现代大学英语听力三Unit11-15

Task 8
In many countries the status of women has improved considerably over the last 50 years. Although there are still relatively few women in senoir business positions, many women pursue their career in much the same way that men do. In the UK, men‘s beh aviour torwards women has had to change. For example , men must be carefull when they talk about a woman‘s appearrance; some women may find a complimentary remark sexist. Many women prefer not to be referred to as ―ladies‖; they prefer the more neutral ―women‖. Many women are naturally sensitive about typically male joker. There are areas of social interaction where men now feel uncertain how to behave. Twenty years ago men would always open doors for women; nowdays some women might find this action patronizing.
UNIT 11
Task 1
Edmund: What advice would you give a young person leaving school or university? So the aim is to have five—
Bruce: oh that is right. Five.
Edmund: Five things, five bits of advice that you would give. Would you like to—?
Bruce: Y eah, okay, I‘ll read mine out and see how many of them you have.
―Pay carefull attention to dress‖—appearrance you know, generally speakiny at the interview. I think that is very important.
Elizabeth: Yeah, I‘ve got that as my number one as well.
Edmund: Y es. Y es. I hadn‘t put that one, but I do agree with you. But I think there‘s also—―Y ou need to be yourself.‖
Bruce: Yes. Y ou mean natural, rather than putting on some sort of an act. Edmund: Y es. Y es.
Bruce: I‘d certainly agree with that.
Edmund: It‘s be very difficult to go through your working life living up to the image that you gave at your interview, if it isn‘t you.
Bruce: Yeah. Y eah.
Elizabeth: Right.
Bruce: Y es. ―Have a clear idea of the‖—if it‘s a university one—―have a clear idea of the subjects you wish to take and then of your possible career.‖ And if it‘s a job interview, ―Show that you are interested in the company itself before you actually get to the interview.‖
Edmund: Y es, find out a little about the organization, so you can make a comment.
Bruce: Yeah. That amounts to the same thing really.
Edmund: So, yes, it looks as if you‘re interested. And also it‘s very flattering to the organization.
Bruce: Of course, indeed.
Elizabeth: There always comes that moment when they say, ―Well you know, Mr. J ones, that‘s the job as we see it. Would you like to ask us anything about it?‖ If you just sit there in absolute silence, you don‘t get the job.
Bruce: That‘s it, exactly, yes. Third, ―Have at least one topic or hobby which you can really talk about, and show that you know a lot about.‖ I think that is important because, you know, if you get stuck, this is the sort of question which can be asked, and if you have no interests or hobbies or whatever you like to call them, then it shows you are a pretty dull sort of person. And I think It would go rather badly for you.
Edmund: Y es.
Bruce: Em. I have one or two examples of that. My son went for a interview. He builds model planes. And in the course of the last few years he‘s become a real expert on them. So ap parently, his interview lasted about thirty minutes and twenty-nine and a half were spent talking about model planes.
Edmund: Did he get the job?
Bruce: Oh, yes, he got the position in university. So it worked very well for him.
Edmund: Y es. I‘m sure there‘s an elment of luck—that the interviewer was interested in model planes.
Bruce: I don't he was really lucky, no, I think he was trying to find out
about things—be was picking up imformation all the time.
Edmund: Have you got any others?
Bruce: Yes. ―Don't tell lies.‖
Elizabeth: Em. That's a good one.
Bruce: Y ou‘re sure to be found out. And you know, it‘s something to avoid I would think.
Edmund: Yes. I think, something to include in that one is not to try and cover up when you don't know something, which i sn‘t quite the same as telling a lie. I‘ve found in interviews that is‘t actually better to say, I‘d like a moment to think about that; I hadn‘t thought of that before, or I‘d like a minute— to digest the information and think of an answer. Bruce: And finally—―Be on time.‖
Edmund: Y es.
Elizabeth: Yes. I‘ve got that one, too.
