商業英語世界觀-世界公民文化中心

Specs appeal: Want to get that job? Wear glasses to the interview

Never mind a crisp shirt or a firm handshake. If you want to impress a potential employer, put on a pair of spectacles. Job hunters are more likely to be hired if they wear glasses to their interview, according to a study. A third of adults think spectacle-wearers look more professional, while 43 per cent think they appear more intelligent.

不用擔心襯衫有沒有很挺，或者握手是否力道剛好，想給未來的老闆留下好印象，就戴一副眼鏡吧。面試時帶眼鏡的求職者成功率比較大。三分之一的成年受訪者認為戴眼鏡的人看上去更職業，另有43%的受訪者認為這樣看上去更聰明。

And 40 per cent of those with 20-20 vision would consider wearing clear lenses if it would improve their chances of getting a job. Another six per cent would put on glasses to feel fashionable, and nine per cent think spectacles make the wearer look more attractive, the study by the College of Optometrists found. Psychology professor Cary Cooper, from Lancaster University, said: ‘It is not surprising that businesses want to employ intelligent staff but the idea that intelligent people wear glasses is an old stereotype that has not gone away.

40%的視力極佳的受訪者認為，如果戴眼鏡會更好找工作，他們會考慮戴平光鏡。另外6%的受訪者認為戴眼鏡看上去更時尚，9%的受訪者認為戴眼鏡讓人更有魅力。該項調查由驗光師學院開展。 蘭卡斯特大學的心理學教授卡裡•庫珀說：老闆們都想雇到聰明的員工，這一點兒也不意外。但聰明的人都戴著眼鏡這種刻板印象還存在。

In fact, glasses are a poor indication of intelligence because you can have bad eyesight for a number of reasons and then choose to wear contact lenses. It is possible that some people have more self-confidence and change their behavior when they put on glasses, which could in itself improve their chances at interview.

事實上，戴眼鏡並不表示一個人很聰明，造成視力差的原因很多，更何況人們也可以選擇戴隱形眼鏡。 也有一種可能。有些人戴上眼鏡後會變得更自信一點，並且改進自己的行為舉止，而這本身就增加了他們面試受雇的機率。

Vocabulary:
1.crisp: clean-cut, neat, and well-pressed; well-groomed（潔淨的）
一般我們用這個字，經常是指脆的、鮮脆的，像蘋果剛從樹上摘下來，爽爽脆脆，就可以說是a crisp apple。 除此之外，crisp用來形容衣服也很合適，crisp shirt/suit，襯衫或套裝燙得挺挺的，就是這個意思。過年的時候，大家都用新鈔，想像鈔票觸感，也叫crisp。A crisp dollar bill.指一張嶄新的美鈔。另外，說話的方式簡短乾脆的，也用crisp。a crisp reply指明快的回覆。Crisp也可以形容天氣，a crisp autumn指秋高氣爽。

2.job hunter:求職者
job hunter是指求職者，商場如戰場，好的人才各大企業爭相搶著要。人才對一家企業最大的貢獻，在於其「腦袋」，挖角當然是挖腦袋，因此挖角在英文裡用”headhunt”。I heard that Bill in your department has been headhunted by many international companies, including IBM! 另外和找工作相關的字是「跳槽」，英文可以用"jump ship"。ship原意是船，船就代表你工作的公司，jump ship就表示離職或跳槽。If you jump ship, you leave a job or activity suddenly before it is finished, especially to go and work for someone else.

例1：Another advertising agency offered him $1000 to jump ship.
例2：When the company announced that it was losing money, many of its employees jumped ship.

3.20-20 vision: a term used to express normal visual acuity (the clarity or sharpness of vision) measured at a distance of 20 feet（絕好的視力，也寫成20/20 vision）

4.clear lenses: 平光鏡，無度數的眼鏡。

(本文同步刊載於100/1/15週六工商時報"世界公民weekly")
說好的英文，請按這裡。