【导读】我们继续来了解“零工经济”。这种新型雇佣关系有其好处，例如工作时间灵活、能增加收入，也有其存在的问题，例如缺乏保障性、缺乏交流空间。今天的精读文段选自经济学人2020年02月08日。一起读外刊-学英语-看世界。
读报刊学英语：零工经济
How modern workers are at the mercy of ratings
现代劳动者如何受评分的摆布
【语言点】
mercy表示“仁慈、宽恕”
at the mercy of sb/sth: not able to stop sb/sth harming you because they have power or control over you 任…处置；对…无能为力；任由…摆布
e.g. I"m not going to put myself at the mercy ofthe bank. 我不想任由银行摆布。
e.g. We were at the mercy of the weather. 我们受制于天气。
e.g. 中国始终坚持国家不分大小、强弱、贫富一律平等，反对弱肉强食的丛林法则。China stands for the equality of all countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, and opposes the law of the jungle that leaves the weak at the mercy of the strong.
e.g. 我们不能允许世界重新回到“丛林法则”，不能接受弱肉强食的零和博弈。We must never allow the law of the jungle to rule the world, nor should we accept the zero-sum game that puts the weak at the mercy ofthe strong.
rating：A rating of something is a score or measurement of how good or popular it is. (针对受欢迎度和优劣性的) 评分
e.g. In the information age, data are used to decide what sort of access people have to services. Uber ratingsdetermine who gets a taxi; Airbnb reviews decide what sort of property you can stay in; dating-app algorithms choose your potential life partners. Firms use location data and payment history to sell you products. Your online searches may establish the price you pay for things. Those with a good Zhima credit score, administered by an Alibaba subsidiary, enjoy discounts and waived deposits. Those without receive few offers.
在信息时代，数据被用来决定人们可以获得什么层级的服务。优步的评分决定谁能打到出租车；爱彼迎的评论决定了你可以租到什么样的房屋；婚介 app 的算法为你选择潜在的生活伴侣。公司利用位置数据和支付记录向你销售产品。你的在线搜索记录可能会决定你购买商品的价格。那些芝麻信用分（由阿里巴巴的子公司管理）较高的人可以享受折扣和押金减免，反之则鲜有享受优惠。
原文
Ratings are at the heart of the gig economy, where workers are connected with employers and customers via the internet. Just as TripAdvisor ratings allow holidaymakers to assess hotels, Uber drivers get a score out of five. The same goes for ratings on services like TaskRabbit (for odd jobs) and Etsy (for arts-and-crafts sellers).
【语言点】
at the heart of位于…的中心
e.g. Together with algorithms, mathematics is at the heart ofthe development of artificial intelligence and technological disruption. 数学与算法，是人工智能发展和技术变革的核心。
holidaymaker：a person who is visiting a place on holiday/vacation 度假者，可以使用同义词vacationer替换
e.g. As our lives become ever more hectic and fast-paced, holidaymakersare choosing cruising as a wonderful alternative to stressful airport travel, multiple hotel bookings and the uncertainty of not knowing exactly what you’re getting.
Uber drivers get a score out of five：优步司机也按五分制被打分；留意一下这里“按多少分制打分”或者“满分5分打分”是怎么表达的？再看看以下的句子，找出表达：
e.g. In the 2016 episode “Nosedive,” people are constantly rated by friends, colleagues and even passers-by on the street. People whose score drops too low on the 5-point scaleare barred from renting nice cars, rebooking flights and even entering the building in which they work.在2016年的《声誉骤降》（Nosedive）那集中，人们不断地被朋友、同事，甚至街上的路人评分。评分采用5分制，得分过低的人被禁止租好车、改签机票，甚至被禁止进入自己工作的大楼。
odd jobs零工、零活儿
e.g. I worked forty hour weeks doing odd jobslike answering the phone or picking up lunch and dry cleaning.我每个星期工作40个小时，干的都是杂活，比如接电话、取午餐或是取干洗好的衣服。
arts and crafts手工艺
【官方译文】
零工经济的劳动者通过互联网与雇主和顾客建立联系，而评分是零工经济的核心。正如度假者可以通过猫途鹰（TripAdvisor）的评分来评价酒店，优步司机也按五分制被打分。零工平台TaskRabbit和手工艺品交易平台Etsy等服务平台上的评分也是一样的操作方式。
原文
Such systems are understandable in parts of the economy where output is difficult to measure precisely. But they can be arbitrary. People might give an Uber driver a poor rating because they are in a bad mood or because they encountered unexpected traffic disruption (the drivers themselves also rate customers, which is meant to discourage abuse).
【语言点】
discourage阻拦；阻止；劝阻
e.g. a campaign to discouragesmoking among teenagers 劝阻青少年吸烟的运动
e.g. Today, 6 April 2020, the world of sport is going through an unprecedented experience on account of the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended our daily lives. In many parts of the world, for more than 2.5 billion people, outdoor physical activities – from running to tennis, from football to cricket – have been discouragedor even forbidden.今天，2020年4月6日，体育运动世界正在经历一个前所未有的历史时期：新型冠状病毒全球大流行，已经完全改变了我们的日常生活。对于世界许多地区总计超过25亿人口而言，户外体育活动，无论是跑步还是网球，是足球比赛还是板球比赛，都不再受提倡甚至直接遭禁。
【官方译文】
在一些难以精确衡量产出的经济领域，使用这样的体系是可以理解的。但评分可能会主观随意。乘客也许会因为心情不好或者意外的交通堵塞给优步司机差评（司机也会给乘客评分，为的是防止滥用打分机制）。
原文
The result can be increased insecurity for gig-economy workers. Their income is uncertain when they are at the mercy of the assessment system. Even a tiny fall in their rating—of, say, 0.6—can harm their job prospects. A detailed study of 65 gig-economy workers found that they relished their independence but it came with a host of personal, social and economic anxieties.
【语言点】
say：to suggest or give sth as an example or a possibility 比方说；假设
e.g. Let"s take any writer, say(= for example) Dickens... 我们随便举一个作家为例，比如说狄更斯
job prospects工作前景，就业前景
relish：to get great pleasure from sth; to want very much to do or have sth 享受；从…获得乐趣；渴望；喜欢
作名词表示“great enjoyment or pleasure 享受；乐趣”
e.g. Hard study gave him a relishfor play, and play again gave him a relish for hard study; 刻苦学习让他享受玩耍的乐趣，而玩耍也是努力学习的调剂。
【官方译文】
其结果可能是加重了零工经济劳动者的不安全感。由于受制于评价体系，他们的收入变得不确定。即使评分稍微下降——比如0.6——也可能损害他们的工作前景。一份对65名零工经济劳动者的详细调研发现，虽然他们十分享受自己工作的独立性，但伴随而来的是各种个人、社交和财务上的焦虑。
以上。
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