2011年ESL之商务英语 18 Working Without Supervision（打印版）

2011年ESL之商务英语 18 Working Without Supervision（在线收听）

18 Working Without Supervision

GLOSSARY

to oversee – to monitor and supervise; to carefully watch how other people aredoing their work, making sure everything is running smoothly

* The regional sales manager will be responsible for overseeing all of the salesrepresentatives working in these 12 states.

day-to-day operations – the tasks and activities that must be completed to keepan office running well, without thinking about long-term strategy

* Christof is responsible for most of our day-to-day operations, from contactingpotential customers to sending out invoices.

second-in-command – the person who is responsible for a project ororganization when the person who is normally in charge is not available

* As executive vice-president, Henry is second-in-command and the presidentrelies on him heavily whenever she travels.

MIA – missing in action; absent without an explanation; not where one should be

* Bill has a lot of family problems right now, and he has been MIA a few timesthis past week. I hope he’s okay.

budget overrun – expenses that are greater than planned; with somethingcosting more than it was expected to

* They’ll be really pleased if we can finish this project on time and without anybudget overruns.

to shirk (one’s) responsibilities – to not do all of the things one is supposed todo

* Dan told his wife: “I know you’re tired after a long day at work, but that doesn’tmean you can shirk your responsibilities here at home.”

to phone it in – to complete a task using very little effort and giving it littleattention, as though it did not matter very much

* Jenny will start her new job in two weeks. In the meantime, she seems to bephoning it in at her old job.

to cover for (someone) – to do or say something to protect another person andnot let him or her get in trouble, especially when that person isn’t doing all thework he or she is supposed to do

* Why do you always cover for your co-workers? It’s important that your bossknows you’re the one doing all the hard work around here.

to fill in – to try to help when and where it is needed, especially at work

* Hugo wasn’t feeling well and had to go home early. Do you think you can fill induring this meeting?

loyalty – supporting another person and being faithful to him or her

* I’ve always admired his loyalty to his country.

when push comes to shove – under extreme circumstances; when there is a lotof pressure or a strong incentive to do something

* Normally, Ziet obeys all of the traffic laws, but when push comes to shove, he’llspeed to avoid being late for work.

to look out for (one’s) best interests – to do what will benefit oneself, even if ithas negative consequences for other people

* It’s nice that you want to help your sister, but at some point you have to look outfor your best interests.

supervision – monitoring and being responsible for how well another persondoes his or her work, or for how well a project is completed

* Little children need constant supervision in the kitchen so that they don’t hurtthemselves.

promotion – an increase in the responsibilities, duties, and pay one receives forone’s work within a single organization, usually accompanied with a new title forone’s position

* Janik is hoping for a promotion from Analyst to Senior Analyst.

to fire – to tell someone that he or she no longer has a job and will not continueto work in a particular business or organization

* Amie was fired for stealing from the company.

backstabber – a person who secretly says bad things about another person orsecretly does bad things to another person to get some advantage or benefit

* Franz is such a backstabber! I thought he was my friend, but apparently hewas saying terrible things about me to our boss.

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1. Why is Veronica upset with Stan?

a) Because he hasn’t been showing up for work.

b) Because he has been pushing and shoving co-workers.

c) Because he forgot to oversee the day-to-day operations.

2. Why doesn’t Kyle immediately accept the promotion?

a) Because he thinks the work will be too difficult.

b) Because he doesn’t have enough loyalty to the company.

c) Because he thinks Stan might be angry.

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WHAT ELSE DOES IT MEAN?

to phone it in

The phrase “to phone it in,” in this podcast, means to complete a task using verylittle effort and giving it little attention, as though it did not matter very much: “Wethought that Emil was committed to helping our cause, but he’s just be phoning itin since he joined us.” The phrase “to phone (something) in” also means toreport something: “If you see a drunk driver driving dangerously on the road,phone it in to the police.” The phrase “to phone (something) in” can also mean toplace an order by telephone: “Every Thursday, the receptionist phones ineveryone’s lunch order to the local deli.” Or, “The doctor has phoned yourprescription in, so it should be ready for you to pick up at the pharmacy soon.”

to fire

In this podcast, the phrase “to fire” means to tell someone that he or she nolonger has a job and will not continue to work in a particular business ororganization: “You can’t fire someone for old age. That would be illegal.” Theverb “to fire” also means to shoot bullets or cause an explosion with a bomb:

“The police officers fired at the criminal because she had a gun.” The phrase“fired up” means very excited about something and eager to do something: “It’sfun to see how fired up young children are about the first day of school.” Finally,the phrase “to fire questions at (someone)” means to ask someone manyquestions very quickly: “The reporters fired questions at the newly electedmayor.”

