High 1 · Reading series
Lesson 15 · After the Team Meeting
Audio track 15
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
Our team finished the meeting in twenty minutes. We had chosen a design for the school website, and I thought everyone agreed. Then I noticed that Nao, who had made the first sketch, had said almost nothing.
I asked her about it while we put away the chairs. She said, “I did have another idea, but the vote happened before I could explain it.” I remembered interrupting her to save time. The meeting had been efficient, but it had not been fair to the person who knew the design best.
The next day, I asked the team to look at Nao's idea. She showed how the menu could be easier to use on a phone. We kept part of the original design and changed the navigation. The final version was better because we heard the reason behind her suggestion.
I had measured the meeting by its length. Nao reminded me that a useful decision also depends on whose knowledge gets into the room.
Sentence practice
Play any sentence in Dicvo’s Jenny English voice. Before playing all, choose how many times each sentence plays. A practice pause about as long as the sentence follows each play, including before the next sentence. The complete reading remains above.
Choose a sentence to begin.
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Our team finished the meeting in twenty minutes.
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We had chosen a design for the school website, and I thought everyone agreed.
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Then I noticed that Nao, who had made the first sketch, had said almost nothing.
-
I asked her about it while we put away the chairs.
-
She said, “I did have another idea, but the vote happened before I could explain it.”
-
I remembered interrupting her to save time.
-
The meeting had been efficient, but it had not been fair to the person who knew the design best.
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The next day, I asked the team to look at Nao's idea.
-
She showed how the menu could be easier to use on a phone.
-
We kept part of the original design and changed the navigation.
-
The final version was better because we heard the reason behind her suggestion.
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I had measured the meeting by its length.
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Nao reminded me that a useful decision also depends on whose knowledge gets into the room.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
我们的团队只开了二十分钟会，就选好了学校网站的设计。我以为人人都同意。随后，我注意到画出初稿的直几几乎没说话。
收椅子时，我问了她。她说：‘我还有一个想法，可还没解释，大家就投票了。’我想起自己为了省时间打断过她。会议效率是高，却对最了解设计的人不够公平。
第二天，我请团队看看直几的想法。她说明了菜单怎样才能在手机上更好用。我们保留原设计的一部分，修改了导航。最终版本更好，是因为我们听懂了她建议背后的理由。
我原本只用会议时长衡量它。直几提醒我，有用的决定还取决于哪些人的知识真正进入了讨论。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- agree
- 同意；主人公误以为大家意见一致。
- sketch
- 草图；直几画了最初方案。
- vote
- 投票；发生在她解释之前。
- interrupt
- 打断；主人公曾为省时间插话。
- efficient
- 高效的；会议快不等于决定好。
- fair
- 公平的；被打断的人失去说明机会。
- navigation
- 导航；网站菜单的使用方式。
- final version
- 最终版本；结合两种想法后改好。
- suggestion
- 建议；需要听懂背后的理由。
- depend on
- 取决于；决定质量与参与者信息有关。
Background notes (Chinese)
效率不能只看会议是否短。若在关键成员解释前就投票，团队可能漏掉重要信息；重新听取设计者的理由，才得以改进手机上的导航。