Feifei: Hello and welcome to The English We Speak.
Rob: …and hello, it's Rob here too. Oh Feifei,
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
Rob: Oh dear, it sounds like catch-22.
Feifei: Catch-22? Is that some kind of
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
Feifei: So it's an impossible situation.
Rob: It is. Let's hear some examples of
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
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
Feifei: That's because I've been here for
40 years!
Rob: But we respect you for expertise,
Rob: Making the tea. Now could you put