Edmund: Y es. I put ― Do allow plenty of time make the journey and find where you are going.‖ Nerves, I think can make you miss street signs. Bruce: Indeed, yes. That‘s true.
Edmund: I‘ve noticed that we‘ve all been putting dos rather than don‘ts. Elizabeth: Well I‘ve got a don‘t here. Er, which is ―Don‘t gush too much‖ , which is like, you know, I think you can have, or be tempted to have a sort of verba dirrhoea really. Y ou know, in your interview, because you think the more I say the more they‘re think I‘m—I think there‘s a danger
of saying too much as well as too little.
Edmund: Y es. And ―Keep to the point.‖
Bruce: That‘s right.
Edmund: I mean gushing can include getting right away from the subject that youu are meant to be talking about.
Elizabeth: Right.
Bruce: That‘s true enough that, yes.
Edmund: So we could almost sum up a lot of our points as being self-discipline.
Bruce: Yes. Y es. I would agree with that, certainly. Have you any others? Elizabeth: Well no. I mean three of mine were exactly the same as yours.
I put ―Sound motivated for the job‖, but that pretty obvious really, isn‘t it?
I mean we‘ve included that any way. They all fall into the same sort of general category really.
Bruce: That‘s interesting, yeah.
Task 2
Manager:Oh,Kim!Do you have a minute?I‘d like to discuss a few things with you.As you know,
Sales have been failing off over the past few months and; between you and me, things
aren‘t looking very go od.
Kim: Well…
Manager:Look,before you say anything,I‘m not pointing the finger at you.I know you‘ve suggested several times that we need to go
in for better equipment,if we‘re going to hold our own in the
industry.And I have to go along with you now;it‘s time to bite
the bullet and invest in some better technology.
Kim:That‘s great news.I‘m sure it‘s the right move.
Manager:Well,as you‘ve pointed out,we‘re up against some strong competition in the printing industry and a lot of small business
are fo lding,If we don‘t jump on the andwagon now,we could
very likely go under as well.
Kim:I agree,absolutely.The thing is,you have to be at the cutting edge of change,if you want to stay in business these days. Manager:That‘s for sure.Y ou know,I‘ve been put ting off making the changes because I know it‘ll be costly,not only in
equipment,but in training too.But the bottom line is if we don‘t
spend money,we won‘t make any.
Kim:That‘s very true.So when do you think we‘ll start the changeover?
Manager:The soon er the better,I suppose.There‘re some big changes to make and I‘m not really looking forward to them.Y ou know,I
wonder whether all this new technology is really making our
lives easier.It seems to me we‘ve created a vicious circle…
Kim:What do you want?
Manager:Well,technology‘s supposed to have given us more time and freedom but it seems we‘ve become slaves to technology.
Kim:Mm.I hadn‘t thought of it that way.
Manager:But then maybe I just don‘t like change…It‘s mind-boggling the way technology is changing !No sooner do I get my head
around something new,than it changes again!
Kim:Well,I know what you mean but I think we think we have to go with the flow,whether we like it or not.
Manager:I suppose so.Well,I‘d better get the ball rolling.I‘ll star t making some phone calls now.
Task 3
The world‘s largest indoor facility is owned by the USA‘s No.1 exporting company.It‘s BoeingCompany,Washington,just outside seattle.The manufacturer of commercial aircraft has been identified with the state of Washing ton for 85 years and is the state‘s largest private employer.Robin Ruthley visited the Boeing plant and has more on‖Seattle‘s city within a city‘.
The dimensions of the Boeing commercial aiecraft factory are so vast.They are almost hard to imagine.The rectangular building sits on 86
hectares of land.The building alone takes up almost 40 hectares,or if you can imagine,more than 80 soccer fields.Inside,there are airplanes in various stages of production.Kenya Airways,Continental,Thai Aieways----companies that have all commissioned Boeing to make an airplane designed to fit their specific needs.
