New Female Employees in Chinese Airline Forced to lie in Overhead Luggage Compartments

Before you read: some questions to help you think about the topic and the words you might need.

What do you think about airline jobs?

Are there any traditions that new employees must experience in your company or school?

To make it as a female flight attendant in China, you must have the body of a model and the strength of a martial artist. Each of the coveted job positions has thousands of applicants. And application for this job has not abated even though there has been bad stories about unkindness to female attendants.

At China Southern Airlines, attendants must be no older than 24 and above average height.

And at Kunming Airlines, it now seems, they should be as small as pieces of carry-on luggage.

A Civil Aviation newspaper on Wechat, a popular social networking app in China, has shown photos of female flight attendants lying uncomfortably in overhead bins. The practice for new female attendants, which has been happening for nearly five years, is to celebrate the employees' first 30 to 50 hours of flight service.

Only women receive this treatment from their male coworkers, who force the female attendants into the overhead luggage compartments. Sometimes they even close the lid on them.

Those who tried to avoid participating in the strange practice were deemed as not being part of the team and said to be arrogant. Some pictures show the young women's faces hidden in a corner of the luggage compartment. One photo shows a male staffer showing a peace sign as he stands beside an attendant who is covering her face with her hands.

The photos and story article went viral in China over the weekend, a lot of anger from commenters who called the practice "an insult to females" and really disgusting.

Others said it was only a joke and not be thought of as a serious thing. They pointed out that it looked like some women had climbed into the bins "for fun."

Kunming Airlines apologized for it. They said in a statement that the company does not condone the tradition.

The airline vows to punish the workers who have done this and put an end to their behavior.

But Kunming Airlines has long known about this action for new female employees, the Wechat post claims. This is because female flight attendants had previously talked about their anger to management but had not had any changes.

China's civil aviation authority has rules that female flight attendants must be between 158 and 173 cm tall and must weigh between 48 and 68kg. It was reported that in August, an attendant from Qingdao Airlines was not allowed to work because she exceeded this height-to-weight requirement.

It is not a surprise, then, that the flight attendants appear to have been placed in the bins without difficulty. It seems to show that if a woman didn't fit the compartment, she would not be allowed to fly.

Try to guess the meaning of the words in bold and match them with their closest meaning from the choices in the right. Some of the answers are very close and have similar meaning. The meaning of these words is how they are used in the reading. Some of these words have different meanings in the dictionary depending on how they are used.

 The answers are below the table.

A=2, B=8, C=7, D=1, E=5, F=3, G=4, H=6

Some example sentences using the new words or phrases from the meaning of how they are used in the reading to help you understand better.

1. He worked very hard and was finally able to make it.

2. She coveted her classmates grades.

3. There was a lot of rain and it didn’t abate until two days later.

4. Their team is deemed to be the best in the competition.

5. My friend pointed out that it was not a good idea.

6. My teacher does not condone using phones in class.

7. He vowed to return next year and succeed.

8. He said he wanted to put an end to rumors about him.

Some questions using the new words/phrases. Try to use the words/phrases in your answer.

1. What things do you need to make it in your job or in what you study?

2. Do you feel it is wrong to covet the success of others? Why or why not?

3. Do you feel that the traffic problems in your city will abate, or get worse? Why?

4. Who do you deem to be someone successful? Why?

5. What would you point out as interesting from today’s story?

6. What did you mother not condone when you were small?

7. What do you think are the real reasons the airline vows to punish this activity in the story? Is it because they have had bad media? Do you think this media will put an end to this activity? Why or why not?