原汁原味商務英語播客第124課:電話會議(下)

This is the second of a two-part Business English Pod series on teleconferences. 這一集的英語播客系列是有關商務英語中的電話會議的下半段。

Teleconferences allow people from different locations to have a meeting over the telephone. While convenient, teleconferences do have some issues to keep in mind, such as keeping track of who's talking. Sometimes two people talk at the same time or talk too quickly. Because participants can't see each other, it's helpful to use "signposts" or short statements that prepare others for what's about to be said. Other issues such as laying out an agenda and managing the time also come into play. 電話會議可以通過電話實現在不同西方的人也能在一起開會。儘管很方便，電話會議確實有些需要注意的問題，比如對說話人的話語進行記錄.有時會有兩個人同時說話或者說得太快，由於與會者都相互看不見對方，就會使得記錄更加困難。使用事先準備的發言稿就會有幫助多了。其他的比如安排一個議程和時間也會需要考慮。

In the last episode, we heard a conversation between Craig and Elsa, two employees at StarCom, an electronics manufacturer. Craig has his first teleconference coming up and Elsa gave him an informal tutorial, teaching him about the equipment and some of the protocols for a teleconference. 在上一部分，我們聽到了在星傳媒提的職員克雷格和艾爾莎的對話。克雷格即將迎來他的第一次電話會議，艾爾莎給了他正式的指導，教他設備的操作和一些電話會議的協議。

Today, Craig is participating in the teleconference. The host of the teleconference is Tony, a manager in Chicago. Also participating are Diana, a colleague in London, and JP, who works in Marketing at the Dallas location. They're discussing the upcoming holiday season, new product lines, and advertising. 今天，克雷格參加了電話會議。電話會議的主持人是託尼，在芝加哥的經理。與會的還有戴安娜，在倫敦的同事，還有在達拉斯營銷部門的JP。他們在討論即將到來的假期季節裏，新產品的生產和廣告。

Listening Questions:

1. How does JP help Craig with the agenda?
2. According to Diana, why were the printer test results disappointing?
3. Why doesn't Diana think the problem will be resolved quickly?