As Germany wilts¹ 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.

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。

According to the BZ local tabloid²（小报，文摘） , the boss of the Berlin office for tax evasion³（漏税，逃税） investigations⁴ sent an email to his employees saying: "Everyone should decide for themselves if they feel up to（感到能胜任） working in these temperatures."

"This decision should be taken before you pass out ... taking time off work today could in many cases（在许多情况下） 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 relentless⁵（无情的，残酷的） heatwave in recent weeks, with the mercury（水银） frequently soaring into the high 30s Celsius⁶ (high 90s Fahrenheit) and July on course to be the hottest on record.