资源预览内容
第1页 / 共17页
第2页 / 共17页
第3页 / 共17页
第4页 / 共17页
第5页 / 共17页
第6页 / 共17页
第7页 / 共17页
第8页 / 共17页
第9页 / 共17页
第10页 / 共17页
亲,该文档总共17页,到这儿已超出免费预览范围,如果喜欢就下载吧!
资源描述
大学英语综合教程二第二单元Task bDoes being rich mean you live a completely different life from ordinary people? Not, it seems, if your name is Sam Walton.有钱是否意味着过一种完全不同于普通人的生活?看来未必,如果你的名字叫萨姆沃尔顿。The Richest Man in America, Down HomeArt HarrisR T 1. He put on a dinner jacket to serve as a waiter at the birthday party of The Richest Man in America. He imagined what surely awaited: a mansion, a Rolls-Royce for every day of the week, dogs with diamond collars, servants everywhere.美国乡巴佬首富阿特 哈里斯他穿上餐服准备到美国首富的生日聚会上去担任侍者。在他的想像里,他定然会看到:豪宅、主人天天要坐的罗尔斯-罗伊斯轿车、戴着钻石颈圈的家犬、到处可见的仆人。R T 2. Then he was off to the house, wheeling past the sleepy town square in Bentonville, a remote Arkansas town of 9,920, where Sam Walton started with a little dime store that grew into a $6 billion discount chain called Wal-Mart. He drove down a country road, turned at a mailbox marked Sam and Helen Walton, and jumped out at a house in the woods. 他动身前往那所宅邸,开着车穿过本顿维尔镇冷冷清清的市政广场。本顿维尔镇是阿肯色州一个仅有 9,920 人口的偏远小镇,萨姆沃尔顿就在该镇从一个专卖廉价商品的小店起家,小店逐渐发展成为价值 60 亿美金资产的折扣连锁店沃尔玛公司。 侍者上了一条乡间车道,转过一个标着“萨姆和海伦沃尔顿” 的信箱,在一幢林间住宅前跳下了车。R T 3. It was nice, but no palace. The furniture appeared a little worn. An old pickup truck sat in the garage and a muddy bird dog ran about the yard. He never spotted any servants.房子还不错,但绝对不是宫殿。家具略显陈旧,一辆旧的轻便货车停在车库里,一条土褐色的捕禽猎犬在院子里窜来窜去。根本没看见任何仆人的身影。R T 4. It was a real disappointment, sighs waiter Jamie Beaulieu. “太令人失望了,”侍者杰米 鲍尤叹道。R T 5. Only in America can a billionaire carry on like plain folks and get away with it. And the 67-year-old discount king Sam Moore Walton still travels these windy back roads in his 1979 Ford pickup, red and white, bird dogs by his side, and, come shooting season, waits in line like everyone else to buy shells at the local Wal-Mart.只有在美国,一个亿万富翁才能像普通百姓一样,安稳地过着普普通通的日子。67 岁的折扣店大王萨姆穆尔沃尔顿仍然开着他那辆红白两色的 1979 年出厂的福特牌轻型货车穿行在弯弯曲曲的乡间小道上,身边坐着他的捕禽猎犬。当狩猎季节来临时,他跟别人一样在当地的沃尔玛商店排队购买猎枪子弹。R T 6. He doesnt want any special treatment, says night manager Johnny Baker, who struggles to call the boss by his first name as a recent corporate memo commands. Few here think of his billions; they call him Mr. Sam and accept his folksy ways. Hes the same man who opened his dime store on the square and worked 18 hours a day for his dream, says Mayor Richard Hoback.“他不要任何特殊待遇,”夜班经理乔尼 贝克说,他费了好大的劲才如公司最近一份备忘录所规定的那样对自己的老板以名相称。这里几乎没人去想他的亿万身价,他们称他为萨姆先生,丝毫不以他的平民作风为怪。“他还是那个在市政广场开廉价店,为了自己的梦想每天工作 18 个小时的人,一点没变,”市长理查德霍巴克说。R T 7. By all accounts , hes friendly, cheerful, a fine neighbor who does his best to blend in, never flashy, never throwing his weight around.人人都说他为人友善,性情开朗,是个好邻居;他尽力与人们融洽相处,从不炫耀,也从不盛气凌人。R T 8. No matter how big a time he had on Saturday night, you can find him in church on Sunday. Surely in a reserved seat, right? We dont have reserved seats, says Gordon Garlington III, pastor of the local church.无论他星期六晚上的夜生活过得多晚,星期日你还是能在教堂见到他。当然是坐在他的包座上,对吗?“我们不设包座,”当地教堂牧师戈登 加林顿第三说。R T 9. So where does The Richest Man in America sit? Wherever he finds a seat. Look, hes just not that way. He doesnt have a set place. At a church supper the other night, he and his wife were in back washing dishes. 那美国首富坐哪儿呢?哪儿有空位子就坐哪儿。“知道吗,他根本就不是那种人。他没有包座。前几天晚上教堂举行晚餐会,他和太太一起在后面洗盘子。”R T 10. For 19 years, hes used the same barber. John Mayhall finds him waiting when he opens up at 7 a.m. He chats about the national news, or reads in his chair, perhaps the Benton County Daily Democrat , another Walton property that keeps him off the front page. It buried the Forbes list at the bottom of page 2.19 年来,为他理发的总是同一个师傅。约翰梅霍早上七点开门会见到他等在门外。他跟人闲聊国内新闻,或是坐在椅子里看报,没准是本顿民主日报,这是沃尔顿的又一宗产业。这份报纸从来不让有关他的消息出现在头版上。它将福布斯的富人排行榜塞在第二版的报尾。R T 11. Hes just not a front-page person, a newspaper employee explains.“他压根儿不是那种爱上头版新闻的人,”一位报社雇员解释说。R T 12. But one recent morning, The Richest Man in America did something that would have made headlines anywhere in the world: He forgot his money. I said, Forget it, take care of it next time, says barber Mayhall. But he said, No, Ill get it, and he went home for his wallet. 但最近有天早上,美国首富做了件在任何其他地方准会成为头条新闻的事:他忘了带钱。“我说,没事,下次一起付吧,“ 理发师梅霍说。”可他说,不行,我得回去拿,就回家去取钱包了。”R T 13. Wasnt that, well, a little strange? No sir, says Mayhall, the only thing strange about Sam Walton is that he isnt strange.这一切,嗯,是不是有点怪?“一点也不,先生,”梅霍说。“萨姆沃尔顿唯一不同寻常的就是,他平平常常。”R T 14. But just how long Walton can hold firm to his folksy habits with celebrity hunters keeping following him wherever he goes is anyones guess. Ever since Forbes magazine pronounced him Americas richest man, with $2.8 billion in Wal-Mart stock, hes been a rich man on the run, steering clear of reporters, dreamers, and schemers.然而,沃尔顿所到之处名人追星族紧跟不舍,他的平民习惯能保持多久,就很难说了。自从福布斯杂志宣布他拥有价值 28 亿的沃尔玛股票成为美国首富以后,他就成了一个东躲西藏的富人,他得甩开记者、寻梦者,还有图谋不轨者。R T 15. He may be the richest by Forbes rankings, says corporate affairs director Jim Von Gremp, but he doesnt know whether he is or not and he doesnt care. He doesnt spend much. He owns stock, but hes always left it in the company so it
网站客服QQ:2055934822
金锄头文库版权所有
经营许可证:蜀ICP备13022795号 | 川公网安备 51140202000112号