企业英语学习6

 

 

第六课时Work Environment 工作环境

 

Work environment 工作环境，亦作 working environment

Determinant 决定因素

European Community 欧洲共同体（欧盟 （European Union）的前身）

ECU 欧洲货币单位 （European Currency Unit 欧元（Euro-dollar 的前身）

Occupational disease 职业疾病

Industrial injury 工伤

Underestimate 低估，过低估计

Incidence 发生，出现的行为或事件

Disablement benefit 伤残救济金

Dermatitis 皮炎

Extrapolation 推断

Drudgery 辛苦乏味的工作，苦工

Obligation 义务，职责，责任

Take precaution 采取防范措施

Ensure worker comfort 保证工人的舒适度

Office appliances 办公设备

Copier 复印机

Fax machine 传真机

Out of date 过时

Service contract 服务合同

Obsolete 过时的，废弃的

Spatial design 空间设计

Accessible 容易取得的，容易接近的

File system 文件橱柜

Surplus office supplies 多余的办公用品

Ambient light 背景光照明，环境光照明

Task light 岗位操作照明

Work station 工作区

Defective illumination 不良照明

A filing cabinet 文件橱柜

Over-3-day injury 请假三天以上的工伤

Computer cable 电脑线

Telephone cord 电话线

Wiring 配线

Ream 令（量词，500 张为 1 令）

Xerox paper 复印纸

Frayed 磨损的

Tape down 用带子捆住，用胶布把…粘住

Rubber protector 橡胶防护罩，橡胶保护装置

Tack down 钉住，钉牢

Slip-resistant 防滑的

Ventilation 通风

Sore throat 喉咙痛

Safety inspection 安全检查

Individual creativity 个人的创造力

Smoke detector （预报火警的）烟雾探测器

A working fire extinguisher 功能良好的灭火器

Acquaint sb. with sth. 让某人了解/熟悉

Rules and regulations 规章制度

ILL-health and the work environment疾病和工作环境

 

Work is an important determinate of health. It can influence health positively or negatively.

工作是健康的一个重要决定性因素，它可以给身体带来正面或负面的影响。

We are now focusing on the adverse effects of work on health, although the positive effects of appropriate work on health and well-being are no less important.

虽然适当的工作对身体健康带来的有利影响也同样重要，但我们现在集中谈谈工作对健康的不利影响。

Every year, about 10 million of the 150 million workers in the Eu ropean Community are affected by incidents,”accidents” or diseases at work.

每年，欧共体的 1.5 亿工人中大约有 1000 万工人由于工作中出现的时间、意外事故或工作引发的疾病而使健康受到影响。

Direct compensation costs are estimated at 20 billion ECU per year.

据估计，每年的直接赔偿金额为 200 亿欧洲货币单位。

According to UK official statistics, every year about 2000 lives are lost through occupational disease or injury,about 20,000 major industrial injuries occur (e.g. skull fracture, loss of sight) and there are about 200,000 injuries resulting in a work disability of 3 days or more.

根据英国官方的统计数据，每年大约有 2000 人因为职业疾病或伤害而丧命，每年大约发生 2 万起重大工伤事故（如脑部骨折、失明等），有 20 万工伤事故导致工人在 3 天或者更长时间内丧失劳动能力。

These figures are gross underestimates of the true incidence of occupational ill -health.

这些数据只是对实际发生的职业病伤害的不完全统计。

Thus for example the “true” figure of occupationa l cancer deaths alone in the U.K. may be to the order of 5,000per year.

例如在英国，仅仅因为职业引发的癌症死亡的“实际”人数每年就达到 5000 人。

While only about 300 workers receive disablement benefit for industrial dermatitis every year, there may be between 15,000 and 60,000 new cases of this condition every year.

然而，每年只有 300 名工人因职业引发的皮肤炎症得到伤残救济金，而实际上每年都有 1.5 万~6 万人得皮肤疾病。

Extrapolation from the UK Labour Force Survey suggests that in a year at least one million people believed they had ill health caused by work and a further million believed they had ill health made worse by work.

据英国劳工部调查统计推断，一年内至少有 100 万人认为他们患有职业引起的病害，另有上百万人认为他们的身体因为工作的原因而变得更加糟糕。

PART ONE Interview

(1) Why should companies create a pleasant working environment?

