文字稿

伦敦一家公司的前台接待员因拒绝穿高跟鞋上班被告知需离开公司回家去，而且不发当天的工资。此举引起了一场就强制办公室着装要求的讨论。以下是 Catriona Renton 的 报道。

Nicola Thorp was on her first day working for the management consultancy PwC in central London. She was told by her employment agency Portico that as a receptionist she would have to wear shoes with heels between 2 and 4 inches high.

When she refused and noted that her male colleagues did not have to do this, Miss Thorp was sent home without pay.

She launched a petition asking Parliament to make it illegal to require women to wear high heels. It has gathered tens of thousands of signatures .

PwC asked Portico to review its policies . The agency has now said all female employees will be allowed to wear plain flat or plain court shoes as they prefer.

词汇表

management consultancy 管理咨询（公司，事务所）
employment agency 职业介绍所
inches 英寸
petition 请愿书
signatures 签名
policies 政策
plain  简单的，朴素的
flat shoes  平底鞋
court shoes 高跟浅帮鞋

测验

请听报道并回答下列问题。

1. True or false? Nicola Thorp refused to wear the type of shoes PwC demanded.

2. What was the argument used by Nicola Thorp not to have to wear high heels?

3. Was the receptionist's petition popular?
 
4. Would Nicola Thorp be sent home without pay now if she showed up to work in flat court shoes?

答案

1. True or false? Nicola Thorp refused to wear the type of shoes PwC demanded.
False. The demand came from the employment agency Portico.

2. What was the argument used by Nicola Thorp not to have to wear high heels?
She said that her male colleagues were not asked to wear high heels.

3. Was the receptionist's petition popular?
Yes. It gathered tens of thousands of signatures from people who agreed with her.

4. Would Nicola Thorp be sent home without pay now if she showed up to work in flat court shoes?
Probably not, because the employment agency Portico said it would allow its employees to wear plain flat or plain court shoes at work if they like.