PASSAGE 19 THE SECRETARY In olden days, when a glimpse of a stocking was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men Then came the First World War and the male secretaries were rfeplaced by women A man’s secretary became his personal servant, charged with remembering his wife’s birthday and buying her presents; taking his suits to the dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay; and, of course, typing filling and taking shorthand Now all this may be changing again The microchip and high technology is sweeping the British office, taking with it much of the routine clerical work that secretaries did “Once office technology takes over generally, the status of the job will rise again because it will involve only the high-powered work – and then men will want to it again.” That was said by one of the executives(male) of one of the biggest secretarial agencies in this country What he has predicted is already under way in the US One girl describeed to me a recent temporary job placing men in secretarial jobs in San Francisco, she noted that all the men she dealt with appeared to be gay so possibly that is just a new twist to the old story Over here, though, there are men coming onto the job market as secretaries Classically, girls have learned shorthand and typing and gone into a company to seek their fortune from the bottom – and that’s what happened to John Bowman Although be joined a national grocery chain as secretary to its first woman senior manager, he has since been promoted to an administrative job “I filled in the application form and said I could audio/typing, and in fact I was the only applicant The girls were reluctant to work for this young, glamorous new woman with all this power in the firm I did typing at school, and then a commercial course I just thought it would be useful finding a job I never got any funny treatment from the girls, though I admit I’ve never met another male secretary But then I joined the Post Office as a clerk and fiddled with the typewriter, and wrote letters, and thought that after all secretaries were getting a good £ 1,000 a year more than clerks like me There were a shortage at that time, you see It was simpler working for a woman than for a man I found she made decisions, she told everybody what she thought, and there was none of that male bitchiness, or that stuff ‘ring this number for me dear’ which men go in for Don’t forget we were a team – that’s how I feel about it – not boss and servant but two people doing different things for the same purpose” One high technology has made the job of secretary less routine, will there be a male takeover? Men should beware of thinking that they can walk right into the better jobs There are a lot of women secretaries who will the job as well as them – not just because they camn buy negligees for the boss’s wife, but because they are as efficient and well-trained to cope with word processors and computers as men Question Before 1914 female secretaries were rate because they A were less efficient than men B were stockings C were not as serious as men D would have disturbed the other office workers Question A female secretary has been expected, besides other duties, to A be her boss’s memory B everything her boss asked her to Page C clean her boss’s clothes D telephone her boss’s wife Question A secretary in the future will _ A be better paid B have less work to C have higher status D have more work to Question He was given his first job as a secretary because _ A he had the best qualifications B he was lucky C he wanted to work for a woman D no one else applied Question He did a commercial course because he _ A couldn’t think of anything else to B thought it would help him to find a job C had done typing at school D wanted to become a secretary Question When he was a post office clerk, secretaries were better paid because _ A not many were looking for jobs B they were better trained C they had greater responsibility D they worked longer hours Question He found that working for a female boss was less A boring B easy C