【英语阅读】Shelf Life(货架人生)

Shelf Life
货架人生
（shelf life也有“保质期”之意——译者注）
By Anthony Daniels
If you ask anyone for his idea of a dead-end job, the chances are that he will reply “stacking supermarket shelves.”
如果你问任何人他对无出路的工作的想法，他很可能会回答：“整理超市的货架。

”
This occupation, indeed, has become a trope for the futility of existence at the lower end of the social spectrum. Not long ago, for example, a columnist in the Guardian wrote that 1) it was scarcely any wonder that teenage girls had babies when the only alternative open to them was stacking supermarket shelves. As far as she was concerned, having a baby could 2) prevent a worse fate.
这个职业，事实上，已经成为社会的底端生存无用的比喻。

例如，不久前《卫报》的专栏作家写道，几乎毫无疑问，一个十几岁的女孩有了孩子，她唯一的选择就是去整理超市货架。

在她看来，有孩子能避免更糟糕的命运。

But if supermarkets are necessary, then so are supermarket shelves—they have to be stacked by someone.
但如果超市是必要的，那么超市的货架也是——必须有人来整理它们。

There is nothing dishonorable or dishonest about stacking shelves. On the contrary, it is a socially useful thing to do. Moreover, 3) the variation of abilities to be found in any human population suggests that this is the kind of work that suits some people quite admirably.
整理货架没有什么不光彩或不诚实的。

相反，它是做一个对社会有用的东西。

此外，在任何人群都能发现这种能力的变化形式，这表明这是一个极好地适合某些人的工作。

However, I do not want to stress this last point for fear that I should be thought to be impugning the intelligence of those who work in supermarkets. And this would be 4) precisely the opposite of my intentions. I have always found people who work in supermarkets—whether in Tesco, Sainsbury, Waitrose, Morrisons or any other—5) not only competent but eager to please. Whenever I approach them to ask where I may find coriander or brass polish, they drop what they are doing and 6) take me straight there.
然而，我不想强调这最后一点，以免被认为是打击那些在超市工作的人的智力。

这正与我的意思相反。

我总是发现在超市工作的人——无论是特易购、塞恩斯伯里、韦特罗斯、莫里森斯，或其它超市——不仅能干而且服务热情。

每当我接近他们，问哪里可以找到香菜或擦铜油，他们放下手头的活儿直接带我去那里。

The checkout staff are always pleasant, too. Their job is 7) far from uninteresting, contrary to what unimaginative intellectuals might suppose. Surely people’s purchases, 8) infinitely various in their combination, must tell you a lot about them. I don’t think I would mind working on a supermarket checkout, at least for a few months.
收银员也总是令人愉快的。

他们的工作绝非乏味，与无趣的的知识分子想象的完全相反。

当
然，人们无限多样组合购买的商品，会告诉你很多关于他们的事。

我不在意超市收银台的工作，至少有几个月了。

In my experience, this snobbish condescension expressed by intellectuals for supermarket shelf-stackers often infuriates people 9) much more than large injustices. Therefore, if you want to improve society, don’t take for granted 10) the small services rendered you by others. Don’t just say thank you, but actually be thankful for them.
据我的经历，这种知识分子对超市货架员工所表达的势利和傲慢，往往比不公平更会激怒人。

因此，如果你想改善社会，就不要认为别人提供给你的哪怕再小的服务是理所应当的。

不要只说谢谢，而要在实际行动上对他们表示感激。