49-Quality-versus-Mass-Production产品质量与大量生产.doc

49. Quality versus Mass Production 产品质量与大量生产
　　1 Words and Phrases单词和词组
　　automation自动化 a load of rubbish一派胡言
　　robotic机器人的，机械的 pay top dollar付顶级价钱
　　crumple变皱 crumple up like tin cans像锡罐头盒般变皱
　　compensate补偿 a bit over the top有点儿过分
　　recall召回 high priced chariots高价汽车
　　chariot战车 run through简单说明
　　component零件 go up market进入高档消费市场
　　uniformity统一，一致 trade off equation权衡等式
　　precision精确 go back a while回到很久以前
　　equation等式 enter into the assessment进入评估
　　2 Sentences重点句型
　　1. It’s simply not built into the system. 它压根就不是体系的内在部分。
　　2. You get what you pay for，that’s for sure. 花什么钱买什么货，这是肯定的。
　　3. If you want top quality，you pay top dollar. 你要买顶级质量，就得花顶级价钱。
　　4. It will also reduce your labour requirements too. 这也会降低对你的工作量要求。
　　5. I gather you were able to justify it economically?我猜你能证明它的经济效益?
　　6. And neither do they cost anywhere near as much. 而且它们的成本也不能相提并论。
　　7. No，the labour factor didn’t really enter into the assessment.
　　不是的，评估的时候就没有考虑过工作量因素。
　　8. You just can’t get the quality out of mass-produced products. 大量生产的产品，质量就是不行。
　　9. Probably more in actual fact but，recalls do seem to happen a lot.
　　也可能更贴近现实吧，不过那些汽车召回的现象的确很常见。
　　10. Yeah, and they also crumple up like tin cans when they get in an accident.
　　是啊，不过发生事故时还不是像锡罐头盒一样皱成一团。
　　11. You’ve certainly clone up market with the automation and robotic controls.
　　自动化和机械生产线属于高档消费了。
　　12. We were already automated to a large extent so，this was just the next step up.
　　我们自动化的程度已经很高，所以这只是下一步要做的事情。
　　13. I’ll run you through this new production line process so you can see the benefits.
　　我给你简单说明一下新的生产线过程，这样你就能知道它的好处了。
　　14. It only needs a couple of operators in a control room to monitor the whole process.
　　只需要有两个操作员在控制室里监控整个生产过程就可以了。
　　15. Most mass-produced cars have a very high standard of comfort and safety these days.
　　现在大多数大量生产的汽车有很高的舒适度和安全性。
　　3 Dialogue 1
　　Two people discuss the apparent conflict between mass production and quality.
　　A: You just can’t get the quality out of mass-produced products. It’s simply not built into the system.
　　B: That’s a load of rubbish. Most cars are mass-produced these days and they’re a much better quality than the cars of 10 years ago.
　　A: They might be better than those earlier cars but they still don’t come up to anywhere near the standard of quality cars like Ferrari or Rolls Royce.
　　B: And neither do they cost anywhere near as much.
　　A: You get what you pay for, that’s for sure. If you want top quality, you pay top dollar.
　　B: But, is it worth it. Most mass-produced cars have a very high standard of comfort and safety these days.
　　A: Yeah, and they also crumple up like tin cans when they get in an accident. That’s why they stick all those airbags in them, to compensate for the cheap materials.
　　B: That’s a bit over the top. Besides, airbags are a standard safety feature in most new cars, including those quality cars you’re talking about.
　　A: And the other thing, quality cars aren’t subject to the mass recalls that are always occurring with mass-produced cars.
　　B: That’s not very fair. If you compare the number of mass-produced cars to those high priced chariots, it’s probably in the ratio of 1000 to 1.
　　A: Probably more in actual fact but, those recalls do seem to happen a lot.
　　B: Usually it’s more related to a component problem rather than anything to do with the mass-production process itself.
　　对话1 两人讨论大量生产和产品质量的明显冲突
　　A: 大量生产的产品，质量就是不行。质量就不是大量生产体系的内在部分。
　　B: 这可是一派胡言了。现在大多数汽车都是大量生产的，可比10年前生产的汽车好很多了。
　　A: 比以前的汽车可能是好，但质量水平和法拉利、劳斯莱斯相比根本就不能相提并论。
　　B: 这些车的成本也不能相提并论。
　　A: 花什么钱买什么货，这是肯定的。你要买顶级品质，就得花顶级价钱。
　　B: 不过也算物有所值了。现在大多数大量生产的汽车有很高的舒适度和安全性。
　　A: 是啊，不过发生事故时还不是像锡罐头盒一样皱成一团。所以制造商就在汽车里面粘上安全气囊，为的就是补偿便宜材料的缺陷。
　　B: 这有点儿言过其实了。要知道，安全气囊是大多数新车的一个标准安全特征，包括你说的那些高品质汽车。
　　A: 再说，高品质汽车不会被大批召回，可是大量生产的汽车就总被召回。
　　B: 这么说不太公道吧。如果你比较大量生产汽车和那些高价车的数量，很可能比例是1000比1。
　　A: 也可能你说得比较贴近现实吧，不过那些汽车召回的现象的确很常见。
　　B: 召回通常是因为零件的问题，和大量生产本身没有关系。
　　4 Dialogue 2
　　A Quality Control Supervisor talks to an Inspector about standards on the production line.
