跟陌生人用英语聊天,几乎用不了几分钟就会聊到「what do you do?」。下面教你怎么答得好。
这个问题本身
What do you do? 问的是「你是做什么工作的?」,而不是「你现在正在做什么?」。
对比一下:
What do you do? — I'm a nurse.(职业)
What are you doing? — I'm making coffee.(此刻)
怎么回答
职业名称前需要加不定冠词 a / an。英语里少了它就不成立。
❌ I am teacher. ✅ I'm a teacher. ✅ I work as an engineer.
其他说法:
- I work in marketing.(行业/领域)
- I work for a bank.(雇主)
- I work at Siemens.(具体单位)
- I'm self-employed. / I'm freelance.
- I'm between jobs at the moment.(礼貌地说自己目前没有工作)
in / for / at 用法是固定的:in 表示行业,for 表示雇主,at 表示具体单位。
职业
teacher · nurse · doctor · engineer · accountant · lawyer · chef · driver · electrician · plumber · shop assistant · receptionist · developer · designer · manager · consultant
工作场所
office · factory · shop · hospital · school · restaurant · warehouse · building site · laboratory · from home
I work in an office. · She works from home two days a week.
怎么说清楚工作内容
光说职业名称通常不够——接下来还需要解释。下面这四种句式几乎能覆盖所有情况:
- I'm responsible for the monthly reports.
- I deal with customer complaints.
- I look after a team of six.
- My job involves a lot of travelling.
还有一些有用的补充说明:It's mostly admin. · It's quite hands-on. · No two days are the same.
你身边的人
boss(非正式)· manager · colleague(在大多数办公室里,不说「workmate」)· team · department · client · customer · HR
有两个词值得区分开:client 购买你的专业服务,customer 购买商品。而 colleague 是中性词——在书面语中,可以用它来代替口语里会说的 the people I work with。
关于工作条件
- I work full-time / part-time.
- I do shifts. / I'm on nights this week.
- I get 25 days' holiday.
- My salary is paid monthly.(a wage 通常是按小时或按周计算的)
- I have to commute an hour each way.
换工作
| 短语 | 含义 |
|---|---|
| apply for a job | 申请一份工作 |
| get promoted | 获得晋升 |
| hand in your notice / resign | 主动辞职 |
| be made redundant | 被裁员 |
| be sacked / fired | 因为某个原因被解雇 |
| take on someone | 招聘/雇用某人 |
made redundant 和 sacked 之间的区别在社交层面很重要:前者完全不会给你的人品打上任何标签,母语者会很小心地选用正确的词。
接下来会被问到什么
- How long have you been there?
- Do you enjoy it?
- What does that involve? — 如果你不了解对方的职业,这是一个真正有用的问题
用两句话回答,而不是一句。 I'm an engineer 会把话题堵死;而 I'm an engineer — I work for a company that makes water pumps 则会把话题打开。正是这第二句话,给了对方一个可以接下去聊的点。
会议上的寒暄
A: So what do you do?
B: I'm an accountant — I work for a firm in Leeds. You?
A: I'm in logistics. I look after the warehouse team.
B: What does that involve, day to day?
A: A lot of problem-solving, mostly. I've been there six years.
职业前用冠词,for 接雇主,in 接行业,look after 表示负责的范围,还有能让对话继续下去的 what does that involve。
自测一下
下面的测验考察冠词和三个介词。