原汁原味商务英语播客第115课:商讨问题(2)

 　　This second part of a two-part Business English Podcast series on running and participating in a problem-solving meeting.

　　我们的商务英语播客关于举行、参加会议来商讨解决问题的系列节目共分两部分，今天我们就来学习第二部分。

　　In the first part of this meeting the team spent time answering the question: "What is the problem?" In today's episode, we're going to focus on how to brainstorm¹ solutions to a problem through discussion, how to evaluate and eliminate suggestions and then agree a plan of action.

　　在之前会议的第一部分，与会者围绕“问题是什么”进行了探讨。在本集里，我们主要看一下如何通过讨论来找到结局问题的方案，以及怎样对大家提出的建议进行评定、筛选，并达成一个一致的行动方案。

　　Kathryn, the head of Human Resources at a medium-sized company, is meeting with department heads to discuss a problem they are having with low staff morale². The team has identified the root cause of the problem as the separation of staff across 3 different office locations.

　　凯瑟琳是一家中型企业的人事部负责人。现在她正和公司各部门的负责人开会，讨论一个困扰整个公司的问题：员工士气低下。大家已经找出了问题产生的根源：员工们被分散在三个办公地点。

　　Kathryn wants everyone to critique the ideas that the group has brought forward, in order to eliminate impractical³ suggestions. We'll see how she confirms the best solution and how her team suggests points for action. As the dialog starts, Kathryn closes the brainstorming⁴ session and sums up the input⁵ that has been received.

　　为了筛除不可行的建议，凯瑟琳要求每个人对大家提出的方案进行评判。我们将听到她是怎样认可最佳方案以及其他人怎样提出建议的。对话开始时，凯瑟琳结束了之前的“集思广益”环节，并对大家提出的方案进行了总结。

　　Listening Questions

　　1. How many ideas does the group come up with for solving the staff morale problem?

　　2. Which idea does the group agree is the best one to try?

　　3. Name one of the action points suggested near the end of the meeting.

1 brainstorm   

vi.动脑筋，出主意，想办法，献计，献策

参考例句：

• The women meet twice a month to brainstorm and set business goals for each other.她们每个月聚会两次，在一起出谋献策，为各自制定生意目标。
• We can brainstorm a list of the most influential individuals in the company.我们可以集体讨论，列出该公司中最有影响的人员的名单。

2 morale   

n.道德准则，士气，斗志

参考例句：

• The morale of the enemy troops is sinking lower every day.敌军的士气日益低落。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。

3 impractical   

adj.不现实的，不实用的，不切实际的

参考例句：

• He was hopelessly impractical when it came to planning new projects.一到规划新项目，他就完全没有了实际操作的能力。
• An entirely rigid system is impractical.一套完全死板的体制是不实际的。

4 brainstorming   

献计献策,合力攻关

参考例句：

• With Brainstorming, treat the view on how to solve the problem rightly. 利用脑激励法(Brainstorming)，正确对待学生实验中的问题解决观。
• We are going to do some brainstorming soon. 我们很快就要做些脑力激荡。

5 input   

n.输入(物)；投入；vt.把(数据等)输入计算机

参考例句：

• I will forever be grateful for his considerable input.我将永远感激他的大量投入。
• All this information had to be input onto the computer.所有这些信息都必须输入计算机。