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:
kindergarte
n
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)
Arrange the family things
Qualities of industrial engineer
“Consultant” in a shirt factory
(Para.5-6)
His discoveries(Para.7-10)
His suggestions of improvement
and his reward
No quality control
Establish a quality control
Irregular work flow
Redesign the assembly line
Poor working condition
a. Decrease the height of the worktable
b. Provide background music and setting
c. Have two breaks
d. 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 lefthand 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 shortterm basis as a consultant.
承担(某任务)
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 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
Cover:
采访;
After
I made
报道
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."
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
used 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,
introductory
 Eg: The student took a course in
elementary 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
nation economy.

career
n. profession; way of making a living
 Synonym: occupation, profession,
vocation
 Eg: Throughout US history, numerous
foreign-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
worst 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
developers 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
claims.

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,
astonish
 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,
uninteresting,
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
resources

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,
alter

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
achieved 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
group’s new record by playing it often on
the radio.

incentive
n. 刺激,鼓励
synonym: encouragement, enticement,
impetus, 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 for
a while, but you’ll be found out sooner or
later.

Turn our
结果是
 eg1: The examination turned our (to be)
easy.
 eg2: It turned out that he was George’s
father.

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
result, 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
except 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
held up by the bad weather.
 eg2: The steel strike may hold up the
production 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
resulted 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
talked 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.