新职业英语2 unit2

unit2 Business Meeting

新职业英语

Unit 2

unit2 Business Meeting

Conte nts

1

Warming-up

5

Writing

2 3 4

Reading A

6

Mini-project Language Lab

Reading B

7

Listening & Speaking

8 7

Entertainment Language Lab

unit2 Business Meeting

Wa rm1

Task Work in pairs. Read the following list of the tasks at different stages of a business meeting. Discuss with your partner and match each task with its corresponding stage.Meeting Management Tasks

unit2 Business Meeting

Wa rm1

3,5,6,8,9,10 2, 4, 7 1,11, 12

unit2 Business Meeting

Readi Reading A ng A

Text Task 1

Task 2Business Know-how

unit2 Business Meeting

A-1 Reading A Text

Meetings Are a Matter of Precious Time1 The meeting spills over into its second hour. We are discussing a productivity initiative. At this moment, our most talkative member chimes in with the idea that we need some kind of system to reward employees. This is the same solution he offers for every problem at every meeting. Then, another member cuts in with a long story—just to make the point that we are not the proper entity to recommend the kinds of changes we are proposing. I, meanwhile, contribute nothing useful. Finally, the woman who set the meeting calls it quits and tells us we’ll continue next week. We drift back to our offices, wondering how to make up for the wasted time. This meeting occurred many years ago, but similar ones happen at companies everywhere every day.

unit2 Business Meeting

A-2 Reading A Text

2

Part of the problem at such meetings is that the leader has not

set clear objectives or an agenda, and didn’t assign pre-meeting preparation tasks. Instead, the leader seems to hope that magic will occur, producing solutions to the problems. Of course, that doesn’t happen.

unit2 Business Meeting

A-3 Reading A Text

3 The main reason we don’t make meetings more productive is that we don’t value our time properly. The people who call meetings and those who attend them are not thinking about time as their most valuable resource. But time is the most perishable good in the world. You can’t earn an extra hour to use on a busy day. Nonetheless, we usually have a vague feeling that there is plenty of time—somewhere in the future—so we waste it now and carelessly steal time from our families, friends or ourselves.

unit2 Business Meeting

A-4 Reading A Text

I used to be the disengaged participant—one who had good ideas about how to solve a problem, but didn’t contribute. I now take a more active role, aiming to make meetings more effective. Here are three simple principles I use. First, whoever calls a meeting should be explicit about its objectives. This means specifying tangible goals and assigning responsibilities. Second, everyone should think carefully about the costs of a meeting: How many participants are really needed? How long should the meeting last? Finally, after meetings, assign credit or blame to the person in charge. If people have records of leading ineffective meetings, they are not allowed to lead future sessions.4

unit2 Business Meeting

A-5 Reading A Text

5

I know that meetings may serve other functions. Sometimes,

they can communicate a solution, make

sure that there are no fatal flaws in it and give those who are unhappy with it a chance to voice their dissatisfaction. Other meetings serve a cultural function, allowing participants to renew social connections,

establish relationships, and deepen a sense of belonging. So, it’spossible to justify a few of those too-long and apparently unproductive meetings by finding hidden payoffs.

unit2 Business Meeting

A-6 Reading A Text

6

But, please, don’t just call a meeting and hope the magic

happens. Take charge and take personal responsibility for meeting its objectives, whatever they are.

unit2 Business Meeting

A-Trans-1 Reading A

会议关乎宝贵的时间1会议已经拖拖拉拉开了一个多小时，我们正在讨论如 何提高生产效率的提案。这时，最能言善道的同事插话说需 要某种制度来激励员工。每次会上，不管讨论什么问题，他 都会提出同一个方案。紧接着，另一位同事长篇累牍地说明 我们都不是提出这些建议的合适人选。我也没说啥有用的。 最后，召集会议的女同事宣布散会，并告知下周继续开会。 我们游荡回各自的办公室，盘算着怎样才能把浪费的时间补 回来。这是多年前的一次会议，但类似的情景仍然随时随地 在不同公司上演。

unit2 Business Meeting

Reading A A-Trans-2

2

这种会议的问题部分在于会议召集人没有明确的

目标或议程，也没有布置好会前的准备工作，而是寄 希望于奇迹发生，带来解决问题的方法。当然，奇迹 从未发生。

unit2 Business Meeting

A-Trans-3 Reading A

3

会议之所以效率不高，主要是因为没有很好地

珍惜时间。召开和参加会议的人都没有将时间当做 最宝贵的资源。但时间是世上最易逝的东西。忙碌 的一天中你无法得到额外的一个小时来做事。尽管 如此，我们还总是依稀觉得未来有大把时间，故而

不珍惜当下，漫不经心地把家庭、朋友和自己的时间浪费掉。

unit2 Business Meeting

Reading AA-Trans-4

4

过去，我开会时参与度不高，对要解决的问题

有好想法却不说。现在，我采取更积极的态度，希 望会议能更有效。我遵循以下三个简单的原则。第

一，无论谁召集会议，都必须明确目的。这意味着说明会议的切实目标并将任务布置下去。第二，每 个人都要仔细考虑会议成本：到底需要几人参加？ 要开多久？最后，会议结束后，要给会议负责人评 评分。如果谁有开会效率低的记录，那么下次他就

不能再担任召集人。

unit2 Business Meeting

A-Trans-5 Reading A

5

我知道会议还有其他作用。有时，在会上大家

可以讨论预定方案，确保其没有致命错误并给那些 有异议的人一个表达心声的机会。有些会议则有人 文功能，创造机会 …… 此处隐藏：2843字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……