What do you do if you don’t have office space for all your employees or many of them usually spend most of their time traveling or working offsite? In the 90s, some clever manager came up with a solution – hot desking - and the rest is history. Hot desking refers to using temporary work areas that are set up for any staff who needs them.

With the invention of laptop computers and the Internet, we can pretty much work anywhere. Now, in many companies around the world from hi-tech software firms to management consultancies and even increasingly in more traditional industries such as banking and engineering, a certain number of work areas are made into “hot desks.” As long as they are empty, any one can work there. Sit down, plug in your computer, and you are ready to go! In companies where a lot of people are traveling, this is a great way to save money because it reduces unused space to a minimum.

In this Business English Podcast lesson, we’ll be continuing our series on business travel. We’re following Honesto, an Ambient Telecommunications employee from Manila, on a training trip to head office in Michigan, USA. The main language focus of the lesson is on making polite requests. Along the way, we’ll also look at some different ways to express likes and dislikes. Honesto has found himself an unused desk and is working along when all of the sudden he gets a new neighbor, Megan.

Listening Questions:
1) What kind of expressions do Honesto and Megan use to make polite requests?
2) What type of training is Honesto taking part in?
3) Where is Megan from?
 

working [´wə:kiŋ]   a.工人的；劳动的   (初中英语单词)

manager [´mænidʒə]   n.经理；管理人；干事   (初中英语单词)

solution [sə´lu:ʃən]   n.解答；解决；溶解   (初中英语单词)

invention [in´venʃən]   n.创造；发明；虚构   (初中英语单词)

anywhere [´eniweə]   ad.无论何处；任何地方   (初中英语单词)

management [´mænidʒmənt]   n.管理；处理；经营   (初中英语单词)

computer [kəm´pju:tə]   n.计算机；电子计算器   (初中英语单词)

series [´siəri:z]   n.连续；系列；丛书   (初中英语单词)

polite [pə´lait]   a.有礼貌的；温和的   (初中英语单词)

temporary [´tempərəri]   a.暂时的 n.临时工   (高中英语单词)

engineering [,endʒi´niəriŋ]   n.工程技术；工程学   (高中英语单词)

increasingly [in´kri:siŋli]   ad.日益，愈加   (英语四级单词)

traditional [trə´diʃənəl]   a.传统的，习惯的   (英语四级单词)

banking [´bæŋkiŋ]   n.银行业   (英语四级单词)

unused [,ʌn´ju:zd]   a.不用的；未消耗的   (英语六级单词)

taking [´teikiŋ]   a.迷人的 n.捕获物   (英语六级单词)