He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.

他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

For them, the present system means joyless drudgery, semistarvation, rags and premature death.

现在这个制度对他们意味着痛苦的劳役，半饥半饱，衣不蔽体的生活，短命和夭折。