2012四级阅读：白领阶层回归正式

 本篇阅读材料“白领阶层回归正式”选自《经济学人》（原文标题：Back to formality White-collar workers will need to be, or at least look, serious 2011.11.17）In 2012 the following will be back in fashion: the landline, the jacket, the commute¹, the handshake and above all the office itself.

　　Out of fashion will be the virtual office in which employees sit hunched² over laptops in their local Starbucks, joined to their colleagues by webcam and e-mail. Instead, working life will start to resemble its old self before the internet was invented. Employees will turn up to work at predictable hours five days a week, and will comport³ themselves with greater formality than before. Face-to-face meetings will be preferred to video conferences; ideas will be exchanged not by tweet, but by the coffee machine.

　　The reason for this will be largely defensive⁴. The repeated shocks to the world economy delivered over the past few years will bring in a culture of corporate⁵ risk aversion: the focus will be more on accountability than creativity. With white-collar unemployment remaining high, those who have survived successive rounds of job cuts will feel more than ever determined⁶ to hang on to their paychecks—which means being seen at their desks. In 2012 it will no longer seem either cool or wise to send e-mails with the annoying little line that says “sent from my iPhone” at the bottom. Instead e-mails will be tapped out on the office PC. And the office landline will stage a comeback, too.

　　Companies, under increasing pressure to protect their profits, will focus more attention on white-collar productivity. As output is hard to measure in most professional jobs, managers will fall back on the oldest gauge⁷ of performance: favouring those employees who get in early and leave late. In 2012 Woody Allen's judgment⁸ will never have seemed truer: 80% of success is turning up. Or in pretending to turn up. Jackets will be bought in duplicate, so that one can be permanently⁹ on the back of the chair.

　　Managers will start to realise that remote working has been disastrous¹⁰ for spreading corporate culture, and that in particular it has made it difficult for younger workers to pick up the tricks of the trade. With no one to copy, they have failed to adjust well to the world of work. The new formality will suit the young: they will turn up to work smartly dressed and have no option but to immerse themselves in the corporate culture and learn from those above them in the pecking order. They will be happy to distinguish themselves from their unemployed¹¹ friends: with one in five new graduates out of work, the gap between the professional haves and have-nots will be wider than ever.

　　In this new, no-nonsense world the lines of management will be redrawn. After more than a decade in which global business has been mainly organised under global, functional¹² teams, there will be a retrenchment¹³ along more traditional, regional lines. Travel budgets will be cut further and executives, except in extremis, will be staying put.

　　This environment will be one in which some women will thrive while others will drop out. Those prepared to work like traditional men and put their families second will find themselves quickly promoted. In 2012 the pressure to have women on boards and in senior positions will be more intense than ever, and so those prepared to play the game will be highly rewarded. So highly, in fact, that we will see a rash of lawsuits¹⁴ from professional white men claiming discrimination. At the same time, however, many more women will drop out of the race altogether, looking at the newly inflexible¹⁵ way of working and deciding they would rather not compete at all.

　　A great year for gossipThe new, old-style office will be a horrible place to work in some ways, but a nice one in others. Insecurity will be rife¹⁶; everyone will feel only as good as their last meeting. Office politics will thrive as never before. There will be a new seriousness. Jokes will be out, unless cracked by the boss, in which case appreciative¹⁷ laughter will be compulsory¹⁸. Yet it will also be a great year for office gossips. The virtual office almost killed the grapevine, it being hard to drum up interest about people one never sees. The year will be a good one for bonding—which will happen naturally around the water cooler rather than unnaturally¹⁹ and at vast expense on an Outward Bound training course.

　　Most retro of all will be the return of the office canteen （for businesses that still have them）, which has been increasingly shunned²⁰ as office workers have turned to sandwich bars for lunch. But with employees now forced to sit at their desks all day long, they may cease to see the charms of dining al desko on a shrink-wrapped sandwich. Instead people will start to take a—shortish—break at lunch time, going to the canteen for a proper, hot meal.

　　【重点单词及短语】  【外语教育&网www.for68.com】

　　landline  n. 固话out of fashion  过时的；不流行的hunch over  弯腰驼背webcam  n. 网络摄像头comport with  适合；与……一致successive  adj. 连续的；依次的hang on to  紧紧抓住；紧握paycheck  n. 薪水tap out  敲出；敲打出fall back on  求助于gauge  n. 测量标准turn up  出现；出席；出勤have no option but to  只能……除了……别无选择immerse in  全神贯注于，专心于pecking order  社会等级stay put  留在原地；停住不动thrive  v. 繁荣；兴旺drop out  退出；脱离a rash of  大批grapevine  秘密情报网；葡萄藤drum up  竭力争取；纠集；鼓动at vast expense  大笔的开支Question time:

　　1. What's the main reason that white-collar workers back to formality?

　　2. Can you list 3 features that indicates white-collar workers' back to office?

1 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

2 hunched   

（常指因寒冷、生病或愁苦）耸肩弓身的，伏首前倾的

参考例句：

• He sat with his shoulders hunched up. 他耸起双肩坐着。
• Stephen hunched down to light a cigarette. 斯蒂芬弓着身子点燃一支烟。

3 comport   

vi.相称，适合

参考例句：

• His behavior did not comport with his office.他的行为与他的职务很不相称。
• A judge should comport himself authoritatively.法官举止必须要庄严。

4 defensive   

adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的

参考例句：

• Their questions about the money put her on the defensive.他们问到钱的问题，使她警觉起来。
• The Government hastily organized defensive measures against the raids.政府急忙布置了防卫措施抵御空袭。

5 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

6 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

7 gauge   

v.精确计量；估计；n.标准度量；计量器

参考例句：

• Can you gauge what her reaction is likely to be?你能揣测她的反应可能是什么吗？
• It's difficult to gauge one's character.要判断一个人的品格是很困难的。

8 judgment   

n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见

参考例句：

• The chairman flatters himself on his judgment of people.主席自认为他审视人比别人高明。
• He's a man of excellent judgment.他眼力过人。

9 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

10 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

11 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

12 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

13 retrenchment   

n.节省，删除

参考例句：

• Retrenchment will be necessary. 有必要进行紧缩。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Defense planners predict an extended period of retrenchment. 国防规划人员预计开支紧缩期会延长。 来自辞典例句

14 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

15 inflexible   

adj.不可改变的，不受影响的，不屈服的

参考例句：

• Charles was a man of settled habits and inflexible routine.查尔斯是一个恪守习惯、生活规律不容打乱的人。
• The new plastic is completely inflexible.这种新塑料是完全不可弯曲的。

16 rife   

adj.(指坏事情)充斥的，流行的，普遍的

参考例句：

• Disease is rife in the area.疾病在这一区很流行。
• Corruption was rife before the election.选举之前腐败盛行。

17 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

18 compulsory   

n.强制的，必修的；规定的，义务的

参考例句：

• Is English a compulsory subject?英语是必修课吗？
• Compulsory schooling ends at sixteen.义务教育至16岁为止。

19 unnaturally   

adv.违反习俗地；不自然地；勉强地；不近人情地

参考例句：

• Her voice sounded unnaturally loud. 她的嗓音很响亮，但是有点反常。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her eyes were unnaturally bright. 她的眼睛亮得不自然。 来自《简明英汉词典》

20 shunned   

v.避开，回避，避免( shun的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• She was shunned by her family when she remarried. 她再婚后家里人都躲着她。
• He was a shy man who shunned all publicity. 他是个怕羞的人，总是避开一切引人注目的活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》