英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

2010年ESL之商务英语 01 Working from a Home Office

时间:2014-05-19 08:21来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

 

01 Working from a Home Office

GLOSSARYfunctional – able to work properly; able to meet one’s needs* The kitchen is beautiful, but it isn’t very functional1, because the sink is really farfrom the stove.

overhead2 – the amount of money a company has to spend to stay in business,regardless of how many products or services it sells; money spent on things likerent, electricity, telephone, and salaries* The company decided3 to close its third office to reduce its overhead.

to decentralize – to spread things out so that they are not concentrated orcentered in one place or with one person* Terrence used to make all the decisions at work, but now the managers aretrying to decentralize the decision-making power.

to think twice – to hesitate in making a decision, because one is consideringanother option* If I had an opportunity to work overseas, I wouldn’t think twice about it. It wouldbe a dream come true!

(someone) would kill to – for someone to want to have or do something verymuch* Jacques and his wife would kill to buy a house in that neighborhood.

dedicated4 – used for only one thing; with only one purpose* This is a dedicated computer for office work. That means no personal email orweb browsing5.

to set (one’s) own schedule – to decide when one will do certain things; to bein control of one’s own schedule* As a business owner, Mariah gets to set her own schedule and take time offwhen she needs to do personal things.

to concentrate on – to focus on something; to put one’s attention on a particularthing* How can you concentrate on what you’re reading if you’re listening to musicand watching TV at the same time?

distracted6 – not able to pay attention to something because one is looking at,listening to, or thinking about something else* Why are you so distracted today? What are you thinking about?

home office – a room in a home where one works7; study; den* The kids know that when their mother closes the door to the home office, she’sworking and shouldn’t be interrupted.

to block (something) out – to ignore something; to not pay attention tosomething* I know you’re scared of heights, but try to block out your fear and just enjoy theview from up here.

drawback8 – a disadvantage; a negative aspect of doing or having something* The job offers interesting work and great pay. The only drawback is that thereisn’t very much vacation time.

productive9 – able to do a lot of work in a short period of time; producing a lot ofgood results; efficient* Kelvin is most productive early in the morning, when he feels wide awake.

(something)-centered – focused on something; with most of one’s interest,attention, and activities related10 to a particular thing* They have a family-centered lifestyle and spend most of their evenings at homewith their children.

to take (something) over (something) – to prefer something over somethingelse; to want to do or have one thing more than another thing; to choose onething instead of something else* Francesca is a vegetarian11, so she’ll always take a vegetable dish over a steak.

conducive12 to – helpful; useful; helping13 something else to happen* They bought desks for their children to try to make their home more conduciveto studying and learning14.

to double as – to serve more than one purpose; to be used for more than onething* During the winter storms, the shopping center doubled as a warming center forthe homeless.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS1. What does Adrina mean when she says, “Lots of people would kill to workfrom home”?

a) Many people who work from home commit suicide16.

b) Many people would like to be able to work from home.

c) Working from home can make people lose their job.

2. According to Victor, what’s one of the problems of working from home?

a) He’s always thinking about work.

b) He’s always thinking about the house.

c) He isn’t able to communicate with his co-workers.

______________WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

overheadThe word “overhead,” in this podcast, means the amount of money a companyhas to spend to stay in business, regardless of how many products or services itsells, on things like rent, electricity, telephone, and salaries: “Our office in NewYork has a much higher overhead than any of our other offices, because the rentis so expensive.” The word “overhead” can also be used to describe the positionof anything that is in the sky or above oneself: “Those are some dark cloudsoverhead. You’d better take an umbrella.” Finally, an “overhead” is a clear, thinpiece of plastic that one can write on and then place on a machine called an“overhead projector” so that the text or image appears on a wall or screen: “Theteacher prefers to use overheads17 instead of the chalkboard.”

to double asIn this podcast, the phrase “to double as” means to serve more than onepurpose, or to be used for more than one thing: “A warm blanket can double as abeautiful wall hanging.” The phrase “to double over” means to bend at the waist,almost folding one’s body, usually because one is in a lot of pain or because oneis laughing a lot: “It was such a funny joke that we all doubled over with laughter.”