CULTURE NOTE

The POW/MIA FlagDuring the Vietnam War, many American soldiers became “prisoners of war”

(POWs; people who are held by the enemy and not allowed to leave during awar) or were “missing in action” (MIA; without one’s location being known). ThePOW/MIA flag was created to honor and remember POWs and MIAs, and toremind Americans “back home” (in the United States) of the need to “determine”

(identify) the “fates” (what happened to a person, or how a person died) of themen and women who serve in the military.

The POW/MIA flag is black and white. It has a “silhouette” (an outline drawing)of a man, a “watch tower” (a tall structure that guards sit in to watch whathappens in a prison and make sure prisoners do not escape) and “barbed wire”

(thin lines of sharp metal used to make fences that people cannot cross).

“POWMIA” is written on top, and the phrase “YOU ARE NOT FORGOTTEN” iswritten on the bottom.

The POW/MIA flag is flown on six special days: Armed Forces Day, MemorialDay, Flag Day, Independence Day, Veterans Day, and National POW/MIARecognition Day. It is also flown at many “military installations” (places wheremembers of the military work), police stations, fire stations, and similar places. Inaddition, military “mess halls” (cafeterias) usually leave one table and chairempty, “draped” (covered with a cloth) with the POW/MIA flag to serve as areminder of the soldiers who are missing and “symbolize” (mean; represent) achair waiting for their return.

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

COMPLETE TRANSCRIPT

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 716: WorkingWithout Supervision.

This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 716. 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 episode bybecoming a member of ESL Podcast and supporting our efforts.

This episode is a dialogue between Veronica and Kyle talked about workingwithout someone watching you – without someone telling you what to do. Let’sget started.

[start of dialogue]

Veronica: Where’s Stan?

Kyle: He’s not here.

Veronica: When will he be back?

Kyle: I’m not sure. He hasn’t been here for a couple of days.

Veronica: A couple of days?! He’s supposed to be here overseeing the day-todayoperations. You’re his second-in-command. Where is he?

Kyle: I honestly don’t know. He’s been MIA since Tuesday.

Veronica: I come all the way here to talk to him about budget overruns and I findthat he’s been shirking his responsibilities, too. I’ve a feeling he’s been phoningit in for a long time now. So have you been covering for him?

Kyle: Me? I’m just trying to do my job. When Stan isn’t here, I do my best to fillin. But I’m not saying anything against Stan.

Veronica: I appreciate your loyalty, but when push comes to shove, you’ve got tolook out for yourself, right?

Kyle: Uh, I guess. I’m not sure.

Veronica: Well, I do. I need to look out for my best interests and that’s makingsure this place has proper supervision. How would you like a promotion?

Kyle: You mean you’re firing Stan and giving me his job?

Veronica: Do you want the job or don’t you?

Kyle: Can I talk to Stan first? I don’t want him to think I’m a backstabber.

Veronica: You can…if you can find him.

[end of dialogue]

Veronica begins by saying, “Where’s Stan?” Stan is one of the employees. Kylesays, “He’s not here.” Veronica says, “When will he be back?” When will hereturn? Kyle says, “I’m not sure (I don’t really know). He hasn’t been here for acouple of days.” Maybe two days or three days.

Veronica says, “A couple of days?! He’s supposed to be here overseeing theday-to-day operations.” “To oversee” (oversee – one word) means to monitorand supervise; to carefully watch how other people are doing their work, makingsure that they are doing it correctly. It’s what a boss does, or a supervisor. The“day-to-day operations” are the things that a business does every day,repeatedly, or just the normal, regular things that a business, an office, or afactory for example does in order to keep their business going. It doesn’t refer tolong-term planning or coming up with a strategy for the future. Day-to-dayoperations are the things that are done on a daily basis or things that are anormal part of what the business does.

Veronica says to Kyle, “You’re his second-in-command.” When we say someoneis “second-in-command” we’re using a military phrase to refer to the person whois in charge – who is the leader when the normal leader isn’t there, the personwho is below the leader of a group or organization. Veronica says to Kyle that heis the second-in-command; but, of course, Stan, who hasn’t been there for acouple of days, is the leader. “Where is he?” Kyle says, “I honestly don’t know,”

meaning I really don’t know. He’s using that word for emphasis. “He’s been MIAsince Tuesday.” “MIA” is another military expression – there seems to be a lot ofmilitary expressions in the business world – meaning missing in action. It’ssomeone who, in a war, has not been found dead, is not a known prisoner,they’re just missing; we don’t know where they are. They may be alive; they may be dead. In the business world, in more general conversation, to say someone’s“MIA” means that they’re not there, they’re absent, but we don’t know why.

