Women are more likely than men to take sick days and are happier to give an embarrassing excuse for taking unplanned leave, according to a new survey.

　　一项新调查显示，女性请病假的次数比男性多，而且她们更乐意为临时请假编造令人尴尬的借口。

　　Research carried out for Sovereign Health Care found employees were more likely to take an unwarrantedday off this month than at any other time of year.

　　王者医疗开展的调查发现，员工在一月份无端请假的次数超过了一年中的任何其他时候。

　　And women were less likely than men to believe a colleague who phoned in sickwas genuinely ill.

　　另外，跟男性相比，女性更不可能相信打电话请病假的同事是真的病倒了。

　　Sovereign Health Care polled 1,360 people and found more than half (56%) of the female participants admitted to pulling a sickiewhen not really ill, compared with just a third of men.

　　王者医疗共调查了1360个人，其中超过一半（56%）的女性受访者承认她们在没病的时候请过病假，而男性中这一比例只有三分之一。

　　Both sexes agreed that using "women's issues" was the most common embarrassing excuse to a boss for being off.

　　男女受访者都认为，在向老板提出的请假理由中，“妇科问题”是最常见的令人尴尬的请假理由。

　　The poll also highlighted some extreme – perhaps far-fetched– reasons for absence.

　　该调查还重点列出了一些不寻常的、甚至是很牵强的请假理由。

　　They included:

　　这些理由包括：

　　* My dog has fallen and broken all its legs

　　* There's a squirrel in my lounge

　　* I've been away for the weekend and need to stay at home because my cat's missed me

　　* A pigeon has just flown into my flat

　　* I can't find my shoes

　　* I forgot I worked here

　　* I'm locked in the house

　　* I can't afford the bus because you don't pay me enough

　　* My boyfriend has just been shot in the foot

　　* My car has frozen to the ground

　　* 我的狗跌断了四条腿

　　* 我家客厅里有只松鼠

　　* 我周末没回家，我们家猫想我了，所以我得呆在家里

　　* 一只鸽子飞到我公寓里了

　　* 我找不到我的鞋

　　* 我忘了我在这工作

　　* 我被锁在家里了

　　* 我付不起坐公交的钱，因为你给的薪水太低了

　　* 我男朋友脚上挨了一枪

　　* 我的车被冻在地上了

　　Russ Piper, Sovereign Health Care chief executive, said: "Workplace absence is an emotive subject, particularly when so many employees now feel they have to do more just to keep their jobs, without having to pick up the slackfrom others who are taking, perhaps unjustified, days off.

　　王者医疗的总裁拉斯 派珀说：“很多人不来上班是在闹情绪，这样他们就不必在别人可能无正当理由的情况下请假的时候，干别人的那份活儿。这种情况目前尤为突出，很多员工现在觉得他们干得比以前多仅仅是为了保住工作。”

　　"Managing absence can be a complex process, but employers have a responsibility to all members of staff to ensure they are motivated and supported and that their systems are not open to abuse."

　　“应对员工的缺席问题可能会是一个复杂的过程，但是雇主们有责任保证所有员工的工作积极性，确保公司能给予他们必要的支持，同时要强调公司不允许员工钻制度的漏洞。”

　　Vocabulary:

　　unwarranted:not reasonable or necessary; not appropriate（不合理的；不必要的；无正当理由的；不适当的）

　　phone in sick:打电话请病假

　　sickie:a day when you say that you are ill/sick and cannot go to work when it is not really true（称病缺勤；病假）

　　far-fetched:very difficult to believe（难以置信的；牵强的）

　　slack:（绳索等的）松弛部分；闲置部分，短缺部分