Most North-American business travelers go by airplane, although some companies use the train for short distances to cut down on OCS expenses. Some companies are experimenting with teleconferencing, particularly for in-house meetings, but for the vast majority of meetings between people in different locations, there is still some business travel involved.
绝大多数北美人出差都乘飞机,只有少数公司在短途旅行时要求出差人乘坐火车来减少公务费用。
一些公司在试行电话会议,尤其是室内会议。但是在绝大多数情况下,不同地点之间人们开会,依然需要进行商务旅行。
对话练习 英:
In this conversation, Jean Simmons is going on her first business trip. She’s talking to a co-worker, Kyle Mathews, about it.
Jean: Hey Kyle, guess what! The boss is sending me to the West coast for a marketing seminar next month.
Kyle: Ah hah, you must be happy. You’ve been itching to go on a business trip for months.
Jean: Yeah, and he said there’ll be more coming up, so I should get a corporate card.Problem is, I don’t know how to proceed, and I didn’t want the boss to know that. Can you fill me in?
Kyle: Sure, no problem. First, go see the secretary and tell her where you’re going and when. She’ll arrange for transportation and hotel through our travel agent, and give you the tickets and itinerary in a few days. At the same time, ask her for an application form for the card.
Jean: Will I use the card for everything?
Kyle: No, we have company credit arrangements with some major airlines and hotels. For this trip, you’ll probably only use it for food. Not all restaurants accept the card, so you may have to pay cash.
Jean: Do I pay out of my own pocket?
Kyle: Afraid so. We used to have cash advances, but the company stopped that when they started issuing cards.