The phrase “to double up with (someone)” means to share something withsomeone, and especially to share a room with someone else: “To save money,the company is asking its employees to double up with each other when theytravel on business.”

CULTURE NOTEMany Americans think that working from home sounds like a great idea, but the“reality” (what actually happens) is often “far from” (very different than) the“dream” (what one thinks and hopes will happen). There are many problems withhome offices that make it difficult, “inconvenient” (not easy or nice), or“uncomfortable” (physically awkward) to work from home.

Many home offices are simply too small. Most large areas in people’s homes areused for “living areas” (places for the family to spend time together) andbedrooms. Few homes have an empty room that is waiting to be used as ahome office, so “telecommuters” (people who work from home) often have to“cram” (fit something into a small space) their desk into the corner of a room thatis used for one or more other things.

Even when people do have enough space for a home office, the room is often“inadequate” (not good enough) in some other way. For example, the homeoffice probably isn’t “sound-proof” (not allowing sound to cross the walls, ceiling,and floor), so the telecommuter hears the sounds of other people in the home,and the home telephone. This can be a major distraction18 when telecommutersneed to concentrate on their work.

Finally, many home offices don’t have enough “outlets” (the small holes in thewall used to get electricity to devices) for all the computers and “peripherals”

(computer accessories) that people need to do their work. The “wiring” (long,thin pieces of metal that electricity moves along) is often “outdated” (old; notmodern), making it dangerous to have too many pieces of electrical equipment.

______________Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – b; 2 – a

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPTWelcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 544: Working froma Home Office.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode20 544. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com, you’ll be glad you did. There you can downloada Learning Guide for this episode that will help you improve your English muchfaster. You can also take a look at our ESL Podcast Store, which has additionalcourses in business and daily English.

This episode is called “Working from a Home Office.” It’s a dialogue betweenAdrina and Victor, using vocabulary associated with having an office at home.

Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Adrina: So this is your new home office. It’s nice.

Victor: It’s functional, and I like it. When my company decided to lower itsoverhead by decentralizing, it gave employees the option to work from home.

When I heard that, I didn’t think twice about making the change.

Adrina: I’m not surprised. Lots of people would kill to work from home. Did youhave to get dedicated phone and fax lines?

Victor: No, I already have a company cell phone, and I mainly use email tocommunicate with the office.

Adrina: I assume21 you get to set your own schedule. Do you find it hard toconcentrate on your work? I know I’d be distracted all the time if I had a homeoffice.

Victor: It’s true that there are a lot more distractions22 at home, but I try to blockthem out. For me, it’s not getting down to work that’s a problem, it’s gettingmyself to stop thinking about work all the time! That’s one of the drawbacks23 ofworking where you live. I’m more productive, but I’m also more work-centered.

Adrina: I can see that, though I’d still take working from home over working atthe office any day.

Victor: I thought you had a home office for your real estate24 business.

Adrina: I do, but it’s not very conducive to getting any work done.

Victor: Why’s that?

Adrina: My home office doubles as the guestroom and the kids’ playroom!

[end of dialogue]

Our conversation begins with Adrina saying to Victor, “So this is your new homeoffice. It’s nice.” Victor says, “It’s functional, and I like it.” “To be functional”

means to work properly; something that meets your needs, something that doeswhat it’s supposed to do. It’s usually used to describe something that works wellbut isn’t necessarily25 beautiful. Victor says, “When my company decided to lowerits overhead by decentralizing, it gave employees the option to work from home.”

“Overhead” (one word) is the amount of money a company has to spend nomatter how many products or services it sells. It’s money that you have tospend, even if you only sell a little bit. That would be things like the rent for anoffice, the price of all of the equipment and materials in an office; these are partof a company’s overhead. “Overhead” has a couple of different meaningshowever. To find out more about those you have to go to the Learning Guide.

