外研版选修四册第四单元阅读讲解

Unit 4 Everyday economics

第38页阅读讲解

Business Blossoms
创业之花

1 As she spoke, Zhang Yue put her hands behind her back to hide that they were shaking. She couldn't, however, hide the line of sweat running down her forehead, which was caused partly by the heat of the television studio, but more by fear of the four people seated in front of her. They stared back, their blank faces giving no clue as to what they would say next. Feeling dizzy, Zhang Yue took a deep breath as she struggled to finish her presentation, “And that is why I need your help in turning my new and exciting business into a successful one.”
发言时，张悦把手藏在背后，以掩饰双手的颤抖。但她无法掩饰从额头淌下的一行汗水。这一部分是由于电视演播室里有些热，但更多的则是由于她害怕坐在她面前的四个人。他们面无表情地凝视着她，让人根本看不出他们接下来会说什么。张悦感到一阵眩晕，做了个深呼吸，然后努力完成她的陈述， “这就是为什么我需要你们的帮助，使这个全新的、激动人心的创业项目获得成功。

2 Now chairwoman of her own company, Zhang Yue is fond of saying, “The early bird catches the worm.” The place where this happens is a valley, a world away from any television studio. Moving carefully through the darkness, she passes row upon row of rose plants. In an hour, these fields will be full of people, working quickly to pick the flowers before sunrise. “It has to be done then,” says Zhang. “These flowers are delicate.”
张悦现在是自己公司的总裁，她总喜欢说：“早起的鸟儿有虫吃。”她创业的地点在一个山谷里，这是一个远离任何电视演播室的世界。她小心地在黑暗中穿行，经过一排又一排的玫瑰植株。一小时后就会有许多人来到这里，趁着日出前的时间快速采摘玫瑰花。“必须在那个时候采。”张悦说， “这些花是很娇嫩的。”

3 Zhang never thought that this was something she would end up doing. Surrounded by roses as she was growing up, she paid them little attention. It was only after graduating from university overseas and returning to visit her parents that Zhang realised the potential. “Conditions are ideal here,” she says. “This is a place where roses grow wild.”
张悦以前从未想过自己会做这一行。她从小到大，到处都是玫瑰，她很少注意到它们。直到她结束海外留学生活，回国看望父母时，才意识到这里的潜力。“这里的条件非常理想。”她说， “这里适合玫瑰自然生长。”

4 Zhang therefore decided to return to her home town and grow roses, which surprised many people. “I wanted to experience the freedom of being my own boss,” she said. “But I also wanted to give something back to my home town. As people say, ‘It takes a village to raise a child.’”
因此，张悦决定回到家乡，开始种植玫瑰，这让很多人感到惊讶。“我想体验自己当老板的自由。”她说， “同时我也想回报我的家乡。有句话说得好：“养育一个孩子需要整个村庄的力量。”

5 She is not the only young person to have been bitten by the start-up bug. All over the world, an increasing number of enterprising young people are thinking of starting their own businesses, as the growing economy creates more opportunities. Like Zhang, they present their ideas in the hope of getting investment and advice, and they have the same passion and devotion. The majority meet with rejection. A few, like Zhang Yue, find themselves lucky enough to get investment and the all-important input and support from more experienced business people. The road to their success is however still a long and difficult one, with many challenges along the way.
她并不是唯一一个被创业所吸引的年轻人。在世界各地，经济的不断增长创造了更多的机会，越来越多有事业心的年轻人开始考虑自己创业。像张悦一样，他们表达自己的想法，希望以此获得投资和建议。而且，他们也拥有同样的热情和为事业奉献的决心。他们中的大多数会遭到拒绝，但包括张悦在内的少数人会非常幸送地获得投资，并从更有经验的商界人士那里获得非常关键的投入和支持。不过他们的成功之路仍然漫长而艰难，一路上会遇到许多挑战。

6 As someone who grew up in the country, Zhang already knew about growing plants. However, like any entrepreneur who was just starting out, she still had a lot to learn. She has overcome a number of obstacles in nursing her business to the success it is today. “The biggest challenge at the initial phase was to persuade people to work for me, which was totally outside my experience. Few in the village believed I could create a multi-million yuan business from flowers,” says Zhang. “After I went on TV, a major Asian manufacturer of cosmetics was willing to purchase my product and help with its distribution. It was only then that the locals began to believe me. Now my product is one of the best in Asia. This year, I can pay all my fellow workers a decent bonus.”
作为一个在农村长大的人，张悦已经比较了解作物种植。不过，跟所有刚起步的企业家一样，她要学的还有很多。为了取得今天的成就，她精心打理生意，克服了许多障碍。“在初始阶段，最大的挑战就是说服人们来为我工作，这完全超出了我的经验范围。村里几乎没人相信我能从花卉生意中赚到几百万元。”张悦说， “我上了电视后，一家亚洲大型化妆品制造商表示愿意购买我的产品并且帮忙分销。直到那时本地人才开始相信我。现在我提供的是亚洲最好的产品之一。今年，我可以给我的同事们发一笔丰厚的奖金了。”

7 Seeing her peers who also dream of success and independence, Zhang has mixed feelings. Though she welcomes the new entrepreneurial spirit, she advises that people be realistic and seek guidance from expert consultants before rushing into things.
看到同龄人也梦想着成功和独立，张悦的心情很复杂。尽管她希望看到新的创业精神的涌现，但她也建议他们要现实一些，在仓促行事之前先寻求专业顾问的指导。

