【一起听英语】上流社会的人

上流社会的人，他们的生活是什么样子的？

Alice: Hello, I'm Alice.

Rob: And I'm Rob.

Alice: And this is 6 Minute English! This week we're talking about the English class

system.

Rob: The English class system. This is where people are classified by their class

according to a number of social and financial factors.

Alice: Yes. So people get categorised as working class, middle class or upper class.

Rob: The upper class is where what are nicknamed 'posh people' are supposed to

belong.

Alice: And some of these people are claiming to be persecuted¹. More on that in a

moment but as usual, let's kick off with a question.

Rob: OK Alice, let's hear it.

Alice: Do you remember the all girl pop group, The Spice Girls?

Rob: Yes, I do!

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Alice: Well, can you remember which member of the band was nicknamed Posh

Spice? Was it:

a) Emma Bunton

b) Geri Halliwell

c) Victoria Adams

Rob: Mm…Yeah, well, Victoria is a very posh name, so I think it was Victoria

Adams.

Alice: OK, well, as usual, I'll tell you the correct answer at the end of the programme.

Now let's talk a bit more about the word posh.

Rob: The word describes something that is often stylish², sometimes elegant and

expensive.

Alice: And a posh person is usually upper class and quite often rich or powerful. But

did you know the word is an acronym³?

Rob: So each letter is an abbreviation of another word?

Alice: That’s right. It's thought that P.O.S.H. stands for Port Out, Starboard Home.

This relates to the location of the best cabins for the richest people on long sea

crossings, who preferred shadier cabins in strong sunshine - port side on the

way out, starboard side on the way home!

Rob: That's an interesting story! 

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Alice: Even then, it was perceived that posh people got the best of everything, mainly

because of their wealth or power. Today, it still seems to be posh people who

are running the country.

Rob: Well, now a highly respected playwright⁴ called Julian Fellowes has said posh

people need to be protected from persecution⁵.

Alice: Yes. He's said that 'poshism', like racism⁶ or sexism, is the last acceptable form

of discrimination against a minority. For example, having a posh accent might

not help your career anymore.

Rob: So when you say 'a posh accent' do you mean like this?

Insert 1:

But it is also true that no one who looked to the future over the past centuries could have

imagined the strength of the bonds that are now in place between the governments and

people of our two nations.

Alice: That was Queen Elizabeth II speaking in an accent we would usually call posh.

It's not really the way most ordinary people speak is it?

Rob: No. That's what I would call 'the Queen's English'. Actually Alice, it's not

always cool to be posh, especially in certain jobs or social circles. Have you

ever heard of mockney?

Alice: Ah, Mockney! That's a combination of the word 'mock' meaning fake and

cockney, the traditional London working person's accent. 

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Rob: But back to the persecution of posh people. Another writer, James Delingpole,

agrees with Julian Fellowes and says there is an open season, where you can

say anything rude about posh people.

Alice: He wants posh people - or what he calls toffs - to be treated as equally as other

minorities.

Insert 2:

I don’t think they need feeling sorry for exactly, what we want is a slight levelling of the

playing field. There are now hate crimes that can be committed against black people,

against gay people. There are all sorts of protected minorities, but it seems to me that

toffs are the one minority where there against which there is a kind of open season still.

He was watching one of his favourite TV programmes, Loose Women, and one of the

women said, ‘I hate posh blokes’, and apparently⁷ there was a cheer from the audience.

As you pointed⁸ out, if somebody had said I hate Americans, or I hate blondes, or I hate

common blokes, there wouldn't have been that reaction.

Rob: So James Delingpole doesn't think posh people need sympathy, just a level

playing field.

Alice: A level playing field - to be treated equally or the same as other protected

minorities. He thinks posh people should be one of them.

Rob: He didn't like people cheering a comment about hating 'posh blokes'. People

would have been more sensitive if there had been a comment about hating

Americans or hating blondes!

Alice: I wonder if he's being too sensitive?

Rob: Well, another writer, Owen Jones, might think so. He thinks the whole debate

is not about whether you can or can't laugh at posh people. It's more an attempt 

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to shut down discussion about how unrepresentative the UK political and

media establishment has become.

Alice: So in other words, he thinks the debate is trying to disguise the fact that people

from all classes are not represented in politics and the media?

Rob: Yes. But Alice, what I really want to know is the answer to this week's

question.

Alice: Oh, OK then. I asked you which Spice Girl was nicknamed Posh Spice?

Emma Bunton, Geri Halliwell or Victoria Adams.

Rob: And I said Victoria Adams. And I was..?

Alice: Correct! Victoria Adams was called Posh Spice. She is now married to

footballer David Beckham and together they get called Posh and Becks! OK,

before we go, let’s hear some of the words and phrases that we’ve used in

today’s programme.

Rob: categorised

 persecuted

 elegant

 perceived

 discrimination

 an open season

 minorities 

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 unrepresentative

 (the) establishment

Alice: Thanks, Rob. Well, we hope you’ve had fun with us today on 6 Minute English

- and that you’ll join us again next time.

Both: Bye. 

1 persecuted   

（尤指宗教或政治信仰的）迫害(~sb. for sth.)( persecute的过去式和过去分词 )； 烦扰，困扰或骚扰某人

参考例句：

• Throughout history, people have been persecuted for their religious beliefs. 人们因宗教信仰而受迫害的情况贯穿了整个历史。
• Members of these sects are ruthlessly persecuted and suppressed. 这些教派的成员遭到了残酷的迫害和镇压。

2 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

3 acronym   

n.首字母简略词，简称

参考例句：

• That's a mouthful of an acronym for a very simple technology.对于一项非常简单的技术来说，这是一个很绕口的缩写词。
• TSDF is an acronym for Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities.TSDF是处理，储存和处置设施的一个缩写。

4 playwright   

n.剧作家，编写剧本的人

参考例句：

• Gwyn Thomas was a famous playwright.格温·托马斯是著名的剧作家。
• The playwright was slaughtered by the press.这位剧作家受到新闻界的无情批判。

5 persecution   

n. 迫害,烦扰

参考例句：

• He had fled from France at the time of the persecution. 他在大迫害时期逃离了法国。
• Their persecution only serves to arouse the opposition of the people. 他们的迫害只激起人民对他们的反抗。

6 racism   

n.民族主义；种族歧视(意识)

参考例句：

• He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
• Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

8 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。