It's Feifei here…

Rob: …and hello, it's Rob here too. Oh Feifei,

why the glum face?

Feifei: I didn't get it.

Rob: Get it?

Feifei: I didn't get the job.

Rob: Oh yes yes, the job – you went for a new

job – one you really really wanted. One

that you said would be perfect for you.

Feifei: Clearly I am not. Look at this

rejection letter, it says I did not have

enough experience. How dare they! But if

I don't do the job,

how do I get the experience?

Rob: Oh dear, it sounds like catch-22.

Feifei: Catch-22? Is that some kind of

qualification I need?

Rob: Nope, it just describes a situation

where you can't win. Basically, you can't

do one thing until you have done another

thing which you can't do until you have

done the first thing.

Feifei: So it's an impossible situation.

Rob: It is. Let's hear some examples of

this phrase in action…

I need my parent car, but my mum says I

need permission from my dad, then my

dad says I need permission from my

mum. I can't get permission from either.

So I'm in a catch-22 situation.

To apply for a short-term student visa to

study English in the UK, you have to be

able to speak some English but you want

to come to England to learn English! It's

catch-22 for many potential students.

Feifei: You're listening to The English We

Speak and Rob has told me I'm in a catch-22

situation. That's a situation I cannot win.

Rob: Yes Feifei, so you can't get a new job

without some experience of doing it but

you can't get the experience with doing

the job. So it's catch-22 !

Feifei: It's a strange phrase Rob.

Rob: Yes, it comes from the title of a

book, Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller

in 1961 which describes bureaucratic

constraints on soldiers in World War II.

But look Feifei, don't be too sad about the

job, you've got plenty of experience for

doing this job.

Feifei: That's because I've been here for

40 years!

Rob: But we respect you for expertise,

especially in one task.

Feifei: What's that?

Rob: Making the tea. Now could you put

the kettle on please?

Feifei: Oh, I really need a new job.

Rob: Bye.

Feifei: Bye.