考研英语阅读理解中的文章，很多来自一些外刊杂志方面的题材。接下来，北京文都考研网为扩宽2020考研学子的知识面，整理了考研英语经济学人:韩国社会的等级制度，供考生参考。
2020考研英语经济学人:韩国社会的等级制度
The word for “condescending old person” in Korean
一个表示“充满优越感的年长者”的韩文词汇
What ”kkondae” reveals about young South Koreans’ struggle against hierarchy
“kkondae”一词揭示了韩国年轻人对等级制度的抗争
Do you feel that nobody around you shares your commitment to work? Do you offer unsolicited advice on the fashion choices or love lives of your younger colleagues? Are you irked when a junior office-mate fails to fetch you coffee?
你是否觉得周围没有人像你一样投身于工作?你是否会不请自来地对年轻同事的时尚选择或爱情生活提出建议?你是否会因为晚辈同事没有为你端咖啡而感到生气?
Beware: you are well into kkondae territory. South Korean youngsters suggest that you engage in quiet reflection to help you overcome your inflated sense of self-importance. You have to earn their respect. You cannot take it for granted just because you are older.
小心：你正在步入 kkondae 之列。韩国的年轻人劝你静静地反思，以克服自我膨胀感。你必须赢得他们的尊重，而不能倚老卖老。
Kkondae is a modern word of uncertain origin—perhaps an adaptation of the English word “condescend”. It means an older person, usually a man, who expects unquestioning obedience from people who are junior.
Kkondae 是一个起源不明的现代词汇，可能是英文单词“condescend”的同义词。它的含义是，一个年长的人(通常是指男性)希望从他的后辈那里得到服从。
A kkondae is quick to criticise but will never admit his own mistakes. He retaliates against people who challenge his authority. South Koreans apply the word to everyone from narcissistic bosses to overbearing uncles and corrupt politicians.
Kkondae 喜欢批评别人，但从来不会承认自己的错误。Kkondae 会对那些挑战的人进行报复。韩国人会用这个词来描述自恋的老板、蛮横的叔叔以及贪腐的政客。
There are websites offering tests of kkondae-ness and tips on how to avoid the condition. A television channel recently dedicated a talk show to discussion of it.
一些网站会提供 kkondae-ness 测试，并且还会告诉人们如何避免成为一名 kkondae。最近，一家韩国电视台甚至专门开办了一档脱口秀节目对 kkondae 进行讨论。
South Korea is notorious for its suffocating workplace hierarchies based on age, sex and length of service. Many South Koreans are outraged when younger colleagues or relatives fail to use the correct honorific to address them.
韩国以其令人窒息的职场等级制度(一种基于年龄、性别和工龄的制度)而臭名昭著。许多韩国人会因年轻的同事或亲戚没有使用正确的敬语来称呼他们而感到生气。
It is difficult for office workers to decline invitations to after-work drinking sessions or weekend hiking expeditions with the boss. During the lunar new year and autumn harvest festivals, women grudgingly spend days cooking and cleaning at their husband’s parents’ homes, with no help from the men.
对于职场人士来说，他们很难拒绝老板下班后的酒会或周末远足旅行的邀请。在农历新年和秋收节期间，妇女们很不情愿地花几天时间在丈夫的父母家做饭和打扫卫生，而她们的丈夫从来不会帮忙。
“I have to help my mother, and my brother just sits there doing nothing,” says Park Ji-soo, a 24-year-old student. “Everyone thinks this is completely normal.”
24岁的学生朴智秀说：“我必须帮我的母亲做事，而我的哥哥却坐在那里无所事事，每个人都认为这完全正常。”
However, the popularity of kkondae as an insult is a sign of change. Open rebellion against hierarchical strictures is still rare and frowned upon. But young people are beginning to question authority. Ms Park says she stands up to her brother, if not her older relatives.
然而，贬义词 kkondae 的流行为我们释放了一种改变的迹象。虽然公开反对等级制度的现象很少见，并且也不被人们所接受。但年轻人开始发出质疑了。朴智秀表示，如果不是她那些年长的亲戚，她会大胆地向她哥哥进行反抗。
Women report that they feel a bit less pressure than before to defer to men. Mothers can even persuade their husbands to hold their babies in public and (less frequently) to help with housework.
女性们声称，她们觉得顺从男性的压力比以前小一些了。妈妈们甚至能够说服她们的丈夫在公共场合抱着孩子以及(偶尔)帮她们做家务了。
Some youngsters, nudged along by the recent introduction of a 52-hour legal limit to the work week, are starting to say “no” to boozing after work. In private they are also paying more attention to their individual needs and less to gaining society’s approval, says Cho Han Hae-joang, an anthropologist at Yonsei University in Seoul.
最近出台的每周工作52小时的法律限制也让一些年轻人开始对下班后的酒会说“不”。首尔延世大学的人类学家赵汉海表示，私下里，韩国年轻人也开始更加关注自己的个人需求而非获得社会认可了。
An ancient culture of authority is unlikely to disappear overnight. Young people are becoming more willing to challenge hierarchy, but what will happen as they get older? Some of today’s young upstarts will not achieve the success they dream of.
古老的文化不可能在一夜之间消失。年轻人越来越愿意挑战等级制度了，但当他们长大后会发生什么呢?今天的一些年轻的自命不凡者或许无法取得他们梦寐以求的成功。
They may find themselves yearning for the kind of deference their elders once automatically enjoyed. Today’s kkondae critics may grow up to be kkondae themselves. But whether tomorrow’s young people will let them get away with that is doubtful.
他们可能会发现，自己同样渴望得到长辈们曾经自然而然就享有的那种尊重。今天批评 kkondae 的人在长大后可能也会成为 kkondae。但是，未来的年轻人是否会让他们享受理所当然的尊重就不得而知了。
【重难点词汇】
condescend [,kɑndɪsɛnd] vi. 屈尊;俯就;(对某人)表现出优越感
hierarchy [haɪərɑrki] n. 层级;等级制度
unsolicited [ʌnsəlɪsɪtɪd] adj. 未经请求的;主动提供的
irk [ɝk] vt. 使烦恼;使厌倦
obedience [əbidjəns] n. 顺从;服从;遵守
narcissistic [,nɑrsɪsɪstɪk] adj. 自恋的;自我陶醉的
suffocate [sʌfəket] vi. 受阻，受扼制;窒息 vt. 压制，阻碍;使……窒息
honorific [ɑnərɪfɪk] adj. 尊敬的;敬称的 n. 敬语
grudgingly [grʌdʒiŋli] adv. 勉强地;不情愿地
以上是北京文都考研网给出的“2020考研英语经济学人:韩国社会的等级制度”，希望对备考2020考研英语的考生有所帮助!祝2020考研顺利!
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