EZCNN 易英网

Happy Endings and Meetings 高效益的圆满会议

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

A meeting without a summary is like a movie without an ending. Participants may be left feeling uncertain about what was accomplished or doubtful that their contributions were worthwhile. To prevent this, a productive meeting should end with a verbal summary of the meeting.

会议结束没有做摘要，就像一场电影没有结局一般。与会者或许会存疑，不确定自己究竟完成了什么工作，或是怀疑自己的贡献是否值得。要防范这种情况，一场有效益的会议必须在结束时以口头陈述摘要，正式作结。

A well-balanced agenda allocates time at the end of the meeting for a solid wrap-up. This summary often begins with a restatement of the meeting’s objectives and any decision made. If decisions require action, this is the time to assign responsibility and clear deadlines for those action items. And call for volunteers – people are keen to get the credit when everyone’s watching.

一份议程若时间调配得当，会议结束时就能扎实画下完美的句点。会议摘要一开始常常把会议的目标和决策重新陈述一遍。如果决策需要付诸行动，那么现在正是交付责任与厘清工作期限的时候。而且别忘了先征求自愿者──众目睽睽之下，人人都想有所表现。

A memo summarizing the meeting is often circulated after the meeting. The minutes of a meeting constitute the official detailed record of proceedings. A meeting summary, in contrast, should be succinct. In content, it should be similar to the verbal meeting summary, but its intended audience is wider. Stockholders, executives, and others absent from the meeting may have interest in the issues addressed as well.

会议之后通常要传阅会议摘要。会议纪录是正式记载会议进行的各细节。而相对的会议摘要则应该简洁扼要。内容上像是口述的会议摘要，但是目标对象范围更广。股东、执行长等没有出席会议的人，或许也对会议的讨论议题有兴趣。

Meetings can be tiring affairs. It’s tempting to disperse once agenda items have all been tackled. But doing so without wrapping things up may leave participants wondering why they didn’t go to the movies instead.

会议可能是项令人身心俱疲的工作。一旦议程上的各项议案都已经进行过了，大家会很想快点作鸟兽散。但是如果真的这样做，而没有把会议作结，会让各与会者不禁怀疑为什么不去看电影算了，开会干什么？

Vocabulary

单词发音

summary [ˋsʌmərɪ] n. 摘要

worthwhile [ˋwɝθˋhwaɪl] adj. 值得花费时间（或金钱）的，值得做的

allocate [ˋælə͵ket] v. 分配﹐配给

wrap-up【美﹐非正式】结论; 总结说明 a concluding, summarizing statement, report, etc

restatement [riˋstetmənt] n. 重述

action item 执行项目

credit [ˋkrɛdɪt] n. 荣誉，赞扬

minute [ˋmɪnɪt] n. 会议记录

succinct [səkˋsɪŋkt] adj. 简练的；简洁的

tempting [ˋtɛmptɪŋ] adj. 诱惑人的；吸引人的

disperse [dɪˋspɝs] v. 解散

wrap up【美】【口】完成, 结束 to bring to a conclusion; settle finally or successfully

Sentence of the Day

Effective meeting summaries help keep your company on an even keel.

有效的会议摘要能让公司运作平稳。

on an even keel 平稳的[地]，稳定的[地]

课文讲解

Peter and Jenny work for a public company and have just gotten out of a shareholders’ meeting:  彼得和珍妮在公关公司做事，两人刚从股东会议出来：

P: Writing these minutes will be an onerous job. The information is so dry! I just don’t think anyone reads them.

写这些会议纪录铁定是件难事，资料内容那么枯燥乏味！我不认为真的有人会读它。

J: Ever since last year’s initial public offering, our company is legally bound to produce proper records of important meetings. It’s good you’re going to get this done while the meeting is still fresh in your memory.

自从去年公司股票公开上市后，我们公司就法律上必须要缴交重要会议的适当文件。刚开完会印象还很深刻的时候最好先把纪录写好。

P: Well, I try to keep true to the facts and always use official meeting language. For example, “Lucy supported the motion” or “Jack objected to the proposed amendment,” but sometimes it’s hard to know exactly what to say.

呃，我尽量试着忠于事实，而且总使用会议的正式用语。譬如像「露西支持动议案」或是「杰克反对修正提案」，但有时候我并不是很清楚他们想表达的内容是什么。

J: Next meeting, try to clarify those statements with the chair as the meeting progresses. Will you be including a list of attendees with the minutes?

下次开会时，会议进行中就试着和主席澄清会议上的发言。会议纪录你会附一份与会者名单吗？

P: Yes, but it was an open meeting, so I only recorded the names of those with voting rights.

会啊。但因为那是一场公开的会议，所以我只写上有投票权的人。

J: Fair enough. A brief summary of the complete minutes is a good idea, too.

应该就够了。附上一份完整会议纪录的简明摘要也不错。

P: Absolutely. With a summary, I can get across the gist of the meeting and also indicate who was made responsible for each action item at the meeting.

的确。有了摘要，我就能理解会议的要旨是什么，而且还可以写出会议中所有决策的负责执行人员是谁。

J: Hey, our minutes are running out. Let’s get back to work!

嘿，我们没有时间了，开始干活吧！

－by Darshan Tyler

Vocabulary

单词发音

shareholder [ˋʃɛr͵holdɚ] n. 股东﹐股票持有者

onerous [ˋɑnərəs] adj.【正式】繁重的﹐艰巨的

dry [draɪ] adj. 枯燥乏味的

initial public offering 首次公开招股发行

motion [ˋmoʃən] n.（会议上的）动议，提议

attendee [əˋtɛndi] n. 出席者；在场者

get across 将〔想法﹑信息〕传达给某人 to make understandable or clear

gist [dʒɪst] n. 要点，主旨

Sentence of the Day

Those who take the minutes at a meeting need to be like a fly on the wall.

负责记录会议记录的人默默在一旁，不为人所注意。

fly on the wall 隐蔽的或不引人注意的观察者