As Germany wilts in sweltering temperatures, a manager in a Berlin government office told his 260 sweating workers to go home, a newspaper reported Friday, undermining Germans' reputation for efficiency.
According to the BZ local tabloid, the boss of the Berlin office for tax evasion investigations sent an email to his employees saying: "Everyone should decide for themselves if they feel up to working in these temperatures."
"This decision should be taken before you pass out ... taking time off work today could in many cases be a wise decision which would have my full understanding," wrote Erik Schliephake in the email printed by BZ.
"With greetings bathed in sweat," the boss signed off the note.
The BZ carried the story on its front page with the headline: "Whoever sweats gets to go home."
Berliners have been baking in a seemingly relentless heatwave in recent weeks, with the mercury frequently soaring into the high 30s Celsius (high 90s Fahrenheit) and July on course to be the hottest on record.
这段时间德国的天气酷热难耐，据当地一家报纸上周五报道，首都柏林某政府部门的领导让属下的260名员工都放假回家凉快去，这可与德国人讲究效率的 名声背道而驰。
据柏林当地小报BZ报道，柏林逃税调查局的主管给该部门的所有职员发了一封邮件，称：“大家自行决定自己能否在这样的高温下继续工作。”
这位主管名叫埃里克•施里费克，BZ报刊登了他的电子邮件。他在邮件中写道：“别等到自己热晕了再去请假……今天请假无论从哪方面说都是一个明智的 决定，我完全理解。”
这位主管在信件结尾的签名处写道：“附上我浸满汗水的问候。”
BZ报在头版刊登了这则消息，标题是《热了就回家》。
最近几周柏林持续30多度（华氏90度）高温，今年的七月份可能要成为史上最热的七月。
wilt: to become weak or tired（变得委靡不振；发蔫；变得又累又乏）
sweltering: 闷热的
tabloid: a newspaper with small pages (usually half the size of those in larger papers).Tabloids usually have short articles and a lot of pictures and stories about famous people, and are thought of as less serious than other newspapers. （小报，通俗小报，版面通常比大报小一半，文章短，图片多，经常报道名人佚事）
feel up to: 觉得有精力（做某事）；感到有能力（处理某事）
pass out: to lose consciousness（昏迷；失去知觉）
sign off: to end a letter（结束写信）