Part III Listening and Thinking
A: Passage
Script:
The new sharing economy is changing the way business has traditionally been done. The commercial real estate industry is no exception. In Washington and around the world, people from all walks of life are turning to a new kind of work environment, sharing basic facilities, services, events and technology.This is a so-called co-working space, where an increasing number of Americans work.
The United States is the birthplace of co-working space. The first one was created in San Francisco in 2005. The idea soon spread across the nation and around the world. Wework is one of the providers where members have different plans to choose. The price ranges from 45 to thousands of dollars a month and gives different access to the facilities, such as office equipment, conference rooms, personal desks and private working spaces. Members can even bring their dogs to work. Cove is one of the other co-working options for Washington and Boston workers. For the moment, the most popular plan is 89 dollars a month to enjoy 4 hours at any of 9 locations in Washington. Members can enter only by swiping cards.
新的分享型经济正在逐步改变传统商业模式。房地产行业作为商业的一部分，自然也不例外。在华盛顿乃至全球，各行各业的人们都在逐渐转向这种新型的工作环境，与他人共享基本设施、服务、活动和技术。这就是所谓的联合办公空间，越来越多的美国人在这里工作。
美国是联合办公空间的发源地。第一个联合办公空间于2005年在旧金山创立。很快，这一想法传遍美国和全世界。Wework就是其中一个可以给用户提供不同模式以供选择的地方。选择每月45到数千美元不等的价位，就可以使用不同的设施，比如办公设备、会议室、专用办公桌、私人工作空间等。会员甚至可以带着宠物狗上班。对于华盛顿和波士顿的上班族来说，Cove是另外一个联合办公空间的选择。目前最受欢迎的模式是每月85美元，可在华盛顿的任何一个联合办公空间驻足4小时。用户只能通过刷卡进入。
Keys:
I. Listen to the passage and write down the missing words.
1. traditionally 2. exception 3. environment 4. technology 5. increasing
6. space 7. spread 8. providers 9. access 10. private
II. Listen again and answer the following questions.
1. It’s a new kind of work environment, sharing basic facilities, services, events and technology.
2. Two. They are Wework and Cove.
B: News Broadcast
Script:
For millions the reality of working from home could be permanent. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey is telling his employees they can work remotely forever from anywhere. Many industries are considering how to redesign office space to minimise health risks. The historic economic crisis is also forcing companies to cut costs, potentially expensive real estate coming first. NBC’s Jacob Ward Bay Area tech-companies were among the very first in the nation to send their people home. Google and Facebook now say that their employees will mostly work remotely for the rest of the year. Some of New York’s biggest renters Barclays and JP Morgan Chase say they may not bring all employees back to the office at the same time. Austin-based Dell says more than half its 160,000 staffers may never return to their desks. Emptier offices across the country will have a destructive chain effects on local business. Many restaurants and bars rely on the weekday lunch rush and crowds at happy hour. Florists count on those big corporate orders and those bunches on the way home. Even parking garages where business depends on commuters showing up to the office. For employees, they’d save up to 4,000 dollars annually on the commute, save the charge for work clothing dry-cleaning and even coffee.And for companies it saves money, it increases productivity, and it increases flexibility. And for the planet, we just cannot deny what this has done in a very short period of time. Redefining life and work at home, sweet home.
对数百万人来说，在家工作的现实可能是永久的。推特首席执行官杰克·多西告诉他的员工，他们可以随时随地远程工作。许多行业都在考虑重新设计办公空间，以将健康风险降到最低。这次历史性的经济危机也在迫使公司减少成本，潜在的昂贵的房地产首当其冲。美国国家广播公司的雅各布·沃德湾区的科技公司是美国首批将员工送回家的公司之一。谷歌和脸书公司现在表示，他们的员工在今年剩下的时间里将主要远程工作。纽约一些最大的租户巴克莱银行和摩根大通表示，他们可能不会同时让所有员工回到办公室。总部位于奥斯汀的戴尔公司表示，其16万名员工中，超过一半的人可能永远不会回到公司工作。全国各地办公室的空置将对当地企业产生破坏性的连锁反应。许多餐馆和酒吧都依赖于工作日的午餐高峰和欢乐时光的人群。花店依赖于大公司的订单，还有行人回家时的消费。即使是停车场，那里的业务也要依赖于上班族来公司上班。对于员工来说，他们可以节省每年4 000美元的通勤费，还节省了工作服装干洗的费用，甚至还有咖啡的钱。对于公司来说，这节省了资金，提高了生产力，提高了灵活性。对于地球来说，我们不能否认这在很短的时间内实现的一切。重新定义家里的生活和工作，甜蜜的家。
Keys:
I. Listen and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. F 2. T 3. T 4. F 5. T
II. Listen again and answer the following questions.
Reference:
Advantages of Working from Home
You can save money and time by reducing the travel expenses in petrol, parking, maintenance,servicing on your car and also 10 or more hours per week from home to workplace.
Working from home is less stressful. It creates happier lives for many people. There is a complete balance between work and family commitments. You can stay close to your family at all time and monitor the activities of your children.
There is no office distractions like your fellow colleagues visiting your desk, talking around or over you when you work from home. As a result, you can concentrate on your work. You also don’t get involved in office politics.
Disadvantages of Working from Home
While working from home, you are isolated and you don’t have your colleagues to share professional ideas or brainstorm with. There is less support. You need to complete your work on your own.
There is a lack of supervision and discipline when you work from home. There is also a lack of competitive spirit when you work from home. Colleagues and peers help in keeping the competitive spirit alive and enhance productivity.
The danger of being overlooked for promotions and career development opportunities is quite real when you are away from the office and other more visible employees are actively and aggressively competitive for them.
Enjoying Movie Clips
Second Act （重塑人生）
Maya is a big-box store worker who has worked there for 15 years. But she resigned as assistant manager when she was forty. She makes her effort to reinvent her life and her life-story. Finally she shows others what street smart can do.
Practice and Assessment
Unit Project
Work in groups to role-play the following situation to test your integrated skills got in the unit.
Suppose you are a junior employee of a company. There are some new employees joining in your company and you are appointed to receive them. You are going to help them get familiar with the workplace, such as giving them directions, showing them how to ask others for help and so on.
Checking points:
1. Complete content
2. Clear pronunciation
3. Correct expressions
4. Abundant communication
5. Powerful cooperation
6. Proper etiquette