So Victor says that his company decided to lower its overhead. It wanted toreduce, or cut, its costs so it decided to decentralize. “To decentralize” means tospread things out so they’re not all concentrated, or centered, in one place. Weoften add the suffix26 “ize” after a word to make it into a verb: centralize;decentralize. “To centralize,” of course, is the opposite, to bring everything intoone place. Well, the company is decentralizing; it’s telling the employees theycan work at home. Victor says, “When I heard that, I didn’t think twice aboutmaking the change.” “To think twice” means to hesitate in making a decision;you’re thinking about it a lot. But Victor didn’t think about it at all; he knew thiswas a good choice for him – he didn’t think twice: “When I saw the woman wholater became my wife, as soon as I saw her I didn’t think twice. I said, ‘You willbe my love.’” Well, I didn’t say that to her of course, she would have never comeclose to me if I had!

Adrina says, “I’m not surprised. Lots of people would kill to work from home.”

When we say someone “would kill to do (something)” we mean the person really wants to do that thing or have that thing: “I would kill to have tickets to the WorldSeries next year.” I would do a lot, because I really want it. So if you havetickets to the World Series next year, please send me an email. Of course, Iwon’t actually kill anyone to get my tickets!

Adrina says that a lot of people would kill to work from home. “Did you have toget dedicated phone and fax lines?” she asks. “Dedicated,” here, means usedfor only one thing, for one purpose. To have a dedicated phone line means thatit’s a phone you have just for your business uses, you don’t share your personalphone for that reason. Adrina is asking if Victor had to get dedicated phone andfax lines – telephone lines. Victor says, “No, I already have a company cellphone, and I mainly use email to communicate with the office.” So he uses hiscell phone as his company phone.

Adrina says, “I assume you get to set your own schedule.” “To set your ownschedule” means to decide when you are going to do certain things; you are incontrol of your schedule. You can decide you’re going to start work at 9:00 thismorning, or at 10:00, or at 6:00 – you set your own schedule. Adrina says, “Doyou find it hard to concentrate on your work?” “To concentrate on (something)”

means to focus on something, to put your attention on a particular thing. Adrinasays, “I know I’d be distracted all the time if I had a home office.” “To bedistracted” means not to be able to pay attention to something, because you’relooking at something else or you’re listening to something else. If you’re talkingto someone else and they’re distracted, they might be looking out the window,they might be looking at their cell phone; they’re not really listening to you.

Adrina says, “I know I’d be distracted all the time if I had a home office,” a placewhere you can work in your home. Victor says, “It’s true that there are a lot moredistractions at home, but I try to block them out.” “To block (something) out” is aphrasal verb meaning to ignore something, not to pay attention to something,especially noise – things you can hear. When I go to Starbucks and there issomebody talking next to me and I’m trying to read, I block them out by listeningto music. So, Victor tries to block out the distractions. “For me, it’s not gettingdown to work that’s a problem (meaning it’s not getting started and actuallyworking), it’s getting myself to stop thinking about work all the time!” This is aproblem with working at home, you always feel like you’re at work. “That’s one ofthe drawbacks,” he says, “of working where you live.” A “drawback” (one word)is a disadvantage, a negative aspect of doing something. One drawback of livingin Los Angeles is that there’s always traffic on the freeways. Another drawbackis the pollution. Another drawback could be the people here; other than that, it’sa great place to live!

Victor says, “I’m more productive, but I’m also more work-centered.” “To beproductive” means to be able to get a lot of work done in a short period of time, toproduce a lot of good results. Victor says, “I’m more productive, but I’m alsomore work-centered.” “Work-centered” means focused on your work. We canuse this construction – this form with many different kinds of nouns27. You couldsay that she’s very “family-centered,” she’s focused on her family. That’s what’smost important to her, that’s where she spends most of her time. You could be“language learning-centered,” you always spend your time trying to improve yourlanguage skills, and so forth15.

Adrina says, “I can see that (I can understand that), though I’d still take workingfrom home over working at the office any day.” When we say we “can take(something) over (something else)” we mean we would prefer that first thing overthat second thing. So for example: “Francesca is a vegetarian, so she’ll alwaystake a vegetable dish over a steak.” She’ll prefer vegetables instead of thesteak.

Victor says, “I thought you had a home office for your real estate business.”

