Unit 6

Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer

American educational system:

In the United States, education is the responsibilities of individual states, not of the federal government, so requirements may vary from one state to another. The following is a generalization:

kindergarten

Grade 0 5 years old

Elementary school

Grade1-6 6-11 years old

Junior high or middle school

Grade7-8 12-13 years old

(senior) high school

Grade9-12 14-17 years old

college (4 years for a B.A. or B.S. degree)

university (2-3 years for an M.A. or M.S.; 2-8 years for a Ph.D)

Q & A:

Do you consider yourself an efficient person? In what ways are you efficient? In what ways are you inefficient?

“Efficiency expert” for the family(Para.1-4)

His suggestions of improvement and his reward

“Consultant” in a shirt factory(Para.5-6)

Establish a quality control

His discoveries(Para.7-10)

Redesign the assembly line

No quality control

Irregular work flow

Poor working condition

Qualities of industrial engineer

Arrange the family things

a. Decrease the height of the worktableb. Provide background music and settingc. Have two breaksd. Excellent work leads to pay increase and promotions

Sam set out to improve efficiency at the shirt factory but, as we find out later in this unit, his plans turned out not quite as he had expected.

Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer

If you ask my mother how I happened to become an industrial engineer, she'll tell you that I have always been one. She means that I have always wanted everything to be well organized and neat. When I was still in elementary school, I liked to keep my socks in the upper left-hand drawer of my bureau, my underwear in the upper right drawer, shirts in the middle drawer, and pants, neatly folded, in the bottom drawer.

In fact, I was the efficiency expert for the whole family. I used to organize my father's tools, my mother's kitchen utensils, my sister's boyfriends. I needed to be efficient. I wanted to be well organized. For me, there was a place for everything and everything was always in its place. These qualities gave me a good foundation for a career in industrial engineering. Unfortunately, I was also a bit bossy and I wasn't a very good listener. You'll see what I mean when I tell you about the first project I ever did after I finished my bachelor's degree at the university.

After graduation I returned home to my small town in Indiana. I didn't have a job yet. Mr. Hobbs, a friend of my father's, owned a small shirt factory in town. Within the past five years it had grown from twenty to eighty workers. Mr. Hobbs was worried that his plant was getting too big and inefficient, so he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as a consultant. I went to the plant and spent about a week looking around and making notes. I was really amazed at what I saw.

承担 ( 某任务 )

Most curious of all, there was no quality control whatsoever. No one inspected the final product of the factory. As a result some of the shirts that were put in boxes for shipment were missing one or two buttons, the collar, even a sleeve sometimes! The working conditions were poor. The tables where the workers sat were very high and uncomfortable. Except for a half hour at lunchtime, there were no breaks in the day to relieve the boring work. There was no music. The walls of the workrooms were a dull gray color. I was amazed that the workers hadn't gone on strike.

Furthermore, the work flow was irregular. There was one especially absent-minded young man in the assembly line who sewed on buttons. After a while I recognized him as "Big Jim," who used to sit behind me in math class in high school. He was very slow and all the shifts were held up at his position. Workers beyond him in line on his shift had to wait with nothing to do; therefore, a great deal of time and efficiency were lost as Big Jim daydreamed while he worked. All week I wondered why he wasn't fired.

Translation this sentence

After I made observations for a week, Mr. Hobbs asked me for an oral report of my findings. I covered my major points by telling him the following: "If you have a quality control inspection, you will greatly improve your finished product." "If the assembly line is redesigned, a smooth work flow can be achieved and time and energy can be saved." "If you decrease the height of the worktables, the machine operators will work more comfortably." "If the management provides pleasant background music and beautifies the dull setting, the factory will be much more productive."

