Unit 6 Sam Adams Industrial Engineer American educational

Unit 6 Sam Adams, Industrial Engineer

American educational system: n n 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 Grade 1 -6 6 -11 years old Junior high or middle school Grade 7 -8 12 -13 years old (senior) high school Grade 9 -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: n 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 short-term 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 n adj: efficient n antonym: inefficiency n Eg: It would improve our efficiency if we used more up-to-date methods. n

industrial n n 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 25 th, 26 th and 29 th respectively.

elementary adj. of or for beginners n n: element n synonym: basic, primary, simple, introductory n Eg: The student took a course in elementary math. n

bureau n. ⑴. 衣柜 ⑵. (政府部门的)局 FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation 美国联邦调查局 n

expert n. a person with special knowledge or skill n synonym: specialist, professional n n: expertise 专业知识 n 习惯用法: become expert at (doing) sth. n

quality n. the degree of goodness which a thing or a person possesses n synonym: character, property, merit n Note: quantity 数量 n Eg: The quality of service has improved. n

foundation n. 基础 n Synonym: basis, ground, warrant n 习惯用法: lay solid foundation for… 为……打下坚实的基础 n Eg: Agriculture is the foundation of the nation economy. n

career n. profession; way of making a living n Synonym: occupation, profession, vocation n Eg: Throughout US history, numerous foreign-born politicians and policy intellectuals with overseas accents have had brilliant careers in public service. n

bossy adj. always telling other people what to do and how to do it, like a boss n Synonym: dictatorial n Eg: A “Massachusetts liberal” is the very worst of a bossy, free-spending, irresponsible tribe. n

project n. a piece of work; a big plan n Synonym: blueprint, plan, program n Eg: The project is already underway but developers say it will take until 2020 to finish. n

bachelor n. 学士; 单身汉 n 学士: Bachelor n 硕士: Master n 博士: Doctor n

graduation n. completion of an educational course n vi. graduate from / at… 毕业于… n

basis n. 基础, 根据 n synonym: base; ground; foundation n pl: bases n on the basis of … n Eg: There is no scientific basis for these claims. n

consult v. ⑴. 请教: consult sb. n ⑵. 商量, 商议: consult with sb. n Synonym: ask, discuss n n. consultant 顾问 n

amaze vt. fill with great surprise or wonder n Synonym: surprise, shock, startle, astonish n ⑴ it amaze sb. to hear / see … 听到/看到…大吃一惊 n ⑵ to one’s amazement 让人吃惊的是… n

curious adj. 奇怪的; 好奇的 n Synonym: (奇怪的) odd, peculiar, strange, queer n be curious about 好奇, 想打听 n

miss n n n 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 n Eg: Take breaks throughout the day. It will help clear your mind and relieve pressure. n relieve sb. of… 帮助某人拿(提, 做等)… ; 使某人免于… n

boring adj. uninteresting and tiresome n Synonym: dull, uninteresting, tiresome, flat n bore: vt. make sb. feel tired by being dull or tedious synonym: annoy, bother, tire n

dull adj. ⑴ not bright or clear synonym: dark, dim ⑵ lacking interest or excitement ⑶ stupid, unintelligent, dimwitted n Eg: I slept through her dull speech. n

flow n. a smooth steady movement or supply eg: work flow 作流程 n vi. ⑴ 流动; ⑵ 垂, 飘拂 n 比喻意义: (国家)富有 eg: Our motherland flows with natural resources n

absent adj. not present n be absent from… 未出席, 缺席 n absent-minded 心不在焉的 n an absent look 漫不经心的表情 n

assembly n. 组装; 集会 General Assembly 联合国大会 Assembly line 装配线 n Assemble: v. n

shift n. 班, 轮班 eg: day shift 白班 n v. ⑴. 搬动, 移动 synonym: move, transfer ⑵. 改变 synonym: change, transform, alternate, alter n

fire n n n 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

major adj. 主要的; 较大的 synonym: chief, primary, important n n. 主修课程; 专修…的学生 n vi. 主修, 专攻 (major in…) n

achieve vt. get by effort n Achievement: n. 成绩; 得到 n Eg: He went back home without having achieved any success. n

decrease vt. make smaller or fewer n synonym: reduce, decline, diminish n antonym: increase n decrease to 减少到… n decrease by 减少了… n

productive adj. 多产的, 富有成效的, 生产性的 n Synonym: fertile, effective, fruitful, plentiful, profitable n Produce: v. n

frequent adj. happening often n Synonym: common, habitual n vt: 常到, 常去, 时常出入于… eg: frequent the library 经常去图书馆 n

promote vt: 提升, 提拔, 促进, (商品等)宣传, 促销 n Synonym: further, push, elevate, upgrade, advertise n Promotion: N. n Eg: The company promoted the rock group’s new record by playing it often on the radio. n

incentive n. 刺激, 鼓励 synonym: encouragement, enticement, impetus, stimulus n adj. 刺激的, 鼓励的 n

compliments n. formal respects or greetings n Note: compliment 赞美 complement 补充, 补足 n

Find out 查明; 发现(尤指坏事) n eg 1: Mary was angry when Jane found out her secrets. n eg 2: You may get away with dishonesty for a while, but you’ll be found out sooner or later. n

Turn our 结果是 n eg 1: The examination turned our (to be) easy. n eg 2: It turned out that he was George’s father. n

As a result 作为结果, 因此 n eg 1: Tom didn’t study hard, as a result, he failed to pass the difficult test. n eg 2: He slipped and broke his leg. As a result, he will have to be away from school for two or three months. n

Except for 除了…外 n eg 1: Your picture is good except for some of the colors. n eg 2: The room was bare of furniture except for a few chairs. n

Go on strike n n n 罢 eg 1: Your parcel was delayed because the post workers went on strike. eg 2: Some students wanted to call on the workers to go on strike.

Hold up 延迟, 耽搁; 阻碍 n eg 1: Work on the building site has been held up by the bad weather. n eg 2: The steel strike may hold up the production of cars for several months. n

Result in 结果是; 导致 n eg 1: The accident resulted in three deaths. n eg 2: He felt that the extreme misery of the working people would result in revolution. n Result from: 起因于, 由…所导致 n eg 3: Professor Smith’s lung cancer resulted from excessive smoking. n

Talk over 商量; 讨论 n eg 1: I would like to talk over this problem with you. n eg 2: Leaders of the two countries have talked the situation over. n

Keep up with 跟上 n eg: They could not keep up with us when we climbed the mountain. n