Part III Listening and Thinking
A: Passage
Script:
In this competitive era, many people are in a race against time, but in the other corner of the world,some people live slowly and leisurely. As Einstein said, time is relative. In some countries it seems unforgivable to be late. However, in another country, it’s seen as routine. In different countries, the understandings of “on time” also differ in thousands of ways.
South Koreans put a lot of value in punctuality and view being late as sign of disrespect. In Japan, if a train arrives more than one minute after it is scheduled to, it is considered late. Thanks to its industrial past, in Germany you are expected to arrive at least ten minutes early for any scheduled meeting. In Brazil, when making a social appointment, you are not required to be there on time unless the phrase“English time” is used, which means you have to be punctual. Time is not such an important commodity in Saudi Arabia, with people frequently turning up half an hour late to meetings. Looking at your watch during an event is also considered to be discourteous. In Greece, time is something to be enjoyed. Punctuality is not considered that important but foreigners are still expected to turn up on time for meetings.
在这个竞争激烈的时代，许多人都在与时间赛跑，然而在世界的其他角落，也有人慢慢悠悠地过着日子。正如爱因斯坦所说，时间是相对的。在某些国家看来不可饶恕的迟到，在另外一些国家则被视为家常便饭。在不同的国家，对“准时”的理解也是千差万别。
韩国人很注重守时，认为迟到是不尊重的表现。在日本，如果火车到站时间比预定时间晚了一分钟以上，就被视为晚点。德国过去是个工业社会，在德国参加预定的会议时，你应该比约定时间提前至少十分钟到达。在巴西参加社交约会，你不用准时到达，除非对方用了“英国时间”这个表示守时的短语。在沙特阿拉伯，时间不是很重要，人们参加会议经常会迟到半小时。在活动期间看表也被视为不礼貌的。在希腊，时间是用来享受的。守时不是很重要，但希腊人仍期待外国人在会议上准时出现。
Keys:
I. Listen to the passage and write down the missing words.
1. unforgivable 2. routine 3. differ 4. disrespect 5. scheduled
6. early 7. appointment 8. punctual 9. discourteous 10. enjoyed
II. Listen again and answer the following questions.
1. Different understandings of “punctuality” in different countries.
2. I think “punctuality” is an expression of honesty, and a reflection of mutual respect for each other.
B: News Broadcast
Script:
Customers at a fast-food chain in the Republic of Korea can avoid any interaction with a human server during the pandemic. No Brand Burger is using robots to take orders, prepare food and bring meals out to diners.
Customers order and pay via touchscreen, and then their request is sent to the kitchen where a cooking machine heats up the buns and patties. When it’s ready, a robot “waiter” brings out their takeout bag.Human workers add toppings to the burgers and wrap them up in takeout bags before passing them over to serving robots.
Last month, takeout orders at No Brand accounted for 58 percent total sales, up from 42 percent in July, according to the chain’s parent company, Shinsegae Food.
After a recent second wave of coronavirus infections, restaurants in the Republic of Korea were only allowed to provide takeout and delivery after 9 p.m. — a restriction that was only lifted Monday.
Other eateries in Asia have started employing robot servers during the pandemic.
In the Republic of Korea, the Italian restaurant chain Mad for Garlic is using serving robots even for sit-down customers. Using 3D space mapping and other technology, the electronic “waiter” known as Aglio Kim, navigates between tables with up to five orders. Mad for Garlic manager Lee Young-ho said kids especially like the robots, which can carry up to 66 lbs in their trays.
在疫情期间，韩国快餐连锁店No Brand 汉堡店用机器人接单、准备食物和给顾客送餐，这样顾客就可以避免与人类服务员产生任何互动。
顾客通过触摸屏下单并支付，然后订单就会送到厨房，厨房里的烹饪机器会加热小圆面包和肉饼。准备好后，机器人“服务员”会将外卖送过来。工作人员负责在汉堡上淋上浇头，将其用外卖袋包装好，然后“交给”机器人服务员。
根据No Brand汉堡店所属的新世界集团食品部的数据，上个月No Brand的外卖订单占了总销量的58%，相比七月份的42%上升了。
在近期的第二波新冠疫情之后，韩国只允许餐厅在晚上9点后提供外卖和送货服务，这一限制令刚刚于周一解除。
亚洲的其他一些餐厅已经开始在疫情期间启用机器人服务员。
在韩国，大蒜主题意式餐厅甚至让机器人为堂食顾客服务。名为阿利奥·金的机器人服务员运用三维空间映射等技术在餐桌之间穿梭，一次最多可以接5份订单。大蒜主题餐厅经理李英浩说，孩子们特别喜欢这些机器人，它们的盘子里可盛放重达66磅的食物。
Keys:
I. Listen and decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).
1. T 2. F 3. F 4. F 5. T
II. Listen again and answer the following questions.
Reference:
Nowadays, robots are affecting all aspects of our work in a tangible or intangible way. They exist in mobile phones and computers, and are also distributed in various smart homes, smart devices and intelligent systems. They can be transformed into electronic police, doctors, financial analysts,marketing experts, and high-yield “workers” in factory workshops.
Using robot “employees” can increase productivity, improve operational efficiency and customer experience, and reduce costs.
Enjoying Movie Clips
The Big Short（大空头）
In the global financial crisis of 2008, several visionary investment talents on Wall Street saw through the bubble illusion before the USA credit crisis of 2007, and made great profits by shorting subprime CDS, becoming one of the few investment heroes who made a lot of profits in the financial disaster.
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 Cherry, and you are going to be a new secretary of a company. You want to be a nice secretary, and you ask your friend Linda for help. She suggests that you should be familiar with the daily work, such as how to make and answer calls skillfully, arrange schedules reasonably, manage the files methodically and report your work logically, etc.
Checking points:
1. Complete content
2. Clear pronunciation
3. Correct expressions
4. Abundant communication
5. Powerful cooperation
6. Proper etiquette