Cover:采访 ;报道

"If the workers have a fifteen-minute coffee break in the morning and afternoon, they will be more efficient." "If excellent work results in frequent pay increases or promotions, the workers will have greater incentive to produce." Mr. Hobbs thanked me for this report and told me he would talk over my suggestions with his brother, the co-owner and manager of the factory. "We're interested in progress here," he said. "We want to keep up with the times." He also gave me a check for $ 100 and a box of shirts with his compliments.

efficiency

n. the state or quality of being efficient adj: efficient antonym: inefficiency Eg: It would improve our efficiency if we us

ed more up-to-date methods.

industrial

adj. of industry n: industry / industrialist vt: industrialize Eg: Although European nations generally do well

in the survey, the continent’s major industrial powers of France, Germany and Britain finish 25th, 26th and 29th respectively.

elementary

adj. of or for beginners n: element synonym: basic, primary, simple, introduct

ory Eg: The student took a course in elementa

ry math.

bureau

n. . ⑴ 衣柜 ⑵. ( 政府部门的 )

局FBI: Federal Bureau of

Investigation

美国联邦调查局

expert

n. a person with special knowledge or skill synonym: specialist, professional n: expertise 专业知识 习惯用法 : become expert at (doing) sth.

quality

n. the degree of goodness which a thing or a person possesses

synonym: character, property, merit Note: quantity 数量 Eg: The quality of service has improved.

foundation

n. 基础 Synonym: basis, ground, warrant 习惯用法 : lay solid foundation for…

为……打下坚实的基础 Eg: Agriculture is the foundation of the nati

on economy.

career

n. profession; way of making a living Synonym: occupation, profession, vocati

on Eg: Throughout US history, numerous fore

ign-born politicians and policy intellectuals with overseas accents have had brilliant careers in public service.

bossy

adj. always telling other people what to do and how to do it, like a boss

Synonym: dictatorial Eg: A “Massachusetts liberal” is the very w

orst of a bossy, free-spending, irresponsible tribe.

project

n. a piece of work; a big plan Synonym: blueprint, plan, program Eg: The project is already underway but d

evelopers say it will take until 2020 to finish.

bachelor

n. 学士 ; 单身汉 学士 : Bachelor 硕士 : Master 博士 : Doctor

graduation

n. completion of an educational course vi. graduate

graduate from / at… 毕业于…

basis

n. 基础 , 根据 synonym: base; ground; foundation pl: bases on the basis of … Eg: There is no scientific basis for these cl

aims.

consult

v. .⑴ 请教 : consult sb. ⑵. 商量 , 商议 : consult with sb. Synonym: ask, discuss n. consultant 顾问

amaze

vt. fill with great surprise or wonder Synonym: surprise, shock, startle, astonis

h ⑴ it amaze sb. to hear / see …

听到 / 看到…大吃一惊 ⑵ to one’s amazement 让人吃惊的是…

curious

adj. 奇怪的 ; 好奇的 Synonym: ( 奇怪的 ) odd, peculiar, strange,

queer be curious about 好奇 , 想打听

miss

vt. 未击中 ; 错过 ; 逃脱 ; 发现丢失 ; 想念 ; 遗漏 ;省掉

⑴ miss 不能跟动词不定式 , 可跟动名词 . 如 : 未被逮住 :miss being caught (right)

miss to be caught (wrong) ⑵ 发现钢笔丢失 : I missed my pen. (right)

I found my pen missing. (right)

I found my pen missed. (wrong)

relieve

vt. make less or easier Eg: Take breaks throughout the day. It will

help clear your mind and relieve pressure. relieve sb. of… 帮助某人拿 ( 提 , 做等 )… ;

使某人免于…

boring adj. uninteresting and

tiresome Synonym: dull, uninte

resting, tiresome, flat bore: vt. make sb. feel

tired by being dull or tedious

synonym: annoy, bother, tire

dull

adj.

⑴ not bright or clear

synonym: dark, dim

⑵ lacking interest or excitement

⑶ stupid, unintelligent, dimwitted Eg: I slept through her dull speech.

flow

n. a smooth steady movement or supply

eg: work flow 工作流程 vi. ⑴ 流动 ; ⑵ 垂 , 飘拂 比喻意义 : ( 国家 ) 富有 eg: Our motherland flows with natural reso

urces

absent

adj. not present be absent from…

未出席 , 缺席 absent-minded

心不在焉的 an absent look

漫不经心的表情

assembly

n. 组装 ; 集会 General Assembly 联合国大会 Assembly line 装配线 Assemble: v.

