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Study says drinking pays 飲酒收益高?
Monday, Sep 25, 2006,Page 15
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Two men make social contacts at a bar in the US city of Boston. 兩名男子在美國波士頓市一家酒吧與人交際.
PHOTO: AP
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M any people think that drinking alcohol is fun, but did you know that it might actually put more money in your bank account?
A recent US study shows that people who consume alcohol earn significantly more at their jobs than non-drinkers.
The study published in the Journal of Labor Research concluded that drinkers earn 10 to 14 percent more than teetotalers. “Social drinking builds social capital,” said Edward Stringham, an economics professor at San Jose State University and co-author of the study with fellow researcher Bethany Peters.
“Social drinkers are out networking, building relationships and adding contacts to their BlackBerries that result in bigger paychecks.”
The authors acknowledged that their study went against research released in 2000 by the Harvard School of Public Health, but said that their survey backed up the theory. The most likely explanation is that drinkers have a wider range of social contacts that help provide better job and business opportunities. “Drinkers may be able to socialize more with clients and co-workers, giving drinkers an advantage in important relationships,” the researchers said.
They also said these conclusions provide arguments against policies that want to curb alcohol use on university campuses and at public venues.
“One of the unintended consequences of alcohol restrictions is that they push drinking into private settings. This occurred during the Alcohol Prohibition of 1920-1933 and is happening on college campuses today. By preventing people from drinking in public, anti-alcohol policies eliminate one of the most important aspects of drinking: increased social capital.”
(AFP)
許多人認為飲酒樂趣多，不過你知道，飲酒可能真的讓你收入進帳更多？
美國一項最新研究顯示，飲酒者的工作所得明顯比不飲酒者高出許多。
刊登在《勞工研究期刊》的報告結論說，飲酒者的收入比滴酒不沾者多出10%到14%。聖荷西州立大學經濟學教授愛德華．史崔漢說︰「在社交場合飲酒可累積社會資本。」他與同僚研究員貝瑟妮．彼得斯一起撰寫這份報告。
「社交飲酒者出外與人交際，建立關係，在黑莓機（一種個人通訊PDA）上增加通訊聯絡人，帶來更多收入。」
作者坦承，他們的研究與二○○○年哈佛大學公共衛生學院公布的研究結果相左，不過他們也說這份研究有理論根據。最可能的解釋是，飲酒者的社交圈較廣，人脈有助於提供更好的工作機會和商機。研究員說︰「喝酒的人或許能與客戶及同事更頻繁地交際，這讓他們在重要關係上佔優勢。」
他們也提到，這些結論對於欲在大學校園與公共場所限制酒精的政策，提供了反對的論點。
「限制酒精無意中導致的結果之一，就是迫使人們私下飲酒。這在一九二○年到一九三三年下達禁酒令時曾發生過，也發生在今日大學校園。藉由禁止人們在公開場合飲酒，反酒精政策卻消弭了飲酒最重要的層面之一︰提升的社會資本。」
（法新社/翻譯︰賴美君）
| TODAY'S WORDS 今日單字 |
| 1. teetotaler n.
滴酒不沾者 (di1 jiu3 bu4 zhan1 zhe3)
例: Jack never drinks even a little. He is a complete teetotaler.
(傑克從未喝過一滴酒。他完全是個滴酒不沾的人。)
2. network v.i.
建立社交網絡 (jian4 li4 she4 jiao1 wang3 luo4)
例: Ann doesn’t really like to go to her office’s social events, but she knows they give her a good chance to network.
(安不太喜歡參加辦公室的社交活動，不過她知道這些活動提供了她建立社交網絡的好機會。)
3. curb v.t.
抑制 (yi4 zhi4)
例: My friend Sara takes diet pills to curb her appetite.
(我的朋友莎拉服用減肥藥來抑制食慾。)
4. unintended adj.
非刻意的 (fei1 ke4 yi4 de5)
例: The new drug wasn’t supposed to make you gain weight; that was an unintended side effect.
(那種新藥不該讓你的體重增加，這是意外的副作用。)
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| Say What? 說說看 |
| social capital 社會資本
The term social capital is used to describe your interactions with people as a kind of wealth. Social contacts are not material things, but they can help you gain material wealth, which makes them a type of capital. For example, if you sell houses, you spend a lot of time outside of work meeting a lot of new people and building relationships. These people remember you for being fun and friendly, and when they are buying or selling a home, they call you. You earn many commissions as a result of your relationships. These relationships are called social capital.
「社會資本」這個詞是用來描述你與他人的互動關係，可以視為一種財富。社會人脈並非是物質的東西，卻可以幫助你贏得物質上的財富，將社會人脈變成一種資本。例如，假如你要賣房子，你花了很多工作之外的時間會見陌生人、建立關係。這些人因為你有趣且友善而記得你，當他們要買賣房子時，就會打電話給你。你因為關係良好而賺進許多佣金。這些關係就稱為社會資本。
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| OUT LOUD 對話練習 |
| Tim: What’s with the circles under your eyes? You look exhausted.
Brad: I was out until five o’clock this morning. I feel like a train wreck.
Tim: Why did you stay out so ridiculously late?
Brad: Oh, you know, our business meeting just turned into a whiskey-drinking festival. I made some good contacts though ...
Tim: Uh, can you remember their names?
提姆︰你眼睛下的黑眼圈是怎麼回事？你看起來疲憊極了。
布萊德︰我凌晨五點才回家。我覺得自己如被火車輾過一樣。
提姆︰你為什麼誇張地待到那麼晚？
布萊德︰噢，我們公司的聚會變成了威士忌飲酒狂歡。不過我建立了良好人脈……
提姆︰那你記得他們的名字嗎？
a train wreck 如被火車輾過一樣慘
If you “feel like a train wreck,” you feel physically awful, as though you’ve really been in a train accident. The phrase “look like a train wreck” is also used to describe a poor physical appearance. For example: “Have you seen Chris? He hasn’t showered or slept in three days. He looks like a train wreck.”
假如你感覺自己像「a train wreck」，表示你身體不適，好像真的發生火車意外一樣。「look like a train wreck」這個片語也可以用來描述外表看起來很糟。例如︰「你看到克里斯了嗎？他已經三天沒洗澡也沒睡了。他看起來就像被火車輾過一樣」。 |
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