盘点已经拥有2000年历史的十大职业(上)

　　你有过这种经历吧--曾经入住某个旅馆，然后深深地觉得自己被老板宰了，这已经不是什么稀奇事了。

　　Ancient innkeepers had such an unsavory reputation that Babylon's Code of Hamurabi from 1754 B.C.E. specified¹ that the punishment for cheating a patron who ordered a drink was death (by being thrown into the water).

　　古代客栈老板的名声一直不好，公元前1754年，古巴比伦的《汉谟拉比法典》中就详细记载着一位老板所受的刑罚，因为他隐瞒了一位顾客的死亡实情，并将其抛尸河中。

　　Perhaps you didn't know that innkeeping had been around so long. We often talk about the occupations that become obsolete², but many others have survived for centuries.

　　也许你并不知道客栈老板这个职业已经有这么长的存在历史了。我们常常会讨论那些已经消亡的职业，但是有很多职业已经存在了几个世纪，

　　Pretty much any occupation that serves a basic function – like garbage collectors, clergymen and bureaucrats³ — will likely never go away.

　　一些基础职业似乎会永远存在，比如清洁员、神职人员以及官员。

　　Curious about which occupations have stood the test of time? Here are 10 that have been in existence for at least 2,000 years, and some for much longer.

　　想知道哪些职业承受住了时间的考验？下面是十个存在时间超过了两千年的职业，其中一部分存在的时间甚至更长。

　　10.Baker⁴

　　10.烘焙师

　　Professional bakers⁶ have been around at least as far back as 3000 B.C.E., when the ancient Egyptian empire was flourishing.

　　职业烘焙师这个职业至少可追溯到公元前3000年，那时古埃及王国还处于繁盛时期。

　　Artwork on ancient tombs, statuettes and other Egyptian artifacts depict⁷ scenes of large numbers of people kneading dough⁸ or baking loaves.

　　古代陵墓、小雕像上的艺术作品，以及别的埃及艺术绘画上描绘了很多人在揉面团、烘烤一些块状面包的场景。

　　An excavation⁹ of a Giza bakery, circa 3000 B.C.E., shows that at that time, bakers used heavy pottery¹⁰ molds to make their breads; the molds were then placed on embers to bake.

　　吉萨烘焙店的出土文物显示，约公元3000年以前，烘焙师们会用很重的陶器模具制作面包，然后会把这些模具放在灰烬上烤。

　　By about 1500 B.C.E., bakers were preparing bread in clay ovens.

　　到了公元前1500年的时候开始使用粘土做的烤炉制作面包。

　　烘焙师

　　The process involved slapping a doughy¹¹ disk onto a heated oven wall, then peeling it off when it was fully¹² baked (and before it fell into the embers below).

　　制作的过程是：把面饼贴在热炉的炉壁上烘烤，烤熟之后，在面包掉到下面的灰烬上之前把它弄下来。

　　During the Middle Ages, European bakers were governed by craft guilds¹³, which determined¹⁴ the price of a loaf of bread, fines for cheating and quality standards.

　　中世纪时，欧洲的烘焙师由手工业行会统一管理，行会统一制定每块面包的单价、规定质量标准，以及处罚欺诈行为。

　　At this point in time, people were typically eating unleavened bread. Since it was hard to chew and digest, bakers crafted these breads in thin disks that people used as plates.

　　那个时候，人们通常吃的都是未发酵面包，都很难咀嚼、消化，所以烘焙师们就把面包切成薄片当成装食物的小盘子。

　　As they ate, their bread "plates" absorbed the juices from their foods so that eventually the "plate" could be easily downed.

　　这样，人们吃东西时，这些“面包盘子”就会吸收食物中的汁液，最终也让面包更容易下咽。

　　Today, bakers still flourish, whether it's at a small cupcake shop or as part of a large chain of supermarkets.

　　如今，烘焙师依然是个热门行业，无论是在小纸杯蛋糕店，还是在大型超市的供应链上，都会有他们的身影。

　　9.Butcher

　　9.屠夫

　　It's hard to say for sure when the first professional butcher opened shop.

　　很难确定第一位职业屠夫是何时开始开店做生意的。

　　But scientists and underwater archaeologists with the University of Miami found the butchered remains¹⁵ of a giant sloth¹⁶ dating back about 12,000 years in a Florida sinkhole.

