Unit 11 setting up a business文章翻译.doc

Unit 11 setting up a business 设立企业Unit 11 Setting up a Business设立企业Key Vocabulary重要词汇Many large business in the UK are public limited companies (plc) 1, which means that the public can buy and sell their shares on the stock exchange. Examples include Marks & Spencer 2，British Telecom3and the National Westminster Bank4. The minimum share capital for a public limited company is 50,000. So many new businesses are likely to take one of the following forms.在英国，许多企业都是股份制公司，人们可以在股票交易所进行股票买卖交易。例如玛莎百货，英国电信，国民西敏寺银行这些企业都是股份制公司。股份制企业的最小股本一般为5万英镑。一般来说，许多企业都倾向于选择以下经营模式中的一种来经营。Sole Trader or Sole Proprietor (UK)独资经营或者说个体户经营模式（英国）The simplest way of starting a business. You are self-employed and entirely responsible for all aspects of the management of your business.这是最简单的一种经营模式。由个体户独自经营管理企业里的大小事务。Partnership (UK)合作经营（英国）Two or more people starting a business together can set up a partnership. All partners are responsible for the debts of the partnership, and profits and losses are shared between them .由2个或者以上的人合作经营。所有合作人一起分担债务，分享利润或者承担损失。Private Limited Company (UK)私人有限公司或者有限责任公司（英国）A company can be formed with a minimum of two people becoming its shareholders. They must appoint a director and a company secretary5. If the company goes out of business, the responsibility of each shareholder is limited to the amount that they have contributed; they have limited liability 6. Such a company has Ltd (Limited) after its name.私人有限公司或者有限责任公司由至少二个股东来组成。需有理事及高层管理人员。如果公司倒闭，每个股东只需承担一定的风险和负债责任，他们的偿债责任是有限度的。这类公司一般在公司名称后面加上“有限公司”字样。In the US, businesses take the same forms. However, American companies are registered or incorporated with the authorities in the state where they have their headquarters. The abbreviations Inc and Corp refer to such companies. To sell shares to the public they must apply to the Securities Exchange Commission7.美国的企业也是采用以上的经营模式。但是，美国公司需要在总部所在的州政府注册登记。这类公司在公司名称后面以Inc 和 Corp结尾。如果要发行股票的话，他们需要首先向证券交易委员会提示申请。重要词汇备注： 1 public limited companies (plc) 股份有限公司2 Marks & Spencer，“玛莎百货”，英国的著名零售商3 British Telecom英国电信4 National Westminster Bank国民西敏寺银行5company secretary公司高层，职位比照执行董事6limited liability有限责任7Securities Exchange Commission证券交易委员会The Idea manHeres a few of the most prolific1 entrepreneurs in computer history. Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, Roger Foster.在计算机产业史上有许多企业家，诸如以下几位：史蒂夫.乔布斯，比而.盖次，罗杰.富斯德。Roger who ?罗杰其人Admittedly, this British entrepreneur is no household name2-but if history had any justice he would be. For more than 30 years, with his ventures, Foster has always been able to spot the next big wave in the industry.诚然，罗杰，这个英国企业家并不是个家喻户晓的名字，但是就历史的角度来看，他可以算作一位计算机产业史上的名人。因为，在过去的30多年里，他的每一次商业冒险事迹，总是能掀起该产业的阵阵轩然大波。Borrowed start白手起家He left school at 16, but qualified as a chartered accountant five years later. It was during his first job at GKN PLC, that “the light dawned”. Computers were expensive and cumbersome yet increasingly companies were using them to run back-office3 operations such as payroll.罗杰16岁辍学，他的第一份工作是在GKN股份有限公司工作，5年后获得注册会计师资格，这为他后来的发展垫定了坚实的基础。尽管在当时电脑价格昂贵，体型笨拙，但是越来越多的公司都选择用电脑来处理诸如工资表，员工花名册等办公信息.So in 1965, with two colleagues and loans from their parents he set up ACT, designing software systems and offering computer programming services to corporate accounting departments.因此，罗杰在1965年与2个同事合伙，从他们父母处借款创立了ACT公司，公司业务范围是编制软件系统，为财务核算部门提供电脑程序服务.After two years, ACT started making a profit. In fact, it was so successful that it became, in 1979, the first British software company to be listed on the Stock Exchange.2年后，ACT开始盈利。事实上，ACT业务相当成功，于1979年成为第一个上市的英国软件公司。Soon after, however, Foster decided that the future lay in hardware. A little chip company called Intel Corp. had launched the first microprocessors not long before, and a few entrepreneurs saw a future in small, personal computers made from them.然而，不久之后，富斯德决定把未来的业务方向定位在硬件上。就在不久前，有一家叫英特尔的芯片公司曾经第一次经营销售微处理器，一些企业家们很看好这个微处理器在小巧型电脑及私人电脑市场的未来前景。