【一起听英语】开放式办公

你更喜欢开放式的办公室还是有个属于自己的办公空间，看看大家的不同回答！

Feifei: Hello and welcome to another episode¹ of 6 Minute English with

me Feifei,

Neil: And me Neil.

Feifei: And how are you today Neil?

Neil: It's all good today thank you! I've got a really good question

for you today…

Feifei: Ooh a question – ask away!

Neil: Which do you prefer Feifei: Open-plan offices or small private

offices?

Feifei: Open-plan offices or small private offices? Ooh, I much prefer

open-plan offices – much friendlier.

Neil: Yes of course because you're a very friendly person... let's

hear from some of our friends and colleagues² to find out what

kind of office they prefer…

Insert³

Vox 1: In my opinion as a Brazilian⁴, open-plan offices can be very

good and effective because it's easy for people to 

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communicate and put ideas across; but at times we need

some quiet space to concentrate⁷ and get the job done.

Vox 2: In China, people would love to have their own private offices

because we are very noisy and people arguing quite a lot

sometimes, there is a lot of noise. So to have your own

private space would be great, but unfortunately nowadays

what we get is open-plan offices.

Vox 3: In Indonesia⁸, there are more open-plan offices these days, the

good thing is that we can improve collaborations with other

teams or departments. However, we sometimes face problems,

for instance⁹, as it's really hot in Indonesia lots of people prefer

to have air conditioning be set really cold whereas¹⁰ there are

also people who can't really stand cold air like me. So this can

create a tension¹¹ among staff.

Feifei: Air conditioning! It drives me crazy! Actually it isn't the air

conditioning that drives me crazy Neil, it's you: I keep asking

you to turn it down and 2 minutes later you turn it back up

again!

Neil: Feifei you always turn it too low. And you drive me crazy

because you never ask me if you can turn it down. You just do

it without saying anything. It really annoys me. It's so rude!!

Feifei: Rude? Do you think so? I think this is a case for Business

Betty…

Neil / FF: It's Business Betty!!!

BB: Hello! Is everything alright?

6 Minute English © BBC Learning English 2013

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Feifei: We need your help Betty. Neil and I keep arguing about the

A/C. He says I'm rude!

Neil: A/C meaning air conditioning. She is rude!

BB: Calm down both of you and let me help. If you're working in

an open-plan office, it's really important to consider the needs

and feelings of the people working around you. If you want to

ask someone to do something, it's always a good idea to use a

very polite request. Start with the phrase¹² 'Would you mind…'

and follow it with an -ing verb¹³. Can you give us an example

Feifei?

Feifei: Would you mind turning off the air conditioning?

BB: Very good. Neil?

Neil: Would you mind opening a window?

BB: Lovely. If you want someone to stop doing something, use the

word 'not' before the -ing verb. Neil?

Neil: Would you mind not smoking¹⁴ in the kitchen please?

BB: Excellent. Feifei?

Feifei: Would you mind not using my computer?

Neil: Would you mind not leaving the door open?

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BB: If you want your co-workers' permission to do something, say

'Is it ok if I…' and then say what you want to do. Examples

please?

Feifei: Is it ok if I turn the air conditioning on?

Neil: Is it ok if I use your phone?

Feifei: Is it ok if we have a meeting in here?

BB: If someone asks your permission, you can say yes. Neil, how

would you do that?

Neil: Sure, no problem, go ahead.

BB: Very good. Of course, you might decide to say no, Feifei:

Feifei: I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind.

BB: And remember, the English words please, thank you and sorry

always make a big difference! Both together now:

Neil / FF: Please, thank you, sorry.

BB: Very polite. Well done. Now: Is it ok if I leave?

Neil: Yes of course, go ahead.

FF: Thanks Betty!

BB: Goodbye.

6 Minute English © BBC Learning English 2013

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Neil: There she goes. Radiant¹⁵ as ever! Do you think she was a bit

angry with us?

Feifei: Noooo…. So Neil. Do you think it's about time we did a roleplay?

Neil: Only if I'm the boss!

Feifei: Sorry, there's no boss this week.

Neil: What do you mean there's no boss? There's always a boss…

Feifei: We're co-workers in an open-plan office. You want to open the

windows and use my computer and -

Neil: - and things like that. So I have to make some polite requests,

right?

Feifei: That's right! Ready?

Neil: Bring it on!

