ESL Podcast 608 – Formatting Text

Chad: Okay, this report is finally finished.

Pamela: Oh, not quite. I’m still working on the formatting¹.

Chad: We used the standard formatting for this type of report. I don’t think we should play around with the text.

Pamela: Standard is boring. I want our report to be special. I’m putting a nice border on the cover, adding some shading, and centering some of the text.

Chad: No, I really think that’s a bad idea. All of the text should be flush left, and nobody else puts shading in their reports. It cuts down on readability.

Pamela: Readability is secondary to presentation. Look, I’m just putting some of the titles in caps and underlining them, adding some bullets, and putting some of the important sections in bold or italics. This will all make each page look more professional.

Chad: I don’t think it’s going to have your intended effect.

Pamela: Really?

Chad: Yes, instead of thinking we’re being professional, they’ll think we’ve gone off our rocker.

Pamela: Don’t be so stodgy². Hey, I think adding some clip art would really jazz things up, don’t you?

Chad: Oh, God!


Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 formatting   

n.格式化v.使格式化( format的现在分词 )；规定…的格式（或形状、大小、比例等）；安排…的格局（或规格）；设计…的版面

参考例句：

• Select the block of text and-click and choose Default Formatting. 选择目标文字块，点击鼠标右键，选择默认格式。 来自互联网
• There are emerging conventions about the content and formatting of documentation strings. 这里介绍文档字符串的概念和格式。 来自互联网

2 stodgy   

adj.易饱的；笨重的；滞涩的；古板的

参考例句：

• It wasn't easy to lose puppy fat when Mum fed her on stodgy home cooking.母亲给她吃易饱的家常菜，她想减掉婴儿肥可是很难。
• The gateman was a stodgy fellow of 60.看门人是个六十岁的矮胖子。