2010年ESL之商务英语 20 Making Quick and Slow Decisions_在线英语听力室

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20 Making Quick and Slow Decisions

GLOSSARY

vendor – a company that sells products or services to another company; supplier

* We could simplify our accounts payable if we reduced the number of vendorswe work with. For example, we could order all our office supplies from just onecompany instead of from five different ones.

to go with – to choose to use a particular product or a particular serviceprovider; to choose to have or use a certain thing

* We decided to go with orange paint for painting the dining room.

hesitant – pausing and delaying to do or decide something because one isn’t

* After everything you just told me about that company, I’m hesitant to accept thejob.

to ponder – to consider; to think about something very seriously for a long periodof time

* How often do we stop and take time to ponder the meaning of life?

rash – done or decided very quickly, often so quickly that a mistake is made

* They made a rash decision to get married, only knowing each other for a fewweeks.

to sit on (something) – to spend a lot of time thinking about something beforeone makes a decision

* When they make the job offer, don’t respond right away. Sit on it for a few daysand try to figure out whether it’s what you really want.

of two minds – undecided; able to see the advantages and disadvantages ofdoing two different things, but unable to decide which one would be better

* Sandra is of two minds as to whether she should specialize in mechanical or

electrical engineering.

to switch – to change from one thing to another; to stop using or doing one thing

so that one can use or do another thing

* Why did you decide to switch from drinking coffee in the mornings to drinkingtea?

sound – logical, rational, and well-though-out

* Our school needs a sound policy on how to handle fights between students.

split-second decision – a decision made very quickly, without having enoughtime to think about it

* When the car in front of him suddenly stopped, Jake made a split-seconddecision to turn to the right, and it probably saved his life.

debatable – open for discussion; something that people can have more than oneopinion about and therefore should be discussed

* Scientists are now able to modify human genes, but whether or not that’s agood thing is debatable.

ifs, ands, or buts – excuses; any reasons for not doing something

* Clean up your room right now! I don’t want to hear any ifs, ands, or buts.

tentative – possible; uncertain; something that may be changed later; not yetfinalized

* Here’s a tentative budget for the project, but it might still change depending onthe salaries negotiated for the new staff members.

set in stone – finalized; clearly determined and agreed upon; not able to bechanged anymore

* Once we submit the grant proposal, everything is set in stone. There’s no wayto make changes after we send it in.

to revisit – to reconsider something after a period of time; to analyze or discusssomething again at a future time

* After a few years of marriage, Corrine told her husband it was time for them torevisit how household chores were being shared.

to work out – to be successful or unsuccessful; to achieve particular results orsolutions

* So, I hear you’ve been living with Gregory for the past few months. How’s thatworking out?

to live with (something) – to be able to tolerate or handle a situation orarrangement, especially if it isn’t one’s preference; to accept a difficult orchallenging situation

* I don’t really like my new office, but I guess I can live with it.

raise – an increase in the amount of money someone earns by working in aparticular job

* After one year in the position, Dennis decided to ask his boss for a raise.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. What does Courteney mean when she says there are “sound reasons” forswitching vendors?

a) The reasons have already been discussed in a large meeting.

b) The reasons for switching are loud and clear.

c) The reasons for making the change are clear and logical.

2. Does Dante believe switching vendors can save money for the company?

a) Yes, he believes it will save money.

b) No, he believes it will cost more money.

c) He believes it might or might not save money.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

rash

The word “rash,” in this podcast, means done or decided very quickly, often soquickly that a mistake is made: “If we make a rash decision to sell our business,we’ll probably regret it later.” A “rash” is also a group of small red marks on one’sskin, especially if they are itchy: “Have you ever gotten a rash from touchingpoison oak?” Or, “Your baby will probably get diaper rash if you don’t startchanging his diaper more frequently.” Finally, the phrase “a rash of (something)”

refers to a large number of things that happen in a short period of time, especiallyif they are negative, unwanted things: “Police are concerned about the recentrash of violent attacks in the downtown area.”

to work out

In this podcast, the phrase “to work out” means to be successful or unsuccessful,or to achieve particular results or solutions: “Why didn’t your relationship withBobbi work out? Everyone thought the two of you would get married and livehappily ever after.” The phrase “to work out” also means to exercise, especiallyat the gym: “She tries to work out at the gym after work at least four days aweek.” The phrase “to work out” can also mean to find the solution to something:

“I tried and tried, but I just couldn’t work out the solution to the math problems ourteacher assigned.” Or, “It won’t be easy to pay all our bills on just one salary, butI’m sure we’ll be able to work it out.”