―All these parts come from all over the world and they arrive here and they are put together into one airplane.So amazing to watch it.‖Tom Ryan is Boeing‘s media repre sentative for its commercial airplane factory.He says that because aviation is a global business,Boeing works with many international partners,who provide
Different services in the construction of the planes.‖we work strongly with all our partners from all across the globe,whether they are over in the Far East or over in the UK or down under,because we need to bring everybody together to make this one Boeing really,because you can‖t exclude partners,otherwise they‖ll take their business elsewhere.‖Inside the factory,which operates 24 hours a day,seven days a week,employees get around on bicycles,There are named streets and the plant even has its own fire department.In the middle of the floor is an apparatus that resembles a giant spool,which holds the center of an aircraft and rotates,so workers can operate without having to stand on top of it.In Washington,DC recently,Boeing completed another first in the design of its latest military warplane.The X-32B Joint Strike Fighter is
the first supersonic jet to zoom over an airfield,show to a stop in the air and land straight down like a helicopter.The first vertical-landing aircraft is part of a competition that Boeing has entered for a Pentagon contract worth 200 billion dollars,the biggest Pentagon contract in history.
Task4
Hello everyone.Today our lecture is going to be about business management.Specifically,I‘m describe a work situation for you,and then I‘ll explain one important technique.
Okay,let‘s begin.First,let‘s consider an office an office situ ation in the United States.Let‘s say that we have a company called the ABC company.Okay?A new manager named Mr.Thomas.She was having some problems with her work,and she wanted to talk to her manager about these problems.Her problem was this:Mr.Thomas had organized the office work in a new and different way,and it was becoming more difficult for her to do her job.And she also felt that Mr.Thomas wasn‘t very clear about what she was supposed to do.she wanted to know more clearly,‖What am I supposed to do?What do you expect of me?‖
All right,so let‘s think about this.Ms.Jones goes to Mr.Thomas to talk about the work situation.Now for most employees,asking a manager question like this is hard.In this case,it was hard for Linda to talk to Mr.Thomas,but she felt she had to do it.She had worked in the office for
five years,and of course,she didn‘t want to lose her job because she couldn‘t get her job done.She also didn‘t want to quit her job because of the problems.She just wasn‘t content with the way the office was being run,and she needed to talk about it.
Now let‘s think about the manager‘s position.In this case,Mr.Thomas was very surprised when he first heard that she was having problems.he was surprised,and irritated.There was too much work to do,right?He didn‘t really want to deal with a personal problem.He didn‘t think this is a work problem,and he felt he was too busy to think about problem people might be having.
But later.Mr.Thomas thought about what Linda said,He thought,‖Aha,this is a work problem.‖And he realized he needed to find out from the other people in the office,from her co-workers,if they were having problems,too.
All right,let‘s pause for a moment and look at what Mr.Thomas,as the manager,and had to consider.First of all,a good manager understands that a hardworking,enthusiastic staff is very important.In fact,we could say it is essential,absolutely essential.All of the employees need to work together.They need to work as a team to make the company successful.And,of course,feeling like part of a team is feeling that what each person does and says is important.
Well,as in most work situations,we have a problem here with
communication.That is most managers do not want to hear people complain,and most employees are afraid to come right out and say what they feel.They usually won‘t say what they like or don‘t like.They may complain to each other during lunch or after work,but they do not complain directly to the manager.
It is important,however,for a manager to find out if he or she is doing a good job.One way to do this is to give employees a chance to talk.Employeesneed an opportunity to say what is wrong,what they don‘t like about the work situation,and what they would change to make their work better.However,most employees are afraid to say what they feel.This is why a manager needs to figure out a safe way for people to talk.By safe,Imean a way to talk where people aren‘t afraid something will happen to them if they tell the truth.It has to be safe,or else people just won‘t say what they‘re thinking.
