原汁原味商务英语播客 第49课:临时办公区

 　　What do you do if you don’t have office space for all your employees or many of them usually spend most of their time traveling or working offsite? In the 90s, some clever manager came up with a solution – hot desking – and the rest is history. Hot desking refers to using temporary work areas that are set up for any staff who needs them.

　　如果你没有足够的办公室空间来容纳员工或是很多员工大部分时间用来出差或是在公司外工作，90年代，有个聪明的精力想出了一个解决办法——临时办公区，它指建立起来的临时工作区域，任何需要的人都可以使用。

　　With the invention of laptop computers and the Internet, we can pretty much work anywhere. Now, in many companies around the world from hi-tech software firms to management consultancies and even increasingly¹ in more traditional industries such as banking² and engineering³, a certain number of work areas are made into “hot desks.” As long as they are empty, any one can work there. Sit down, plug in your computer, and you are ready to go! In companies where a lot of people are traveling, this is a great way to save money because it reduces unused space to a minimum⁴.

　　随着笔记本电脑和网络的发展，我们几乎在任何地方都可以工作，在世界上许多公司从高科技的软件公司到经营咨询机构，甚至在传统的诸如银行和设计行业，很多工作区域都变成了"临时办公区",只要没有人用，任何人都可以在那里工作。坐下来，打开电脑，准备工作。在有很多人出差的公司，这是个省钱的好办法，因为它将不使用的空间将至最低。

　　In this Business English Podcast lesson, we’ll be continuing our series on business travel. We’re following Honesto, an Ambient Telecommunications employee from Manila, on a training trip to head office in Michigan, USA. The main language focus of the lesson is on making polite requests. Along the way, we’ll also look at some different ways to express likes and dislikes. Honesto has found himself an unused desk and is working along when all of the sudden he gets a new neighbor, Megan.

　　在这节商务英语播客中，我们将继续我们的商务旅行。我们正跟随Ambien电信公司的职员Honesto前往美国密歇根的总部。这节课主要用来进行礼貌的询问。同事，也来看下用来表达喜欢和不喜欢的不同表达方式。Honesto发现了一个没用过的桌子并在那里工作，突然他有了新邻居Megan。

　　Listening Questions:

　　1) What kind of expressions do Honesto and Megan use to make polite requests?

　　2) What type of training is Honesto taking part in?

　　3) Where is Megan from?

1 increasingly   

adv.逐渐地，日益地，逐渐增加地

参考例句：

• Rivers are being increasingly made use of by man. 河流正在日益为人类所利用。
• I find it increasingly difficult to live within my income.我发现靠收入过日子越来越难了。

2 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

3 engineering   

n.工程，工程学，管理，操纵

参考例句：

• The science of engineering began as soon as man learned to use tools. 人类一学会使用工具,工程科学就开始了。
• It was the first great engineering works in the world. 这是世界上第一家大型的工程工厂。

4 minimum   

adj.最低的，最小的；n.最小量，最低限度

参考例句：

• What is the minimum price?最低价是多少？
• Today's minimum temperature is 10℃.今天的最低气温是10℃。