公司为什么需要营造舒适的工作环境？

Companies should seek to create appealing working environment, so that employee will look forward to coming

work each day. And a business-casual professional environment enables employees to be more productive.

 

 

(2) How important is it to consider health and safety when planning workplace layout?

规划工作场所布局时，考虑健康和安全因素有什么重要性？

 

Accidents can happen in the workplace and cause injuries to the employees. So companies have health and

safety obligations and should take precautions to provide a safe work environment for their employees.

 

 

(3) Do you think cost is the most important thing to consider when buying office furniture? (Why/Why not?)

你认为购买办公家具时，费用是最主要的考虑因素么？（为什么？）

No. I think the most important thing to consider is to ensure work comfort, so as to minimize the drudgery of work and increase productivity.

 

 

(4) Is it a good idea to rent office equipment instead of buying them? (Why? /Why not?)

租用而不是购买办公设备这样的想法好么？（为什么）

Yes. The speed of technological change is faster than ever, office equipment like copier, fax machines become out of date soon. So I think it’s better to rent office equipment rather than buying them. What’s more, you get the service contract when you rent equipment.

 

What’s important when…?

Designing the layout of an office

Appropriate use of space

Amount of light

 

设计办公室布局需要考虑哪些要点？

空间的合理使用

光线

 

l

First of all, we have to consider spatial design when setting up office. We should establish primary and secondary work areas for paper work, computer activities and accessible file systems, and allocate space for storage of surpl us office supplies. Make the best use of space and respect the privacy of our staff members.

 

Lighting is also critical. We should consider how much lighting and what type of lighting is needed to work more efficiently and effectively. Besides natural light, we also need to provide ambient light overhead and task light on work stations, as you see, defective illumination reduces work efficiency.

 

On top of that, when we’re structuring the layout of our office, it’s also important to consider health and safety ,calculate future growth and space needs, and apply ergonomics to adapt work or working conditions to suit our staff.

首先，当我们建立仓库的时候必须考虑空间设计。我们应该建立文书工作的主要和次要的工作场所，计算机的活动和访问的文件系统，还有分配给存储多余的办公用品的空间。尽可能的利用空间以及要尊重员工的隐私。

灯光也非常重要。我们应该考虑用多少灯光以及用什么样的灯光能更有效的工作。除了自然灯光，我们也在天棚设置背景光照明以及在工作区使用岗位操作照明。正如你所知，有缺陷的照明会降低工作效率。

除此之外，当我们构建办公室布局的时候，也应该考虑到健康和安全，筹划未来的增长和空间的需要，应用人体工程学来寻找适合工人的工作或者工作环境。

 

 

PART THREE：Discussion

Health and Safety Precautions

Two accidents happened in your office in the past year that resulted in bodily in juries to some staff members. Your line manager is revising health and safety precautions to eliminate the causes of office injuries. You have been asked to make suggestions. Discuss the situation together, and decide:

l what unsafe conditions there are in the office

l what precautions should be taken

健康和安全防范措施

去年你们办公室发生了两起事故，导致一些员工身体受伤害。经理正在重新修订健康和安全防范措施以减少伤害。请你们就此提出建议。讨论并决定：

 

l 办公室中存在哪些不安全的因素

l 应采取什么防范措施

 

A: You see, there were two over 3-day injuries in our office last year: Tom got his fingers broken when he slammed his fingers in the file drawer and Jane bumped her head over the edge of a filing cabinet and got a few stitches. It’s really time we reconsidered our safety precautions.

 

B: Yes. We need to make a checklist of unsafe conditions in the office. They might cause further injuries in our office. For example, our computer cables and telephone cords sprawl on the floor, and if anyone trips over them, they are likely to sprain ankles and backs on even worse, break their legs.

 

A: And the wiring all clutter up on desks, that might spill cups of hot coffee or tea, someone might get burned.

 

B: It’s dangerous to stack reams of Xerox paper onto the filing cabinet, in case they fall, people nearby will be hurt. I have also noticed that some of our electrical cords are already frayed or cracked, it’s most dangerous.

