4 The double life of Alfred Bloggs

These days, people who do manual work often receive far more money than people who work in offices.

如今,从事体力劳动的人的收入一般要比坐办公室的人高出许多。

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.

坐办公室的人之所以常常被称作“白领工人”,就是因为他们通常是穿着硬领白衬衫、系着领带去上班。

Such is human nature, that a great many people are often willing to sacrifice higher pay for the privilege of becoming white-collar workers.

许多人常常情愿放弃较高的薪水以换取做白领工人的殊荣,此乃人之常情。

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.

而这常常会引起种种奇怪的现象，在埃尔斯米尔公司当清洁工的艾尔弗雷德·布洛格斯就是一个例子。

When he got married, Alf was too embarrassed to say anything to his wife about his job.

艾尔弗结婚时,感到非常难为情,而没有将自己的职业告诉妻子。

He simply told her that he worked for the Corporation.

他只说在埃尔斯米尔公司上班。