Unit 6

Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer

I. Information of background

1. What is industrial engineering? What does an industrial engineer do?

Engineers in the proper sense of the word can be classified into many types, such as construction engineer (建筑工程师 ), production engineer (生产工程师 ), design engineer (设计工程师 ) and industrial engineer (工业管理工程师 ).

2. Industrial engineering is the detailed analysis of the use and cost of men, materials and equip-ment in an organization, with a view to increasing its productivity, profit and efficiency.Those who are involved in this kind of analysis are called industrial engineers.

3. A word about the American educational system (美国教育制度 ):

In the United States, education is the responsibility of individual states, not of the federal government (联邦政府 ), so requirements may vary from one state to another.

4.The following is a generalization:

School Grade age

Kindergarten Grade 0 5 years old

Elementary Grade 1-6 6-11 years old

Middle school Grades 7-8 12-13 years old

High school Grades 9-12 14-17 years

College : four years for a B.A. or B.S. degree

University:2-3 years for an M.A. or M.S.; 2-8 y

ears for a Ph.D.

II. Introduction

1. Lead-in and Introductory Remarks The general meaning of the whole text: This story is about Sam Adams, a "born" industrial engineer.

This text can be roughly divided into four sections:

(1) Section 1: the first 4 paragraphs; When a boy, he was the "efficient expert" for

the family;

(2) Section 2: paragraphs 5&6; After graduation from college he was asked to

work as a "consultant" in a shirt factory; (3) Section 3: paragraphs 7-10;

He was amazed at what he saw in that factory; (4) Section 4: the remaining paragraphs. He made many suggestions concerning the

improvement of production, and his suggestions were well-received by the owners.

When did the story happen?

Judging from what is described in the text, the story must have taken place in the early 1950s. The US came out World War II as a "winner", with its industrial capacity intact After the war the idea that efficiency in operation was the key to profits and success continued within industrial management. Small factories would occasionally hire a consultant on a temporary basis in the conviction that an industrial engineer or an efficiency expert could make them operate more efficiently.

Outline of the Story This story tells us something about Sam Adams,

a "born" industrial engineer. When he was still a little boy, he was very neat, well organized and efficient in his family. It was these good qualities that made him an industrial engineer and helped him a lot when being asked to work as a consultant in a shirt factory after graduation from college. He had an efficient way of survey and making many suggestions concerning the improvement of production. His suggestions were well received by the owners of the factory.

industrial

industrial action: 罢工 industrial estate: 工业区 industrial relation: 劳资关系 industrialism: n. 工业主义，产业主义 industrialist: n. 实业家 industrialize: v. 工业化 industrialization: n. 工业化 industrious: 勤奋的，勤劳的

1. If you ask my mother how I happened to become an industrial engineer, she'll tell you that I have always been one: If you ask my mother how I chanced to be an industrial engineer, she'll tell you that I was a "born" industrial engineer.

① how I happened to: what led me to; how it came about that I became _The reporters are eager to know how she happened to be on the spot.

III. language point

② Happen to: have chance to; occur or take place by chance -How did you happen to be an English teacher -I happened to meet an old friend of mine on the street.

2. She means that I have always wanted everything to be well organized and neat.

Neat: tidy; cleverly said or done -He was always neat about his appearance. -You have done a neat job. Congratulations!

-That is a neat idea

3. In fact, I was the efficiency expert for the whole family.

efficiency : ① -improvements in efficiency at the factory. 工厂效

率的提高②expert: (n) a person with special training in a ce

rtain field; (adj.) skillful _He is an expert at chess. -He is expert at chess/in playing chess.

-She is an expert in teaching small children. -Expert are called in to dismantle the bomb.

-v. trained by practice -You must make the plan according to the

expert advice. "Efficiency expert" is a special term, referring

to a person who specializes in time and motion studies, i.e.,. In our story the expression is humorously used to mean that Sam made sure that everything in his family was well-organized and that all family members fulfilled their share of domestic work in the most efficient way.

"Efficiency expert"

is a "noun + noun" combination, in which the first noun modifies the second

There are many other examples of such combinations in the text: work flow, quality control inspection, assembly line, and machine operator.

4. I used to organize my father's tools, my mother's kitchen utensils, my sister's boyfriends:

I often arranged my father's tools and my mother's kitchen utensils in place. I even helped my sister have a date with her boyfriends.

used to①-He used to watch TV programs each evening, but now he studies instead. -That woman didn't use to look so fat ten years ago. -Did you use to do morning exercises/Used you to do morning exercises

5. So he asked me to come in on a short-term basis as a consultant: So he asked me to work for a period of time in his factory as a consultant.

come in① : have or find a place; have a part to play; take one's position in game or at work -The second player was very nervous as he came in. -I understand your plan perfectly, but I don't see where I come in. -Workers hope his coming in will improve the conditions of their life.

② on a short-term basis: temporarily; for a period of time -The delegation of our college will pay a visit to America on a short-term basis. -to pay on a piece-work basis -to hold a job on a full-time basis -The two countries established diplomatic relations on the basis of equality and mutual benefits.

basis

1. 基础 e.g. : His theory has a solid basis in( 扎根于… ) facts.

This was the basis of the final design of the teaching building.

2. the most necessary part of sth ( 主要成分 )

e.g. The basis of this drink is orange juice.

6. I was really amazed at what I saw: All I saw in the factory made me really surprised. Be amazed at/by: be greatly surprised (often pleasantly) at/by -The teacher was amazed at his rapid progress in studies. -She was amazed at the fantastic design.

I was amazed by what you have told me. She was amazed that I was only twenty.

amazed: a. ~ at / by sb /sth amazing: That is ~ , isn’t it ? amazement: n. Her eyes were wide with ~. to one’s ~ = to one’s surprise To my ~, I was the first to be in the office to

day. amaze = surprise amuse = make sb laugh e.g : We were amused by an amazing story. amusement : n. ~ park 游乐场

7. Most curious of all, there was no quality control whatsoever: What made me very strange was that there was no one in the factory to control the quality of the products.

most curious of all: ① what is most curious of all. Similar examples: most important of all, most of all, and worst of all, etc.

a. ~ about /to do They were very curious about the people

who lived upstairs.

curiosity: n. ~ about / to do Child show ~ about everything. His answer didn’t satisfy my curiosity at all. 出于好奇 ： out of ~ whatsoever: pron. anything like that 任何的

事 .. 物 Whatsoever happens, don’t be surprise. Whatsoever she does is ridiculous.( 荒唐 )

a. equal to whatsoever but more (emphatic) at all 一点都不

You have no right whatsoever to read what write in the book.

I refuse to answer any questions ~ my lawyers arrives.

Is there any shade of douse ~ .( 你们一点都不怀疑 )

8. 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! As a result: because (of); therefore -The plane did not take off as a result of the bad weather.