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考研必讀英語精美時文
  考研必讀英語精美時文:奢侈品的繁榮

The US and Asia have been behind an unexpectedly strong recovery in luxury spending this year but sales are expected to slow in 2011.

今年奢侈品消費呈強勁回升態勢,美國和亞洲是這背後的主要推動力量。但預計奢侈品銷售將在2011 年放緩。

Global luxury sales will grow by 10 percent this year to 168bn ($235bn), according to forecasts by Bain & Co, a rate of growth much stronger than the 4 percent the consultancy predicted in April and comparable with 2008 sales.

諮詢公司貝恩4 月份時預測全球奢侈品銷售額將增長4%,但事實上今年的銷售額增長了10%,達到1680 億歐元,增長速度比得上08 年時的增長速度。

Bain expects growth to cool next year, partly due to the dollar continuing to weaken against the euro and because of the strength of sales in 2010.

貝恩預測,鑑於美元兌歐元持續貶值和2010 年銷售額的過度回升,銷售額增長將在明年放緩。

It expects sales in 2011 to rise by 4-5 per cent, which is more in line with historical rates.

它還預測,2011 年銷售額將增長4-5%,這與歷史增長率比較接近。

The forecasts show that the luxury goods industry has bounced back sharply after last year ’s 8 percent fall in sales-the worst ever in the luxury market.

這些預測表明,奢侈品行業在經歷了去年銷售額下降8%的歷史最糟成績之後,開始強勁反彈。

“The main drivers are China and Asia but the real surprise has been the rebound in the US,” said Claudia D’Arpizio, a Milan-based Bain partner. “Department stores are suffering less than expected.”

“主要推動力是中國和亞洲,但真正令人意外的是美國市場的回升。” 貝恩駐米蘭合夥人克勞迪亞·達皮奇奧表示,“百貨公司受到的影響低於預期”。

In spite of fears about the health of the US economy, the most recent data for September show US luxury department stores outperforming the rest of the retail sector. Higher numbers of affluent travelers have also boosted luxury sales this year, especially tourists from China.

儘管人們對美國經濟憂心忡忡,但9 月份最新數據顯示,美國奢侈品百貨商店的表現要好於其他零售業部門。有錢人旅遊消費的增加也推動了今年奢侈品的銷售,尤其是來自中國的遊客。

Big brands have been the biggest winners from the rebound in demand, according to Bain, which said they were better able to respond to the crisis through investment and new store openings.

貝恩表示,奢侈品大品牌是需求回升中的最大贏家,它們可以通過投資和開設新店更好地應對危機。

  考研必讀英語精美時文:研發經費普降

Research and development spending at major companies declined last year for the first time in more than a decade, according to a survey by management consulting firm Booz & Co.

管理諮詢公司Booz & Co.的一項調查結果顯示,去年大公司在研發方面的投入出現了10 多年以來的首次下降。

The cuts last year were concentrated in auto, computing, electronics and industrial companies, some of the biggest spenders. ‘The world-wide recession finally caught up with the world’s top innovation spenders in 2009,’the Booz report says, adding that‘the most forward-looking companies will likely move quickly to restore the R&D cuts they made in 2009.’

對研發支出作出削減的行業主要包括汽車、計算機、電子和工業企業,其中有幾家公司是世界上最捨得在研發上花錢的公司。“2009 年,全球範圍的衰退終於對世界上在創新方面支出最多的公司產生了影響。” Booz 的調查報告說,“最有遠見的公司可能很快就會恢復2009年削減的研發費用。”

Total 2009 R&D spending by the companies surveyed declined 3.5% from a year earlier to $503 billion. Roche Holding AG had the biggest spending total last year, at $9.12 billion. It was followed by Microsoft Corp. with $9.01 billion and Nokia Corp. at $8.24 billion. Toyota Motor Corp. ’s R&D spending totaled $7.82 billion, and Pfizer Inc. had $7.74 billion.

接受調查的公司2009 年研發支出總額爲5,030 億美元,較一年前下降3.5%。去年研發支出最多的是羅氏公司,研發費用91.2 億美元,其次是微軟,研發費用90.1 億美元,諾基亞,研發費用82.4 億美元。豐田汽車公司研發支出總額爲78.2 億美元,輝瑞製藥有限公司支出爲77.4 億美元。

Booz also found that heavy spending on R&D doesn’t necessarily lead to recognition as a technology leader.

Booz 的調查還發現,在研發方面投入越多的公司並不一定被看做科技領頭羊。

In a survey of more than 450‘innovation executives’from 400 companies representing $150 billion in annual R&D spending, Booz asked them to name the companies they considered‘most innovative.’