Role-play

Neil: Hello, Feifei. How are you today?

Feifei: Fine thanks, just finishing this report. What can I do for you?

Neil: I just wanted to ask: Would you mind turning off the air

conditioning?

Feifei: Oh, ok, sure.

Neil: It's just a bit cold in here, thanks.

Feifei: Oh, sorry, of course, no problem.

6 Minute English © BBC Learning English 2013

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Neil: And I wanted to say, we've got some visitors coming over this

afternoon, so is it ok if we have a meeting in here?

Feifei: Yes that's ok with me, but would you mind keeping the noise

down please?

Neil: Yes, of course.

Feifei: And would you mind tidying up after the meeting? It was left

in a bit of a mess last time.

Neil: Sure, I'm busy all afternoon though, so I'll have to leave it

until the evening.

Feifei: I'd rather you didn't, if you don't mind. We need to use the

room again at 4pm.

Neil: Oh, ok, I'll do it sooner then.

Feifei: Thanks.

Feifei: And that's the end of today's role-play! How was it for you?

Neil: It was very, very polite!

Feifei: That's British culture for you!

Neil: And that's all we've got time for today. Feifei, would you mind

joining me soon for another episode of 6 Minute English?

Feifei: Of course! See you next time.

Neil: Join us again, wherever you're working.

Feifei: Bye!

1 episode   

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。

2 colleagues   

n.同事，同僚( colleague的名词复数 )；同人

参考例句：

• He wanted to confer with his colleagues before reaching a decision. 他想与他的同事先商议一下再作出决定。
• She is held in high esteem by her colleagues. 她深受同事的敬重。

3 insert   

vt.插入，镶补；vi.附着；n.插入，插入物

参考例句：

• I wish to insert an advertisement in your newspaper.我想在贵报上登一则广告。
• The newspaper had an insert of pages of pictures.该报带有数页插图。

4 Brazilian   

n. 巴西人;a. 巴西的, 巴西人的

参考例句：

• It was a great showing by the Brazilian team.这场比赛成了巴西队的表演赛。
• Why don't we try some Brazilian food? 我们为什么不吃巴西人的食物呢？

5 BBC   

abbr.（=British Broadcasting Corporation）英国广播公司

参考例句：

• She works for the BBC.她为英国广播公司工作。
• The BBC was founded in 1922.英国广播公司建于1922年。

6 learning   

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。

7 concentrate   

vt.集中；聚集；浓缩；vi.集中；全神贯注

参考例句：

• You should concentrate on the road when you're driving.开车时注意力应集中在路上。
• Concentrate your mind on study,Don't look around.专心学习，别东张西望的。

8 Indonesia   

n.印度尼西亚

参考例句：

• You see,I stayed in Indonesia for eight years.你知道，我在印度尼西亚呆了8年。
• Indonesia has more active volcanoes than any other country.印尼是世界上活火山最多的国家。

9 instance   

n.例，例证，实例

参考例句：

• Can you quote me a recent instance?你能给我举一个最近的例子吗？
• He's a greedy boy,yesterday,for instance,he ate all our biscuits!他是个贪吃的孩子――比如，他昨天把我们的饼干都吃了！

10 whereas   

conj.而，却，反之

参考例句：

• They want a house,whereas we would rather live in a flat.他们想要一座房子，而我们宁愿住在一套房间里。
• Some praise him,whereas others condemn him.有些人赞扬他，而有些人谴责他。

11 tension   

n.(紧张)状态；拉(绷)紧；张力，拉力

参考例句：

• I could feel the tension in the room. 我可以感觉到房间里的紧张气氛。
• Relaxaion is better than tension. 缓和比紧张好。

12 phrase   

n.短语，词组；成语，习语

参考例句：

• The phrase was caught on and immediately became popular.这个短语被采用后很快就流行了。
• That's exactly the phrase I was looking for.这就是我一直找的那个短语。

13 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

14 smoking   

n.吸烟，抽烟；冒烟

参考例句：

• He was wise to give up smoking.他戒烟是明智的。
• He has decided to cut out smoking and drinking.他已决心戒烟、戒酒。

15 radiant   

adj.容光焕发的，光芒四射的，辐射的

参考例句：

• He gave a radiant smile when he heard the news.他听到这个消息后露出欣喜的微笑。
• She was radiant with joy.她高兴得容光焕发。