3、Dress Down

Dress-down seems to have originated in places where people work through the heat of summer. Dress-down，restricted to Fridays, allows staff to head straight for their out-of-town retreats on Friday evenings without going home to change . But in New York it has now become a week-round state of affairs.

For me ,a manager in the head office of a bank，dress-down is a real headache for two reasons. The first is that it actually requires a new wardrobe（衣柜）. For my male colleagues in the US, it seemed to mean a change from one uniform to another. I basically only own two types of clothes—suits for working in and truly casual clothes for relaxing weekends in the countryside. 

Later in London, I was rather confused to discover that my employers had employers had started summer dress-down. At first, I tried to sidestep it in my suit as usual, but my staff complained that they then felt pressured into doing the same. So, I found myself having to buy “smart casual” clothes specifically to wear to work; a ridiculous expense. Even more annoying is the fact that I still have to prepare a suit in my office in case I’m suddenly called to a meeting, where dress-down is banned.

For the other great inconvenience of dress-down is that it makes it easier than ever to spot when colleagues are going to job interviews . For the rest of the year, it is easy enough to arrange these during the working week，but in the summer when dress-down rules, it’ s a dead giveaway to arrive in smart clothes for such a formal appointment. However, I would normally applaud this state of affairs，as most of my time used to be spent trying to prevent valued employees from moving elsewhere.

1．According to the writer. “dress-down” in New York began as a way of_________.

A．discouraging staff from taking summer holidays

B．showing concern for staff who lived out of town

C．rewarding those employees willing to work in the heat

D．making life easier for staff in the summer months

2．What was the writer’s first reaction to the idea of “dress-down” in her London office?

A．She attempted to ignore it.                   B．She argued against it.

C．She recognized the need for it.             D．She urged her staff to adopt it.

3．The aspect of “dress—down” that most annoys the writer is the fact that         .

A．her clients find it embarrassing             B．not everyone has to conform to it

C．it does not apply on all occasions          D．the clothes themselves do not suit her

4．The writer thinks “dress-down”_________ according to the passage.

A．develops her ability to make a business   B．increases her expense on clothes

C．disturbs her personal life after work       D．damages her interpersonal relationships

5．In which aspect of her work does the writer find “dress-down” an advantage?

A．Employing new members of staff.        B．Monitoring the honesty of her staff.

C．Providing her staff with feedback.       D．Ensuring her staff remain loyal.