商人和他们的智能手机之间的关系。 Smart devices are sometimes empowering. They put a world of information at our fingertips. They free people to work from home instead of squeezing onto a train with malodorous strangers. That is a huge boon for parents seeking flexible work hours. Smart-phones and tablets can also promote efficiency by allowing people to get things done in spare moments that would otherwise be wasted, such as while queuing for coffee. They can even help slackers create the illusion that they are working around the clock, by programming their e-mail to be sent at 1a.m. 智能设备有时候很给力。指尖一点，便知天下。它让人们可以在家工作，而不用为了上班和其他充满汗味儿的陌生人挤在狭小的车厢里。对于想要灵活支配工作时间的父母来说，这是一项诱人的好处。智能手机和平板电脑还能提高效率，人们可以利用诸如排队买咖啡这样本来可以被浪费的闲暇时间完成工作。通过把电子邮件的发送时间设置为凌晨一点这样的做法，智能设备甚至把懒散的员工塑造成甘为工作苦命熬夜加班的工作狂假象。 But for most people the servant has become the master. Not long ago only doctors were on call all the time. Now everybody is. Bosses think nothing of invading their employees’ free time. Work invades the home far more than domestic chores invade the office. Otherwise-sane people check their smart-phones obsessively, even during pre-dinner drinks, and send e-mails first thing in the m