Task5
Now let‘s look a little bit more closely at what a manager can do.According to some management consultants,a manager needs to give employees a clear way of assessing himself or herself.By assessing Imean a way of telling the manager good and bad points about what he or she is doing,Right?Tell me my good and bad points—that‘s an assessment.One way the manager can have employees do this is to give them questions to
answer in writing.Okay?Not asking them orally, but giving them a chance to write their assessments.Then the manager can meet with each employee and discuss what he or she wrote.
Now asking for an assessment is not so easy.It is important for the manager to ask the right kind
Of questions. If the manager asks direct questions like "Do you like me?" or "Do you like the way I ask you to do things?" the employee probably won't tell the truth. I mean, would you tell tell the truth if you were asked thiis kind of question? These questions are just too direct and, erm, just too personal. They focus too much on personal feelings.
On the other hand, if the manager asks questions like "How would it be easier for you to do your job?" or "How could things be done differently?" it's easier for an employee to answer honestly. Do you see the difference here? It is easier to answer because the question focuses on the work itself. The question doesn't focus on the employee's feelings about the manager. It shows the employee the question is being asked in order to make it easier to get the job done well.
Okay, now I'd like you to have a look at a sample assessment form. Follow along as I go over the questions. Ready?
Number 1, "Do I give clear directions?" Number 2, "Do you need help from co-workers to understand what I want?" Number 3, "Do I change my mind too often about what I want you to do?" Number 4, "Do
I listen to new ideas and ways of doing things?" Number 5, "Do you come to me when you need help?" And Number 6, "Do I tell you when you have done a good job?"
Okay, so think about these questions. What are they about? What's the purpose of these question?
I think... I think we have to notice that these questions show certain attitudes about how an American manager should act. They show us what an American manager is supposed to do in his or her job. These questions also tell us--and this is very interesting--they show us something about the relationship between manager and employees, what the relationship between the employees and the manager is expected to be. Management assessment today is based on the idea of solving problems and communicating so that everyone will feel they are part of a team. Let me repeat that because this is a key point: Management assessment is based on the idea of solving problems and communicating so that everyone will feel they are part of a team.
Okay, now please note that this is an American moderl or idea for management assessment. Of course, business styles and management styles vary from culture to culture. This particular style of management assessment may not work in every culture. For any country or culture, it is important to think about how work is done and how decisions are made. And it's very important to consider how people communicate. All right?
Well, that's all for today.
Task 6
Chairman: Now, ladies and gentlemen, you all know why we're meeting the afternoon. We want to decide on a definite advertising campaign for the new product we're received from... Tony, I know you want to say something.
Tony: Yes, thank you, Mr.Chairman. As I've said this is not something that people will want to buy; there are similar products on the market and we need to work out the advertisements very carefully, or we won't sell any at all.
Chairman: I'm more hopeful, but I agree that we'll have to sell this through good advertising and attractive packaging. Linda, you've got examples of the packaging ideas with you, haven't you?
Linda: Yes, here you are. We tried two different styles: There's a can, like this; or a bottle, like this. We prefer the bottle, because it looks so clean and clear. What do you think?
George: Well, I like the can. It's more modern and I think it will appeal more to young people as they're used to drinks in cans. And all our competitors put their drinks in bottles.
Tony: I agree. We've got to be different. A pure white can, with the name "Clensip" in blue. That's good.
Lucy: We ought to decide what is special and new and different.
Tony: There isn't anything new about it, except the can. That's what's going to make it so hard to sell.
Linda: I don't agree with you. It's a good product. It's healthy; it's pure; it's natural; it's good for you.
Chairman: Yes, that's the idea. We want to sell it to the people because it's healthy.
Lucy: Can we say "It's Clensip, naturally it's good for you"?
Tony: Y es, I like that--that means "Of course, it's good for you." It also means that it's natural.
George: Y es, that's Okay. But I thought we wanted to be different. All the other brands advertise how healthy and pure they are.
