Unit Six

Text A   Six  rules for running a good meeting 

Part 1  

New words and Expressions  

1.     agenda   n   议程 

(1)There are four items on the agenda of themeeting. 

 会议有四项议程。

 (2) "France will put this report on the agenda of all internationalmeetings, " he said. 

 他说：“法国将会把这份报告放在所有国际会议议程当中。”

2.minute   n. (pl.) 会议记录，备忘录

 (1) He'd been reading the minutes of the last meeting. 

 他一直在看上次会议的记录。

 (2) The minutes of the last meeting were approved unanimously. 

 上次会议的记录得到全票通过。

3.productive  adj. 富有成效的

(1)   We had a productive meeting that solved someproblems. 

 我们开了一个富有成效的会议，解决了一些问题。

(2) He was hopeful that the next round of talks would also be productive. 

他对下一轮会谈也会富有成效充满了希望。

4.distribute  vt.  分发

(1) The organisation distributed food to theearthquake victims. 

 这个机构向地震灾民分发了食品。

(2) The newspaper is distributed free. 这份报纸免费发送。

5.negative adj.负面的

(1) The news from overseas is overwhelmingly negative. 

来自海外的消息完全不容乐观。

(2) On the negative side, it will cost a lot. 从坏的方面讲，它要花很多钱。

6.illustrate    vt.阐明，举例说明

(1) The example of the United States illustrates this point.

美国的例子证明了这一点。 

(2) He quoted some old Chinese sayings to illustrate his points. 

他援用了一些中国谚语来解释他的论点。

7.emphasise  vt.强调

(1)  I tried to emphasise my good points without sounding boastful. 

我在强调自己的优点时尽量不让人觉得是在自我吹嘘。

(2) I must emphasise the fact that she is only a little girl. 

我必须强调这样一个事实，这就是她只不过是个小女孩。

8.vital adj. 至关重要的

(1) He was lucky that the bullet hadn't entered avital organ. 

他很幸运，子弹没有打进身体的要害部位。

(2) The police think the videotape may hold some vital clues to the identity of the killer. 

警方认为那盘录像带可能录有一些能确认凶手身份的重要线索。

9.maintain vt. 保持

(1) Britain wants to maintain its position as a world power. 

英国想保持其世界强国的地位。

(2) The hotel prides itself on maintaining high standards. 

这家酒店以保持高标准而自豪。

10.implement vt.执行，贯彻

(1) The government has agreed to implement the recommendation in the report. 

政府已同意实施报告中的建议。

(2) The government promised to implement a new system to control financial loan institutions. 

政府许诺实施新的制度来控制金融贷款机构。

 Part 2

Text   A

Six rules for running a good meeting

Formal meetings with several participants have an agenda. All decisions that are made at the meeting are recorded in minutes. A chairperson runs these meetings. In formal meetings, participants generally speak to each other through this person. However, in less formal meetings about routine day-to-day business, people speak directly to each other.

Many people don’t like formal meetings because they find them boring and a waste of time. However, well-run meetings are an opportunity for discussion, planning and passing on information.

Here are six rules that can help you to make meetings more productive.

Rule 1: _____________________________. Running an effective meeting — or being a good participant in a meeting — is all about showing respect for others, for their ideas, know-how and advice.

Rule 2: _____________________________. Make sure that all the participants in the meeting have the necessary information and materials. Write an agenda and distribute it at least two days before the meeting. Nobody should take part in a meeting without knowing what the aim of the meeting is.

Rule 3: _____________________________. Begin on time and end on time, or earlier. If everyone knows that the meeting will start right on time, they are more likely to be punctual. Finishing on time is also very important. Ifeveryone agreed that the meeting would last, for example, an hour, then itshould not go on longer than that. It’s a good idea to arrange meetings during the so-called “core week”, i.e. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays or Thursdays.  Arranging meetings at inconvenient times — outside working hours, for example — can have a negative effect.

Rule 4: _____________________________. Most groups have at least one person who starts to tell stories during meetings. If this happens, all participants should politely guide the meeting back to the agenda. However, storytelling canbe useful if it is used to illustrate a point or emphasise an argument.

Rule 5: _____________________________. Try to assess how often routine meetings really need to be held. For example, staff meetings can perhaps beheld less frequently, and not every day. Staff meetings are vital ways of maintaining good communication, but it is important to find the right balance between good communication and a productive use of working time.

Rule 6: _____________________________. It’s important to make a summary of what has been decided, a clear statement of the next steps and who is responsible for taking them. Make sure that these decisions are in the minutes. If somebody asks for clarification, ask another participant to give it. In this way, you can be sure that everybody has understood all the decisions. If participants leave the meeting and no one feels responsible for taking action on the decisions made, then the meeting will have been a complete waste of everyone’s time.

Implementing these rules is not easy. But they can go a long way to making meetings more productive.