Unit Six Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer Unit Six Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer

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Lead In

Background

Text

Reading Skills

Writing1. Questions to the Text2. Discourse Analysis3. Language Points4. Classroom Activity

1. Questions to the Text2. Discourse Analysis3. Language Points4. Classroom Activity

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Fun Time

Lead inLead in

1. Warm-up questions

2. Background Music

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Warm-up questionsWarm-up questions

1.Do you think it a good habit for a person to arrange everything in order in his daily life? Why or why not?

2.Do you think the habit of keeping everything in order will benefit one’s future work? Why or why not?

3. Suppose you were the manager of a factory. How would you arouse your workers’ enthusiasm for production?

4. What qualities are needed for an industrial engineer?

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Background Music Background Music

Background music is music which is played quietly yet audibly. Such music is soothing with a relaxed rhythm and is often played with a reduced volume. It permits a person to continue shopping, working or talking without being distracted. Muzak is the name of one of the earliest companies to produce this type of music.

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Background

• 1.Proverbs

• 2. Blank-filling

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ProverbsProverbs

1.Miracles sometimes occur, but one has to work terribly for them. ---- C. Weizmann

奇迹有时候是会发生的，但是你得为之拼命地努力。 ---- 魏茨曼

2.It never will rain roses. When we want to have more roses we must plant trees. ---G. Eliot 天上永远不会掉下玫瑰来，如果想要更多的玫瑰，必须自己种植。 ---- 艾略特

3.Genius is formed in quiet, character in the stream of life. ----Goethe

天才形成于平静中，性格形成于生活之溪流。 ---- 歌德

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4.Industry is fortune’s right hand, and frugality her left. 勤劳是财富的右手，节俭是她的左手。

5.Map out your future but do it in pencil . ---Jon Bon Jovi要好好计划未来，但也必须随时应形势而变通。

6.A Pessimist makes difficulties of his opportunities; an optimist makes opportunities of his difficulties.

----Harry Truman悲观者让机会沦为困难；乐观者把困难铸成机会

---- 哈利 . 杜鲁门7. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single ste

p. 千里之行，始于足下。

ProverbsProverbs

Blank-fillingBlank-fillingDirections: Listen to the information and fill in the blanks by using the backgrou

nd information you have just heard.

Industrial Engineering and Industrial Engineers

Industrial engineering is the detailed analysis of the use and the cost of ( 1 ), ( 2 ) and ( 3 ) in an organization,

with a view to increasing its ( 4 ), ( 5 )and ( 6 ) .Those who are involved in this kind of analysis are called

( 7 ) Engineers can be classified into many types,

such as ( 8 ) engineer, (9 ) engineer, ( 10 ) engineer and (11 ) engineer. An industrial engineer’s duties are to coordinate personnel, (12 )

and (13 ) and to determine the most (14 ) and (15 ) use of each. He helps plan the production (16 ) and designs or adapts details essential to the manufacturing of a ( 17 ) .

.

men material equipmentproductivity profit

efficiency

industrial engineersconstruction production

design industrialmaterials

machinery productiveefficient line

product

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Sam Adams, Industrial EngineerSam 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.

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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.

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 shirts 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.

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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.”

“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.”

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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.

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Questions to the Text• 1. What qualities did Sam possess which gave

him a good foundation for a career in industrial engineering?

Efficiency• 2. What did Sam suggest to make the work less

boring? Background music , coffee break, comfortable

table, bright color of the wall, etc.• 3. Do you agree with Sam that coffee breaks are

important for factory workers? Why or why not? Open

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Discourse Analysis

• Part 1( Line 1-12) When a boy, Sam was the “efficient expert” for the family.

• Part 2(Line13-20) When a graduate, Sam was asked to work as a “consultant” in a shirt factory.

• Part 3(Line21-38) Sam was greatly surprised by the degree of disorder.

• Part 4(Line39-56) Sam put forward some suggestions for the improvement of production and was rewarded by the boss.