complicated D frustrating Question The writer believes that before long A men and women will be secretaries C men will better with machines B men will take over women’s jobs as secretaries D women will operate most office machines ĐÁP ÁN 1-D 2-B 3-C 6-A 7-C 8-A 4-D 5-B LỜI GIẢI CHI TIẾT Question 1: Trước năm 1914, thư ký nữ họ A hiệu nam giới B vớ C không nghiêm trọng đàn ông D làm phiền nhân viên văn phòng khác => In olden days, when a glimpse of a stocking was looked upon as something far too shocking to distract the serious work of an office, secretaries were men Dịch: Vào thời xa xưa, nhìn người phụ nữ xem thứ sốc lãng công việc nghiêm túc văn phịng, thư ký đàn ông Question 2: Một thư ký nữ mong đợi, bên cạnh nhiệm vụ khác, tới _ A trở thành trí nhớ sếp B làm thứ mà sếp yêu cầu C dọn dẹp sếp D gọi điện thoại cho vợ sếp => A man’s secretary became his personal servant, charged with remembering his wife’s birthday and buying her presents; taking his suits to the dry-cleaners; telling lies on the telephone to keep people he did not wish to speak to at bay; and, of course, typing filling and taking shorthand Page Dịch: Thư ký người đàn ông nghĩa trở thành người hầu riêng anh ta, buộc phải nhớ sinh nhật vợ mua quà cho cô ấy; mang quần áo anh giặt khơ; nói dối qua điện thoại để ngăn cản người mà không muốn nói chuyện ; và, tất nhiên, phải gõ chữ đánh tốc ký Question 3: Một thư ký tương lai _ A trả lương cao B có việc phải làm C có địa vị cao D có nhiều việc phải làm => Although be joined a national grocery chain as secretary to its first woman senior manager, he has since been promoted to an administrative job Dịch: Mặc dù gia nhập chuỗi cửa hàng tạp hóa quốc gia với tư cách thư ký cho người phụ nữ quản lý cấp cao nó, sau anh thăng chức lên cơng việc hành Question 4: Anh giao cơng việc với tư cách thư ký _ A anh có trình độ tốt B anh may mắn C anh muốn làm việc cho người phụ nữ D khơng có ứng tuyển => Dẫn chứng: “I filled in the application form and said I could audio/typing, and in fact I was the only applicant Dịch: “Tơi điền vào mẫu đơn nói tơi làm việc liên quan đến âm / đánh máy”, thực tế người nộp đơn Question 5: Anh tham gia khóa học thương mại anh A nghĩ điều khác để làm B nghĩ giúp tìm cơng việc C đánh máy trường D muốn trở thành thư ký => Dẫn chứng: I did typing at school, and then a commercial course I just thought it would be useful finding a job Dịch: Tôi gõ máy trường, sau khóa học thương mại Tơi nghĩ hữu ích để tìm cơng việc Question 6: Khi anh nhân viên bưu điện, thư ký trả lương cao _ A khơng nhiều người tìm kiếm việc làm B họ đào tạo tốt C họ có trách nhiệm lớn D họ làm việc nhiều => But then I joined the Post Office as a clerk and fiddled with the typewriter, and wrote letters, and thought that after all secretaries were getting a good £ 1,000 a year more than clerks like me There were a shortage at that time, you see Dịch: Nhưng sau tơi gia nhập Bưu điện với tư cách nhân viên bán hàng làm việc máy đánh chữ, viết thư nghĩ sau tất thư ký kiếm 1.000 bảng năm tốt so với nhân viên thư ký Như bạn thấy đấy, thời điểm có thiếu hụt nhiều người làm công Page Question 7: Anh thấy làm việc cho sếp nữ A nhàm chán B dễ dàng C phức tạp D bực bội => Dẫn chứng: It was simpler working for a woman than for a man Dịch: làm việc cho người phụ nữ đơn giản cho người đàn ông Question 8: Người viết tin trước khơng lâu A đàn ông phụ nữ thư ký B đàn ông đảm nhận công việc phụ nữ C đàn ơng tốt với máy móc D phụ nữ vận hành hầu hết máy văn phòng => Dẫn chứng: There are a lot of women secretaries who will the job as well as them – not just because they camn buy negligees for the boss’s wife, but because they are as efficient and well-trained to cope with word processors and computers as men Dịch: Có nhiều thư ký phụ nữ làm công việc - khơng họ bị mua chuộc vợ ơng chủ mà cịn họ làm việc hiệu đào tạo tốt để ứng phó với máy xử lý văn máy tính đàn ông Page ... office machines ĐÁP ÁN 1-D 2-B 3-C 6-A 7-C 8-A 4-D 5-B LỜI GIẢI CHI TIẾT Question 1: Trước năm 191 4, thư ký nữ họ A hiệu nam giới B vớ C không nghiêm trọng đàn ông D làm phiền nhân viên