在线竞赛：1份工，6个词

    开门见山：如果被问到靠什么谋生，有何看法，我想大部分人都能写出一本书来。但是，如果让你浓缩到六个单词来概述，你会怎么说呢？

    而这正是《史密斯》（Smith）杂志和咨询行业巨头美世咨询（Mercer）发起的一个在线竞赛的考题。最具智慧的答案将入选2012年初面世的《1份工，6个词》（Six Words About the Work Life）一书。

    表现最佳的参赛者还将赢得iPads和PlayBooks平板电脑。然而，《史密斯》杂志的创始人拉里•史密斯说：“大部分人只是想和大家分享他们的故事”。

    截至目前收到的答案包括：

    “助理费力不讨好，但却必不可少。”

    “中学辅导员，青少年问题专家。”

    “切换任务，消磨时间。”

    “财务小姐，人见人爱。”

    “图书管理员在此，禁止喧哗。”

    “帮助病人平静地离去，我深感欣慰。”

    “调酒师兼婚姻咨询师。”

    “磁性写字板。图表。上升曲线。”

    “巧克力爱好者……让生活更甜蜜。”

    “弃理从文：我是怪才。”

    “你希望什么时间完工？”

    有一些参赛者描述的则是他们自己或他们老板的管理技巧：

    • “轻声细语，保持距离。”

    •“广为纳谏，从善如流。”

    • “诚实而不迂腐！”

    •“有事没事就爱找茬！”

    史密斯称，比赛将一直持续到8月27日， “9月1日左右” 优胜者将得到通知。

    值得注意的是，过去五年来，该杂志一直在围绕不同的主题开展六词概述系列竞赛，吸引了美国、英国和加拿大50多万网友的参与，史密斯预言：“浓缩工作生活的精华容易让人上瘾。”

    或许只是一乐。

    （翻译 乔树静）

    Talk about getting straight to the point. Most of us could write a book when asked what we do for a living and how we feel about it. But if you were to boil it all down to six words, what would you say?

    That's the topic of a contest cosponsored by Smith magazine and consulting giant Mercer. The submissions judged to be the cleverest will appear in a book called Six Words About the Work Life, due out in early 2012.

    A few top winners will also receive prizes like iPads and PlayBooks. But, says the magazine's founder Larry Smith, "most people just like to share their story."

    Some of the entries so far:

    • "Thankless, but everyone needs an assistant."

    • "Middle school counselor. Teenage angst specialist."

    • "Between windows, alt-tabbing the hours."

    • "Who doesn't love the payroll lady?"

    • "I am librarian, hear me whisper."

    • "Helping patients die comfortably comforts me."

    • "Work as bartender and marriage counselor."

    • "Dry erase board. Graphs. Upward slopes."

    • "Amateur chocolatier…making life little sweeter."

    • "Writer, former engineer: I speak geek."

    • "You want it done by when?"

    A few contestants describe their, or their bosses', management techniques:

    • "Led in whispers, from a distance."

    • "Asked for ideas and used them."

    • "Integrity mixed with dose of tact!"

    • "Kicked my a** because he cared!"

    The contest runs until August 27, and winners will be notified "on or around September 1," Smith says.

    Noting that his magazine's Six-Word Memoir projects on various topics over the past five years have drawn more than half a million responses from the U.S., Great Britain, and Canada, Smith predicts that "distilling one's work life down to its essence will prove to be addictive."

    Or maybe just kind of fun.