P11
That may be a difficult approach for executives brought up on the philosophy of Frederick Winslow Taylor, an efficiency guru of the late 19th and early 20th century, who wrote of the danger that workers “tend to become more or less shiftless, extravagant and dissipated”. Armed with a stopwatch, Taylor dragooned employees into increasing production in the iron and steel industries.
19世纪末、20世纪初有一位效率先哲Frederick Winslow Taylor,他在文章中强调了工人们有变得“懒惰、奢靡、散漫”的危险。因此,泰勒手持秒表,强迫钢铁产业里的工人提高生产力。不过对于现在的管理层人员而言,他们应该很难效仿Frederick Winslow Taylor这样的方法了。
【词汇积累】
approach/ə'prəʊtʃ/v接近 n. 方式,方法,入口。同样表示“方法”还可以用way、method、means e.g. He is approaching retirement. 他快退休了。
philosophy/fi'lɔsəfi/n.哲学 人生哲学:the philosophy of life 哲学家:philosopher
e.g. He has a unique philosophy of life. 他有着独特的人生哲学。
guru /'gʊruː/ n. (个人的)宗教老师(或指导),(受下属崇敬的)领袖。e.g. These methods come from the ancient gurus of India. 这些方法都是源自印度的先贤。
“十九世纪末二十世纪初”: the late 19th and early 20th century 可以学习一下年代的表达法。
dragoon/drə'guːn/ v. 强制;以*力武***害迫**;*压镇** e.g. We were dragooned into the football team. 我们被迫参加了足球队。(要注意和dragon“龙”这个单词区分开)
【写作锦囊】
本段中,作者连用了三个描述同类型的形容词:shiftless, extravagant and dissipated懒惰的、奢靡的、散漫而游手好闲的。三个都是用于形容人“好吃懒做”的词语,用得非常好,可以三个一起记下来,写作时以排比的形式写出,更能突显笔者深厚扎实的词汇基础。e.g. People tend to become shiftless, extravagant and dissipated in such a material world. 在这个物欲横流的世界,人们极易变得懒散奢靡,游手好闲。
【语法点津】
本段中最后一句,Armed with a stopwatch, Taylor dragooned employees into increasing production in the iron and steel industries. Armed with...属于分词短语做形容词,用来形容主语的状态。同样用法的句子e.g. There are two terrorist, armed. 有两名武装恐怖分子。值得一提的是,arm有多种意思,可以指手臂,也可以指武装,后者的意思容易被忽视,平时要多注意积累。
P12
Most employees no longer cart heavy loads around all day, of course. Their tasks involve creativity and empathy when dealing with the public. In service industries, staff really are a company’s most important asset. And that is why the best executives will realise that a contented workforce is a prerequisite for corporate success.
事实上,大多数雇员们如今已告别肩扛手推百斤货物的体力工作。他们的工作更多的对创造力提出要求,要求能够同公众产生共鸣。因此在服务业,员工的确是企业最重要的资产。这也是为什么最优秀的管理人员会意识到,拥有对工作充满幸福感的员工队伍是公司成功的先决条件。
【词汇积累】
cart/kɑːt/ n. 运货马车; 手推车 vt. 用马车载运。超市的购物车、机场的行李手推车都可以叫做cart。 e.g. I add two items to my shopping cart我加了两件商品到购物车。.
empathy /ˈempəθi /n.同理心、共鸣。e.g.: The mother feels empathy with her son. 母亲和儿子的情感是相通的。-pathy 常为情感词汇的后缀。如:apathy漠然、冷漠;sympathy同情心
prerequisite/priː'rekwɪzɪt/ n.前提、先决条件e.g. Loyalty is the prerequisite for the recruitment. 招募人员的首要要求是忠诚。再次出现pre- 为前缀的词,含有“先前,之前”之意。如:previous先前。美剧开头常有“前情提要”,就是“previously review on ...”
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