CHAPTER FIVE Reading Page 82&83
SICK BUILDINGS
A wealthy American businessman
has just bought a small insurance company in South east Asia.
He has not visited it yet.
After he bought it,he heard that the staff were often sick.
He then sent Kate Ford,his personal assistant,
to inspect the office and give him a brief report on the possible health hazards
To:Mr P Thompson,Chairman,Mwgabux industries From:Kate Ford
Health Hazards at Solid Insurance Ltd.
I have investigated the possible health hazards
in the office of Solid insurance Ltd,
and I have also discussed the subject with the present manager of the company
Mr C K Li,and most members of staff.
General situation
The office is situated on the fifth floor of a building which was completed in 1975
Access is via elevator only.
The office is rented from Profitable Properties Limited(PPL).
Ventilation
they complained of headaches,tiredness and respiratory problems.
The poor ventilation is probably responsible.
All windows in the office are sealed.
We should consider replacing some of these with windows which can be opened
All ventilation is provided by the building's central air conditioning system
At present this provides a mixture of 20% fresh air and 80% recycled air.
A higher percentage of fresh air is desirable.
In addition,the main air intake is at ground level,facing a busy main road.
This should be resited to the roof.
There is no regular cleaning programme for the system,
although this ought to be done at least once a year
to ensure that dirt and dangerous bacteria do not pollute the system.
We will need to raise these points with PPL,
who may object because of the expense of making changes.
Smoking
Seven of the forty staff,including Mr C K Li,are regular smokers.
The previous management did not have a non smoking policy.
We should consider introducing one immediately.
This is the easiest problem to solve.
Equipment
The photocopying machines,which are frequently in use,
are situated in a small room with poor ventilation.
I believe these machines can produce ozone,a toxic chemical.
We need to take expert advice on this problem.
Most of the staff sit in front of desktop computers all day,
and have a break only at lunch time.
They have old chairs which are uncomfortable and too low.
Many complain of eye strain and back problems.
We need to purchase modern,adjustable chairs
and introduce a system of regular breaks.
Water system
The men's and women's wash rooms are maintained in a hygienic state.
However,several staff have been absent recently with stomach illnesses.
A possible reason for this may be the drinking water from the pantry,
which does not seem to be pure.
The main water tanks on the roof have never been cleaned,according to Mr C K Li
We should get an expert to test the water quality.
We should get an expert to test the water quality.
Noise
The office has a high noise level.
This results in an increase in stress.
However,the situation here could be improved
by fitting sound proof tiles to the ceiling,
since much of the noise comes from a plastics factory on the floor above
Lighting
There are old lights on the ceiling.
Wherever you sit,they reflect on the computer screens.
If we are changing the ceiling tiles,
it would be a good chance to install a better lighting system.
Conclusion
The workers'illnesses are genuine and staff morale is low.Mr C K Li's failure to deal with any of these problems is very regrettable
Listening Skills
pages 86 and 87
Filling in forms
In these exercise,you will hear a conversation between Kate Ford
and one of the staff at Solid Insurance Ltd.
Listen and complete the form,as if you were Kate Ford.
A:Do come in,please sit down.Now,as you probably know
I'm doing a survey of all the staff here
because we want to improve the working conditions.
So I hope you tell me honestly about any problems,so that we can deal with them
B:Yes,of course.I think it's a very good idea.
A:Good!Now,you are Mr Parkinson,aren't you?What is your first nameB:It's Ian.
A:How do you spell that?
B:I A N.
A:I A N,right,and your surname?
B:P A R K I N S O N Parkinson.
A:Thank you.And what is your job title,Mr Parkinson?
B:I'm an accountant.
A:Accountant.And how long have you been with the company?
B:Two and a half years altogether.
A:Two and a half years.
Now,Mr Parkinson,looking back over the last year
how many days were you absent from work due to ill health?
B:Let's see,about ten days,I think.
A:And what was the treatment did you require?
B:I've been to the doctors several times about my back.
and just resting at home is usually enough.
I haven't had to stay in hospital.
A:I see.What sort of health problems have you had?
Any respiratory problems,you mentioned the cough.
B:Yes,I've had a cough for a long time,
and I often get a headache after a day at work.
A:Any trouble with your eyes or back pain?
B:My eyes are fine,but I have had a lot of back trouble.
A:Anything else?
B:Yes,I had a broken wrist last summer.
A:A broken wrist?
B:Yes,but that was nothing to do with the office
I just fell over while I was playing tennis,that's all.
A:Aha,oh I see,anyway I'll make a brief note of it.
Oh,by the way,I forgot to enter your age.
B:I'm thirty two.
A:Thirty two,thank you.Now,I believe you're a smoker,Mr Parkinson.
B:Yes,I'm afraid so.
A:So,how would you feel if we introduced a non smoking policy?
I suppose you would object of that.
B:No,I think it would be desirable to have one.
