英语听力精选进阶版 6209

Beyond the Playground 超越了校园操场

Most people remember bullies¹ from their school days – the unpleasant gang demanding dinner money or the bigger child who picks on smaller, weaker kids.

But for some people the habit of bullying³ continues beyond their schooldays and into their working life.

The issue of bullying at work has become a hot potato recently in the UK after a political row erupted in which the UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown was accused in a book of bullying aides at No 10.

The PM denied making the abusive outbursts the book accused him of, but was then confronted with claims from an anti-bullying charity that staff from No 10 had called their helpline.

The resulting mess of accusations⁴, denials and resignations has brought the subject of bullying into the public eye.

So what is bullying in the workplace? According to the experts, it takes many forms including being unfairly treated, public humiliation⁵, being regularly threatened with the sack, and even character assassination⁶.

And in the modern world the phenomenon of cyberbullying has evolved whereby bullies attack their victims on social-networking sites or send menacing text messages and emails.

So if you feel you are being bullied⁷ at work, what should you do?

The UK government's website suggests an informal approach first. Try getting advice from an employee representative like a trade union official or someone in the firm's human resources department.

Alternatively, you may also try talking to the bully² who may not be aware of how their behaviour is affecting you.

If all else fails you may have to make a formal complaint using your employer's grievance⁸ procedure or even take legal action.

Glossary 词汇表

unpleasant gang 令人讨厌的群伙 

dinner money 饭钱 

picks on 挑拣 

hot potato （热土豆）比喻棘手的问题 

political row erupted  爆发政治性争议 

aides 助手 

No 10 英国首相府 

abusive outbursts 侮辱性怒骂（某人） 

anti-bullying charity 反欺弱者慈善组织 

staff 工作人员 

helpline 服务热线 

resignations 辞职 

public humiliation 公开的侮辱（某人） 

character assassination 对人格/品质的诋毁 

cyberbullying 网络欺凌 

menacing 威胁性 

trade union official 工会官员 

human resources department 人力资源部门 

grievance procedure 申诉程序 

legal action 法律行动

1 bullies   

n.欺凌弱小者, 开球 vt.恐吓, 威胁, 欺负

参考例句：

• Standing up to bullies takes plenty of backbone. 勇敢地对付暴徒需有大无畏精神。
• Bullies can make your life hell. 恃强欺弱者能让你的日子像活地狱。

2 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

3 bullying   

v.恐吓，威逼( bully的现在分词 )；豪；跋扈

参考例句：

• Many cases of bullying go unreported . 很多恐吓案件都没有人告发。
• All cases of bullying will be severely dealt with. 所有以大欺小的情况都将受到严肃处理。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

6 assassination   

n.暗杀；暗杀事件

参考例句：

• The assassination of the president brought matters to a head.总统遭暗杀使事态到了严重关头。
• Lincoln's assassination in 1865 shocked the whole nation.1865年，林肯遇刺事件震惊全美国。

7 bullied   

adj.被欺负了v.恐吓，威逼( bully的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• My son is being bullied at school. 我儿子在学校里受欺负。
• The boy bullied the small girl into giving him all her money. 那男孩威逼那个小女孩把所有的钱都给他。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 grievance   

n.怨愤，气恼，委屈

参考例句：

• He will not easily forget his grievance.他不会轻易忘掉他的委屈。
• He had been nursing a grievance against his boss for months.几个月来他对老板一直心怀不满。