归国留学生：海龟们的困境

 　　归国留学生：海龟们的困境

“I LEFT in 1980 with only three dollars in my pocket,” recalls Li Sanqi. Like most in that elite¹ group, he excelled, rising to a coveted² position at the University of Texas, while launching several technology firms. Now he is a senior executive at Huawei, a Chinese telecoms giant, enticed³ back by the chance to help build a world-class multinational⁴.

　　“我在1980年离开(中国)，口袋里仅揣着3美元，”李三奇(音译)回忆道。和那一批中大多数的精英们一样，他表现出众，并在曾催生过诸多科技公司的德克萨斯大学中晋升到一个令人垂涎的位置。现在他是中国电信巨头——华为公司的高级管理人员，他因中国需其帮忙以建立一个世界级跨国公司而被召唤回国。

　　Mr Li seems the perfect example of a sea turtle, orhai gui(in Mandarin⁵, the phrase “return across the sea” sounds similar to that animal’s name), long applauded in China for bringing back advanced skills. In the past such folk reliably reaped handsome premiums⁷ in the local job market, but no longer. Sea turtles are not universally praised, the wage differential is shrinking and some are even unable to find jobs. Wags say they should now be calledhai dai, or seaweed. This is a startling turn, given their past contributions.

　　李先生是海龟们的杰出代表。海龟，意为“海归”，常被用于赞誉那些从国外引进新技术回中国的留学生们。过去，海龟们曾因这种赞誉而在当地就业市场中获得可观收入。然而，好时光一去不复返。海龟们不再获得普遍好评，他们与当地劳动力的工资差距正在减少，有些甚至难以找到工作。坊间有称他们现在应该被称为海待(海带)。在这个转折点上，他们昔日辉煌不再。

　　Wang Huiyao of the China Western Returned Scholars Association, which celebrates its centenary this year, observes that sea turtles have returned in five waves. The first, in the 19th century, produced China’s first railway-builder and its first university president. The second and third, before 1949, produced many leaders of the Nationalist and Communist parties. The fourth wave, which went to the Soviet⁸ bloc⁹ in the 1950s, produced such leaders as Jiang Zemin and Li Peng.

　　王辉耀，是已走过百年历程的欧美同学会中的一员，他观察到共有五次海龟回国潮。第一次发生在19世纪，并为中国培育了第一条铁路设计者以及第一个大学校长;第二和第三次，发生在1949年以前，并为国共两党培育出许多领导人;第四次浪潮，和1950年被送往苏联阵营深造有关，并产生了如江泽民及李鹏等领导人。

　　The present wave began in 1978, and is by far the biggest. Since then, about 2.6m Chinese have gone abroad to study. The exodus¹⁰ has grown of late to about 400,000 per year. The majority stay overseas, but the 1.1m who have come back have made a difference. Mr Wang argues that whereas the first three waves revolutionised China and the fourth modernised it, the fifth wave is globalising the country.

　　现在我们正经历始于1978年的第五次浪潮，也是最大的一次。从那以后，约260万中国学子出国深造。最近，这批大量外出深造的队伍以每年40万人的速度增长。他们中的大部分留在海外，但是其中的110万人回国发展，希望创不同。王先生认为，如果说前三次留学归国浪潮有助于变革中国，第四次浪潮为了使中国走向现代化，那么第五次浪潮则为这个国家带来全球化。

　　Sea turtles are helping¹¹ to link China’s economy to the world. They founded leading technology firms such as Baidu. Many are senior managers in the local divisions of multinational firms. They are helping to connect China to commercial, political and popular culture abroad.

　　海龟们将中国经济与世界相连。他们成立了诸如百度等科技公司。他们中的大多数成为了跨国公司驻中国分公司的高级经理。他们正在从商业、政治以及流行文化上着手，帮助中国走向世界。

　　Why then is their importance declining? Several studies show that sea turtles on average must now wait longer to find a less senior post at a smaller salary premium⁶ over local hires. The weakening job market for all graduates is one reason. Another is that, as China’s domestic market has taken off, industries such as e-commerce have evolved in ways unfamiliar¹² to those who spent years abroad. Gary Rieschel of Qiming Ventures, a venture-capital firm, says that investors¹³ who a decade ago would have funded only those returning from Silicon¹⁴ Valley are now backing entrepreneurs from local universities, who are more familiar with local consumption patterns, computer-gaming habits and social media such as Weibo and Weixin.