CULTURE NOTE

In many parts of the United States, anyone who sells “merchandise” (products),“vehicles” (cars, trucks), or other “property” (things that can be owned) must havea “seller’s permit,” or permission from the government to sell things. The sellercan apply for a “temporary” (for a short period of time) seller’s permit if he or shewill be selling for only a short period of time, or a “regular” (basic; normal) seller’spermit if he or she “anticipates” (believes that he or she will have) “ongoing”

(continuing over time) sales. People and businesses who sell things in morethan one place must “display” (show to other people) a seller’s permit at each“site” (location).

A seller’s permit is especially important in states that charge a “sales tax” (moneycollected by the government as a percentage of the sales price of most productsand/or services). A seller’s permit allows the “holder” (the person or businesswith the permit) to buy goods “for resale” (with the intention of reselling them)without paying sales tax. It also helps the government “keep track of” (monitor;observe) which sellers should be collecting sales tax from customers and thensending that money to the government.

To “apply for” (request; ask for) a seller’s permit, the “applicant” (the person whois requesting the permit) must fill out an application “form” (a document withblank spaces where one can provide information) with basic information aboutthe business and the type(s) of “goods” (products) that will be sold. Theapplicant may need to attach some personal identification or the “businesslicense” (a document showing that the business has been registered with thegovernment) so that the permit reviewers can “verify” (determine whethersomething is true or correct) the information on the application.

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Comprehension Questions Correct Answers: 1 – c; 2 – c

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 620: Making Quickand Slow Decisions.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast number 620. I’m your host, Dr.

Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development inbeautiful Los Angeles, California.

Visit our website at eslpod.com. Download a Learning Guide for this episodethat contains all of the vocabulary, definitions, sample sentences, additionaldefinitions, comprehension questions, culture notes, and a complete transcript ofthis episode.

This episode is called “Making Quick and Slow Decisions.” It’s a dialoguebetween Courteney and Dante; they’re going to be talking about some businessdecisions that they need to make. Let’s get started.

[start of dialogue]

Courteney: Which of these vendors do you think we should go with?

Dante: I’m really hesitant to make a decision until we’ve pondered the options alittle longer. We don’t want to make any rash decisions.

Courteney: We’ve sat on this for long enough, don’t you think? I know you’re oftwo minds about whether we should be switching vendors in the middle of theyear, but I think it’s the right move. We had sound reasons for doing this,remember?

Dante: Yes, yes, I know that it wasn’t a split-second decision, but whether it’llreally save us money is debatable.

Courteney: I have to disagree with you there. We’ve both seen the reports and Idon’t think there are any ifs, ands, or buts about it. We’re going to save money.

Dante: Okay, I’m willing to make a tentative decision to go with GreatDeal Corp.

as our new vendor, as long as that decision isn’t set in stone. We’ll revisit thisdecision in six months to see if they’re working out.

Courteney: I can live with that. Now, can we discuss my raise?

Dante: Raise? That’s definitely something I’ll need to ponder a lot more.

[end of dialogue]

Our dialogue begins with Courteney asking Dante, “Which of these vendors doyou think we should go with?” A “vendor” (vendor) is a company that sells thingsto other companies instead of directly to you, the consumer. So if you are abusiness and you need to buy paper, you would buy paper from anothercompany that makes paper. So, that’s when a vendor is. At the end ofCourteney’s question she says, “Which of these vendors do you think we shouldgo with?” This is an interesting, two-word phrasal expression; “to go with” meansto choose a particular a particular product or a particular service, to choose tohave or use this thing. You can use this for almost any case where there is achoice between two or more things. Someone says, “Do you like the chicken orthe beef?” and you say, “Oh, I’ll go with the beef.” That is what I am selecting.

So, Courteney wants to know which vendor they are selecting. Dante says, “I’mreally hesitant to make a decision until we’ve pondered the options a little longer.”

“I’m really hesitant” means that I don’t want to do something. I don’t want tomake this decision because I’m not sure; I need to think about it some more.

“Hesitant” comes from the verb “to hesitate” (hesitate) which means the samething, not to do something. There’s an expression: “He who hesitates is lost,”

meaning if you hesitate often you will lose the opportunity to do something. Thisis especially true when it comes to romance and trying to find a romantic partner.

If you see a beautiful woman across the room and you hesitate, well, someoneelse may get to her first. Unless, of course, she’s married; in that case youshould find another room!