“Real estate” is selling homes or buildings. Adrina says, “I do, but it’s not veryconducive to getting any work done.” Something that is “conducive to(something)” is helpful, useful, something that helps you do something else. A lotof noise is not conducive to studying or to reading, at least for me. So, Victorasks Adrina why her home office is not very conducive to getting any work done.

She says, “My home office doubles as the guestroom and the kids’ playroom!”

When we say something “doubles as” something else, we mean that it is used formore than one thing. The word “double” actually has several meanings inEnglish. You know where you can find those, in the Learning Guide.

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.

[start of dialogue]

Adrina: So this is your new home office. It’s nice.

Victor: It’s functional, and I like it. When my company decided to lower itsoverhead by decentralizing, it gave employees the option to work from home.

When I heard that, I didn’t think twice about making the change.

Adrina: I’m not surprised. Lots of people would kill to work from home. Did youhave to get dedicated phone and fax lines?

Victor: No, I already have a company cell phone, and I mainly use email tocommunicate with the office.

Adrina: I assume you get to set your own schedule. Do you find it hard toconcentrate on your work? I know I’d be distracted all the time if I had a homeoffice.

Victor: It’s true that there are a lot more distractions at home, but I try to blockthem out. For me, it’s not getting down to work that’s a problem, it’s gettingmyself to stop thinking about work all the time! That’s one of the drawbacks ofworking where you live. I’m more productive, but I’m also more work-centered.

Adrina: I can see that, though I’d still take working from home over working atthe office any day.

Victor: I thought you had a home office for your real estate business.

Adrina: I do, but it’s not very conducive to getting any work done.

Victor: Why’s that?

Adrina: My home office doubles as the guestroom and the kids’ playroom!

[end of dialogue]

The script19 for this episode was written by the always productive, never distracted,Dr. Lucy Tse.

From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Thank you for listening. Comeback and listen to us next time on ESL Podcast.

English as a Second Language Podcast is written and produced by Dr. Lucy Tse,hosted by Dr. Jeff McQuillan, copyright28 2010 by the Center for EducationalDevelopment.