After distributing a US-made PC called the Sirius for a couple of years, ACT started manufacturing its own version in 1982. The result, the Apricot, was a phenomenal success.经过几年的Sirius(一种美国制造的私人电脑)电脑分销，ACT于1982年开始生产制造自己的特有版本，叫做Apricot，并取得惊人的成就.Between 1983 and 1985, ACT sold between 40,000 and 50,000 Apricots a year, more than anyone else in the UK, including IBM. At the companys height, recalls Peter Horne, one of Apricots co-founders, We couldnt make enough to satisfy demand.在1983年到1985年间，ACT每年销售4万到5万的Apricots，这个销量在当时英国包括IBM在内的所有其它品牌中名列前茅。据当时的一位Apricots的名叫彼特.豪恩的合伙创始人回忆说：“以我们当时的产量，对当时的市场是严重供不应求的。”Bad bite一次错误的偿试But ACT let the advantage slip. In 1985 ACT introduced a $7 m advertising campaign to launch Apricot in the US and steal market share from Apple Computer Corp. The campaign flopped and the US sortie cost ACT $14 m in 14 months of operation.但是，ACT优势渐逝。1985年，ACT投资7百万美元用于Apricot在美国的广告投资，企图抢占苹果电脑公司的市场份额。该广告活动以失败告终，ACT在美国的广告投资在14个月里共花费了1千4百万美元。And one trend Foster failed to spot proved fatal: the rise of IBM-compatible computing Apricot, which ran a version of Microsofts MS-DOS operating system, had a hardware architecture peculiar to itself. Foster concedes being late in shifting to the IBM standard; If we got the timing wrong, it was six to nine months, not a year, he says.富斯德对下面一个市场趋势没有很好的预测到并最终导致致命的后果,即：IBM计算机兼容系统的兴起，它开创了微软MS-DOS操作系统的新版本，拥有自有的芯片硬件。富斯德承认他在向IBM标准转变的操作上有所延误，并说道“如果说我们错失良机的话，那么不是1年，而是3到9个月的问题”（这段本人真心不会翻译，请大家原谅，希望不会考到，会的同学请补充）But it was too late. Margins on the Apricot computer began to be squeezed following the rise of cost-efficient, PC-Clone manufacturers like Compaq Computer Corp. Sales stagnated in 1986 at around 100 m ($164 m), the high set in 1985. ACTs profit of more than 10.5 m in 1985 turned into a loss of 15 m in 1986, as the company abandoned its non-IBM-compatible inventory4.但是已为时太晚了。随着成本的增加以及诸如康柏电脑公司提供的电脑组装费用的增长，Apricot电脑的利润日趋减少.销售额于1986年停滞在1亿英镑（约合1亿6千4百万美元），与1985年持平。ACT在1985年盈利1050万英镑，但到1986年却损失1500万英镑，原因是公司放弃了非IBM兼容的股票。In the end, ACT was forced to sell the Apricot business. Foster had plans to pursue Financial software was the next wave to catch. He went on a buying spree5, adding three financial software companies. ACTs sales soared to 200m in the early 1990s-making it one of the biggest players in its niche.最后，ACT被迫变卖Apricot. 富斯德计划下一步继续他的财务软件业务，这个计划掀起了下一个产业风波。他采取短期收购的方案，加创了三个财务软件公司。ACT的销售额因此于20世纪90年代骤升到2亿英镑-令其在当时成为了最大的赢家。Fleeting victory短胜即逝The companys financial products division was in trouble, mostly due to poor sales. ACT embarked on6 restructuring. The move led to two sudden profit warnings in 1995; the companys shares slumped. The boardroom was paralysed by infighting between Foster and his managing director. Mike Hart.ACT公司的财务软件产品一度了出现危机，主要是因为销量不好，ACT因此开始重组。但这一举措在1995年带来了二次利润冲击：公司的股价下降以及董事会内由于监事麦克.豪特与富斯德二派争斗而一度限入瘫痪的局面.Seeing ACTs weak financial position, Misys PLC, a UK software house, stepped in, and bought the company for 212 m in 1995.Misy，一家英国的经营软件服务的股份制有限公司，看中了ACT在财务上的不足，于1995年出资2亿1千2百万英镑收购了ACT.Fosters latest brainchild is Financial Objects, founded in October 1995. The company is compiling a library of software components that companies can then slot together as they wish, something like Lego software.富斯德最新的计划是建立一个叫“财务对象”的公司，该公司于1995年10月份创立。这家公司正在编译一个软件构件的库，其它的客户公司可以通过这个库来对他们所希望编辑的数据进行编排，类似的软件如：乐高软件.Foster claims: In 10 to 15 years, software will be a commodity7 , just like the PC now. We want to be the company with the largest set of banking components in the Microsoft world. We can do dominant for ten years if we do it.富斯德声称：“在10到15年内，软件将会像个人电脑一样成为一种商品，我们公司将致力成为一家在微软件界最大的软件公司。如果我们放手去做的话，我们可以持续10年引领行业先锋”.The company is the second-largest in its field in the UK, behind Misys-but thats a pretty small field. Last year, it posted sales of 15.5m and made a small profit. Foster remains confident-but he stresses that he doesnt need the money;Its my swansong8. I dont want other directorships and to go to a board meeting every other month.该公司是英国同类行业中仅次于Misys名列第