BBC · 地道英语｜White collar worker / blue-collar worker 白领/蓝领
参考文本
Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.I’m Callum.
大家好，欢迎收听地道英语。我是卡勒姆。
And I’m Feifei.
我是菲菲。
Feifei, what kind of workers are we –would you describe us as blue-collar workers or white-collar workers?
菲菲，我们是哪种工作者呢？你会用蓝领还是白领来描述我们呢？
Well, looking at our clothes, you are a T-shirt-no-collar worker and I’m a yellow-with-polka-dot-collar worker.How about that?
嗯，看我们的衣服，你是T恤无领工作者，我是黄色带圆点领子的工作者。你认为这个回答怎么样？
Come on, Feifei, you know that this has nothing to do with fashion! It’s about colours and what they represent when we’re talking about the world of work.
别闹了，菲菲，你知道这和衣服的样式毫无关系！当我们说到职场的时候，这是说颜色以及它们代表着什么的。
I know - just joking.A blue-collar worker is an expression we use to describe someone who does manual work.Someone who works in a factory, for example, who wears a uniform.
我知道，开个玩笑啦。蓝领工人是我们描述做体力工作的人时用的一种说法。比如在工厂工作的，穿着制服的人。
In the early 20th century, they usually wore clothing which was sturdy, cheap and didn’t show dirt easily.Their uniform was made of blue fabric like denim.
20世纪早期，他们经常穿布料结实、便宜、又不容易显脏的衣服。他们的制服是由蓝色布料制成的，比如牛仔布。
People who worked in offices,doing administration or managerial tasks -clerks for example -were referred to as white-collar workers.It’s because of the white shirts they wore.
在办公室工作，做行政或管理工作的人——比如文员——被称为白领职工。这是因为他们穿白衬衫。
And this way of describing people’s jobs has continued – even though people often wear whatever colour collar they like!
并且大家还在继续用这种方式来描述人们的工作——即使人们常穿他们喜欢的，不管带什么颜色衣领的衣服。
You can also say blue-collar job or white-collar job.
你也可以说是蓝领工作或是白领工作。
When the company went bankrupt many white-collar workers found themselves looking for blue-collar jobs.
公司倒闭的时候，许多白领职员发现自己要找蓝领工作了。
Some popular folk songs reflect the aspirations and struggles of blue-collar workers.
一些流行的民歌反映了蓝领工人的愿望和斗争史。
Well, we have two colours there,but it’s good to point out that you might also hear the expression pink-collar worker,which refers to low-paid jobs performed mostly by women - jobs such as a secretary or a nurse.
嗯，我们这儿有两种颜色啦，但你可能也会听到粉领族这种说法，我们还是把这一点指出来比较好，这指的是一些低收入的工作，多由妇女从事——比如秘书或护士这些工作。
But pink-collar worker and other classifications with colours are less common. The ones most used are blue-collar and white-collar.
但粉领族和其他用颜色来描述的职业分类没有那么常见。最为常用的还是蓝领和白领。
What a pity!I quite like striped-dark-blue-and-pale-yellow-designer-collar worker.
太可惜了！我相当喜欢“深蓝灰黄条纹设计师领”的工作者。
You might like that,but nobody would understand what you meant.But don’t worry, you’d look good in white or blue.It brings out your tan,works well in contrast with the colour of your eyes… and with your hair…
你可能喜欢那种，但不会有人理解你说的是什么。但是别担心，你穿白色或蓝色都很好看。这能显出来你棕褐色的皮肤，跟你眼睛的颜色形成对比，效果很好…跟你的头发也形成对比…
Oh, stop it Callum!
噢，得了吧卡勒姆！
Bye!
再见！
来源：英语微外教 如涉权属，请联系处理