pilot 试点；试行

Thousands of UK workers are starting a four-day work week from Monday with no cut to their pay in the largest trial of its kind.

work week 工作周;一周的工作时间

with no cut to their pay 工资不减

trial 试验

The pilot, which will last for six months, involves 3,300 workers spanning 70 companies, ranging from providers of financial services to a fish-and-chip restaurant.

last for 持续

involve 涵盖

span 跨越；横跨；持续；贯穿；包括(广大地区)；涵盖(多项内容)

range from to 范围从…到…

fish and chip 炸鱼加土豆条；炸鱼薯条

During the program, workers receive 100% of their pay for working only 80% of their usual week, in exchange for promising to maintain 100% of their productivity.

in exchange for 用来交换

promise to 许诺；承诺

productivity 生产率；生产效率

The program is being run by not-for-profit 4 Day Week Global, Autonomy, a think tank, and the 4 Day Week UK Campaign in partnership with researchers from Cambridge University, Oxford University and Boston College.

not-for-profit 非盈利性的

think tank 智囊团；智库

in partnership with 和…合作/搭档

Sienna O'Rourke, brand manager at Pressure Drop Brewing, an independent brewery in London, told CNN Business that the company's biggest goal was to improve the mental health and well-being of its employees.

brand manager 品牌经理

brewery 酿酒商

mental health 心理健康

well-being 幸福；福利

"The pandemic [has] made us think a great deal about work and how people organize their lives," she said. "We're doing this to improve the lives of our staff and be part of a progressive change in the world."

pandemic 疫情

a great deal 许多

think about 思考

progressive 进步的；先进的；开明的；稳步的；逐步的；稳定发展的

Given the company manufactures and ships products, workers have less flexibility about when and where they work, O'Rourke said. But any difficulties in navigating holiday and sick leave would be tackled as a team.

given 鉴于；考虑到

manufacture 生产；制造

ship 运输

flexibility 灵活性

navigate 找到正确方法(对付困难复杂的情况)

sick leave 病假

tackle 解决；应对

Until now, Iceland had conducted the biggest pilot of a shorter working week between 2015 and 2019, with 2,500 public sector workers involved in two large trials. Those trials found no corresponding drop in productivity among participants, and a dramatic increase in employee well-being.

until now 到现在为止，迄今

conduct 实施；进行

public sector 公营部门；公共部门

（be）involved in 参与

corresponding 符合的；相应的；相关的

participant 参与人员

dramatic 巨大的

Calls to shorten the working week have gathered steam in recent years in several countries. As millions of employees switched to remote work during the pandemic — cutting onerous commuting time and costs — calls for greater flexibility have only grown louder.

shorten（short）使…变短

gather steam 高涨

switch to 切换至；转换到

remote work 远程办公

onerous [ˈoʊnərəs] 繁重的；艰巨的；费力的；令人焦虑的

commuting 通勤

Government-backed trials are set to take place in Spain and Scotland later this year, the 4 Day Week Campaign said in a press release.

-backed …支持的

be set to 将要…

take place 发生；举行；进行

press release 新闻通稿

Joe O'Connor, CEO of 4 Day Week Global, said that the workers have shown they can work "shorter and smarter."

"As we emerge from the pandemic, more and more companies are recognizing that the new frontier for competition is quality of life, and that reduced-hour, output-focused working is the vehicle to give them a competitive edge," he said in the statement.

emerge from 摆脱；脱离

recognize 意识到；认可，接受，赞成

frontier 边疆

reduced-hour 时间减少的

output-focused 专注产出的

vehicle [ˈviːəkl] 手段；工具

give sb an edge 给人一种优势

Researchers will measure the impact the new working pattern will have on productivity levels, gender equality, the environment as well as worker well-being.

measure 测量

have impact on 对…有影响

working pattern 工作模式

gender equality 性别平等

出处：头条号 @读原版新闻学英语