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Grammatical Points

1.efficiency: the ability to do sth. Well

---Man’s biological clock decides at which hours he can work at peak efficiency.

---She booked plane tickets for us with great efficiency.

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2. 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 in: have or find a place; have a part to play

---You asked me to work in your firm, but where do I come in and what are my duties?

---I understand your plan perfectly, but I don’t see where I come in.

on a short-term basis: temporarily; for a period of time

3. Be amazed at (or : by): be greatly surprised (often pleasantly) at (or: by)

---The teacher was amazed at her rapid progress in studies.

--- The children were all amazed at the feats of Superman.

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4. Whatsoever: ( more emphatic than whatever, usually used in negative construction) at all

--- He will come for the meeting. There can be no doubt whatsoever about it.

--- Nothing whatsoever can prevent us from carrying out this plan.

5. inspect:

1) examine

--- The policeman stopped his car and demanded to inspect his driver’s license.

--- Her job is to inspect the service quality of all KFC chain stores in Shanghai.

2) visit officially

---The troops are ready for the visiting President to inspect.

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6. Except for: apart from; with the exception of

--- Except for its high cost, this type of machine would be very suitable.

--- The house is in perfect condition, except for a few scratches on one of the doors.

7. relieve:

1) make less or easier

--- Washing machines and microwave ovens relieve the work of housewives.

--- We are relieved to hear that he returned safe and sound.

2) give help to those in need

---A special fund has been set up to relieve the war refugees.

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8. Go (or : be ) on strike: begin ( or: be engaged in) a strike

--- Most of the workers voted to go on strike.

--- The students are out on strike.

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9. furthermore: moreover; in addition

--- She saw that there was indeed a man immediately behind her. Furthermore, he was observing her strangely.

--- The young people today, furthermore, see it as their duty to be happy and do their best to be so.

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10. absent-minded: so concerned with one’s thoughts as not to notice what is happening, what one is doing, etc.

---The absent-minded Ampere threw his watch instead of the stone into the river.

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11.Hold up: ( often used in the passive ) delay; obstruct

---The building of the road has been held up by bad weather.

--- The liner was held up by a thick fog.

--- Balzac is a very productive writer.

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12. decrease:

v. (cause to) become less

--- The government tries really hard to decrease inflation.

n. decreasing

--- There is a decrease in crime rate.

--- The decrease of his importance can be seen by the decreasing number of reporters following him.

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13. productive: able to produce well or much

--- Science and technology are the first productive force.

--- Balzac is a very productive writer.

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14. Result in: have as a result

--- The accident resulted in his death.

--- Eating too much will result in sickness.

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15. Talk over: discuss fully

--- I’ve got something to talk over with you.

--- You’d better talk it over with your wife before making a decision.

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16. Keep up with: go forward at an equal pace with

--- He has difficulty keeping up with the rest of the class.

--- You walk so fast that I can hardly keep up with you.

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Classroom ActivityClassroom Activity

Discuss the following questionsRole Play

Translation

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Discuss the following questions

1.What are the problems of the factory?

2.What are the solutions to the problems suggested by Sam Adams?

3.Other suggestions (cures).

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Role PlayRole Play

Directions: Form a group of two students. One student plays as Sam, the other Mr. Hobbs. The role play should cover the following points:

1.Sam gives a report on his findings and his suggestions to improve the production.

2.Mr. Hobbs thanks Sam and gives him some rewards.

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TranslationTranslation

Directions: Translate the following sentences from Chinese into English.

1. 杰克坚持每天锻炼身体，所以他精力充沛，学习效率高。

Jack works out every day. As a result, he is quite energetic and efficient in his studies.

2. 美国总统克林顿来华访问的结果是成功的。 The visit of Bill Clinton, the president of the United

States, to China turned out to be a great success.3. 最为奇怪的是，在失物招领启事贴出两星期后竟然没有人来认领这辆小汽车。

Most curious of all, no one has come to claim the car yet although the finding notice of lost property was put up two weeks ago.