　　他们的重要性为何会下降?多项研究表明，和本地员工相比，海龟们需要花更多时间才能晋升到一个有较小工资溢价的不那么高级的职位。其中，这也和应届生就业市场疲软有关。另一个原因，则是因为(海龟们)已和中国国内市场脱轨。诸如电商等行业近年来发生巨大变化，对于那些在外漂泊数年的海龟们而言，一切都不再熟悉。启明创投的Gary Rieschel提到，十年前到处网罗从硅谷回来的投资者们现在将目光转移到从当地大学毕业的企业家们身上，因为他们更熟悉当地的消费模式，电脑游戏习惯以及诸如微博以及微信等社会媒体的使用方法。

　　As China has boomed, its managers have started to shed their inferiority complex. A senior executive at Tencent, a Chinese social-media giant, says he still poaches sea turtles from foreign firms, but finds they have difficulty managing local engineers. A European investment banker says turtles often cling to quaint¹⁵ Western notions like transparency, meritocracy and ethics¹⁶, which puts them at a disadvantage in China’s hyper-Darwinian economy, where locals are more willing to do whatever the boss or client wants.

　　随着中国的蓬勃发展，经理人们开始逐渐摆脱他们的自卑感。中国社交媒体巨头腾讯公司的一位高级管理人员说，他仍从国外公司网络海龟，但是却发现他们难以管理掌控当地的工程师们。一位欧洲的投资银行家说，海龟们倾向坚持属于西方的(在中国看起来)“奇怪”的信条：如透明，任人唯贤以及职业道德等，而这让他们在中国超达尔文经济的竞争中处于劣势地位——在中国，人们愿意竭尽所能达成老板与客户所好。

　　Even foreign firms in China are getting pickier about whom they hire. Yannig Gourmelon of Roland Berger, a German management consultancy, believes the broader profit squeeze at multinational firms that killed off gilded¹⁷ expatriate packages has also sharply reduced the salary premium offered to sea turtles.

　　即使是中国的外资企业，也在聘请人员上越来越挑剔。德国管理咨询公司罗兰贝格的古默龙(Yannig Gourmelon)认为，跨国公司利润的大幅度减少，使那些镀金过的外派人员待遇下降，也是让海龟们获得更少薪金的原因。

　　C grade turtles

　　C级海龟

　　There is another explanation: many of the latest wave are of lower quality. In the past, only the very best were allowed to go out and so competition for government scholarships was fierce. But as incomes have risen, many families of mediocre¹⁸ Chinese students have spent a fortune on degrees from universities of dubious¹⁹ quality that do little to enhance their job prospects²⁰. Worse yet, partly because of the downturn in Western economies, many have come back without work experience.

　　现在还有另外一个解释：许多最近归国的海龟们(和之前相比)质量较低。过去，只有那些精英中的精英才被允许出国留学，因此，政府奖学金的竞争异常激烈;但是现在，随着收入的增加，许多平庸学生也能依靠财富获取一个质量可疑大学的文凭，而这对增加其职场竞争力，提高就业前景没有任何帮助。比这更遭的是，部分由于西方国家的经济衰落，海龟们归国全无工作经验。

　　Even as hordes²¹ of less employable expatriates return, the brightest remain abroad. A study funded by America’s National Science Foundation found that 92% of Chinese with American PhDs still lived in that country five years after graduation. For Indians, the figure was 81%, for South Koreans 41% and for Mexicans 32%.

　　即使现在(海龟们)以受雇外籍人士身份回国的数量越来越少，最聪明的仍留在国外。一个由美国国家科学基金会资助的研究发现，拥有美国博士学位的92%的中国人在毕业五年后仍留在美国。与此对应，这个情况对于印度人来说是81%，对于韩国人而言是41%，对于墨西哥人来说是32%。

　　To lure²² such superstars back, the Chinese government is pouring pots of money into a scheme called 1,000 Talents, which offers generous subsidies²³ and other perks²⁴. The powerful Organisation²⁵ Department of the Communist Party is urging regional leaders and university heads to meet quotas²⁶ for securing talent. In a forthcoming paper, Mr Wang and David Zweig of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology argue that China has been “perhaps the most assertive²⁷ government in the world” in such efforts.

