Do you have to ask permission to leave the room?

Do you work somewhere where you can behave in a relaxed way around colleagues, or do you have to be very polite and a bit distant? Is there a dress code¹? Do you have to ask permission to leave the room?

你的工作环境很轻松吗？你需要很有礼节并在有些事情上保持一定的距离吗？对于穿着规定吗？离开办公室需要批准吗？

Mr Smith or John?

 

Jackie:Hello, this is 6 minute English. I’m Jackie Dalton and with me today is Neil Edgeller. Hello, sir!

Neil:Sir! Very unusual, you don’t usually call me ‘sir’, Jackie!

Jackie:I don’t, usually - I usually call you Neil, don’t I?

Neil:Yes, you do.

Jackie: And that’s because we’re colleagues and the way we interact² in the office is pretty informal really – it’s quite relaxed, we’re just use each others’ first names. And the reason I called you ‘sir’ is because the topic of today’s programme is formality, or lack of formality at work. So, do you work somewhere where you can behave in a relaxed way around colleagues, or do you have to be very polite and maybe a bit distant? Is there a dress code?

Neil:Yes a dress-code is the rules for what you should wear in a certain situation. So if a restaurant has a ‘no jeans’ policy, or dress-code, it means you have to wear smart trousers, you’re not allowed in if you wear jeans.

Jackie:Well in a moment, we’ll be talking a bit about how things have changed here. First, I have a question for you. A survey was carried out in Britain into dress-codes at work. And I’d like you guess what percentage of people said they’d prefer to be given a precise³ dress-code – in other words, would prefer to be told what kind of clothes they should wear.

a) 5% b) 23% c) 85%

Neil:I’m going to say 5%.

Jackie:Well, we’ll find out at the end of the programme whether your answer was correct. Would you say the BBC World Service is a fairly formal place to work?

(discuss) they’re on first-name terms – they call each other by their first names casual⁴ – relaxed, informal

Jackie:Well it wasn’t always so. Carrie has been around at the BBC for nearly 30 years and things used to be quite different when she joined. How would she have to address her boss?

 

Carrie

Well when I started in the BBC, my boss was very formal. He wore a suit and tie everyday to work and you had to call him ‘Mr’, so he was ‘Mr Bowman’. I wouldn’t have dreamt of calling him Eric, which was his first name. On the other hand, he didn’t actually call us ‘Miss or Mrs’, we were called by our first name because we were his underlings, we were his staff, but the boss was always called ‘Mr’ or ‘Mrs’. But, actually, on most occasions⁵, it would have been a ‘Mr’.

Jackie:Did you get that? She had to call her boss ‘Mr’. They certainly weren’t on first name terms. Well, Carrie also had to face even stricter rules after that. What did she have to do?

 

Carrie

A couple of years after I started at the BBC, I moved to a different department and there was a lady in that department who ran an office with about six or seven staff in it and the staff had to ask permission if they wanted to go to the toilet. They weren’t allowed to just leave the office. And in fact, she timed them sometimes too and decided⁶ if they were too long in the toilet.

Jackie:Carrie had to ask permission to go to the toilet.

Neil:ask permission – to ask if you can do something.

Both: (discuss)

 

BBC Learning⁷ English

Jackie:We’re quite lucky, sitting here in our jeans, or corduroys（裤子）. There was a time when that would have been out of the question. What did newsreaders at the BBC used to have to wear while they were presenting?

 

Carrie

Long, long before I joined, the newsreaders, which at that stage would have been on radio rather than on television had to wear dinner jackets to read the news, even though nobody could see them, other than other people in the studio. 

Both:(discuss) dinner jacket – formal suit usually worn for a special event dress-down Fridays – an arrangement where you can wear casual clothes（便服，休闲装）at work on Fridays, but dress more formally for the rest of the week.

Jackie:So a quick reminder⁸ of some of the vocabulary we’ve looked at:

casual/informalformalfirst name termsdress codedress-down Fridays dinner jacket to ask permission

Jackie:And finally, the answer to this week’s tricky⁹ question… 85 per cent would prefer a precise dress code What would you prefer Neil? (discuss) That’s all for this week, join us again soon for more 6 minute English.

1 code   

n.代码，代号，密码；法典，法规，规划

参考例句：

• What's the code for Tianjin?天津的代号是多少？
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

2 interact   

vi.相互作用，相互影响，互通信息

参考例句：

• All things are interrelated and interact on each other.一切事物互相联系并相互作用。
• The policeman advised the criminal to interact with the police.警察劝罪犯与警方合作。

3 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。

4 casual   

adj.漠不关心，冷漠的；随便的，非正式的；偶然的，碰巧的

参考例句：

• He earns a living by casual labour.他靠做临时工为生。
• The guests wore casual clothes.客人们穿着便服。

5 occasions   

n.机会( occasion的名词复数 )；时刻；原因；需要

参考例句：

• The prosecution stated that intercourse had occurred on several occasions. 控诉方称发生过数次性交。
• He has been late on numerous occasions. 他已经迟到过无数次了。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

9 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。