Unit 4 Learning about your office 认识办公环境

Key terms

1. (to) get turned around——to get lost or disoriented 迷路

2. corridor——a hallway or passageway 走廊

3. just down the hall/corridor/street——not much farther along the same route 沿着走廊

4. cubby hole/pigeonhole/mailbox——a box for messages in a larger group or shelf of similar boxes. Also, any small, snug space 信箱

5. hooked up to——attached to 连接

6. courtyard——an open area wholly or partly surrounded by walls or buildings 庭院

Barbara is explaining the office layout to Katharine.

Barbara: It can be easy to get turned around here, so let me show you around.The offi ce is set up in two long corridors that begin at reception. Themanagers’ offi ces are on the right; everything else is on the left.

Katharine: I see.

Barbara: Here’s the kitchen, just down the hall from your cubicle. Across from the kitchen is the mail room. That’s where the fax, scanners, and postage meter are. If you need to send a letter, post it and put it into one of these cubby holes in the middle of the room. There are separate places for local, domestic, and international mail.

Katharine: Got it.

Barbara: The bathrooms are at the very end of this corridor. The door after the bathroom is the emergency exit, which goes to a stairway. Be careful, because that door locks automatically. If you get locked out, you have to walk down to the fi rst fl oor and take the elevator back up.

Katharine: Good to know!

Barbara: The fifth fl oor of this building is ours, too; that’s where the executives are. We share this fl oor with a consulting fi rm. The second and third floors are a small publishing company, and the fi rst floor is all building maintenance. And, back to your cubicle. Your computer is hooked up to a printer that is just around that corner. Have you seen it?

Katharine: Yes, I’m pretty comfortable with this area by now. Thanks for the tour!

Sample Sentences 

A. Describing the location of things inside a building

1. His offi ce is the fi rst door on the left.

2. The conference room is down the hall on the right, across from the vending machine.

3. The elevators are on the other side of the courtyard.

4. Put all of his mail in his cubbyhole on the left side of the mail room.

5. The executive offi ces are directly above us, on the third floor.

6. The cafeteria is two fl oors down.

B. Asking where things are

7. Can you tell me where the postage meter is?

8. Is there a bathroom on this floor?

9. Are the elevators before or after the stairwell?

10. Excuse me, is this the way to Conference Room 2?

11. Where can I fi nd a water fountain?g program starts next week.