节目资讯
刊物:空中英语教室
日期:2012-12-19
难易度:High
关键字:advocate, drawback, scramble, incline
Hi, everybody.
Welcome to Studio Classroom Worldwide.
Thanks for joining us.
As always, my name is Steve.
Today we are using our laptops, smartphones and tablets just about anywhere and
everywhere we can get a signal.
At home, at school, when we play and at work, the portability and power of small
electronic devices is appealing for anyone on the go.
Like salespeople, for example.
Did you know that 21 percent of the global sales workforce is now using
electronic tablets?
That's an amazing number.
And it raises an interesting question:
What happens when an employee uses his or her own tablet for work?
Let's open our magazines to page 35 and look at the pros and cons of this new
business trend called BYOD.
(Music).
BYOD.
There's more to this new business trend than meets the eye.
Do you Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) to work?
If you do, you aren't alone.
Businesses around the world are increasingly allowing, or even requiring,
employees to provide their own electronic devices - notebooks, tablets and
smartphones - for the tasks they perform at work.
Advocates say that BYOD has the potential to save companies a fortune since
employees assume the costs of providing the devices they use on the job.
The trend may also lead to greater efficiency because staff members are able to
use devices they're familiar and comfortable with.
(Music).
Hi, friends.
Thank you for joining us.
My name is Ryan.
And my name is Kaylah.
And today we are looking at TECHNOLOGY with kind of a strange title.
It's just four letters - BYOD.
OK. Now let's describe what this actually means.
I had to look up what this meant at first; and it's actually a new phrase.
It's called Bring Your Own Device.
That's right.
Now sometimes if you get an invitation, you have a BYO-something.
So it's bring your own device.
Now what is a device, Ryan?
A device is something that is small and usually is electronic, like a small
machine, that has a certain purpose.
So now there's more to this new business trend than just meet... than meets the
eye.
And of course, bring your own device is a new business trend.
Right. A trend is something that people do that usually happens for a short
period of time.
So let's get started with our question.
Do you Bring Your Own Device to work?
OK, so BYOD.
Do you BYOD?
If you do, you're not alone.
All right.
Now if you're bringing your own device, Kaylah,
that means you're bringing your own smartphone or tablet or computer instead of
using the ones that are at the company.
That's right.
Now it's actually becoming a trend because businesses around the world are
increasingly allowing, or even requiring, employees to provide their own
devices.
OK, so they're allowing increasingly.
And of course, "increasingly" means it's happening more and more often.
And they are not just allowing but even requiring, or making, employees bring
their own devices such as notebooks, tablets and smartphones for work.
That's right.
Now these are electronic devices, which means they're running off of the
electricity.
And we use these every day.
So if they're requiring you to bring them, that means they're not providing them
for you anymore, you have to find it.
Yes. And these are devices you might actually need to perform the tasks you have
to do at work.
And tasks are the jobs.
And "to perform at work" means you are completing the work you have to do.
OK. Now advocates of BYOD say that it has the potential to save companies a
fortune.
That's right.
Now an "advocate" is a person who publicly supports or suggests an idea or a
development.
They are saying this is good.
We are publicly saying: I think this is a great idea.
You definitely need to do this.
Here at Studio Classroom, we advocate learning your English very well.
Exactly. It's something you agree with.
And so they think it has the potential, which means it might be able to,
save companies a lot of money because employees assume the costs of providing
the devices they use on the job.
That's right.
Now to save a fortune, as Ryan has said earlier, is to save a lot of money.
And they're going to assume the cost of this.
This is a very loaded sentence.
So let's visit Liz with Grammar on the Go.
(Music).
Hi there, friends.
I hope you're doing well today.
My name is Liz.
And it's time for Grammar on the Go.
Our TECHNOLOGY article is about BYOD.
And the writer states: ... employees assume the costs of providing the devices
they use on the job.
That's our Grammar Tip sentence.
Our focus today is on the phrase, to assume the costs.
Usually, "to assume" means to think that something is true even though you don't
know for sure.
But in the case of today's sentence, "assume" means to take on or to be in
charge of.
So today's sentence just means there are employees that have to pay for the
devices they use on the job.
This use of "assume" like this is most often found in formal situations.
For example, let's say the manager at your office is responsible for everything.
But in case he's not there and something happens, then someone might ask:
If the manager is out of the office, who assumes responsibility in case of an
emergency?
Or, let's say there's a king who became ill and could no longer handle
government business, so his son takes over.
We can say:
When the king became ill, the prince assumed full control of the government.
There are other words that we con pair with "assume." You can assume authority,
assume leadership or assume power.
And that's all the time we have for today.
Thanks for joining me here.
This is Liz with Grammar on the Go signing off.
See you next time.
Thank you very much, Liz.
So basically, companies can save a lot of money by making sure that the
employees are buying and bringing their own devices to do what they need to do
at work.
Well, the trend is more than just that.
It may also lead to greater efficiency because staff members are able to use
devices that they are familiar and comfortable with.
OK, so.
This is actually really good not just for the company to save money, but also
for the employees because they're using their own devices.
And that means they're more familiar and comfortable with them.
That's right.
Now to be "efficient," we're saying this helps with efficiency.
And that means they are doing things well.
So they're getting their work done on time, they're doing it correctly, and
they're actually doing it extremely well.
That means to be efficient.
I hope when you study, you study efficiently.
OK. So we see two things here, Kaylah.
First of all, I am an employee.
And, friends, I think many of you might be employees, and maybe you're bringing
your own devices.
Well, this can mean a good thing for you and a bad thing.
The bad thing is you have to spend the money on your own device.
But the good thing is you get to use your own device that you already
understand.
That's right.
Ryan, do you BYOD?
I do BYOD.
In fact, I am using a tablet right now, and I bought this myself.
I own it.
OK, so it's your tablet.
So you are bringing your own advice to work because Studio Classroom is our job.
We work here, and this is helping us do our work efficiently.
Yeah. In fact, I bought my own computer that I use here.
In fact, I bought a camera that I use at work.
These are all things I purchase myself.
And it's saving the company money, and it's good for me because I understand how
to use them.
OK. Well, we've seen the good things about using your own device.
We're going to look at the negative, or the bad things, after we visit the Chat
Room.
(Music).
Hey, Bryan, can I ask you a... Bryan!
Are you holding what I think you're holding?
Yep, I sure am.
It's a new tablet computer, but it's not mine.
It belongs to the library.
Hey, why don't you take a look.
Wow! It's so light.
What can you do with this thing?
Lots! You can play games, make videos, surf the web and more.
It's an amazing device for sure.
It sure is.
I'd better give it back to you before I break it.
Hey, Bryan.
Can we call any kind of electronic gadget a device?
Sure.
A device can be any kind of invention or machine that's designed to perform a
certain task.
Or in the case of your new tablet, designed to perform many tasks.
Good point, Ken.
Devices aren't always machines, right?
I remember reading about a writer using devices while writing a story.
Oh, yes. That's another usage for device.
A writing device, called a literary device, is a method a writer uses to achieve
a certain effect.
A common literary device is a metaphor.
Oh. That's when we compare one thing to something else, right?
Right. You got it.
Can device also act as a verb?
I've heard people talk about "devicing plans" a lot.
Oh. What you heard them say was "devising" plans.
Devise, spelled D-E-V-I-S-E, is a verb, and it's pronounced with a "Z" sound
instead of an "S" sound.
Ah. So they're talking about devising plans, not devicing plans.
That's right, Ken.
Have you devised any plans lately?
No. But after looking at your tablet, I'm going to devise a plan to buy my own.
Go for it.