爱思英语编者按：2010年南非世界杯昨晚拉开战幕，对于球迷来说，熬夜(sit up)看球、把酒言欢可谓是“必做功课”，第二天上班无精打采自然也是常态。而这却令老板们头疼不已。于是乎老板与员工间打响了一场斗智斗勇的拉锯战，一方担心球赛影响工作，一方害怕工作耽误球赛。 

本周五世界杯拉开战幕，或许中国球迷为之欣喜若狂，但他们的老板却是愁眉不展。
Chinese football fans may be excited about the FIFA World Cup, which kicked off on Friday, but their employers are not.

同其他国家的球迷一样，中国球迷时刻准备投身到世界杯热浪中去。在这场万人空巷的赛事举办之际，酒吧老板，家电卖场经理和啤酒商们都迫不及待地迎接那些慷慨大方的顾客们。
Like football fanatics around the globe, Chinese fans, too, are all set to soak in the World Cup fever. Bar owners, managers of electronics stores as well as beer dealers can't wait to welcome money-splashing customers as the most watched sporting event in the world takes off.

但也有一些老板担心，这场为期一个月的足球盛事会影响自己员工的工作效率。
But a number of employers fear that the month-long football gala will have an impact on their employees' productivity.

通过一项6000名网友参与的问卷调查显示，他们的担忧并非杞人忧天。 Going by a recent survey of 6,000 Internet users, their fears might not be completely groundless.

调查结果显示，66%参与投票的雇员表示会熬夜看球，20%的人表示无论比赛时间多晚都不会落下一场球赛。
According to the survey, 66 percent of employees polled said they will stay up nights to watch the matches, and 20 percent said they will watch every game no matter how late at night.

几乎半数的受访者承认熬夜看球会影响自己的工作，23%的人表示自己可能会请假来看几场关键的球赛。
Nearly half of those surveyed admitted watching matches overnight will possibly affect their work, while 23 percent said they may take days off for major matches.

北京一家广告公司老板王某在接受《中国日报》采访时说：“我的员工很多都是球迷。一旦世界杯开始，他们就会彻底地心烦意乱。在接下来的一个月里，我真的很担忧他们工作表现以及公司的业绩。” 更多信息请访问：http://www.engbus.cn/
"A lot of my employees are football zealots. When the World Cup begins, they will be completely distracted. I am really anxious about their performance at work and my business during the coming month," a Beijing-based advertising agency owner, surnamed Wang, told China Daily.

她说：“昨天，一名员工向我请了几天假，说他的岳母患肺癌正在接受治疗。我批准了他的假但后来发现他只是想请假看世界杯。我觉得自己被蒙骗了。”她还表示世界杯结束前，她不会批准任何人的休假申请，除非他有正当理由。
"One of my employees told me yesterday that his mother-in-law is receiving medical treatment for lung cancer and wanted a few days off. I granted him leave but later found out that he just wanted to watch the World Cup. I felt betrayed," she said, adding that she will reject all applications for leave until the event is over, unless they are reasonable.

就职于上海某医药公司的王庆廉（音译）表示，他们单位制定了一些新的休假规定。
Wang Qinglian, who works for a Shanghai medical products company, said his firm has meted out some new regulations for leave.

上海《青年报》的一则报道称，请病假者须出示诊断书；另外下月期间，各部门一天内只准一人休假。
Anyone who requests for sick leave must submit a medical certificate and only one worker from a particular department can be on leave on a single day during the month, according to a report in the Shanghai-based Youth Daily.

一些公司已经下定决心严惩违规员工。
Some companies have vowed strict action against those who violate rules.

重庆某金融公司的一名经理说，公司已向所有员工下发了一份备忘录，其中警告说员工一旦被发现带啤酒来办公室、无缘无故迟到、或和同事争论足球，就会被开除。
A manager with a Chongqing-based financial company, said a memo was sent to all employees warning them that bringing beer to office, coming to work late without a valid reason, or getting involved in any altercation with colleagues regarding football will result in dismissal.

但狂热的中国球迷们完全不顾被炒的危险，做好了“世界杯第一，工作第二”的准备。
But football-crazy Chinese are ready to put the World Cup before their work at the risk of getting sacked.

武汉一家体育网站的编辑张汇泉（音译）说：“如果要我放弃享受这样一个足球饕餮盛宴的机会，我宁愿辞职。”
Zhang Huiquan, an editor at a Wuhan-based sports website, said: "I would rather quit my job than give up the rare opportunity to enjoy the biggest football tournament in the world," he said.

资深人力资源专家欧阳辉（音译）表示：“世界杯期间，各地的人事部门都会收到大量的病假单。但开明的老板们会趁机振奋一下员工的士气。” "Human Resource departments across the country will likely see a deluge of sick leave requests during the tournament. But flexible managers can seize the opportunity to refresh the spirits of the employees," said Ou Yanghui, a senior human resource expert.

他说：“有时老板和主管们可以和球迷员工们交流一下某场球赛的心得，这样便于增进彼此的关系。”
"Sometimes the employers or supervisors can share their thoughts about a particular match with the football fans in their company and improve relations with them," he said.

相关词汇

a deluge of 纷至沓来的
 
altercation 争辩, 争吵
 
betray 对…不忠, 背叛
 
distracted 心烦意乱的,分神的
 
fanatic 狂热者, 入迷者
 
lung 肺
 
mete out 给予，处置
 
money-splashing 花钱大方的
 
sack 解雇
 
soak 浸, 泡
 
violate 违反, 违背
 
vow 郑重宣布
 
zealot 热心者,狂热者