商务礼节美语第9期:投资(1)

　　Frank: Jerry! My financial counselor¹! Good to see you... as always. 杰里！我的财政顾问！像往常一样，很高兴见到你……
Jerry: Hey Frank, nice to see you, too. How's your stock portfolio² these days? 嘿，弗兰克，我也很高兴见到你。这几天你的股票投资怎么样了？
F: Not that bad. I bought into a hedge fund and it helped minimize my losses. 不是很坏。我买进了避险基金，可以减少我的损失。
J: Wise! You seem to beat the market at its own game pretty often. What's your secret? 智慧！看上去你可以战胜市场上的一切风云变幻。
F: I don't really have a secret. I just read a lot and pay attention to trends. 我真的没有什么秘密。我知道读了很多投资的东西并且注意股市的动态。
投资顾问Jerry问Frank投资的股票赚不赚钱，How's your stock portfolio? portfolio is spelled p-o-r-t-f-o-l-i-o, portfolio，是投资组合的意思。Frank说他买hedge fund，对冲基金，减少了不少损失。Jerry说Frank投资总能赚钱，beat the market at its own game. 这里所说的to beat someone at his own game，意思是以其人之道还治其人之身，在这里意思就是利用市场规则，成为市场投资的赢家。
J: Well, I commend your business sense. You seem to be staying ahead of the curve. 嗯，我对你的经济头脑表示赞赏。你总是走在别人的前面。
F: You win some and you lose some, that's business. So, I hear you have a sales pitch for me. 时而能赢，时而会输，这就是经济。我听说你想向我推销东西？
J: Well, actually...it's not really a sales pitch...I have a vision I want to share with you! This idea could turn your company into a leader in the industry! 嗯，事实上……这不是真的推销……我想跟你分享一个很不错的想法！这个主意可以让你的公司变成这个产业的领军人物。
Jerry对Frank的商业头脑business sense，表示赞赏，说Frank 总是stay ahead of the curve, 走在别人前面，stay ahead of the curve，意思是比别人更有远见，更能预见未来走向。Frank则说，You win some and you lose some, that's business，做生意就是有赚有赔。you win some and you lose some，是很常用的一句话，意思是有输有赢，正常现象。Frank问Jerry想向自己推销什么。A sales pitch，是推销的意思。Jerry说有个投资想法，能让Frank的公司成为行业领军人, turn your company into a leader in the industry。Jerry的想法是什么呢？
F: Ok...you've got me interested. Let's hear the idea. 好的……你说的都让我动心了。让我听听是什么主意。
J: You know that old expression: strike while the iron is hot? 你知道那个古老的表达吗，乘热打铁？
F: Uh huh. 嗯嗯。
J: Well, it comes from blacksmiths. They would get the iron really hot so they could shape it. But, if the iron cooled down, the blacksmith couldn't beat it into the shape he needed. 嗯，这是铁匠说的话。当铁足够得热得时候，你就可以打铁让它成型。但是，如果铁冷却了，就不行了。
F: Ah...I never thought about where that expression came from...Makes sense: you've got to strike while the iron is hot. 啊……我从来没有想过这个表达是从哪儿来的……趁热打铁，有点道理啊。
Jerry问Frank听没听说过strike while the iron is hot，趁热打铁这句话。这句话是从打铁来的，铁匠打铁，一定要趁热，等铁冷却下来，就不行了。可这跟Jerry的投资想法有什么关系呢？我们下次继续听。

1 counselor   

n.顾问，法律顾问

参考例句：

• The counselor gave us some disinterested advice.顾问给了我们一些无私的忠告。
• Chinese commercial counselor's office in foreign countries.中国驻国外商务参赞处。

2 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。