Linda: Well, there's no alternative. People will buy this because it's pure. It's the only reason for buying it. What else can you say?
Lucy: It isn't fattening, I suppose?
Chairman: "Drink Clensip, the non-fattening drink in a can." We could have a picture-- a beautiful, slim young lady drinking a can of Clensip. Y es, that's a good idea.
Tony: Y es, it's quite unusual to drink it by itself without adding anything. George: We could say "Be different--drink Clensip."
Lucy: The beautiful girl ought to be different, too. Perhaps we could have a lot of girls all wearing red dresses, and one girl, in a white dress, who's
drinking Clensip.
Tony: We want everyone to drink Clensip, not just girls. Perhaps we could have a lot of young men in little sailing boats, and then one young man in a white suit, sailing a big yacht, and drinking Clensip. Chairman: I think we could have a whole series of those pictures. Any other ideas?
George: People think of it as a drink, What about adding it to different things? Y ou could wash your hair in it, for instance.
Chairman: In Clensip?
George: Why not? People wash their hair in beer,sometimes.
Lucy: Clensip wouldn't hurt your hair. In fact, it would be..
George: What about: "A Clensip Beauty Book"?
Linda: Wash your face in Clensip?
Tony: Clean your teeth in Clensip after every meal.
Chairman: I think we've got something here. Let's see. How many words can you think of to describe Clensip? We've got pure, natural, clear, clean, healthy...
Lucy: Refreshing.
Linda: Soothing---soak your tired feet in Clensip.
George: Sparkling--bathe your eyes in sparkling Clensip.
Tony: How about : "Freshen up your floors with Clensip"?
Lucy: Add Clensip to your cooking...
Task 7
The term ―multinational‖ is used for a company which has subsidiaries or sales facilities throughout the world. Another expression f or this type of business enterprise is ―global corporation‖. Many of these grant organizations are household names such as Coca Cola, Sony, Hitachim, IBM, and General Motors. Companies like these control vast sums of money and they operate in countries with widely differing political and economic systems.
In earlier times, most countries gave the multinationals a ―red carpet‖ welcome because they saw such foreign investment as creating much-needed employment, stimulating the business sector recently, however, the tide has turned against the multinationals. They are now viewed by many with suspicion; once heroes, they are now villains on the international business stage.
For reasons outlined below, host countries are now restricting the activities of their guests, the multinationals. Many developing countries will only allow new investment if it is on a joint-venture basis. This means that local entrepreneurs, or state agencies, must participate in the ownership and even management of the foreign enterprise. Other countries, such as India and Nigeria, are forcing foreign companies already well-established to reduce their share holdings to a certain percentage, say 60 percent or 40 percent of the total equity of the
company.
Tension between host country and multinational is inevitable in many cases because multinationals do pose a threat to national sovereignty.
The multinational is big and rich. It often operates in industries which are difficult to enter and of vital national importance, such as the computer, chemical and automobile industries. Most important of all, the main objective of the multinational is to organize its activities around the world so as to maximize global profits and global market shares. Each subsidiary is part of an international network of affiliates. These all interact with each other. Each part serves the whole. The centre controlling the network——the multinationals‘ headquarters——is not under the control of the host government. It is frequently thousands of miles away from these subsidiaries.
Increasingly, in recent years, governments have had to ask themselves whether multinationals are harming their national interests. In highly industrialized countries, a major source of worry has been that these foreign giants will take over smaller companies and gradually dominate an important industry. If this happens, vital decisions affecting the economic interests of the country may be taken in boardrooms thousands of miles away from that country.
Developing countries, in particular, have become concerned about
their dependence on foreign investment in key sectors of their economy. They have become aware that foreign subsidiaries often take most of their profits out of the country rather than reinvesting them in the company. Sometimes, the flow of funds causes disastrous fluctuations in the exchange rates of their currencies. Certain countries have accused the multinationals of political interference.
