04 · 阿尔弗雷德·布洛格斯的双重生活
The Double Life of Alfred Bloggs
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These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers" for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.
When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him "Mr. Bloggs", not "Alf".
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整篇课文
These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices. People who work in offices are frequently referred to as "white-collar workers" for the simple reason that they usually wear a collar and tie to go to work. Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers. This can give rise to curious situations, as it did in the case of Alfred Bloggs who worked as a dustman for the Ellesmere Corporation.
When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job. He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation. Every morning, he left home dressed in a smart black suit. He then changed into overalls and spent the next eight hours as a dustman. Before returning home at night, he took a shower and changed back into his suit. Alf did this for over two years and his fellow dustmen kept his secret. Alf's wife has never discovered that she married a dustman and she never will, for Alf has just found another job. He will soon be working in an office. He will be earning only half as much as he used to, but he feels that his rise in status is well worth the loss of money. From now on, he will wear a suit all day and others will call him "Mr. Bloggs", not "Alf".
如今，从事体力劳动的人，收入往往比办公室职员高得多。办公室职员常被称为“白领”，原因很简单：他们通常穿着有领衬衫、打着领带上班。人性往往如此，许多人宁愿放弃更高的收入，也想换来白领的身份。这种心态有时会造成一些奇特的情况，在埃尔斯米尔公司做垃圾清运工的阿尔弗雷德·布洛格斯就是一例。
阿尔弗雷德，人们通常叫他阿尔夫。他结婚时，觉得自己的职业说不出口，便没告诉妻子实情，只说自己在那家公司上班。每天早晨，他穿着一身笔挺的黑色西装出门，随后换上工作服，做上八个小时的垃圾清运工作。晚上回家前，他先洗个澡，再换回西装。他就这样瞒了两年多，同事们也一直替他保密。妻子至今不知道自己嫁给了一名垃圾清运工，而且以后也不会知道了，因为阿尔夫刚找到另一份工作，很快就要进办公室上班。新工作的薪水只有原来的一半，但他觉得，身份提高了，少赚一些也值得。从今以后，他可以整天穿着西装，别人也会称他“布洛格斯先生”，而不再直呼“阿尔夫”了。
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