SECTION Ⅱ Embracing English
After lunch, Michael catches up on his e-mails and finds a letter from Grace. It's about how to fit to the new job.
Before Reading
Warming up questions:
1. What is the new job like in your mind?
2. In your opinion, how to fit yourself to the new job?
3. How do you cope with your new colleagues?
Reading
How to Fit Yourself to the New Job？
You've spent almost the last fifteen years sitting in a classroom learning bits of knowledge. Suddenly you are out of the safe haven of the classroom and have to face the tough reality of your first job. You may feel confused because you find everything there is totally different. But stay calm and learn the following tips that may help you make a good beginning on your career path.
ALWAYS ARRIVE AT WORK ON TIME, if not a little earlier. This may help leave a good first impression on your boss and co-workers.
DRESS PROPERLY. Look around you to see how others are dressed, and dress a little nicer than expected; it's better than being under-dressed.
LISTEN and OBSERVE. The best piece of advice I received from an employer was to listen and observe before jumping in to suggest changes.
STAY AWAY FROM OFFICE GOSSIP. That is not to say you don't pay attention to what you overhear. That can be helpful. However, don't get involved in it.
MIND YOUR MANNERS. Smile a lot and be friendly. Remember, you're new—you kinda have to be a sheep (for a little while, anyway) .
FIND A MENTOR. Look for someone who is willing to take you under her or his wing on your career path.
DON'T PRETEND TO KNOW THINGS YOU DON'T . However, do your homework. Learn what you need to know.
DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS. If you are assigned a project and are not sure how it should be completed, ask. It's better to ask before the project is due to begin, than to have it delayed because it was done incorrectly.
PAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO CORPORATE CULTURE. Keep a positive attitude and an open mind. Learn how things work within your company. Are relationships formal or friendly? Just do as the Romans do.
New Words and Expressions
• haven n. 港口；避难 vt. 为……提供避难处
• impression n. 印象；效果，影响
• properly adv. 适当地；正确地
• under-dress n. 内衣；裙子 vi. 穿着过分朴素的衣服
• observe vt. & vi. 观察；遵守
• gossip n. 小道传闻；爱说长道短的人 vi. 闲聊
• overhear vt. & vi. 无意中听到；偷听
• involve vt. 牵涉；使陷于
• kinda adv. 有一点
• assign vt. 分配；指派
• positive adj. 积极的；确定的
• career n. 事业，职业；生涯
• suggest vt. 提议，建议
• relationship n. 人际关系
• due to 由于；应归于
• impression of 对……的印象
• look around 游览；到处察看；到处寻找
• pay attention to 注意；留心；倾听；重视
Notes to the Text
1. You may feel confused because you find everything there is totally different.
你可能会感到困惑，因为你发现那里的一切是截然不同的。
because you find everything there is totally different.原因状语从句。
everything there is totally different.宾语从句，做find的宾语。
2. But stay calm and learn the following tips that may help you make a good beginning on your career path.
但是，请平静下来并熟识下面的温馨提示，它们可帮助您在职场上有一个良好的开端。
stay calm and learn the following tips.祈使句。
that may help you make a good beginning on your career path. that引导的定语从句，修饰tips。
3. The best piece of advice I received from an employer was to listen and observe before jumping in to suggest changes.
我从一个雇主那里得到的最好忠告就是学会倾听和观察，而不是急不可待地跳出来提要改变这改变那的建议。
I received from an employer.定语从句，省略关系代词that (which) 。
to listen and observe before jumping in to suggest changes.动词不定式做表语。
Look for someone who is willing to take you under her or his wing on your career path.寻找一个乐意在你的职业道路上为你提供庇护的人。
who is willing to take you under her or his wing.定语从句，修饰someone。
After Reading
Exercises
I. Match A with B.
II. Complete the outline with the information from the passage.
How to Fit Yourself to the New Job
Tips that may help you 1) ______ on your career path.
Always arrive at work 2) ______, if not a little earlier.
Dress 3) ______. Look around you to see how others are dressed, and dress a little nicer than 4) ______.
Listen and observe.
Don't get involved in 5) ______.
Mind your manners.
Find a mentor.
Don't 6) ______ things you don't.
Don't be afraid to 7) ______.
8) ______ to corporate culture.
III. How to succeed in the workplace? If someone wants you to use just one word to sum up, what would you say? Look at the workplace six mantra.
1. Always start with assuming good intentions.
“勿以小人之心度人。”
2. Persistence has more value than qualifications.
“执着胜于资历。”
3. Work like you own the company.
“做公司主人翁。”
4. Need the facts? Ask a secretary!
“要数据？找秘书！”
5. Know security guards, cleaners by name.
“记住保安和保洁的名字。”
6. You're not learning if you're comfortable.
“安逸使人落后。”
7. Do one more thing than requested.
“做事想在对方前面。”
8. Screw-ups will happen. Just own them.
“见怪不怪，其怪自败。”
9. Cutting corners only creates more paperwork.
“聪明反被聪明误。”
10. Walk the hall rather than call.
“多走动，少电联。”
Culture Express
How to Understand Work
People in different cultures think about work in different ways.
For example, people have different expectations（期望）about teamwork, says Cristina B. Gibson, of the University of Western Australia.
Gibson has interviewed people to understand how they conceptualize（概念） teams.“In the US, people used a lot of sports metaphors（比喻）. Elsewhere, that just wasn't a common metaphor.”In Latin America, for example, many people talked about the work team as a family.
“If you just use those two contrasts and think about what you might expect from your family versus what you might expect from your sports team, you start to see the differences.”Families are involved in all parts of your life, and are expected to celebrate with you socially.“Your involvement（参与） in your sports team is more limited. Less caretaking, more competitive.”
Another example is in the realm of leadership（对“领导”的理解）. Many people assume that charismatic leadership （魅力型领袖）is a good thing—using a strong personality to inspire loyalty in others. But that's not going to work for everyone, Gibson says.“The very same behaviors that are deemed desirable from a leader in one culture might be viewed as interference（干涉）or micromanagement（微观管理） in other settings.”
And as this research continues, she says, people should consider that cultures can vary a lot within countries, too, especially as large numbers of people continue to migrate（移民）between countries.“We can't make these assumptions（假设） that everybody in the US is like this and everybody in China is like that.”