　　但是迈阿密大学的科学家以及水下建筑师们在弗罗里达的一个落水洞中发现了一只巨大的树懒于12000年前被屠宰之后的残留物。

　　Whether or not this was the work of a pro⁵, we do know butchers were in business in the ancient Roman Empire by 100 C.E.

　　无论这是不是出自一个职业屠夫之手，我们现今已知，屠夫这个职业最早始于公元100年的古罗马时代。

　　A relief sculpture from that period shows a butcher in his shop, cleaver¹⁷ in hand, hooks hanging overhead and a meat-dressing table nearby.

　　一个古罗马时期的浮雕就描绘了这样的情景：一个屠夫在他自己的店中，手中拿着剁肉刀，头顶上悬挂着钩子，附近有一个堆满了肉的桌子。

　　屠夫

　　The profession became more popular over the centuries until its apex¹⁸ in the 19th and 20th centuries, when meatpacking behemoths like those working out of Chicago's Union Stock Yards reigned¹⁹ over the industry and skilled meat cutters were in great demand.

　　这个职业在19世纪以及20世纪达到了巅峰，非常受欢迎，那时候芝加哥联合牲畜饲养场的肉类加工业巨头们垄断了这个产业，而这个行业需要大量熟练的切肉工人。

　　But as the 20th century wound down, supermarkets muscled out butcher shops and meat consumption began to be viewed as not so great for one's health, causing the number of butcher jobs to tumble.

　　但是在20世纪，这个职业慢慢在衰落，超市代替了肉店，并且人们意识到肉类对人体并非有百益而无一害，这让许多屠夫遭遇了职业滑铁卢。

　　However, in the early 21st century, quality products from small producers became fashionable, like craft beer, artisan cheese and locally grown specialty²⁰ meats.

　　然而，在21世纪初期，小生产商生产的高品质食品开始流行起来，比如精酿啤酒、手工奶酪以及当地特有的肉类。

　　Today, industry consultants²¹ say butchers are in demand, and higher-end butcher shops are on the rise.

　　如今，产业咨询师们说，屠夫在未来有很多选择，并且高档肉店正迎来新的发展机会。

　　8.Carpenter

　　8.木匠

　　Carpentry was another profession that flourished in ancient Egypt. Some carpenters were permanent employees of the pharaoh, while others labored²² in workshops.

　　木匠行业是兴盛于古埃及的一个行业。一部分木匠长期被法老雇佣，另一些则在车间工作。

　　Most of their business was in building tomb-related items, but they also crafted doors, window fretwork, beds and tables.

　　他们的主要工作是建造陵墓以及附属项目，同时他们也制作木质的门、细工浮雕的窗户，以及木床和木桌子等。

　　Egyptian drawings from 2,000 years ago show wood furniture, and the same has been found in tombs.

　　两千年前的古埃及绘画中就有木制家具，陵墓中出土的文物也有木制家具的身影。

　　The ancient Egyptians also invented veneering (gluing thin strips of wood together) and were the first to varnish²³ their woodwork.

　　古埃及人也发明了薄木片（用胶条黏合木条），并且首次给木材上漆。

　　木匠

　　The ancient Greeks, Romans, Chinese and Middle Easterners also had professional carpenters in their midst, constructing ships, intricately carved paneling, aqueducts and even weapons such as catapults and battering²⁴ rams²⁵.

　　在古希腊、古罗马、中国以及中东都有职业木匠的存在，他们能构建船只、镶板、引水渠以及弹弓和攻城铁槌等武器。

　　Archaeologists found a furniture shop in Pompeii while excavating²⁶ the famous site buried under volcanic²⁷ ash.

　　考古学家在发掘被火山灰掩埋的著名遗址庞贝古城时也发现了家具店存在的痕迹。

　　Today, carpentry remains a popular profession, with people learning the craft through apprenticeships, much as in the past.

　　如今，木匠行业依旧是一个受大众欢迎的职业，人们也仍似从前一般依照学徒制度学习木工。

　　Carpenters work on everything from buildings and bridges to furniture and artwork. The job market for carpenters in the U.S. is supposed to increase 24 percent from 2012 to 2022, a much higher rate than most other occupations.

　　木匠的工作领域十分广泛，从建造建筑、桥梁，到家具和艺术品制作。2012至2022年，美国木匠行业的就业率有望提高24个百分点，超出其他行业增长比率。

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