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4. 为了援助灾区的人民，这位著名的流行歌手将在全国进行短期的巡回义演。

This well-known pop singer will make a national tour to give benefit performances in aid of the people in the flood-stricken area on a short-term basis.

5.

As long as you keep learning new knowledge, you’ll be able to keep up with the pace of our age/keep pace with the times.

只要不断努力学习新知识，你就能跟上时代的步伐

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Reading SkillsReading Skills

Reading for the main idea

What is the most important element in any paragraph or passage? Without a doubt, it is the main idea or the central idea, which gives the paragraph or passage a purpose and direction. Naturally, the first step to improve your comprehension is to practise reading a bit faster for the main idea.

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ExerciseExercise

Read each of the following paragraphs a little faster than you usually do, and answer the multiple choice question that comes after it.

One hundred years ago, school teachers were expected to provide a variety of services in addition to their teaching duties and to behave themselves in a exemplary( serving as an example ) manner. They cared for the oil lamps, tended the fire, and supplied their students with sharp pencils. After a long day in the classroom, they were expected to spend some time every evening reading the Bible. Women teachers could not marry, and barber shops were off limits to men teachers. Of course, alcohol and tobacco were forbidden.

Which statement best expresses the main idea?

a. Teachers performed domestic tasks.

b. The teaching profession demanded total dedication.

c. Teachers needed the guidance of religion.

d. Teachers set good examples by not using tobacco and alcohol.

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Culture tipsCulture tips The Two Different Ways of British Leisure Life British people are always famous for their conservative n

ature. Nevertheless, they also have some interesting ways to enjoy themselves.　　 Club life started with coffee drinking which began around 1650.Limited to fifty, list of membership of this club includes prominent members of the Commons and the Lords and other distinguished people. However, one of the famous clubs is a non-political club and was given the name the Other Club because its aims always to hear the other man's point of view.　 In contrast with club, there is the popular Pancake Day. It is on the first day of Lent, and usually occurs between February 2 and March 8. It is believed to remind that butter and eggs were forbidden during Lent and housewives were anxious to use up all they had left before the start of the frugal period.

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WritingWriting

　 Directions: For this part, you are allowed 30 minutes to write a short essay entitled Should the University Campus Be Open to Tourists? You should write at Least 120 words following the outline given below :

　　 1. 名校校园正成为旅游新热点

　　 2. 校园是否应对游客开放，人们看法不同

　　 3. 我认为……

　　 Should the University Campus Be Open to Tourists?

　

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• 　 model ：

　　 Should the University Campus Be Open to tourism?

　　 Nowadays, many famous university campuses have become one of the popular tourist attraction. It has been shown on TV and on the radio that every year thousands and thousands of middle school students visit Tsing Hua University and Peking University and other famous universities in China. In the place far away from the capital city, the local students also visit the universities famous in their own province.

　　 So far as the present situation is concerned, is it a good or bad thing to open the university campus for tourists? Different people have different opinions. On one hand, some people argued that it is a good thing for the students to visit the famous university campus in that it can enable the middle students to get more information about the university and they can have enough time and opportunity to prepare themselves with the chance to get into the university. On the other hand, some people hold a negative view about this phenomenon. In their opinion, the public tourism will have negative effect on the universities because it will not only do harm to the environment but also to the intellectual atmosphere.

　　 In my opinion, the tourism to the universities is not a good thing. The campus is mainly a place for study . With the increasing tourism on the campus, it will ruin the spiritual atmosphere in this learning field.

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Enjoying an English humorEnjoying an English humor

Day after day

A teacher was always so involved in the text being studied that he never looked up. He would call on a student for translation and explanation, and ---without realizing it --- he often chose the same student day after

day. Out of respect, the student wouldn’t point this out to him.

After being called on four days in a row, a student named Robert asked advice from his friends. The next day when the teacher said, “ Robert, translate and explain,” Robert replied, “ Robert is absent today.”

“ All right,” said the teacher, “YOU translate and explain.”

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