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 functional 5hMxa     
adj.为实用而设计的,具备功能的,起作用的
参考例句:
  • The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了,但现在可以用了。
  • The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的,只是为了实用。
2 overhead bjhyZ     
adj.在头顶上的,悬空的;n.间接开支
参考例句:
  • A number of birds are circling overhead.很多鸟在头顶上空盘旋。
  • Many stars overhead are invisible to the naked eye.天上的许多星星是肉眼看不到的。
3 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。
4 dedicated duHzy2     
adj.一心一意的;献身的;热诚的
参考例句:
  • He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
  • His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。
5 browsing 509387f2f01ecf46843ec18c927f7822     
v.吃草( browse的现在分词 );随意翻阅;(在商店里)随便看看;(在计算机上)浏览信息
参考例句:
  • He sits browsing over[through] a book. 他坐着翻阅书籍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Cattle is browsing in the field. 牛正在田里吃草。 来自《简明英汉词典》
6 distracted puKz3d     
a.注意力分散的,思想不集中的
参考例句:
  • When working, one should concentrate and not allow oneself to be distracted. 工作时要集中精力,不要分心。
  • Noise outside distracted her mind from her studies. 门外的噪音使她心神不宁,无法集中注意力学习。
7 works ieuzIh     
n.作品,著作;工厂,活动部件,机件
参考例句:
  • We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
  • The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。
8 drawback Wrmxy     
n.缺点,欠缺,不利条件
参考例句:
  • Everything has its drawback.事事不免有缺点。
  • He felt the apartment's only drawback was that it was too small.他觉得这个公寓唯一的缺点就是太小了。
9 productive nQxxT     
adj.能生产的,有生产价值的,多产的
参考例句:
  • We had a productive meeting that solved some problems.我们开了一个富有成效的会议,解决了一些问题。
  • Science and technology are part of the productive forces.科学技术是生产力。
10 related vkGzSv     
adj.有关系的,有关联的,叙述的,讲述的
参考例句:
  • I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
  • We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。
11 vegetarian 7KGzY     
n.素食者;adj.素食的
参考例句:
  • She got used gradually to the vegetarian diet.她逐渐习惯吃素食。
  • I didn't realize you were a vegetarian.我不知道你是个素食者。
12 conducive hppzk     
adj.有益的,有助的
参考例句:
  • This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
  • Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。
13 helping 2rGzDc     
n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的,辅助的
参考例句:
  • The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
  • By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。
14 learning wpSzFe     
n.学问,学识,学习;动词learn的现在分词
参考例句:
  • When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时,常会从车上掉下来。
  • Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。
15 forth Hzdz2     
adv.向前;向外,往外
参考例句:
  • The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
  • He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。
16 suicide ssAwA     
n.自杀,自毁,自杀性行为
参考例句:
  • The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
  • The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。
17 overheads dmcz4S     
n.一般费用
参考例句:
  • Heavy overheads reduced his profits. 经费开支大因而减少了他的利润。
  • There were too many overheads. 经常性开支太大。
18 distraction muOz3l     
n.精神涣散,精神不集中,消遣,娱乐
参考例句:
  • Total concentration is required with no distractions.要全神贯注,不能有丝毫分神。
  • Their national distraction is going to the disco.他们的全民消遣就是去蹦迪。
19 script 2Z4x4     
n.剧本,广播稿;文字体系;笔迹,手迹
参考例句:
  • It's easy to identify his script.他的笔迹容易辨认。
  • The script is massaged into final form.这篇稿子经过修改已定稿。
20 episode Titzy     
n.(作品的一段)情节,插曲,系列事件中之一
参考例句:
  • The episode was a huge embarrassment for all concerned.这段小插曲令所有有关人员都感到非常尴尬。
  • This episode remains sharply engraved on my mind.这段经历至今仍深深地铭刻在我的心中。
21 assume 6Ouyn     
vt.假装;假定,设想;承担;呈现,采取
参考例句:
  • I assume that he won't cheat you.想来他是不会骗你的。
  • We can't assume anything in this case.在这种情况下我们不可能做出假设。
22 distractions ff1d4018fe7ed703bc7b2e2e97ba2216     
n.使人分心的事[人]( distraction的名词复数 );娱乐,消遣;心烦意乱;精神错乱
参考例句:
  • I find it hard to work at home because there are too many distractions. 我发觉在家里工作很难,因为使人分心的事太多。
  • There are too many distractions here to work properly. 这里叫人分心的事太多,使人无法好好工作。 来自《简明英汉词典》
23 drawbacks 27f717a083d9ce883f0cfadfbaf11c90     
缺点,不利条件,障碍( drawback的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The house had many drawbacks, most notably its price. 这房子有很多缺陷,尤其是它的价格。
  • This method has quite a few drawbacks. 这种做法弊病不少。
24 estate InSxv     
n.所有地,地产,庄园;住宅区;财产,资产
参考例句:
  • My estate lies within a mile.我的地产离那有一英里。
  • The great real estate brokers do far more than this.而优秀的房地产经纪人做得可比这多得多。
25 necessarily iGQxo     
adv.必要地,必需地;必定地,必然地
参考例句:
  • More work does not necessarily call for more men.增加工作量不一定就要增添人员。
  • A voter must necessarily be no younger than eighteen.选民必须在18岁以上。
26 suffix AhMzMc     
n.后缀;vt.添后缀
参考例句:
  • We add the suffix "ly" to make the adjective "quick" into the adverb " quickly ".我们在形容词“ quick”后加“ly” 构成副词“quickly”。
  • It described the meaning of suffix array and also how to built it.它描述的含义,后缀数组以及如何建立它。
27 nouns 8412c0b251e0c60f78bfaf0a44ac3206     
n.名词;名词( noun的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • French differs from English in having gender for all nouns. 法语不同于英语,所有的名词都有性。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Nouns join to form compounds. 名词和名词结合构成复合词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
28 copyright XZRyV     
n.版权,著作权
参考例句:
  • He retained the copyright of his book.他保留此书的著作权。
  • This company has a proprietorship of the copyright.这家公司拥有版权所有权。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   ESL英语
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