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精读原文
The double life of Alfred Bloggs
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'.
精读笔记
The double life of Alfred Bloggs
Alfred Bloggs:艾尔弗雷德.布洛格斯;
double life:双重生活,本文指阿尔弗雷德.布洛格斯本是清洁工,隐瞒妻子两年后,甘愿薪资减半,如愿成为一名白领。
阿尔弗雷德.布洛格斯的双重生活
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 sacrificehigher 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.
manual: manual work involves using your hands or your physical strength rather than your mind手工的;体力的,如low-paid manual jobs 低工资的体力活<以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》>
far more money than:far是程度副词,放在形容词或副词前,加强程度或语气,如The new system is far better than the old one. 新系统比旧系统好许多。<以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》>
refer to …as…:把……称作……,as后面的内容为people的补足语
white-collar workers:脑力劳动者,对应的是blue-collar workers指体力劳动者
such is human nature, that…:such放置句首起强调作用,后面用倒装语序。如:Such is the case, we find it hard to handle.
sacrifice: when you decide not to have something valuable, in order to get something that is more important牺牲。如She brought three children up single-handedly, often at great personal sacrifice . 她独自一人把三个孩子带大,常常需要作出巨大的个人牺牲。<以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》>
后面可接for或者to
give rise to: 引起导致造成产生。如A careless man will give rise to a big disater.
as it did:本处it指代的内容是” a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers”; did替代“give rise to curious situations” 【难句】
in the case of: 至于,在…的情况下;区分:in case of:万一;如果发生;假设。如In case of emergency, "you always want to have your precious metals within arms reach, " he says. 为以防万一,“你总是希望你的贵金属放在触手可及的地方,”他说。<以上来源于article.yeeyan.org>
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阿尔弗雷德.布洛斯就是一个例子。
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'.
Alf:指Alfred的昵称,比如在《傲慢与偏见》(Pride and Prejudice)中的Elisabeth有时会用昵称Liz,昵称往往使用一两个音节;
too…to..:太……以致于不能……,如This sandwich is too big to finish. Would you like half?
这个三明治太大了, 我吃不了, 你想来一半吗?<以上来源于www.ebigear.com>
embarrassed:feeling uncomfortable or nervous and worrying about what people think of you, for example because you have made a silly mistake, or because you have to talk or sing in public
难堪的,尴尬的如Lori gets embarrassed if we ask her to sing. 我们要是请洛丽唱歌,她就会难为情。<以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》>
every morning:状语,引申:everyday和every day有什么区别:everyday是个形容词,可用作定语,如:everyday life日常生活,everyday English日常英语,everyday clothes 便服。而every day (每天) 是个名词短语,可用作状语。如:We go to school every day. 我们每天上学。Mathematics is a part of everyday life. 数学是日常生活的一部分。It is necessary for us to go to school every day to learn everyday English. 我们有必要每天上学学习日常英语。<以上来源于http://www.ecp.com.cn/cc/g1/nwwd/20080302182819.htm>【词汇辨析】
dressed in a smart black suit: 过去分词短语,作方式状语,修饰left,表示离开的方式。
change into:换上
overalls: Overalls are trousers that are attached to a piece of cloth which covers your chest and which has straps going over your shoulders. 工装裤<以上来源于《柯林斯英汉双解大词典》>
He will soon be working in an office:将来进行时
将来进行时的主要用法:【语法小学堂】
1. 表示将来进行,即表示将来某一时间正在进行的动作。如:When I get home, my wife will probably be watching television. 当我到家时,我太太可能正在看电视。
2. 表示计划或安排,即表示按计划或安排要发生的动作。如:I’ll be seeing Isabel tomorrow. 我明天会见到伊莎贝尔的。
3. 有时可表示委婉语气。如:Will you be having some tea? 喝点茶吧。
<以上来源于http://www.yygrammar.com/Article/201205/2960.html>
half as much as he used to:英语表示倍数的其中一种方法:数字+times+as+原级+as+比较对象;如Cats sleep twice as much as people. 猫睡觉的时间比人长一倍。<以上来源于http://www.yygrammar.com/Article/201601/4707.html>
worth: used to say that something is interesting, useful, or helpful 值得做某事。用法be worth sth/be worth (doing) sth,如The film is well worth seeing. 这部影片很值得一看。<以上来源于《朗文当代高级英语辞典》>
from now on:从现在开始,类似短语:from this moment/this week/this month/1999 on
阿尔弗结婚时,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,阿尔弗一直这样,他的同事也为他保守秘密。阿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,因为阿尔弗已找到薪职,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,阿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“阿尔弗”了。
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