　　为了吸引这些超级巨星们，中国政府投入大量资金到一个旨在为他们提供慷慨补贴及大量津贴的“千人计划”之中。中共组织部正敦促地方领导人以及大学校长们完成一定配额，以引进人才。在即将发表的论文中，王先生以及香港科技大学崔大伟(DavidZweig)认为，就这些方面而言，中国“也许是世界上最果断的政府”。

　　Will it work? It seems doubtful. Despite the policies, returning entrepreneurs hit many problems. Labour and land costs are rising, the theft of intellectual property is still rampant²⁸ and corruption²⁹ is widespread. Few top-tier scientists have returned. Mr Wang and Mr Zweig’s paper explains why: “If China wants to bring back the best, it needs a fundamental reform of its academic and scientific institutions” to break the power of politicised administrators³⁰ over hiring and funding.

　　这些做法有用吗?现在下结论还为时尚早。尽管有了这些政策，归国企业家们仍面临许多问题。劳动力成本以及土地资金费用正在上升。在顶级科学家们的圈子中，几乎没有人回国。在王先生和崔大伟的论文中解释了这一现象：“如果中国希望吸引最好的(科学家)回国，那么她需要对学术及科研机构进行根本性的改革”，并以此跳出行政长官雇佣和资助科研的怪圈。

　　The hard truth is that Chinese abroad often have ambivalent³¹ attitudes towards their homeland. The wife and children of Huawei’s Mr Li, the seemingly archetypal sea turtle, still live in America. Rather than just shovelling³² out subsidies, Chinese officials might do better to strengthen the rule of law, root out corruption and clean up China’s air, water and food. Sea turtles would be sure to notice.

　　一个残酷的事实是，远在国外的中国人对于他们的祖国常常怀有矛盾的心情。在华为工作的李先生，就是典型海龟中的一员，他的妻儿仍在美国居住。若想吸引海龟们回归，除提高补助外，中国官员也许还需要加强法治，根除腐败，净化空气，清洁水源，解决食品安全问题。如果他们真这样做了，海龟们一定注意得到。

　　Info: Jun 20-Jul 7, Shanghai; Jun 18-Jul 7, Beijing

　　展览信息：上海：6月20日-7月7日;北京：6月18日-7月7日

　　Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld’s hymn³³ to the little black jacket features more than 100 black and white images of Chanel muses³⁴ past and present modeling the iconic piece. There is a strong China presence in the lineup, ranging from actresses Zhang Ziyi and Zhou Xun, to pop star Li Yuchun and supermodel Sun Feifei.

　　这场展览堪称服装大师卡尔?拉格菲尔德致敬小黑外套的赞美诗，其中展出了从过去到现在，众香奈儿缪斯女神身穿经典小黑外套的黑白照，照片数量超过100张。照片中的中国军团阵容强大，从女星章子怡到周迅，再到歌星李宇春和超模孙菲菲不一而足。

　　Andy Warhol: 15 Minutes Eternal

　　安迪?沃霍尔：15分钟的永恒

　　Info: Apr 29-Jul 28, Shanghai

　　展览信息：上海 4月29日-7月28日

　　Launched in 2012 — the 25th anniversary of the iconic pop artist Andy Warhol’s death — the exhibition brings the largest ever collection of Warhol’s work to Asia. It features more than 300 paintings, photographs, drawings and 3-D installations, including iconic works such as Marilyn Monroe, Mao, Campbell’s Soup and Self-Portrait.

　　该展览于2012年正式启动，旨在纪念波普艺术大师安迪?沃霍尔去世25周年。本次展览将大量沃霍尔的作品带到亚洲展出，堪称有史以来最大型的安迪?沃霍尔作品展。其中展出了超过300幅油画、摄影、素描作品以及3D艺术，包括《玛丽莲?梦露》、《毛》、《金宝罐头汤》和《自画像》等个人标志性作品。

1 elite   

n.精英阶层；实力集团；adj.杰出的，卓越的

参考例句：

• The power elite inside the government is controlling foreign policy.政府内部的一群握有实权的精英控制着对外政策。
• We have a political elite in this country.我们国家有一群政治精英。

2 coveted   

adj.令人垂涎的；垂涎的，梦寐以求的v.贪求，觊觎(covet的过去分词)；垂涎；贪图

参考例句：

• He had long coveted the chance to work with a famous musician. 他一直渴望有机会与著名音乐家一起工作。
• Ther other boys coveted his new bat. 其他的男孩都想得到他的新球棒。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 enticed   