Dante is hesitant to make a decision until we’ve pondered the options. “Toponder” (ponder) is another way of saying to think about something veryseriously, to consider something. He wants to ponder the options a little longer –a little more time. He says, “We don’t want to make any rash decisions.”

Something that is “rash” (rash) is something that is done or decided very quickly,so quickly that you may easily make a mistake. That’s “rash” as an adjective.

“Rash” has some other meanings in English, and those you can find in thisepisode’s Learning Guide.

Well, Dante is hesitant but Courteney is not. She says, “We’ve sat on this forlong enough, don’t you think?” “To sit on (something)” here means to spend a lotof time thinking about something before you make your decision. It can also beused sometimes to mean to purposely not take any action to prevent somethingfrom happening. So your friend asks his mother if the two of you can go to amovie, and your friend’s mother says, “Well, I need to think about it. I’ll tell youtomorrow.” We could say she’s sitting on that decision; she’s not making thedecision because she really doesn’t want you two to be going to the moviestogether.

Well, Courteney thinks they have sat on the decision about the new vendor longenough. She says, “I know you’re of two minds about whether we should beswitching vendors in the middle of the year.” “To be of two minds” means to beundecided, to be able to see the positive things – the advantages of one optionbut also the advantages of another option and you can’t decide. That’s to be oftwo minds. “To switch” means to change from one thing to another, to stop usingthis and start using that. “I used to jog outside, and then I switched to atreadmill,” which is a machine that goes around that allows you to run or walkinside. That’s to switch.

Courteney says Dante is of two minds about whether they should be switchingvendors (changing vendors) in the middle of the year. “But, she says, “I think it’sthe right move (the right decision; the correct decision). We had sound reasonsfor doing this,” she says. When you say, as an adjective, something is “sound,”

you mean it’s logical, it’s rational, it is something that you have thought about fora long time and it makes sense, it’s correct.

Dante says, “Yes, yes, I know that it wasn’t a split-second decision.” A “splitseconddecision” is a decision made very quickly, without having a lot of time tothink about it. Dante is saying that this decision was not a split-second decision.

But, he says, he’s not sure if will really save them money. He says, “whether it’llreally save us money is debatable.” Something that is “debatable” is somethingthat you can have more than one opinion about; there isn’t a definite answer,different opinions could be correct; it is something that you need to discuss more.

“Debatable” comes from the verb “to debate,” which is to argue or talk aboutsomething with two people having different opinions.

Courteney says, “I have to disagree with you there.” The “there” here meanswith what you just said. “I have to disagree with you there. We’ve both seen thereports (the information) and I don’t think there are any ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

This is an interesting expression: “there are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.” Thismeans that there are no reasons for not doing something, there aren’t anyreasons for not doing something, there’re no excuses. You may be going to thestore with your friends, and your husband says, “I want you home by 10:00tonight. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.” Of course, who listens to husbands,right?

Courteney says that they are going to save money, and there are no ifs, ands, orbuts about it. Dante says, “Okay, I’m willing to make a tentative decision.”

Something that is “tentative” is something that isn’t yet final; it’s still somethingyou could change later. It’s almost like a temporary decision; you’ll make a finaldecision later. Dante says that they are going to go with (they are going toselect) GreatDeal Corp. (GreatDeal Corporation) as our new vendor, as long asthat decision isn’t set in stone. The expression “to be set (set) in stone” means tobe final, to be clearly determined, clearly agreed upon. You can’t change itanymore – to be set in stone. He says, “We’ll revisit this decision in six months.”

“To revisit” in this case means we will think about this decision again; we willanalyze, discuss, and consider our decision again in six months. Dante wants tosee if this new vendor is going to work out. “To work out” is a two-word phrasalverb that means to be successful, to do what they say they are going to do. Thisactually is an expression that has different meanings in English, and those are, ofcourse, in the Learning Guide.

Courteney says, “I can live with that.” “To live with (something)” in this casemeans to be able to accept a situation even though it’s difficult or it’s not exactlywhat you want; to be able to handle a situation, we might also say to be able totolerate to a situation. Courteney says, “I can live with that (I can live with thatdecision). Now, can we discuss my raise?” A “raise” (raise), as a noun, in thiscase means an increase in the amount of money that you make – that acompany pays you to do a particular job.

Courteney wants a raise. Dante says, “Raise? That’s definitely something I’llneed to ponder a lot more,” meaning he is not going to make a decision aboutgiving her more money until he has more time to think about it. Sounds like myboss!

Now let’s listen to the dialogue, this time at a normal speed.