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双语的报纸

The question	问题
I've been interviewing candidates for a research job and have had a very good shortlist. The two frontrunners are both excellent - they seem bright and keen and hardworking. One is reasonably good-looking; the other is exceedingly plain - obese and with bad skin. The role is not client- facing so looks should not matter. Yet I find myself inclined to hire the person who looks more prepossessing - which is unfair as the plain one surely needs a break. What should I do?	我在为一项研究工作面试候选人，并有了一份非常好的入围名单。两位候选人都非常优秀——他们看 起来聪明、热情而且勤奋。其中一位容貌出众；另一位则过于难看——比较胖，而且皮肤不好。招聘的职位不是面向客户的，因此长相并不重要。不过我发现自己倾 向于聘用那个看起来更讨人喜欢的家伙——这有失公平，因为长相难看的人肯定也需要机会。我该怎么办呢？
Manager, female, 38	经理，女性，38岁
The answers	露西的回答
You should hire the fat and spotty one. This is not because you feel he (or she?) deserves a break - it isn't your job to play social engineer. It is because he is almost certainly better at the job than the one who is easier on the eye.	你应该聘用那个脸上长满粉刺的胖子。这不是因为你觉得他（或她？）应该得到这个机会——扮演社会工程师不是你的职责。而只是因为他几乎肯定会比那个更养眼的家伙干得更好。
You claim that the two are equally skilled and industrious. If you are right, you should hire the looker as lookers are easier to have around. But I don't think you are right.	你说两个人都同样有才能和勤勉。如果你说的是真的，你应该聘请那个容貌出众的，因为容貌出众的人更可能经验丰富。但我认为你说的不是真的。
If you read the research, it will tell you that beautiful people are more successful than ugly ones. They are paid up to 15 per cent more and they advance more quickly. This might make one inclined to choose the cute one.	如果你看到过有关研究，就会知道，漂亮的比丑陋的人更容易获得成功。他们的薪水会高出15%，而且升迁的速度更快。这或许会让人倾向于选择那个讨人喜欢的候选人。
However, if you consider the reason for this discrepancy, the odds shift towards the fatty. Beauties outperform beasts mainly because we expect them to do so. If you show people pictures of job candidates, they rate the beautiful as more trustworthy, more intelligent and more diligent than the plain. Fat people score particularly badly. One US study had people rate the obese as awkward, lazy, uncooperative and unconscientious.	然而，如果你考虑一下造成这种差距的原因，机会就会转向那个胖子。美女胜过野兽，主要是因为我 们预计他们会表现出众。如果你让人们看求职者的相片，他们会认为长得好看的比难看的人更值得信任、更聪明且更勤奋。胖人获得的评价尤其不好。美国的一项研 究发现，人们认为胖人笨拙、懒惰、缺乏团队精神，而且工作不认真尽职。
Lookist perceptions run so deep they even affect sport, where one might have thought performance would speak for itself. According to my colleague Simon Kuper's new book about football, hunks get picked more often for top teams as scouts are impressed by players who look the part.	以貌取人的观点根深蒂固，甚至渗透到了体育领域——人们或许认为，在这一领域成绩代表着一切。我的同事西蒙•库珀(Simon Kuper)写了一本关于足球的新书，书中提到，魁梧高大的男子更容易进入顶级球队，因为球探们认为这种人适合踢足球。
Thus, for your plain candidate to have got so far suggests he is far better than the other one. You should hire him at once - indeed, I hope you did so weeks ago. The only reason for not doing so is if you feel the heavy, spotty one looks so dreadful that you physically shrink from him. Then mark yourself down and hire the looker.	因此，你那位长相难看的候选人能够走到这一步，说明他远胜于另一个人。你应该立即聘用他——实际上，我希望你在几周前就已经聘用了他。拒绝聘用他的唯一理由是，如果你觉得一个满脸痘痘的胖子看起来让人感觉不舒服，会让你躲着他。如果是这样，降低标准，聘用那个养眼的人吧。
	读者的建议
No correlation	容貌与才干无关
I've managed research teams for years, and can tell you there is absolutely no correlation between looks and skill. Some of the ugliest persons are brilliant, and some of the best-looking are stupid; and vice-versa. Engage the two leading candidates in further evaluation. It may take time but one candidate surely will emerge as the best colleague and researcher.	我有着多年的研究团队管理经验，因此可以告诉你：长相与才干绝对无关。一些很丑的人非常聪明，而一些长得漂亮的家伙却十分愚蠢；反过来也是一样。你应该进一步对这两个候选人进行评估。这可能花费时间，但这样做可能会招到最好的同事和研究人员。
Anon, male	匿名，男性
	漂亮女子是威胁
Depends if the candidates are male or female. An attractive woman will be a threat to you. I use my looks to get what I want and am not ashamed to do so - a well chosen short skirt always ensures a better bonus. If there are too many pretty girls around, it's harder to pull this off. An attractive man will be a pleasure to look at.	这取决于候选人是男的还是女的。一位迷人的女性将会对你构成威胁。我凭借自己的容貌得到我想要的，并不为此感到羞愧——一件精挑细选的短裙，总是能确保得到更多的奖金。如果周围有太多的美女，搞定此事就没那么容易。一个英俊男子会让人赏心悦目。
Female, 26	女性，26岁
	员工忠诚度
Hire the plain one! After the recession ends he/she will be offered fewer enticements to leave.	聘用那个长的难看的！在经济衰退结束后，他/她离职的可能性比较小。
Consultant, male, 74	顾问，男性，74岁
	减少请假机会
Hire the slim one. Obese people are more likely to take time off owing to illness. Obesity is a lifestyle choice and so you'd not be discriminating against a person with a disability by not hiring the fat one.	聘用那个苗条的家伙。胖人更可能请病假。肥胖是一种生活方式的选择，因此你不会因没有聘用胖人，而让人觉得你在歧视残疾人。
Anon, male	匿名，男性
	坚强的员工
From personal experience, dealing with adult-onset acne makes one infinitely tougher and more resilient at work.	从我的个人经历来说，与成年期粉刺做斗争会让人无比坚强，在工作中适应能力更强。
Anon, female	匿名，女性
	长得丑但有才
Winston Churchill was overweight, unfit, drank, smoked, wasn't very good looking . . . Got the picture?	温斯顿•丘吉尔(Winston Churchill)超重、不健康、酗酒、抽烟，长得不太好看……看过照片了吗？
Banker, male 52	银行家，男性，52岁
	下一个问题
I'm about to turn 30 and have just married my partner of 11 years. We both feel emotionally ready to start a family but having a child in my current job is going to be hard as I work long hours and have a long commute. I work for a male-dominated SME and there is no precedent for working flexibly.	我快30岁了，刚刚与拍拖11年的男友结婚。我们在情感上都已做好开始家庭生活的准备，但就我目前的工作而言，抚养孩子将比较困难，因为我每天工作时间很长，上下班路途也很远。我在一家男性主宰的中小企业工作，没有灵活工作的先例。
I could look for a job nearer to home, but I love my work and new jobs are scarce. My husband is a civil servant and has brilliant flexible working entitlements, but I would resent it if he took on a strong paternal role and I was the one always out at work keeping the income coming in. How do other women juggle these conflicting demands, emotions and priorities?	我可以找一个离家近一点的工作，但我喜欢自己的工作，而且新工作机会很少。我丈夫是一个公务员，拥有非常灵活的工作权利，但我又不乐意让他充当强大父亲的角色，而自己外出工作养家。其他女性如何处理这些互相冲突的需求、感情和优先事项呢？
Professional, female, 29	职业女性，29岁
The next problem	译者/君悦