Every Monday, alarms go off, and people get ready for the start of the school or their workweek. Five days later, on Friday afternoon, students and workers celebrate the beginning of the weekend. Almost all around the world, people follow the same schedule: five days of learning or laboring and two days of rest and relaxation. Have you ever wondered why everyone sticks to this routine?
Let’s address the issue of the “seven-day week” first. This dates back to ancient Babylon, some 4,000 years ago. It was all about the seven classical planets in the solar system
The Sun, the Moon, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus, and Saturn. As keen astronomers and astrologers, the Babylonians attached great importance to the solar system, which influenced how they tracked the days. The Babylonians believed in many gods and associated them with the seven classical planets, which was why they settled on seven days in a week.
Photo courtesy of Shutterstock 照片：Shutterstock 提供
The concept of the “five-day workweek,” on the other hand, is a much more recent invention. That makes sense if you consider that before the Industrial Revolution, most people lived on farms, which required daily labor and chores. The idea of taking days off from work only emerged with the rise of industrial work. In fact, the earliest recorded use of the term “weekend” occurred in 1879.
The idea of a weekend as we know it didn’t immediately catch on, though. Many jobs required workers to be on-site seven days a week. However, the need for time off for church on Sunday or temple on Saturday pushed employers to permit small breaks in workers’ schedules. Also, as labor unions grew more powerful, workers called for and received two full days off each week, as well as more reasonable working hours and safer working conditions. Later in the 1930s, during the Great Depression, the two-day weekend became the norm, since a shorter workweek was considered a remedy for underemployment.
每逢星期一，鬧鐘一響，人們就準備好開始去上學或去工作的一週。五天之後，在星期五下午，學生及工作者慶祝週末的開始。幾乎在世界各地，人們都遵循相同的日程安排：五天學習或工作，兩天休息和放鬆。你是否曾經想過為什麼每個人都遵守這個慣例？
讓我們先來探討「一週七天」這個議題。這可以追溯到古巴比倫，大約四千年前。這全關乎太陽系中的七顆古典行星——太陽、月亮、火星、水星、木星、金星、土星。身為熱衷的天文學家和占星家，巴比倫人非常重視太陽系，其影響了他們記錄日子的方式。巴比倫人信仰許多神祇，並將這些神祇與七顆古典行星聯繫在一起，這就是為什麼他們決定一週有七天。
另一方面，「五天工作制」的概念是更加近期才發明的。若你考慮到在工業革命前，大多數的人們都還住在農場（編按：工業革命前，人們多半從事農牧業），而農場需要人們每天勞動和做雜事，那這件事就十分合理了。休假的概念是隨著工業性質工作的興起才出現的。事實上，最早記載「週末」一詞的使用出現於1879年。
不過，我們所知這個週末的概念並沒有立刻流行開來。許多工作要求工作者一週七天要實地到場工作。然而，週日上教堂或週六去寺廟的休假需求，促使僱主允許工作者的日程安排中有片刻的休息時間。此外，隨著工會力量愈來愈壯大，工作者要求並獲得每週兩個全天休假，以及更合理的工作時間和更安全的工作環境。接著在1930年代後期的經濟大蕭條期間，兩天的週休成為常態，因為縮短一週工作的時間被認為是解決就業不足問題的一種補救措施。
What Did You Learn?
1. What do we learn about the term “seven-day week” in the passage?
(A) It was created after the industrial revolution.
(B) It refers to the eight planets in the solar system.
(C) It was first mentioned in the 19th century.
(D) It’s related to the Babylonians’ belief system.
2. Which of the following was NOT a factor in the adoption of a two-day weekend?
(A) Religious services.
(B) Stronger worker rights.
(C) Increased farm laborers.
(D) Dealing with employment issues.
答案：1. (D) 2. (C)
Word in Use
1. relaxation n. 放鬆
Meditation is a good relaxation technique for stress relief.
冥想是一種用於紓解壓力好的放鬆技巧。
2. keen a. 熱衷的
The keen student works hard on her research.
這位熱衷的學生在她的研究上相當努力。
3. attach vt. 繫住，使附著
attach importance to. . . 重視…
Amy attached great importance to science and technology education for her children.
艾咪十分重視孩子們的自然與科技教育。
4. concept n. 概念，觀念
The central concept of the film is very unique.
這部電影的中心概念非常獨特。
5. invention n. 發明（物）
The invention of Internet slang has recently become a research interest for linguists.
網路流行語的發明近期已成為語言學家的研究興趣。
Practical Phrases
1. go off （鈴聲、鬧鐘等）響起來
Ted was late for work this morning, because he didn’t hear the alarm clock going off.
泰德今天早上上班遲到，因為他沒有聽到鬧鐘響。
2. stick to N／V-ing 堅守
You can either stick to your boring life or step out of your “comfort zone.”
你可以堅守無聊的生活，亦或踏出你的「舒適圈」。
3. date back to+時間 回溯至…（某時）
The tribe’s annual hunting event dates back to hundreds of years ago.
該部落的年度狩獵活動可以追溯到數百年前。
4. associate A with B 將A與B聯繫在一起
Many people associate the cosmetic brand’s image with youth and vitality.
許多人將該化妝品的品牌形象與青春活力聯繫在一起。
聽文章朗讀及講解: https://ivy.pse.is/455bfu
本文出自常春藤解析英語雜誌: www.ivy.com.tw
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