《中英對照讀新聞》One in five UK workers make up “sickie” excuse五分之一的英國勞工捏造請病假的理由

◎張沛元

One in five British workers admits making up an excuse to call in sick at work, often citing food poisoning or a cold, a report said.

每5名英國勞工中就有1人坦承，（他們）會捏造理由請病假，通常是說自己食物中毒或感冒，一份報如此說。

Only a third of managers believe staff who call in sick are genuinely ill, research by health firm BUPA showed.

只有3分之1的經理人相信，請病假的員工真的生病，保健公司BUPA所做的研究顯示。

Many bosses said they suspected the main reasons for absences were workers wanting a long weekend or recovering from a hangover.

許多老闆說，他們懷疑（員工）請病假的主要理由，是想放一個長週末假期，或要（多一點時間以便）從宿醉中清醒過來。

"This research proves that not only are people taking time off when they are not sick but that managers admit they are never sure if someone is genuinely ill or not," said BUPA's Ann Greenwood.

「這份研究不僅證明人們會在沒有生病的時候休假，也證明經理人坦承他們從來都無法確定員工究竟是真病還是裝病，」BUPA公司的人員安•葛林伍德說。

Two thirds of 200 managers surveyed said staff who were repeatedly off work should have their pay stopped.

200名受訪的經理人中有3分之2說，不斷請假的員工的薪水應該停止給付。

新聞辭典

make up：意思很多，包括補充，組成，化妝、言歸於好、舖床、補考等等，在本文中的意思是捏造，虛構。make up在一個句子中究竟是什麼意思，必須根據上下文來判斷。例句：They are fighting and making up all the time.（他們一直吵架又和好。）

a third：3分之1，也可寫成one third，例如a/one third of teenagers，是「3分之1的青少年」。若是3分之2，two thirds，third必須加s。

take off：從工作時間（或正在做的事情）中抽出時間；休息；休假。至於休息多久的時間，可以寫在take與off間。例如：She took two weeks off in February.（她在2月份休假兩週。）