The second principle is that information technology is both the slacker’s best friend and hisdeadliest enemy. The PC iscustom-madeforthe indolent: you can give every impression of being hard at work when in fact you are doing your shopping, booking a holiday or otherwise frolickingin the cyber-waves. And thanks to mobile technology you can now continue to frolic while putting in face time in meetings. There is also a high-tech version of the jacket trick: program
your e-mails to send themselves at half past midnight or 5.30am to give your managers the impression that you are a Stakhanovite.
【语言点】
slacker偷懒的人；怠惰的人
e.g. He's not a slacker, he's the best worker they've got. 他不是个偷懒的人，他是他们最好的员工。
deadly（可能）致命的，致死的
e.g. deadly poison 剧毒
deadly还表示：extreme， complete ，极度的，十足的，彻底的
e.g. They are deadlyenemies. 他们是不共戴天的仇敌。
custom-made：designed and made for a particular person （为某人）设计订做的，订制的
e.g. a custom-made suit. 一套定做的套装
e.g. The custom-madeobject, now restricted to the rich, will be within everyone's reach.目前这种定制生产的产品还只有少数富人能够享用，到那时便人人都可享用了。
e.g. In this year's Valentine's Day, couples in China prefer custom-made and creative giftsthan traditional ones. 今年的情人节，中国的情侣们更喜欢定制的、有创意的礼物
类似的同义词还有tailor-made, custom-built
e.g. a tailor-made course of study 专门设置的课程
e.g. custom-built多用于汽车等，例如a custom-built car（定制的汽车）
indolent: not wanting to work 懒惰的；懒散的；好逸恶劳的
the indolent: the+adj.表示一类人，这里就指“懒人，偷懒的人”
frolicking in the cyber-waves：对surf in the internet的生动替换，“在网络浪潮中嬉戏”，上网上得贼开心呢
frolic/frlk/嬉戏；嬉闹
e.g. children frolicking on the beach 在海滩上嬉戏的儿童
Stakhanovite：（前苏联）斯达汉诺夫工作者，用来指代特别勤奋而且多产的人、满腔热情的人
e.g. Before long, however, Stakhanovitebossesclashed with a restive and outspoken factory floor. 然而没过多久，斯达汉诺夫式的老板们就和一群难以驾驭、直言不讳的普通工人发生了冲突。
face time（与同事等的）面对面（交流）时间，会晤时间
【参考译文】
第二条法则是，信息技术既是懒人最好的朋友，也是他不共戴天的仇敌。个人计算机简直是为懒人量身定做的:你可以给每个人留下一种努力工作的印象，而实际上你可能正在购物、度假或在网络上娱乐。有了现在的移动技术，你还可以在面对面视频会议时继续娱乐。还有一种高科技版本的“夹克衫把戏”:把你的电子邮件设置在12点半或早上五点半自动发送，让你的经理以为你是特别勤恳、充满工作热情的员工。
原文4
But there is a dark sideto IT: one estimate suggests that 27m employees around the world have their internet use monitored. Dealing with this threat requiresvigilance: do everything you can to hide your browsing history. It may also require something that does not come naturally to skivers: political activism. Make a huge fuss about how even the smallest concessions on the principle of absolute data privacy will create a slippery slope to a totalitarian society. Skiving is like liberty: it can flourish only if Big Brother is kept at bay.
【语言点】
a dark side黑暗的一面，指不利的一面
e.g. Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.恐惧是通向黑暗之路。恐惧导致愤怒。愤怒引发仇恨。仇恨造成痛苦。
vigilance/vdlns/ 警戒，警觉
e.g. 有流行病学专家认为，疫情下降的拐点已经出现，尽管仍需保持高度警惕。 According to some top epidemiologists, the inflection point of the epidemic has already arrived, though vigilanceis still strongly advised.
make a fuss about sth: If you make a fuss or kick up a fuss about something, you become angry or excited about it and complain. 大发牢骚
e.g. I don't know why everybody makes such a fuss about a few mosquitoes. 我不知道为什么所有人都为几只蚊子发这么大的牢骚。
e.g. Bushfires in Australia have been burning for more than four months. With high temperatures and severe drought, the continent has an annual fire season that has nothing to make a fuss about. 澳大利亚的丛林大火已经燃烧了四个多月。由于高温和严重的干旱，澳洲大陆每年都有火灾季节，没有什么值得大惊小怪的。
a slippery slope使人滑向深渊的斜坡；危险的境地; 不断恶化的局势; slippery是滑的；slope是斜坡。
e.g. The company started down theslipperyslopeofbelieving that they knew better than the customer. 该公司开始走下坡路了，他们相信自己比顾客更明白。
totalitarian/ttlterin/ 极权主义的
Big Brother老大哥，用来指控制人们思想行为的虚伪领导者
keep sb/sth at bay不让（敌人）接近；防止（问题恶化）
e.g. Charlotte bit her lip to keepthetearsat bay.夏洛特咬住嘴唇不让眼泪流出来。
e.g. Chinadaily一篇关于欧洲加强控制病毒传播的新闻说到：Astrid Vabret, a professor of virology medicine at Caen University Hospital, told France 24 that European airports could help in the fight tokeep the disease at bay by using thermal cameras to detect passengers with a temperature-a move already in place in China.卡昂大学医院(Caen University Hospital)病毒学医学教授阿斯特丽德·瓦布瑞特(Astrid Vabret)对《法国24小时》(France 24)表示，欧洲的机场可以通过使用热成像摄像机检测体温来帮助控制疫情——中国已经采取了这一举措。
e.
g. 实现宗教信仰自由，必须远离宗教战争与冲突the freedom of religious belief can only be obtained by keeping religious wars and conflicts at bay.
【参考译文】
但信息技术也有不利的一面：据估计，全球有2700万员工的互联网使用受到监控。应对这种威胁需要警惕：尽你所能隐藏你的浏览历史。此外，你还需要想到某些与懒汉不太搭的方式：政治激进主义。对数据绝对隐私原则问题要表现得非常在意、大发牢骚，哪怕在这个问题上做出最微小的让步，也会让人滑向极权社会的危险境地。偷懒就像获得自由这件事一样：只有当老大哥被挡在门外时，偷懒才能高枕无忧。
以上。
——The fear of loss is a path to the dark side.