20世纪70年代 1970s

知青 educated youth

60年代中期到70年代末，约1700万城市中学毕业生响应毛主席的号召来到农村。他们被告诫要尊敬农民，向农民学习。到了1979年，大多数知青返回城市。

From the mid 1960s to the late 1970s, about 17 million urban middle school grads answered Mao's call and flocked to the countryside. They were encouraged to pay respect to and learn from the peasants. By 1979, most educated youth were heading back to the cities.

走后门 pull string

It originated under the planned economy when people used connections to get goods from the back door of a state-owned shop. This string-pulling reached a sort of climax in the late 1970s when the "educated youth" tried everything possible to get back to the cities.

pull strings来源于木偶戏，引申为幕后操纵，或利用关系进行幕后操纵。相关表达“拉关系”可翻译成make social connections to gain favors.

老外 laowai

The term was coined in the late 1970s as many foreigners came to China after the country's reform and opening up. At first it carried a teasing tone. But now it's more of a friendly nickname.

像大山这种在中国居住、工作或学习时间较久，精通中国文化的外国人常被称作an old China hand（中国通）。


20世纪80年代 1980s

铁饭碗 iron rice bowl

A secure, lifetime job assigned by the government. By the 1980s, with the new market economy, there was a competitive model of employment. And the cherished iron rice bowl was gone after more than 30 years.

英语中，表示一份工作稳定通常用safe, stable或者reliable来形容。

三好学生 all-round good student

Literally, "thrice-good", given to students who were virtuous, talented, and good at PE; first used in the 1950s by Mao to encourage young people to keep fit, study well, and work hard.

“三好”指的是德、智、体三方面，而英语中的 straight A student指的是每门功课都得A的学生。所以两者并不完全对等。“三好学生”也不能翻成 three-goods student，因为goody-goody是指那种在老师面前挣表现的“好”学生。

倒爷 profiteering

For the market economy, a dual-pricing system was tried in 1979. The price of certain goods was fixed and they were distributed instead of sold. If a factory exceeded its quota, it could sell the surplus at a higher price. People close to government or factory officials got the low-priced goods and sold them at a higher price. This profiteering was outlawed in 1987.

官倒，是指官员利用职权进行倒买倒卖谋利，可译为official profiteering。

待业青年 youth waiting for job

The unemployed young people of the 1980s, after the government stopped assigning jobs to middle school grads, at state-owned enterprises or government offices. Some unemployed youth could "inherit" a post from a retired parent. Others tried small businesses.

英语中称“待业”为between jobs。现在有些年轻人毕业后take a gap year，四处旅游或学习更多技能后再来找工作。