shift

n. 班 , 轮班 eg: day shift 白班 v. .⑴ 搬动 , 移动 synonym: move, transfer

⑵. 改变 synonym: change, transform, alternate, alt

er

fire

vt. make (sb.) leave his job 同 : dismiss

fire sb. 解雇某人 vi. to shoot off bullets 同 : shoot

fire at sb. 朝某人开火 n. make a fire 生火 play with the fire 玩火 catch fire 着火 ( 动作 ) burn on fire 着火 ( 状

态 )

set fire to 放火烧 , 点燃

observe

vt. ⑴ 观察 , 注意 ( 同 : watch, notice) observe sb. do… 看到某人做… ⑵ 遵守 , 奉行 ( 同 : obey, abide by, follow) ⑶ 发表观点 / 学说 ( 同 :remark, comment) observe (to sb.) that… 对某人说… Observation: n. ⑴ 观察 , 观测 ;⑵ 观察结果 ;⑶ 观

测后发表的言论 , 观点 Observer: n. 观察员 , 观测员

major

adj. 主要的 ; 较大的 synonym: chief, primary, important n. 主修课程 ; 专修…的学生 vi. 主修 , 专攻 (major in…)

design

vt. ⑴ 设计 ; ⑵ 计划 , 谋划

design to do (doing) sth. 打算做某事

n. ⑴ 设计 , 构思 ; ⑵ 图案 , 图样 ; ⑶ 企图 , 图谋

Redesign: vt. 重新设计

achieve

vt. get by effort Achievement: n. 成绩 ; 得到 Eg: He went back home without having ac

hieved any success.

decrease

vt. make smaller or fewer synonym: reduce, decline, diminish antonym: increase decrease to 减少到… decrease by 减少了…

operate

vt: 操作 , 操纵 synonym: run, manage, manoeuvre vi: (1). 活动 , 运动 ;

(2). 动手术 (operate on… 给…动手术 )

Operator: n. 操作人员 ; ( 电话 ) 总机 , 话务员 ; ( 外科 ) 手术师

productive

adj. 多产的 , 富有成效的 , 生产性的 Synonym: fertile, effective, fruitful, plentiful,

profitable Produce: v.

frequent

adj. happening often Synonym: common, habitual vt: 常到 , 常去 , 时常出入于… eg: frequent the library 经常去图书馆

promote

vt: 提升 , 提拔 , 促进 ,( 商品等 ) 宣传 , 促销 Synonym: further, push, elevate, upgrade,

advertise Promotion: N. Eg: The company promoted the rock grou

p’s new record by playing it often on the radio.

incentive

n. 刺激 , 鼓励 synonym: encouragement, enticement, im

petus, stimulus adj. 刺激的 , 鼓励的

compliments

n. formal respects or greetings Note:

compliment 赞美 complement 补充 , 补足

Find out

查明 ; 发现 ( 尤指坏事 ) eg1: Mary was angry when Jane found out

her secrets. eg2: You may get away with dishonesty fo

r a while, but you’ll be found out sooner or later.

Turn our

结果是 eg1: The examination turned our (to be) e

asy. eg2: It turned out that he was George’s fat

her.

As a result

作为结果 , 因此 eg1: Tom didn’t study hard, as a result, he

failed to pass the difficult test. eg2: He slipped and broke his leg. As a re

sult, he will have to be away from school for two or three months.

Except for

除了…外 eg1: Your picture is good except for some

of the colors. eg2: The room was bare of furniture excep

t for a few chairs.

Go on strike

罢工 eg1: Your parcel was

delayed because the post workers went on strike.

eg2: Some students wanted to call on the workers to go on strike.

Hold up

延迟 ,耽搁 ;阻碍 eg1: Work on the building site has been he

ld up by the bad weather. eg2: The steel strike may hold up the prod

uction of cars for several months.

Result in

结果是 ;导致 eg1: The accident resulted in three deaths. eg2: He felt that the extreme misery of the

working people would result in revolution. Result from: 起因于 ,由…所导致 eg3: Professor Smith’s lung cancer resulte

d from excessive smoking.

Talk over

商量 ;讨论 eg1: I would like to talk over this problem

with you. eg2: Leaders of the two countries have tal

ked the situation over.

Keep up with

跟上 eg: They could not keep up with us when

we climbed the mountain.

装配线上在他后面的工人只好等在那儿无事可干 .