To gain greater control over their industry, some countries are beginning to insist on joint ventures. The disadvantage of this tactic is that the foreign subsidiary may then be treated less favorably in terms of technical assistance and capital investment, by the parent company. Another strategy used by governments is to limit the amount of profits that a foreign subsidiary may send home in a given period.
Arguing against multinationals, critics say that these organizations engage in anti-competitive activities, insensitively shut down plants, make huge bribes to gain contracts, interfere politically, destabilize currencies, underpay their workers, and so on. Those speaking for the defense see these corporations almost as international agencies, promoting peace, providing better, cheaper products, and bringing much needed resources, expertise and employment to the host countries.
Task 8
Victor Decard: Well, if you‘re ready, we‘re ready.
Brian McLaren: Y es, thank you. As we‘re all introduced, perhaps I can just start by saying that my company, as you may know, is well established in the electronics field, in particular, in terms of security systems. Now, my purpose this morning is to introduce to you an important new product developed by my company. I only need deal in brief with the product as such, as I shall then hand you over to Narinder Dhillon, ou r head of R and D, also our Technical Director, who‘s going to give you a technical Demonstration. So I need take only about fifteen minutes or so of your time. Anyway I am going to take my presentation into four short sections. To start with, I want to spotlight product concepts, things of that nature. After that I want to throw some light, very briefly on the present situation in the market, then I shall focus on market needs, and then finally why we believe that this new product of ours will satisfy that need.
In the course of my presentation I am going to refer to the flip chart, and if you are interested we can let you have copies of the graphics. Stop me at any time if you want to ask questions and I will try and deal with them but Narinder‘s the man to tackle in-depth questions on the technical side, so you may want to leave those until later.
Right. Every manufacturer has to cope with day-to-day problems such as maintaining and improving market share and this, of course, holds true for the motor industry. Product planners take the basic product-----in your
case the motor car-and then add to it, for example style, quality, luxury features and so on, often in the shape of accessories, including anti-theft devices. Depending on the type of product, these can be standard or optional extras, or even brought separately from accessories dealers. With tough competition to face up to ,it can ,and sometimes does, happen that manufactures lose touch with what the market really needs, that is to say real benefits, not just luxury features. Now ,looking at the chart, Diagram A, you can see…
Task 9
―a manager‘s job is really all about understanding and working with people,‖ Dan says. ‗Most of my time is spent in getting to know the people who work in the Marketing Division. I have to know what they are like and what they can do,‖
Dam believes that taking a job is like wearing clothes. If the clothes do not fit, the person is not comfortable. It is the same with a job. If the work is not be done well.
One day Dan was talking with Mary and they were discussing people and their jobs. Dan asked, ―Mary, how would you describe your job?‖ Mary answered quickly, ―My job is to know what our customers want and to help them get it by using our products.‖ Dan said,―that is beau tiful . you have told me what you are supposed to accomplish. Y ou understand what you are doing for people.‖ If we concentrate too much on today‘s
products and stop helping people, we stop selling.‖
UNIT 12
Task 1
UK residents spend an average ￡229 a year on food consumed in transit, the highest in Europe, the research group Datamonitor says. In contrast, Spanish people spend only ￡128 a year on average.
The report‘s author says the difference is due to the greater amount of the Britons spend at work and commuting. In the UK people spend on average 48 minutes a day traveling to and from work. The Spanish and Italians spend 34 and 24 minutes respectively.
Attitudes towards food are also important, the study claims.
―there are a lot of people in the UK who view most of their meals as refueling,‖ says Lawrence Gould, the report‘s author.
But it is not all bad, he adds.
―one thing emerging is a greater demand for higher quality food, even if it is food-on-the-go,‖ says Mr .Gould.
Traditional fast foods such as burgers and chips are now competing with low-fat alternatives. While the food may have been eaten in transit, people are increasing being offered healthy fare: from sushi to organic salads.。