阅读理解

WearingtieswasoriginallythemarkofBritain'smostpowerfulclasses．Thatmadethetieitselfasymbolofpowerandrespect．Andthatledittobeadoptedbyamuchlargertribe(部族)－thebusinesstribe．

Youcannotwearatieifyouworkwithmachinery．Sowearingatiebecameasignthatyouwereamanwhousedhisbraintomakealivingratherthanhishands．Itshowedyouwereserious．Itshowedyouwereaprofessional．Itmeantthateveryonewhowantedajobinbusinesshadtowearone．Itwasjustimpossibletotakeseriouslyamanwhodidn'twearapieceofcoloredsilkaroundhisneck．

Thisishowmillionsofpeoplecametobewearingtiesacrosstheworld．Theyarepartoftheuniformofbusiness．

“Tiesofferapointofdifference”saysJohnMilneheadoftheBritishGuideofTieMakers．“Theygiveachancetosaysomethingabouttheirownpersonality．”

Soifyouhappentomeetamanwithaverybrightlycoloredtiethere'sagoodchancethatheistheofficejoker．There'salsoagoodchancethathewillbewearingbrightlycoloredsocks．

Isthereafutureforties?Thesignsarenotpromising．Tiewearingseemstoberareamongstthenewbreadofentrepreneurs(创业者)intheinternetandnewtechnologyindustries．ManypoliticalleadersincludingBritishPrimeMinisterTonyBlarenowgowithoutties．Thisshowstheyaremenofthepeople－butnotthepeoplewearingties．

Upuntilaround1960itwascommonformenacrossthewesternworldtowearhatsaspartoftheirbusinessuniform．ThatchangedwiththeelectionofJohnF．KennedytothepresidencyoftheUnitedStates．Kennedyneverworeahat-infacthisnicknamewas“hatlessJack”．Seeingthatthemostpowerfulmanintheworlddidnothavetowearahatmillionsofothermendecidedthattheydidnothavetoeither．Hatssimplyvanishedacrossthewesternworld．Perhaps“tielessTony”(UKPrimeMinisterTonyBlare)willhavethesameeffectas“hatlessJack”．