节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-02-23
难易度:Low
关键字:leisure, lifeguard, trend, disadvantage, rock star, resume
(Music).
Hello, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us today.
And it's good to see you again today, Kaylah.
Thank you so much, Steve.
I'm happy to be mere as we talk about some unusual words here.
That's right.
Whether you are a butcher, a baker or a candlestick maker, job titles are
important.
A recent survey of 1,500 office workers in England revealed that 70 percent
would rather have a more accurate, more inspiring job title than a raising pay.
That is interesting.
People would rather have a different job title than earn more money?
Well, that's right.
And what's more, an inspiring job title affects job performance.
An inspiring job title actually improves a worker's motivation, confidence and
attitude.
So if you are not happy at work, don't change your job.
Maybe it's just time to get your job title changed.
Let's look over on page 46 and see some examples.
Unusual Job Titles.
Can a strange job title help or hurt your career?
What kind of career do you want?
Would you like to be a "wet leisure assistant" or a "social media rock star"?
These jobs sound unusual, but they're really just creative titles for ordinary
jobs.
A "wet leisure assistant" is a lifeguard.
A "social media rock star" works on a company's Facebook account.
These crazy titles are part of a new work trend - renaming jobs.
Some titles give old jobs new style.
Others identify jobs that didn't even exist 10 years ago.
Hello, friends. Thank you for joining us in the studio.
My name is Ryan.
And I'm Kaylah.
And today we are talking about unusual jobs.
Yes. Well, not just unusual jobs, but Unusual Job Titles.
Well, so what here is a title, Kaylah?
Well, a title is the name we give to something.
So we're not actually talking about unusual jobs, we're talking about a normal
job with a very unusual name.
OK. So here we're going to try and find out if having a strange job title can
actually help your career or hurt your career.
Well, start off: What kind of career do you want?
That's a very good question.
Well, that's a good thing to think about, but here we see some examples.
Would you like to be a "wet leisure assistant"?
Now what is that?
Ooh, I don't know.
Well, maybe you would want to be a social media rock star.
Hmm... Now see, I'm not sure what these jobs are.
These don't sound like normal jobs, right?
First, let's look at "wet leisure assistant." What does the word "leisure" mean?
Well, "leisure" means the time that we take to relax.
It is not the time that we are working.
We are at ease; we are relaxing.
So wet leisure... I'm going to assume means you're in water.
OK, maybe something to do with water. All right.
So what about "social media rock star"?
Hmm. Well, a "rock star" is a person who is famous for their music.
But what does that have to do with social media?
I'm not sure.
Maybe sometimes a rock star can refer to being awesome.
Maybe they're awesome?
OK. Well, I guess we'll find out.
These jobs sound unusual, but they're really just creative names for ordinary
jobs.
So these aren't really fascinating, unusual jobs, they're just ordinary jobs.
Well, that is our Grammar on the Go sentence.
So let's see what Liz has for us.
Hello, friends.
How are you doing today?
My name is Liz and it's time for Grammar on the Go.
Our article today is quite interesting: Unusual Job Titles.
The writer begins by introducing some interesting job titles.
Then she follows with this statement:
These jobs sound unusual, but they're really just creative titles for ordinary
jobs.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Today we're looking at the structure of the sentence: (something) sounds
(adjective), but it is really just (something else).
Although this sentence pattern appears quite easy,
it is a very useful pattern to use when you need to explain to people why they
don't have to doubt something.
In the case of today's sentence, the writer is assuring her readers that they
don't have to be too concerned with these strange-sounding job titles.
Why?
Because these job titles are creative names for ordinary jobs, and that's all.
Let's look at some examples.
Suppose your neighbor hears a strange sound coming from your apartment and comes
over to make sure you're OK.
You want to let your neighbor know that everything is OK and that the funny
sound was from the TV program you're watching, so you can say:
I know the noise sounded scary, but it was really just from the TV program I was
watching.
Or let's say you have some new co-workers who just met their supervisor, and now
they're feeling very nervous.
To encourage them you can say:
Your supervisor may sound like a very mean guy, but he is a caring person who
really just wants you all to succeed in your work.
So give this sentence pattern a try and that's all the time we have for today.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go, signing off.
Bye-bye.
Well, a lifeguard is probably the most important person at any water activity.
At the swimming pool or at the beach, the lifeguard is the person who is
standing there ready to protect you,
to protect you from danger or to save you if you are drowning.
Oh, so they protect people near the water.
So you were right! It did have something to do with water.
Now we also see a "social media rock star" works on a company's Facebook
account.
That's pretty interesting.
It's much more interesting than being called the Facebook guy.
Yeah. So these crazy titles are part of a new work trend, which is renaming
jobs.
Now a "trend" is the general direction that something is heading or the name of
something that we give it.
But this trend of having funny names, interesting, unusual names is a trend.
Yeah, so it's something new people are doing and everyone is beginning to do it.
Now some titles give old jobs a new style.
Now other names that might identify jobs that didn't even exist before.
That's right.
Ten years ago we didn't have Facebook, so there was no need for anybody to have
a job relating to Facebook.
But now there is definitely a need for it in the companies.
Right. And as we saw, you, Kaylah, might have called that guy "Facebook guy."
But now we have a better name: social media rock star.
OK, let's visit the Chat Room and then we'll take a break.
Thanks, Mrs. Browning.
I appreciate the promotion. I really do.
Thanks so much.
I'll try to do the best job I can.
Goodbye now.
Hey, Bryan, I couldn't help but overhear your conversation.
Congratulations on the promotion.
Thanks, Ken.
So I guess your job will change a lot now, huh?
Well, it will change a little.
My old job title was simply "clerk." And my new job title is Circulation
Supervisor.
Wow! That sounds very impressive.
Do you have more responsibility now?
In some ways, I do.
But my basic job description is the same:
to help circulate or distribute the library's materials to readers in the most
efficient and organized way possible.
Does that mean job descriptions are like work goals?
Say, that's a good question for Doris.
Let's ask her.
OK.
A job description is a list of the tasks that you are expected to perform while
doing your job.
Different positions within a company have different job descriptions.
That way, people can specialize in the work that they do.
Hmm, so if something is not part of my job description, I don't have to do it?
Theoretically, you don't have to.
But I think it's important to use common sense and have a spirit of willingness
to do whatever your job or your company requires.
Common sense, that's good advice.
I have worked with people who used their job descriptions as excuses to avoid
small but necessary tasks.
Yeah, me too.
So should I start calling you "CS" for Circulation Supervisor now?
Stick with Bryan, please.
OK.