Veronica says, “I come all the way here to talk to him about budget overruns andI find that he’s been shirking his responsibilities, too.” So, Veronica went all theway, meaning she probably traveled from another office or another part of town,maybe even another city, in order to talk to Stan about budget overruns.

“Budget” is a word to describe your plan of how you are going to spend yourmoney – how much money you will make in your business, how much you willspend. A “budget overrun” is when you spend more than you planned, when youspend more than you expected to. Veronica wanted to talk to Stan about budgetoverruns, and instead she finds that Stan has been shirking his responsibilities.

So not only is Stan spending too much money, he’s shirking his responsibilities.

“To shirk (shirk) your responsibilities” means not to do all the things you aresupposed to do, not doing your duty. “Duty” is another word for responsibilities.

So, “to shirk your duties” or “shirk your responsibilities” is not to do them.

Veronica says, “I have a feeling that Stan has been phoning it in for a long timenow.” The expression “to phone it in” means to do something, especiallysomething for work, but without giving it a lot of effort and attention, treating it asthough it doesn’t really matter very much. You could say this, really, about anykind of job, or the performance of someone on their job. They’re doing their job,but they’re not doing it very well; they’re phoning it in. The idea is, of course, ifyou’re phoning something in you’re calling someone, you’re not actually theredoing what you should be doing; you’re doing it from a distance by simply pickingup the telephone instead of going and doing something. I guess that’s where itprobably comes, but it means completing a task with very little effort or attention.

Veronica says, “have you been covering for him (meaning Stan)?” “To cover for(someone)” means to do or say something to protect another person, to makesure the other person doesn’t get in trouble; you are covering for them. Kylesays, “Me? I’m just trying to do my job. When Stan isn’t here, I do my best to fillin.” “To fill in” here means to do the work of someone else or to take someoneelse’s place in doing the work that they normally do. Kyle says, “But I’m notsaying anything against Stan,” that is, I’m not criticizing Stan.

Veronica replies, “I appreciate (I thank you for) your loyalty.” “Loyalty” (loyalty) issupporting another person or another organization, supporting your family, beingfaithful to them, protecting them. That’s loyalty. Veronica says, “when pushcomes to shove, you’ve got to look out for yourself, right?” “When push comes toshove” means under extreme circumstances, when there is a lot of pressure todo something. The idea here is that yes, Kyle is loyal and he’s protecting Stan, but when the situation becomes more serious or more critical then he has to lookout for himself; he has to protect himself, not Stan.

Kyle says, “Uh, I guess. I’m not sure.” He’s not sure he agrees with Veronica.

Veronica says, “Well, I do. I need to look out for my best interests and that’smaking sure that this place has proper supervision.” “To look out for your bestinterests” means to do what is best for you even if it’s negative or has negativeconsequences for someone else. Well, Veronica is trying to look out for her ownbest interests; she’s the boss, so she’s responsible for what happens, and sheneeds to make sure that this office has proper or appropriate – correct –supervision. “Supervision” is overseeing, monitoring, and being responsible for agroup of people.

Veronica says to Kyle, “How would you like a promotion?” A “promotion” is whenyou get an increase in responsibilities, an increase in your duties at work; usuallyit means that you get paid more money. So, you used to be a salesperson, nowyou’re the director of sales; you get a promotion, now you are the boss.

Kyle says, “You mean you’re firing Stan and giving me his job?” “To fire” heremeans to tell someone they are no longer working there, to tell someone they nolonger have a job, to get rid of someone. “Fire” has a number of differentmeanings in English however; take a look at the Learning Guide for someadditional explanations.

Veronica says, “Do you want the job or don’t you?” He has to give her an answerright now. Kyle says, “Can I talk to Stan first? I don’t want him to think I’m abackstabber.” “To stab (stab) someone in the back” means to take a knife andput it in their back in order to kill them. So, a “backstabber” is a person who,literally, stabs someone in the back. However, we normally don’t mean someonewho goes and kills someone else, we mean someone who says things aboutanother person – bad things, negative things – without that person knowing thatyou are saying it. Usually you do this in order to get some sort of benefit foryourself. So you, for example, tell your boss that the other person working inyour department is lazy and doesn’t do his job. You, of course, want to get rid ofthat person so that you, perhaps, can get that person’s job. That would be abackstabber, to do something behind someone’s back, which is another way ofsaying without their knowledge – without them knowing.

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