 

A: Safety is our first priority. We should take measures immediately to eliminate these hazards. The first thing to do is to replace all frayed electrical cords, all electrical cords, all electrical and telephone cords running into walk areas must be taped down or inserted through rubber protectors to prevent tripping hazards.

 

B: Yes, wiring on the desks should be arranged neatly. And we should allocate special space for Xerox paper instead of stacking them high on the filing cabinet. For reaching high shelves, there should be a stable step stool with a handrail to grasp.

 

A: Carpets in the office should be tacked down and slip-resistant, particularly in wet weather, to prevent any slipping or tripping accidents.

 

B: You see we have to walk through a dark area before we reach the switch, so we should reinstall the switch to prevent tripping accident and we should make sure that our work areas are well lighted.

 

A: We also need to improve the ventilation in our office to help prevent headaches, smells, sore throats, stuffiness and dustiness. And at least one smoke detector should be properly installed in the office.

 

B: You’re right. A working fire extinguisher should be available to handle small fires, and all staff members should know how to use it. Finally, we must entrust a manager with safety responsibilities and conduct safety inspections regularly.

A: 你知道，去年在我们办公室有两起超过请假三天以上的工伤：汤姆在开抽屉的时候伤了自己的手指，简的头碰到在文件柜的边上，还缝了几针。是时候考虑我们的安全防范了。

B：是的，我们把办公室的不安全隐患列出一个清单。例如，我们的电脑线和电话线堆在地板上。如果某人被绊到，它们可能扭伤脚踝或者后背，甚至可能伤到大腿。

A：而且配线乱糟糟的堆在桌子上，有可能会弄撒热咖啡或者热茶，这样会伤到别人。

B：把成打的施乐打印纸堆在文件柜也很危险，一旦它们掉下来，会伤到附近的人。我也注意到有些电线已经磨损或破裂，这是最危险的。

A:安全第一，我们应该迅速采取措施去消除这些隐患。首先要做的事情就是替换所有的磨损电线，所有的电线和电话线都规整到步行区缠绕起来或者用橡胶防护罩捆绑防止绊倒。

B：是的，桌子上的配线应该整齐的归拢，我们应该为施乐纸张分配特别的空间而不是把它们堆在很高的文件柜里。应该配备一个稳定的安装扶手的踏脚凳来够高处得柜子。

A：办公室的地毯应该是牢固而且防滑的，特别是在潮湿的季节，预防任何滑倒和绊倒的事故。

B：你知道我们需要穿过一个黑暗的区域才能够到开关，因此我们应该重新装配开关以防止绊倒的事故发生。我们也应该确保工作场所照明设施良好。

A：我们也需要改善办公场所的通风来预防头疼、不良的气味、嗓子疼、鼻塞和灰尘。而且至少在办公室安装一个烟雾探测器。

B：你是对的。具备一个可以使用的灭火器来处理小的火情，所有员工也应该知道怎样使用它。我们必须委托一个具备安全职责的管理者来定期进行安全检查。

 

（1） What are the advantages of a pleasant working environment?

提供良好的工作环境有什么好处？

People will become more productive and efficient in pleasant work environment, and good working conditions will help to bring out individual creativity.

 

（2） What are the advantages and disadvantages of moving to new offices?

搬入新办公室有哪些好处和害处？

The advantages include better working conditions, more spacious and pleasant environment. The disadvantages are: you’re not used to the new environment and the newly furnished office might be toxic (有毒)and harmful to health.

 

（3） Do you think employees work more efficiently in spacious office? (Why?)

你是否认为员工在宽敞的办公室里工作效率会更高一些？（为什么？）

Of course. I think a spacious office is conducive(有利于) to having fun in the work while the employees become more productive and maintain quality and effectiveness of work.

 

（4） What should companies do to increase employees’ work safety awareness?

公司应该采取什么措施来提高员工的安全意识？

Companies should offer training programmes and acquaint their employees with work safety rules and regulations.All employees must be given safety information and accident prevention instructions.

 

（5） In what ways will offices change in the future?

未来的办公室有什么变化？

In the future, I think all office equipment will be digitalized and work efficiency will be further improved. Or perhaps staff members can make better use of the Internet and work at home. I think home offices will be popular.