禮節(jié)美語(yǔ):Lesson 176 Investing 3
投資顧問Jerry跟客戶Frank見面，建議他投資電動(dòng)汽車電池技術(shù)的開發(fā)，F(xiàn)rank似乎有顧慮。
F: I don't know....sounds like a gamble to me.
J: All investing is a gamble! But sometimes gambling pays off big time!
F: That's true...but sometimes you lose your shirt.
J: I'd recommend we take it step by step. The first step is to do lots of research. We really have to do our homework.
F: And then? What's step two?
J: I'm recommending buying a small Chinese company called WinTron Power. They hold several key patents and they have a good R&D department.
Frank覺得投資電池技術(shù)的開發(fā)聽上去有些象gamble,賭博，可是話說回來，投資就要有風(fēng)險(xiǎn)，堵注下對(duì)了就會(huì)賺一大筆錢，pay off big time, 全軍覆沒則會(huì),lose your shirt,傾家蕩產(chǎn)。Jerry已經(jīng)做好了全盤規(guī)劃，第一步是要做一下市場(chǎng)調(diào)查，do our homework,意思是先做好準(zhǔn)備工作。第二步是收購(gòu)一家叫WinTron Power的小公司。這家公司掌握著好幾項(xiàng)關(guān)鍵專利，而且有優(yōu)秀的R&D Department，研究和開發(fā)部。
F: How much is this going to cost me?
J: The initial investment is about five million.
F: Five million U.S. dollars? That's steep!
J: Yes...but you could end up becoming a major supplier to the auto companies of the future. Invest millions for a chance to make billions.
F: It's a tempting idea. It could be huge.
Jerry說，首期投資the initial investment估計(jì)要500萬美元，F(xiàn)rank 說，that's steep. 這么多錢， steep is spelled s-t-e-e-p, steep，意思是傾斜度大，坡陡，也有過份的意思，比如說 The price is steep，意思是價(jià)錢太貴。 Jerry 勸他說，如果成功，投個(gè)幾百萬，就有機(jī)會(huì)賺回幾十億，是個(gè)上算的買賣。Frank說，It's a tempting idea，他好象動(dòng)心了。
J: China has the potential to be the leader in the field. This is an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I think it would be foolish to let it slip away.
F: Jerry...you sold me. I'll get working on this project right away. This could be my big break! Thanks for the info!
J: Just doing my job.
Jerry說，This is an once-in-a lifetime opportunity，這可是千載難逢的好機(jī)會(huì)，過了這個(gè)村就沒這個(gè)店了；這樣的機(jī)會(huì)千萬不能錯(cuò)過。Frank終于被說動(dòng)了。他說，you sold me，意思是你把我說服了。This could be my big break，這回沒準(zhǔn)我的機(jī)會(huì)來了。 Big break，往往用來指突如其來的好運(yùn)氣。Jerry，回答說，Just doing my job. 這是我份內(nèi)的工作，這是我應(yīng)該做的。