My wife keeps telling me to stop smoking,
if we had a non smoking policy in the office,
it would help me to give up smoking,
and it would be better for the nonsmokers,too.
So I would be in favour of that.
A:Right,that's very good.
Now,do you have any problems with your equipment or furniture in the office
B:Yes,my chair is terrible,it's too low,and the lighting is very poor.
It's difficult to see the computer's screen clearly.
A:So that's the chair,too low,and poor lighting.
Right,so which of these five things worry you the most?
I'd like you to choose three things and rank them in order from 1 to 3.
B:Let me see.well,No.1 is the furniture,
the lighting was probably be No.2 and I guess,air quality is No.3
A:You do use a desktop computer in your work,don't you?
B:Yes.A:How often do you take a break?
You ought to take a break about every hour.
B:No,we can't do that.
The manager complains if we not touch desks all the time.
We can only take a break at lunch time
A:So how many hours a day are you using the computer?
B:Not all the time I would say I use it about four hours a day.
B:Well,I don't think they are very good at all.
I would say that I'm quite dissatisfied.
They need to be improved.
A:And do you have any other commendsor things you like to mention about the office conditions?
B:Well,yes.I'm rather worried about what would happen if there was a fire.
The door to the stairs is usually locked
and stairs are often blocked with rubbish
A:I'll make notes of that.Door to stairs locked,
stairs blocked with rubbish I'll look into that.
Right,thank you for your help,Mr Parkinson
B:Thank you.
SPEAKING Page 93
A Final e on short words
The pronunciation of short words
with a short vowel sound changes when a final e is added.
Then the vowel is pronounced in the same way as the name of those letters
(a,e,i,o,u) in the alphabet.
a mad made
e pet Pete
i hid hide
o not note
u us use
Exercise A1
1.This is a cube.
2.Turn off the tap3.Is this the site?
4.Can you hop on one leg?
5.Take the dog to the vet.
6.This is a steep slope!
7.Cane furniture is popular.
8.Look at that tiger cub!
9.What a lovely scene!
10.I hit my shin on a rock.
11.The hose was very long.
12.Clothes fade in the sun.
Exercise A2
1.You can make an excellent kite from a kit.
2.Hello,pal.You look pale.Do you feel all right?
3.After a long,hot walk,
we were glad to find a cool glade of trees for our picnic.
4.I like the way your hair is cut.It makes you look very cute!
5.The fins of the shark are used to make a fine soup.
6.The plane went into a spin and crashed.
The poor pilot injured his spine.
7.If you win the competition,you will receive a bottle of wine.
8.I'm sorry,but I hate that hat.It looks silly.
9.I keep pins in this pine box.
MORE LANGUAGE INPUT(5)
pages 98 and 99
A Reading
Indoor Air Quality Problems
Generally speaking,
a school has far more occupants per square metre than an office building.
The fact is that with an increasing urbanization,
the student population in many schools is still growing.
Therefore,an awareness of possible indoor air quality problems
is important for teachers and students alike.
Most indoor air pollution in schools comes from sources inside the school building
For example,photocopiers,manufactured wood products like desks and chairs
and carpeting cleaning products and pesticides
may all emit harmful elements into the air.
Other pollutants may also accumulate
in specific areas such as laboratories and toilets.
Meanwhile,outdoor air that enters a school building through windows
and other openings can also bring vehicle exhausts into the classrooms.
Outdated ventilation systems in some older schools
increase the risks of indoor air quality problems.
Poor indoor air quality can cause serious respiratory problems.
Younger students in particular are affected.
Children's respiratory systems are still developing
They are more sensitive to the air pollutants.
Children also have higher respiration rates than adults.
As a result,they are likely to inhale more of the pollutants than adults do
There is a lot that we can do and should do.
For instance,increasing ventilation rates,banning smoking,storing paints and pesticides in closed containers,
and using those pollutant sources in periods of low or no occupancy
are all easy and effective means to prevent the problems
Of course,of all the measures to take,education is on top of the list.
When everyone in the school fully understands the matter,
a safer and healthier learning environment with cleaner air can be created
B Listening
In 1950,30% of the world's population lived in urban areas
By 2000,the proportion of urban dwellers had risen to 47%
and it expected to reach 60% by 2030.
At the current rate of change,
the number of urban dwellers will equal the number of rural dwellers
in the world in 2007.
There are 2.9,000,000,000 inhabitants in urban areas today
and 4.9,000,000,000 are expected by 2030,
whereas the world has 6.1,000,000,000 inhabitants
and is expected to have 8.1,000,000,000 by 2030.
More than 150,000 people
are being added to the urban population in developing countries every day
Greater Tokyo,Japan,already has 26,000,000 people,
Sao Paulo,Brazil 18,000,000 and Bombay,India,18,000,000
It is predicted that by 2015,
the world will have 23'megacities'with populations over 10,000,000
and more than 500 cities with populations of 1,000,000 or more.
The prediction is that by 2025,2/3 of the world's people will live in cities