Rob is annoyed. He has spent hours filling in forms for his small house extension. Can Feifei help him? Listen to the programme to find out.
罗布非常生气。他花了数个小时的时间填写小型房屋扩建申请表。菲菲能帮他吗？请收听本期节目并找出答案。
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
注：文本与音频并不完全对应。
Feifei: Hello Rob. You look so busy, what are all these papers?
菲菲：你好，罗布。你看起来很忙，这些纸是什么？
Rob: Oh, Feifei, I have to get a permit to build an extension to my house. It's a very small bit of building work but I have to fill in all these forms.
罗布：哦，菲菲，我要申请扩建我的房子。虽然是一项小建筑工程，但是我要把这些表格都填了。
Feifei: What is this one for?
菲菲：这张是什么表？
Rob: Well, this one here is for my local council. I need to apply for planning permission. And then they want lots of supporting documents to make sure it fits in with building regulations.
罗布：那张是地方议会要求的表格。我要申请建筑许可。他们需要大量证明文件，来确保房子符合建筑规范。
Feifei: It sounds exhausting.
菲菲：听起来很累。
Rob: It is. I hate red tape. If I could cut through this red tape it would be brilliant!
罗布：的确很累。我讨厌繁文缛节。我要是能减少这些繁文缛节就太好了！
Feifei: So your problem is red tape? Say no more, Rob! The solution is in my bag! Ah, here they are!
菲菲：你的问题是红色胶带吗？罗布，不用多说了！解决方法就在我的包里！给你！
Rob: A pair of scissors and blue tape?
罗布：一把剪子和蓝色胶带？
Feifei: Yes. You use the scissors to cut through your red tape and... if you don't like red tape, use blue. I love the colour blue!
菲菲：对。你可以用这把剪子把你的红色胶带剪了……如果你不喜欢红色胶带，那就剪蓝色胶带吧。我喜欢蓝色！
Rob: Thank you, Feifei. You're a good friend. But in English we call the rules and processes required to get official permits — which usually seem to be pointless — 'red tape'.
罗布：谢谢你，菲菲。你真是我的好朋友。不过在英语中，我们称那些要经过官方许可、但通常不值得这样做的规范和流程为red tape。
Feifei: Ah, bureaucracy! So let's hear some examples of how this expression is used.
菲菲：啊，官僚作风！我们来听些句子，看看这个表达方式如何应用。
Examples
例句
Small firms won't be subject to new regulations under a government plan to cut red tape and boost the economy.
小公司不受政府计划简化手续、促进经济的新规的约束。
Andrea almost gave up studying abroad. The amount of red tape to get a visa was unbelievable!
安德莉亚几乎要放弃留学了。为了得到签证而要经过的手续简直多得无法想象！
Feifei: I think most people hate bureaucracy, Rob.
菲菲：我认为大部分人都讨厌官僚作风，罗布。
Rob: I'm not surprised. Some people say this expression might come from the 16th century, when bundles of documents were held together with red tape. I hate all these forms!
罗布：我对这点并不感到惊讶。有些人说这个表达方式起源于16世纪，当时文件是用红色带子打包成捆的。我讨厌这些表格！
Feifei: Well, it's the 21st century now and we still have red tape. Good luck with your red tape, Rob. I'm off to paint the town red!
菲菲：现在已经是21世纪了，我们仍然还有繁文缛节。罗布，希望你能处理好你的繁复手续。我要去狂欢了。
Rob: Oh, no more idioms with red for me today please, Feifei.
罗布：哦，拜托今天不要再跟我说有关红色的习语了。
Feifei: Bye.
菲菲：再见。
Rob: Good bye.
罗布：再见。