Booz 對來自400 家公司的450 多名研發管理者進行了調查,這些公司的年度研發支出總計1,500 億美元。Booz 讓他們列出他們認爲“最有創新精神”的公司。

The three most frequently chosen by respondents were Apple Inc., Google Inc. and 3M Co., none of which was among the 10 biggest spenders on R&D in 2009.

結果他們選出的公司是蘋果、谷歌和3M Co。而這三家公司2009 年的研發支出都沒有進入前十。

Apple last year spent about 3.1% of its sales on R&D, or about half the typical level for computer and electronic companies, said Barry Jaruzelski, a partner at Booz, and yet Apple’s R&D appears to be far more effective than that of many rivals.

Booz 公司合夥人雅魯澤爾斯基說,蘋果去年的研發支出僅佔銷售額的3.1%左右,大約是電腦和電子產品公司平均水平的一半。但蘋果公司用小錢辦大事,他們研發工作的有效性超過了很多競爭對手。

‘It’s much more about how you do it than how much you spend,’Mr. Jaruzelski said. Apple succeeds because it has a deep understanding of consumers, is focused in its projects ‘as opposed to trying to spread their bets,’and attracts superior talent, he said.

雅魯澤爾斯基說,做事的方式比花多少錢更重要。蘋果成功的原因在於,它並不專注於一味擴大規模,而是更關注消費者的需求,並且吸引一流的人才。

  考研必讀英語精美時文:家樂福,十字路口

Carrefour’s presence in Thailand is similarly modest. Whereas Britain’s Tesco has become the country ’s biggest grocery chain, Carrefour lies in a distant fourth place. Across the border in Malaysia it trails well behind Tesco and two other foreign retailers.

家樂福在泰國的表現並不算出色——在英國的特易購成爲泰國最大的連鎖店的同時,家樂福的排名卻只有第四。在馬來西亞全境,家樂福都要遠遠落後於特易購和其他兩家外國零售商。

And so, with a Gallic shrug, Carrefour is closing up shop in much of South-East Asia. Its 44 stores in Thailand, 23 in Malaysia and two in Singapore are for sale. Potential buyers are said to include Tesco and Casino, a French firm that already has a Thai joint venture, Big C. Analysts reckon that Carrefour’s stores could fetch up to $1 billion.

對於這種現狀,家樂福擺出一副“責不在我,我也沒轍”的姿態,陸續關閉東南亞大部分的門店。它準備出售44 家泰國店,23 家馬來西亞店以及2家新加坡店。據說潛在買家有特易購和卡西諾,後者是一家擁有泰國合資企業Big C 的法國公司。分析師估算,家樂福的競購價可以達到10 億美元。

Carrefour was one of the first foreign grocers to open shops in South-East Asia in the 1990s. But the later-arriving Tesco proved cannier in figuring out what consumers wanted. When the firm found out that Thai shoppers traveled for miles by bus to its “big-box” stores, it opened smaller stores in rural towns. Carrefour focused on Bangkok’s higher spenders and stuck to its hypermarket format. Toby Desforges, founder of Engage, a marketing consultancy, calls this the “take it or leave pressure from activist shareholders to reverse the firm’s global

expansion and focus on Europe. Mr. Olofsson has said he prefers to leave markets where Carrefour is not one of the top two retailers or has little hope of becoming one.

家樂福是上世紀90 年代最早在東南亞開設分店的外國零售商之一,但是後來者特易購似乎更瞭解客戶的需求。當特易購發現泰國消費者需要乘坐幾英里的公交車才能到它的大型賣場後,就開始在鄉間小鎮裏開設小型門店。而家樂福則定位於曼谷的高端消費羣體,堅持“大型賣場”路線。市場分析機構Engage 的創始人之一將家樂福的這種做法釋爲“要麼接受,要麼摒棄”。最終,泰國消費者選擇了將它摒棄。家樂福的股東們一直在給首席執行官羅盛施加壓力,要求他停止家樂福在全球的擴張計劃,而專注於歐洲市場。羅盛說,家樂福在有些地區不是市場的領頭羊,也沒希望成爲領頭羊,他傾向於放棄這些市場。

For all that, Carrefour’s retreat from South-East Asia may be ill-timed. Compared with Europe, the region ’s economy is buoyant. Thailand’s modern retail sector is growing rapidly despite the country’s political turmoil. The same is true of Malaysia. As incomes rise, more shoppers will opt to drive to large, air-conditioned stores. Some might even develop a taste for French cheese.

不管怎麼樣,家樂福選擇從東南亞退出的時機不對。和歐洲比,這裏的經濟生機蓬勃。馬來西亞也是如此。當收入增加時,更多購物者願意驅車前往寬敞大氣、空調開放的超市。有些人甚至還會迷上法國奶酪呢。


考研必讀英語精美時文