Lesson 4 The double life of Alfred Bloggs 阿尔弗雷德.布洛
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音,然后回答以下问题。
Why did Alf want a white-collar job?
These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers' for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.
When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for
the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night. He took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him 'Mr. Bloggs', not 'Alf'.
如今,从事体力劳动的人的收入一般要比坐办公室的人高出许多。
坐办公室的之所以常常被称作“白领工人”,就是因为他们通常是穿着硬领白衬衫,系着领带去上班。
许多人常常情愿放弃较高的薪水以换取做白领工人的殊荣,此乃人之常情。
而这常常会引起种种奇怪的现象,在埃尔斯米尔公司当清洁工的艾尔弗雷德.布洛斯就是一个
例子。
艾尔弗结婚时,感到非常难为情,而没有将自己的职业告诉妻子。
他只说在埃尔斯米尔公司上班。
每天早晨,他穿上一身漂亮的黑色西装离家上班,然后换上工作服,当8个小时清洁工。
晚上回家前,他洗个淋浴,重新换上那身黑色西服。
两年多以来,艾尔弗一直这样,他的同事也为他保守秘密。
艾尔弗的妻子一直不知道她嫁给了一个清洁工,而且她永远也不会知道了,因为艾尔弗已找到薪职,不久就要坐办公室里工作了。
他将来挣的钱只有他现在的一半。
不过他觉得,地位升高了,损失点儿钱也值得。
从此,艾尔弗可以一天到晚穿西服了。
别人将称呼他为“布洛格斯先生”,而不再叫他“艾尔弗”了。
Alfred ['ælfrid; -fred]n. 阿尔佛雷德(男子名)below [bi'ləu]adv. 在下面,在较低处;在本页下面prep. 在…下面
Alf ælf n. 阿尔夫(男子名)(Alfred的昵称)alf [ælf] n. 蠢人,傻瓜,饭桶异性恋男子阿尔夫式的大男子主义者(瞧不起妇女,喜欢与男性交友的男子)
white-collar ['wait'kɔlə] adj. 白领阶层的;
脑力劳动者
these days 现今;现在,目前
manual ['mænjuəl] adj. 手工的;体力的n. 手册,指南
receive [ri'si:v] vt. 收到;接待;接纳vi. 接收[过去式received 过去分词received 现在分词receiving ]
far more 许多,多得多的
offices n. 办公室;办事处(office的复数)v.
提供办公室;在办公室办公(office的三单形式)
frequently ['fri:kwəntli] adv.常常,屡次,频繁地
referred to as 被称为…
simple ['simpl] adj. 简单的;单纯的;天真的n. 笨蛋;愚蠢的行为;出身低微者[ 比较级simpler 最高级simplest ]
referred [ri'fəd] v. 参考,查阅(refer的过去式);归类,谈及,送交adj. 援引的
reason ['ri:zən] n. 理由;理性;动机 vi. 推论;劝说vt. 说服;推论;辩论
collar ['kɔlə] n. 衣领;颈圈vt. 抓住;给…上领子;给…套上颈圈
wear [wεə] n. 穿著,磨损,耐久性v. 穿著,用旧,耗损
such [sʌtʃ, sətʃ] adj. 这样的,如此的
human nature人性;人类本性
nature ['neitʃə] n. 自然;性质;本性;种类
willing['wiliŋ] adj. 乐意的;自愿的;心甘情愿的v. 决心;用意志力驱使;将(财产等)遗赠某人(will 的现在分词)[ 比较级more willing 最高级most willing ]
sacrifice ['sækrifais] n. 牺牲;祭品;供奉vt. 牺牲;献祭;亏本出售vi. 献祭;奉献[ 过去式sacrificed 过去分词sacrificed 现在分词sacrificing ]
privilege ['privilidʒ] n. 特权;优待;基本权利vt. 给与…特权;特免[ 过去式privileged 过去分词privileged 现在分词privileging ]
rise [raiz, rais] vi. 上升;增强;起立;高耸vt. 使…飞起;使…浮上水面n. 上升;高地;增加;出现[ 过去式rose 过去分词risen 现在分词rising ]
curious ['kjuəriəs] adj. 好奇的,有求知欲的;古怪的;爱挑剔的[ 比较级more curious 最高级most curious ]
situation [,sitju'eiʃən, -tʃu-] n. 情况;形势;处境;位置
in the case of至于,在…的情况下
work as担任;以…身份而工作
dustman ['dʌstmən] n. 清洁工人[ 复数dustmen ]
Ellesmere n. 埃尔斯米尔(加拿大港口城市);蔡子健(香港TVB男演员)
corporation [,kɔ:pə'reiʃən] n. 公司;法人(团体);社团;大腹便便;市政当局
got married结婚(get married的过去式)
embarrassed [im'bærəst] adj. 尴尬的;窘迫的v. 使...困窘;使...局促不安(embarrass的过去分词形式)
overalls ['əuvərɔ:lz] n. [服装] 工装裤;工作裤
fellow ['feləu] n. 家伙;朋友;同事;会员adj. 同伴的,同事的;同道的vt. 使…与另一个对等;使…与另一个匹敌
status ['steitəs, 'stæ-] n. 地位;状态;情形;重要身分[ 复数statuses ]
well worth很值得
loss [lɔs, lɔ:s] n. 减少;亏损;失败;遗失[ 复数losses ]
from now on从现在开始
Mr ['mistə(r)]。