　　A: I’ll run you through this new production line process so you can see the benefits we’ll get from the changes.
　　B: You’ve certainly gone up market with the automation and robotic controls.
　　A: That’s going to provide us with a much greater surety of quality control in terms of uniformity and precision.
　　B: It will also reduce your labour requirements too. Was that part of the trade off equation?
　　A: No, the labour factor didn’t really enter into the assessment. We were already automated to a large extent so, this is just the next step up.
　　B: It’s a pretty expensive step for the sake of a higher quality standard. I gather you were able to justify it economically?
　　A: The mass production of component parts has become a very specialised business and the customers have demanded the greater precision.
　　B: I can understand that. The cost of recalling products because of component failure has become too expensive.
　　A: Automated and robotic production lines have progressed to the extent they can provide the highest standard in quality.
　　B: I remember the days when mass-production lines were made of people assembling the parts as they moved along a conveyor belt.
　　A: That’s going back a while. Now we hardly have anyone on the assembly floor except for the routine maintenance.
　　B: Yes, things have certainly changed. It only needs a couple of operators in a control room to monitor the whole process.
　　对话2 质量管理主管向检查员说明生产线的标准
　　A: 我向你简单说明一下新的生产线过程，这样你就能知道变化后的好处了。
　　B: 自动化和机械生产线属于高档消费了。
　　A: 这将给我们带来更高的质量控制准确度，既精确又统一。
　　B: 也可以降低对你的工作量要求。这是不是权衡等式的一部分?
　　A: 不是的，实际上评估时没有考虑过工作量因素。我们自动化的程度已经很高了，所以这只是下一步要做的事情。
　　B: 就为了高质量水平的话有点儿太贵了。我想你能证明这么做的经济效益吧?
　　A: 零件的大量生产已经成为非常精专的行业，消费者对精确度的要求也更高了。
　　B: 我能理解。由于零件不合格而召回产品，代价实在太大了。
　　A: 自动化和机械生产线已经发展到可以提供最高质量标准的程度了。
　　B: 我还记得以前大量生产线就是许多人在移动的传送带上组装零件的情形。
　　A: 那是很久以前的事了。现在除非需要日常维修，否则组装车间里基本就不用什么人了。
　　B: 是啊，现在的确变了。只需要有两个操作员在控制室里监控整个生产过程就行了。
　　5 Exercises
　　A Vocabulary Drill词汇填空练习
　　1. Mass-production ________ costs and provided jobs.
　　2. Many mass-production jobs are ________ .
　　3. Mass-production quality has ________ over the years.
　　4. Mass-production created jobs and ________ .
　　5. Increased efficiency makes some workers ________ .
　　6. Automation has led to huge ________ in production.
　　7. Do companies have a ________ towards their employees?
　　8. Quality ________ are essential on mass-production lines.
　　9. Computerisation has led to ________ changes in manufacturing.
　　10. Should ethics be ________ when improving efficiency?
　　improved massive
　　expendable lowered
　　considered responsibility
　　mundane changes
　　controls consumers
　　B Reading Practice阅读练习
　　There have been many changes in the field of mass-production since the process was first applied early in the 20th century. In those days, it provided jobs for a large number of people while radically reducing the production cost of a huge range of products. Although many of the jobs entailed mundane and boring work it gave more people an income than could have been achieved any other way. The jobs created consumers and the mass-production produced goods within a price range they could afford. It was an ideal situation for the country, the economy and the people. Over the subsequent years, progress became driven by efficiency for the benefit of increased profits. The invention of the transistor and the development of computerisation led to a quantum leap in the concepts of mass-production. Automation became the name of the game and, for the sake of efficiency, people were rapidly replaced with computerised technology. As the quality standards rose, jobs declined, until mass-production lines now only need a fraction of the number of employees previously required.
　　Answer the questions below.
　　1. What invention led to a major change in mass-production concepts?
　　2. What is the name of the process using computerised technology?
　　3. What were the social benefits of mass-production in the early days?
　　C Presentation演讲练习 - Write a short history of the development of mass-production, from its inception to the present day, and present it to your class.
　　D Role Play角色扮演
　　Student A: You are the Foreman in a furniture factory.
　　Student B: You are the Manager who wants to automate the production.
　　Example questions:
　　1. If you automate the production of furniture you’re going to lose the quality.
　　2. What about our carpenters and cabinet makers; they’ll lose interest?
　　E Discussion讨论
　　1. What responsibilities do companies have for their employees if they automate production?
　　2. Discuss the moral and ethical issues in promoting efficiency at the cost of the workforce.