Please double-click on the English subtitles below to play the video.
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Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
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It's Feifei here…
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Rob: …and hello, it's Rob here too. Oh Feifei,
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why the glum face?
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Feifei: I didn't get it.
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Rob: Get it?
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Feifei: I didn't get the job.
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Rob: Oh yes yes, the job – you went for a new
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job – one you really really wanted. One
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that you said would be perfect for you.
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Feifei: Clearly I am not. Look at this
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rejection letter, it says I did not have
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enough experience. How dare they! But if
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I don't do the job,
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how do I get the experience?
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Rob: Oh dear, it sounds like catch-22.
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Feifei: Catch-22? Is that some kind of
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qualification I need?
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Rob: Nope, it just describes a situation
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where you can't win. Basically, you can't
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do one thing until you have done another
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thing which you can't do until you have
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done the first thing.
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Feifei: So it's an impossible situation.
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Rob: It is. Let's hear some examples of
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this phrase in action…
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I need my parent car, but my mum says I
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need permission from my dad, then my
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dad says I need permission from my
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mum. 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
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study English in the UK, you have to be
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able to speak some English but you want
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to come to England to learn English! It's
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catch-22 for many potential students.
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Feifei: You're listening to The English We
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Speak and Rob has told me I'm in a catch-22
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situation. That's a situation I cannot win.
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Rob: Yes Feifei, so you can't get a new job
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without some experience of doing it but
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you can't get the experience with doing
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the job. So it's catch-22!
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Feifei: It's a strange phrase Rob.
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Rob: Yes, it comes from the title of a
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book, Catch-22, written by Joseph Heller
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in 1961 which describes bureaucratic
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constraints on soldiers in World War II.
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But look Feifei, don't be too sad about the
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job, you've got plenty of experience for
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doing this job.
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Feifei: That's because I've been here for
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40 years!
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Rob: But we respect you for expertise,
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especially in one task.
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Feifei: What's that?
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Rob: Making the tea. Now could you put
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the kettle on please?
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Feifei: Oh, I really need a new job.
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02:32
Rob: Bye.
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Feifei: Bye.
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