eg：He has， on occasion ， made small mistakes. 他有时犯一些小错误。

　　8.in vain ： 无效地；徒然

　　eg：All our work was in vain.我们的工作都白干了。

　　How can someone， hour after hour， day after day， year in and year out， tighten approximately the same nut to the same bolt and not go mad？（1）That most working people do not， in fact， go mad is due in large measure to a phenomenon so common that it is found wherever people labor in industry： taking it easy. （2）It would take some kind of real mental case to do all the work one could all day long. No one expects it. Taking it easy on the job while someone else covers your work， or “working on and off，” as it is usually called in America， is an established part of the working life.

　　1.How can someone， hour after hour， day after day， year in and year out， tighten approximately the same nut to the same bolt and not go mad ？ （para.1）

　　这是一个反意问句，意为：“一个人时复一时，日复一日，年复一年地把几乎同样的螺母拧到螺钉上，又怎么能不发疯呢？”

　　2.That most working people do not， in fact， go mad is due in large measure to a phenomenon so common that it is found wherever people labor in industry： taking it easy.（para.1）

　　That most working people do not， in fact， go mad 是主语从句，that 是只起连接作用，不在句中担任任何成分。

　　so common that 中，that引导结果状语从句，句中的it是指前边的 a phenomenon.

　　wherever people labor in industry：地点状语从句。

　　全句译为：“事实上大多数劳动人民之所以没有精神错乱，很多程度上应是由于一个

　　无论人们在哪个行业都普遍存在的现象，不紧不慢的干活。“

　　Working on and off， however， has its limits. The rules are infinitely varied， subtle， and flexible， and， of course， they are always changing. Management， up to a certain level at least， is aware of the practice， and in some industries employs entire cadres of people to curtail or put an end to it. （3）Simultaneously， the workers are subtly doing their best to keep it going and to extend it wherever possible.

　　3.Management， up to a certain level at least， is aware of the practice， and in some industries

　　employs entire cadres of people to curtail or put an end to it （para.2）

　　up to a certain level at least 修饰 management ，意思是“至少到了一定层次的管理部门”

　　the practice 指的是前一段提到的“干干停停”（on and off ）

　　some industries “某些行业”

　　译为：“管理部门，至少达到某种层次的管理部门，是知道这个干法，因此在某些行业他们雇用整套骨干班子，以减少和杜绝这种干干停停的可能性。”

　　Every worker has a highly developed sense of how much work is expected of him. When he feels that the expectation is excessive， he tries to do something about it. This instinct has to do with the political nature of work itself， something every modern worker understands.（4）The bosses want more from the worker than they are willing to give in return. （5）The workers give work， and the bosses give money. The exchange is never quite equal， and the discrepancy is called profit. Since the bosses cannot do without profit， workers have an edge. A good worker in a key spot could， so long as he kept up production， take all the coffee breaks he wanted，（6）and the bosses would very likely look the other way. He could also choose to cut down on the coffee breaks， apply himself， and increase production， and then ask for and get more money. But that would be self-defeating， and he knows it. It would also place him in competition with other workers， which would be playing into the bosses' hands.（7）What he would rather do is create some slack for himself and enjoy his job more.（8）

　　4.This instinct has to do with the political nature of work itself， something every modern worker understands. （para.3）

　　something 是the political nature of work itself 的同位语

　　译为：“这种本能与工作本身的政治性质有关，这一点每个现代工人都明白。”

　　5.The bosses want more from the worker than they are willing to give in return. （para.3）

　　in return：回报

　　“老板想从工人身上榨取比他愿意回报给个人的酬金更多的东西。”

　　6.A good worker in a key spot could， so long as he kept up production， take all the coffee breaks

　　he wanted. （para.3）

　　so long as：只要…就

　　“关键岗位上的一个好工人，只要他保证产量不降低，就能尽情地利用工间休息。”

　　7.It would also place him in competition with other workers， which would be playing into the bosses' hands. （para.3）

　　which 引导非限制性定语从句，修饰前面整个句子。即“他和别的工人产生竞争”这件事。

　　8.What he would rather do is create some slack for himself and enjoy his job more. （ para.3）

　　What he would rather do 主语从句中有 do ，因此两个作表语的动词不定式create： 和 enjoy： 前面都省略了to .

　　At present on the West Coast， when a gang of longshoremen working on cargo start a shift， they often spanide themselves into two equal groups and toss a coin. One group goes into the far reaches of the slip's hold and sits around. The other group starts loading cargo， usually working with a vengeance， since each one of them is doing the work of two men. An hour later， the groups change places. In other words ， although my fellow longshoremen and I are getting paid for eight hours， on occasion we work only four .If someone reading this feels a sense of moral outrage because we are sitting down on the job， I am sorry.（9）I have searched my mind in vain for a polite way to tell that reader to go to hell.（10）