Words and Their Stories: Top Brass
2013年08月13日 VOA, Words and Their Stories.
Read and understand the article. If you may have any difficult words to pronounce and words you cannot understand, always ask your teacher.
*Teachers will divide the article into 2-3 paragraphs to help you understand and check the pronunciation of the difficult words.
Vocabulary
*Read the words carefully.
- civilian /səˈvɪljən/ (n.) a person who is not a member of the military or of a police or firefighting force
- hard-working /ˈhɑɚdˈwɚkɪŋ/ (adj.)using a lot of time and energy to do work : industrious
- insulting /ɪnˈsʌlt/ (adj.) rude and offensive
- object /ˈɑ:bʤɪkt/ (v.)to disagree with something or oppose something
- brass /ˈbræs/(n.)a yellow metal that is made by combining copper and zinc
Article
Words and Their Stories: Top Brass
* Read the text below
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(1)The Italians have an old saying, “Il dolce far niente.” The words mean it is sweet, or enjoyable, to do nothing.
(2) On weekends and during holidays, many of us enjoy doing nothing. But most of the time we have to work. And, to keep our jobs, we must work hard. Our employer will not like it if we do nothing.
(3) American workers often call their employers bosses. The word boss comes from the Dutch word, baas, meaning master.
(4) Sometimes company bosses are called the brass. They also are sometimes called top brass, or brass hats.
(5) Experts disagree about how these strange expressions started. But, they may have come from Britain. Leaders of the nineteenth century British army wore pieces of metal called oak leaves on their hats. The metal, brass, has a color similar to that of gold. So a leader or commander came to be called a member of the brass. Or he might have been called a brass hat. Or, even the top brass.
(6) By the nineteen forties, the expression had spread beyond military leaders. It also included civilian officials.
(7) A newspaper in the American city of Philadelphia used the term in nineteen forty-nine. It called the most important police officials, top brass
(8) Other expressions that mean boss or employer have nothing to do with brass or hats. One of these is big cheese. A cheese is a solid food made from milk.
(9) The expression probably started in America in the late nineteenth century. Some experts believe it comes from a word in the Uersian or urdu languages — chiz. The meaning is a thing. So the meaning of big cheese may be a big thing.
(10) Other experts say the word cheese in this expression was really an incorrect way of saying chief. The word chief means leader. So the expression may mean big leader.
(11) An employer usually does not object to being called boss. But most workers would not call their employers big cheeses, top brass or brass hats to their faces.
(12) These words are not really insulting. But neither do they show great respect.”
(13) These words are not really insulting. But neither do they show great respect.
(14) Employers also have expressions to describe their workers. One of them that describes a good worker is that he or she works like a Trojan.
(15) This expression probably comes from the ancient writings of the Greek poet Homer. He wrote about the Trojans who lived in the city of Troy. He said Trojans worked very hard to protect their city.
(16) Now, the expression often is used to describe an employee who works hard for a company. A loyal, hard-working employee is said to work like a Trojan.
(17) So be happy if your company’s brass hats say you work like a Trojan. They may consider you valuable enough to increase your pay.
Discussion
*Let’s talk about the article base on the questions below
- What leadership qualities do you have?
- What leadership qualities do you want or need in the future? What do you think are the advantages and disadvantages of being a leader?
- Why is good leadership important?