8 “I love running my own business, but it's not for everyone,” says Zhang. “To succeed in business, you need more than a good idea, hard work and determination. What really matters is a sound business plan, access to capital, and good management and negotiating skills. Most of all, don't be too ambitious. You should know your own limits and those of the people you work with. For young people who have little life experience, that can be a challenge.”
“我热爱经营自己的生意，但不是每个人都适合做这个。”张悦说， “要想在事业上取得成功，你需要的不仅仅是好的理念、勤奋和决心。真正重要的是一个合理的商业计划，获得资金的渠道，以及良好的管理和谈判技巧。最重要的是，不要野心太大。你得知道自己的极限，还有与你共事的人的极限。对于缺乏生活经验的年轻人来说，这可能是个挑战。”

第44页阅读讲解

What's mine is yours.
我的就是你的。

1 We've been told since we were toddlers that “It's good to share”. Parents and teachers keep reminding us to share toys, snacks, books, happy memories, and sometimes even sorrows with others. When we grow up, we share photos, life stories and opinions with people around us and with those we don't know via social media. Taking it as an object of study, psychologists have published various papers stating that the behaviour of sharing is beneficial to setting up positive emotional bonding.
我们还在蹒跚学步的时候就被教导“要懂得分享”。父母和老师不断地提醒我们要与他人分享玩具、零食、书籍以及快乐的回忆，有些时候甚至要分享自己的伤心事。我们长大后，会与周围的人或者是社交媒体上不认识的人分享照片、人生经历和观点。心理学家们将分享作为研究的对象，发表了各种各样的论文来说明分享行为有助于建立积极的情感纽带。

2 Today, the action of sharing takes on extra meaning. It's not just about sharing sweets or frustration; it has expanded to almost every aspect of our lives – the whole world seems to be into sharing. We are using technology to reduce the money that we spend on goods and services, or to make money out of those that we don't use ourselves all of the time. These vary from car shares to home shares, and even to pet shares. The sharing economy is taking off in all sorts of areas. It is creating new ways of thinking and is providing services to people when and where they want them.
如今，分享行为又多了额外的含义。不仅仅是分享糖果或挫折，分享行为几乎已经扩大到生活的方方面面—整个世界似乎都在分享。我们正在利用科技来减少在商品和服务上的花费，或者用我们一直闲置的物品赚钱：从汽车共享到住房共享，甚至是宠物共享。共享经济正在各个领域红火起来，它创造着新的思维方式，随时随地为有需求的人们提供服务。

3 This wealth of ways of sharing is a response to our increasing demand for quality goods and services at competitive prices, all delivered at the click of a button. Whether it's an online shop where we can hire designer clothes at rock-bottom prices, or a platform from which we can rent out our flats for a couple of days, it's out there. Whether we're a lender or a borrower, it's a win-win situation; everyone makes or saves money. We also make connections and sometimes even make new friends. What's more, sharing encourages us to reuse items, thereby cutting down on waste. And set-ups such as bike and car sharing do a further favour for the environment by reducing the number of polluting vehicles on the road.
我们需要价格有竞争力的优质产品和服务，大量的共享方式是对这种不断增长的需求的回应，现在这些需求都可以通过一键单击来实现。无论是以最低价格出租名牌服装的网店，还是可以把自己的公寓短租几天的平台，都已出现。这对于出租者和租用者来说都是一个双赢的局面；人人都能挣钱，或都能省钱。我们可以建立联系，有时候甚至可以交到新朋友。不仅如此，共享方式鼓励我们将物品再次利用，从而减少浪费。共享单车、共享汽车等计划的实施会进一步保护环境，因为它们减少了行驶在路上的污染排放车辆的数量。

4 But the sharing economy is not without its problems. As is often the case all over the world with new areas of economic activity, the sharing economy is developing faster than existing regulations or ongoing supervision. Some companies are taking unfair advantage of this situation to expand their share of the market, often at the expense of more traditional and established companies. In addition, the sharing economy is subject to abuse of trust. Some people have experienced damage to their properties whilst renting out their homes, and others have found themselves victims of theft or attack while sharing rides. Finally, personal data, the heart of the sharing economy, is not yet secure. Sharing platforms collect personal information about almost every part of our lives, including our names, locations, bank information, and individual preferences for goods and services. Yet, the technology to prevent such information from leaking or being stolen still needs improvement, and the awareness of potential risks is low among both service providers and users.
但共享经济并非没有问题。世界上新出现的经济领域通常都是如此，共享经济的发展速度过快，而现有法规和持续监管还未跟上。一些公司正在利用这种情况获取不公平的优势，以扩大市场份额，通常以牺牲已有的更为传统的公司为代价。此外，共享经济容易受到信任滥用的影响。有些人出租房屋时财物遭到破坏，还有人搭顺风车时成为盗窃甚至袭击的受害者。最后一点，个人数据，即共享经济的核心，也并不安全。共享平台收集的个人信息涵盖我们生活的方方面面，包括姓名、位置、银行信息、对商品和服务的个人偏好。然而，防止信息泄露或被盗的技术仍然有待改进，服务方和用户对潜在风险的防范意识也较低。

5 Nonetheless, what is in no doubt is that the sharing economy is increasingly relevant to our daily lives as well as to the global economy. It is expanding at such a rate that we can only imagine what it will comprise in the future. What will we be sharing next? Who will be sharing and how? And the most interesting question of all – what type of society will all this sharing take us to?
尽管如此，共享经济无疑正在与我们的日常生活以及全球经济产生越来越密切的联系。它飞速扩张，我们只能想象它将来会包含什么。我们下一个共享的对象是什么？将由谁来共享以及如何共享？最有趣的问题是——这些共享将会带我们进入什么样的社会？