现代办公室

 　　Rob: Hello, I'm Rob. Welcome to 6 Minute English. I've got Finn with me today. Hello Finn.

　　Finn: Hi Rob, how's it going?

　　Rob: All right. You might notice it's a bit noisier than usual - that's because we're in our open-plan office.

　　Finn: Yes, it's a big room full of desks with no walls between them and, as I look around, I can see maybe about 50 colleagues working very hard at their computers!

　　Rob: And today we're talking about open-plan offices - and learning some language related to office life.

　　Finn: That's right. Rob, shall we just go back into the studio where it's a bit quieter?

　　Rob: Good idea. Let's go. (in the studio) Right, come in here.

　　Finn: That's better. That's good, isn't it?

　　Rob: Lovely.

　　Finn: Rob - a question? You know a lot about sound, don't you?

　　Rob: Well, a bit.

　　Finn: What do we call a kind of noise that contains the full range of sounds that humans can hear? Is it…

　　a) white noise

　　b) green noise

　　c) pink noise

　　Rob: Good question. I'm only familiar with the term 'white noise', so I'll go for a) white noise.

　　Finn: Well, we'll see if you're right at the end of the programme. So shall we continue talking about offices?

　　Rob: Yes, millions of people like us work in open-plan offices these days, but they're not new. Do you remember Henry Ford¹, the American industrialist² from the late 19th Century and early 20th Century?

　　Finn: Yes, he owned factories and he made the famous Ford cars.

　　Rob: He's also one of the main names in the story of open-plan offices.

　　Finn: Yes, Henry Ford was really concerned with efficiency, wasn't he?

　　Rob: Yes. Efficiency is one of main reasons for open-plan offices - they increase communication and collaboration³ among staff.

　　Finn: Now, a company's staff - its employees - work together for the same goals - they collaborate⁴, exchanging information and ideas. This can be nice, but there can be too many of us in a small space!

　　Rob: Franklin Becker, social psychologist at Cornell University in the US, thinks the reason open-plan offices have become acceptable and popular, or as he says - the reason they have taken root - is different. What reason does he give?

　　Franklin Becker, social psychologist at Cornell University, US:

　　The fundamental reason why open plan has taken root has nothing to do really with communication or collaboration or even flexibility⁵. It has to do with the fact that you can reduce the amount of space per person in an open-plan versus⁶ any kind of a closed cellular⁷ office.

　　Finn: Well, it's all about saving space and money. He says it takes less space per person in an open-plan office than it does in a cellular office - that's an office which is made up of lots of small, closed rooms.

　　Rob: In those offices, the space for each individual - per person - is limited. Which is why open-plan offices have taken root.

　　Finn: So some very good reasons for open-plan offices. But what about the noise?

　　Rob: The noise! Yes! Although open-plan offices can save a company money, they have hidden costs. Sound expert Julian Treasure explains what they are. He uses a very important word for business. Which word is it?

　　Julian Treasure, chairman of the Sound Agency:

　　Nobody can understand two people talking at the same time. We have bandwidth for about 1.6 people talking. Now that's key when we are talking about open-plan offices because if I'm trying to do work it requires me to listen to a voice in my head to organise⁸ symbols, to organise a flow of words and put them on paper, for example. And if you're talking at the same time, then you're taking up one of my 1.6. I'm left with 0.6 in my head. That doesn't work very well - it reduces my productivity dramatically.

　　Finn: The word, right at the end there, was productivity. Workers in open-plan offices get distracted when others speak, and their ability to produce work - their productivity - is reduced.

　　Rob: The expert says we can concentrate on 1.6 voices saying different things at the same time. That's not even two people!

　　Finn: No, not really. He says one voice is in your own head, to organise the flow, the movement, of words and ideas when you think and write.

　　Rob: And the other is… well, people like you on the phone all the time!

　　Finn: Oh, come on Rob. I suppose I do speak on the phone quite a lot but I didn't know I was disturbing your work.

　　Rob: You are.

　　Finn: Oh, sorry. Shall we go back to the question I asked earlier?

　　Rob: Okay.

　　Finn: I asked you about the colour of noise that contains the full range of sounds that humans can hear. Was it white, green or pink noise?

　　Rob: Yes. And I went for white noise.

　　Finn: The answer is, in fact, pink noise. That's the name scientists give noise…

　　Rob: Interesting colour.

　　Finn: … the full range of audio frequencies or sounds that humans can hear.

　　Rob: Okay. Well, it's almost time to go but could you remind us of some of the English words we heard today?

　　Finn: Of course. We heard:

　　open-plan office

　　industrialist

　　collaboration

　　staff

　　to take root

　　per person

　　flow

　　productivity

　　Rob: Thanks Finn. Well that's it for this programme. Please join us soon again for 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English.

　　Both: Bye.

1 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

2 industrialist   

n.工业家，实业家

参考例句：

• The industrialist's son was kidnapped.这名实业家的儿子被绑架了。
• Mr.Smith was a wealthy industrialist,but he was not satisfied with life.史密斯先生是位富有的企业家，可他对生活感到不满意。

3 collaboration   

n.合作，协作；勾结

参考例句：

• The two companies are working in close collaboration each other.这两家公司密切合作。
• He was shot for collaboration with the enemy.他因通敌而被枪毙了。

4 collaborate   

vi.协作，合作；协调

参考例句：

• The work gets done more quickly when we collaborate.我们一旦合作，工作做起来就更快了。
• I would ask you to collaborate with us in this work.我们愿意请你们在这项工作中和我们合作。

5 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

6 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

7 cellular   

adj.移动的；细胞的，由细胞组成的

参考例句：

• She has a cellular telephone in her car.她的汽车里有一部无线通讯电话机。
• Many people use cellular materials as sensitive elements in hygrometers.很多人用蜂窝状的材料作为测量温度的传感元件。

8 organise   

vt.组织，安排，筹办

参考例句：

• He has the ability to organise.他很有组织才能。
• It's my job to organise all the ceremonial events.由我来组织所有的仪式。