英语听力精选进阶版 6407

If you are on sick leave for work-related stress don't pick a fight with a shark on a popular beach. A charity worker from Wales learnt this lesson a few weeks ago. He was sacked after his bosses saw a video of him wrestling one of the dangerous sea creatures in Australia.

Paul Marshallsea grabbed¹ the animal's tail as it swam towards children and dragged it to deeper water. He made headlines across the world and was praised by lifeguards. But not by his managers at the Pant² and Dowlais Boys and Girls Club, who say that they don't trust him anymore.

Mr Marshallsea might really have been ill, but some who ask permission to be absent from work are not. There is even an expression for that: 'throwing a sickie'.

Claiming to have a migraine headache has become one of the most popular excuses for 'throwing a sickie', a survey suggested a few years ago.

The YouGov poll³ of 2,105 people found 15% of workers who admitted to making up illness to get a day off used migraine as their excuse.

The month when absenteeism is most likely to happen is February, because some people feel a need to recharge batteries after the post-Christmas shock of having to go back to work.

But job insecurity brought about by the economic downturn might be discouraging employees from pretending to be sick.

In the UK, the Office of National Statistics⁴ says that the average worker now takes just 4.5 days off because of illness or injury, compared with 7.2 in 1993. A total of 131m work days were lost in 2011, down 6m on the year before.

Mr Marshallsea might be upset about becoming part of the unemployment statistics right now. But it could work to his benefit in the future. The bravery he showed to defuse a possible shark attack might make his CV shine. And even if he doesn't get a more challenging job as a result, at least he'll be cured of his stress.

Quiz 测验

1. Who approved of Mr Marshallsea's actions?

The lifeguards.

2. What did the charity worker's bosses say?

They said that they don't trust him anymore.

3. Look at the article. What excuse do people use most often when they don't want to go to work?

They say they have a migraine.

4. Is this statement true, false or not applicable⁵? People have been avoiding absences from work because they are afraid of being sacked.

True.

5. What expression in the article means 'to become an important news story'?

To make headlines.

Glossary 词汇表

on sick leave 休病假

work-related stress 工作带来的压力

a charity worker 一名慈善工作者

to be sacked 被炒鱿鱼

the boss 老板

to make headlines 上新闻头条

to be praised 被夸奖

the manager 经理

absent 缺勤

to throw a sickie 谎称生病不上班

migraine 偏头痛

to make up 佯装

a day off 休息一天

absenteeism 缺勤现象

to recharge batteries (figurative) 充电（休息调节的形容方式）

job insecurity 担心工作不保

the economic downturn 经济衰退

upset 沮丧

the statistics 统计数字

challenging 有挑战性的

1 grabbed   

v.抢先，抢占( grab的过去式和过去分词 )；（尤指匆忙地）取；攫取；（尤指自私、贪婪地）捞取

参考例句：

• He was grabbed by two men and frogmarched out of the hall. 他被两个男人紧抓双臂押出大厅。
• She grabbed the child's hand and ran. 她抓住孩子的手就跑。

2 pant   

n.喘息，悸动；vt.气喘吁吁地说；vi.喘息，渴望；adj.裤子的

参考例句：

• You pant after running hard for a time.拼命跑一阵后便会觉得气短。
• When he bent over,he split his pant.他一弯腰就把裤裆裂开了。

3 poll   

n.民意测验，民意调查，选举投票

参考例句：

• The result of the poll won't be known until midnight.选举结果要到午夜才能揭晓。
• They expected a heavy poll.他们期望会有很高的投票数。

4 statistics   

n.统计，统计数字，统计学

参考例句：

• We have statistics for the last year.我们有去年的统计资料。
• Statistics is taught in many colleges.许多大学都教授统计学。

5 applicable   

adj.适当的，合适的，可应用的

参考例句：

• The section of the form is not applicable in your case.表格这一部分不适合你的情况。
• This section of the law is applicable only to corporations.这部分法律只适用于公司。