Subtitles section Play video
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Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
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It's Feifei here.
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And hello, it's Rob here too. Oh Feifei, why the glum face?
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I didn't get it.
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Get it?
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I didn't get the job.
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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.
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Clearly I'm not. Look at this rejection letter, it says I did not have enough experience.
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How dare they! But if I don't do the job, how do I get the experience?
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Oh dear, it sounds like catch-22.
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Catch-22? Is that some kind of qualification I need?
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Nope, it just describes a situation where you can't win.
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Basically, you can't do one thing until you've done another thing which you can't do until you've done the first thing.
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So it's an impossible situation.
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It is. Let's hear some examples of this phrase in action.
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I need my parents' car, but my mum says I need permission from my dad, then my dad says I need permission from my mum.
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I can't get permission from either.
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So I'm in a catch-22 situation.
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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!
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It's catch-22 for many potential students.
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You're listening to The English We Speak and Rob has told me I'm in a catch-22 situation.
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That's a situation I cannot win.
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Yes Feifei, so you can't get a new job without some experience of doing it, but you can't get the experience without doing the job.
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So it's catch-22 !
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It's a strange phrase, Rob.
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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.
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But look Feifei, don't be too sad about the job, you've got plenty of experience for doing this job.
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That's because I've been here for 40 years!
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Oh, yes. But we respect you for expertise, especially in one task.
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What's that?
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Making the tea. Now could you put the kettle on please?
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Oh, I really need a new job.
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Bye.
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Bye.