托福听力短文 I-14-3

(Man) Thank you all for coming out this evening to meet sociologist¹ Ellen Lambert. Ms. Lambert specializes² in research on the workplace and recently has been writing about the future of work.

This topic should be of special interest, since I know many of you are already at the forefront of workplace technology. For example, let's have a show of hands to see how many people here telecommute at least part of the time. Hmm. I see eight hands raised. Well, you eight folks who work at home and communicate with your office via computer represent one of the trends Ms. Lambert has described: that people are becoming less tied to the workplace.

One of the important tools for telecommuting is electronic mail, or E-mail. E-mail lets you send and receive messages almost immediately on your computer, but you control when you read them and when you respond to them. This technology allows people to have more control over time than when relying solely³ on the telephone. Our guest tonight will discuss how these important changes will alter⁴ the way we work.

But, before turning the floor over to Ms. Lambert, I would just like to remind you that she will be available to answer any individual questions at the reception immediately following this talk.

1 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

2 specializes   

v.专门从事，专攻( specialize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• She specializes in obstetrics. 她是产科专家。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cinema specializes in Italian films. 这家电影院专门放映意大利电影。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 solely   

adv.仅仅，唯一地

参考例句：

• Success should not be measured solely by educational achievement.成功与否不应只用学业成绩来衡量。
• The town depends almost solely on the tourist trade.这座城市几乎完全靠旅游业维持。

4 alter   

vt.改变，变更；vi.改变，变样

参考例句：

• We have to alter the house into a barn.我们不得不把房子改建成谷仓。
• She is trying to alter the coat.她正设法改那件衣服。