诱惑，怂恿( entice的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He enticed his former employer into another dice game. 他挑逗他原来的老板再赌一次掷骰子。
• Consumers are courted, enticed, and implored by sellers of goods and services. 消费者受到商品和劳务出售者奉承，劝诱和央求。

4 multinational   

adj.多国的，多种国籍的；n.多国籍公司，跨国公司

参考例句：

• The firm was taken over by a multinational consulting firm.这家公司被一个跨国咨询公司收购。
• He analyzed the relationship between multinational corporations and under-developed countries.他分析了跨国公司和不发达国家之间的关系。

5 Mandarin   

n.中国官话，国语，满清官吏；adj.华丽辞藻的

参考例句：

• Just over one billion people speak Mandarin as their native tongue.大约有十亿以上的人口以华语为母语。
• Mandarin will be the new official language of the European Union.普通话会变成欧盟新的官方语言。

6 premium   

n.加付款；赠品；adj.高级的；售价高的

参考例句：

• You have to pay a premium for express delivery.寄快递你得付额外费用。
• Fresh water was at a premium after the reservoir was contaminated.在水库被污染之后，清水便因稀而贵了。

7 premiums   

n.费用( premium的名词复数 )；保险费；额外费用；（商品定价、贷款利息等以外的）加价

参考例句：

• He paid premiums on his life insurance last year. 他去年付了人寿保险费。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Moves are afoot to increase car insurance premiums. 现正在酝酿提高汽车的保险费。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

9 bloc   

n.集团；联盟

参考例句：

• A solid bloc of union members support the decision.工会会员团结起来支持该决定。
• There have been growing tensions within the trading bloc.贸易同盟国的关系越来越紧张。

10 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

11 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

12 unfamiliar   

adj.陌生的，不熟悉的

参考例句：

• I am unfamiliar with the place and the people here.我在这儿人地生疏。
• The man seemed unfamiliar to me.这人很面生。

13 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

14 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

15 quaint   

adj.古雅的，离奇有趣的，奇怪的

参考例句：

• There were many small lanes in the quaint village.在这古香古色的村庄里，有很多小巷。
• They still keep some quaint old customs.他们仍然保留着一些稀奇古怪的旧风俗。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

17 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡

18 mediocre   

adj.平常的，普通的

参考例句：

• The student tried hard,but his work is mediocre. 该生学习刻苦，但学业平庸。
• Only lazybones and mediocre persons could hanker after the days of messing together.只有懒汉庸才才会留恋那大锅饭的年代。

19 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

20 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

21 hordes   

n.移动着的一大群( horde的名词复数 )；部落

参考例句：

• There are always hordes of tourists here in the summer. 夏天这里总有成群结队的游客。
• Hordes of journalists jostled for position outside the conference hall. 大群记者在会堂外争抢位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》

22 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

23 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

24 perks   

额外津贴，附带福利，外快( perk的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Perks offered by the firm include a car and free health insurance. 公司给予的额外待遇包括一辆汽车和免费健康保险。
• Are there any perks that go with your job? 你的工作有什么津贴吗？

25 organisation   

n.组织，安排，团体，有机休

参考例句：

• The method of his organisation work is worth commending.他的组织工作的方法值得称道。
• His application for membership of the organisation was rejected.他想要加入该组织的申请遭到了拒绝。

26 quotas   

（正式限定的）定量( quota的名词复数 )； 定额； 指标； 摊派

参考例句：

• In fulfilling the production quotas, John made rings round all his fellow workers. 约翰完成生产定额大大超过他的同事们。
• Quotas of the means of production are allocated by the higher administrative bodies to the lower ones. 物资指标按隶属关系分配。

27 assertive   

adj.果断的，自信的，有冲劲的

参考例句：

• She always speaks an assertive tone.她总是以果断的语气说话。
• China appears to have become more assertive in the waters off its coastline over recent years.在近些年，中国显示出对远方海洋的自信。

28 rampant   

adj.(植物)蔓生的；狂暴的，无约束的

参考例句：

• Sickness was rampant in the area.该地区疾病蔓延。
• You cannot allow children to rampant through the museum.你不能任由小孩子在博物馆里乱跑。

29 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

30 administrators   

n.管理者( administrator的名词复数 )；有管理（或行政）才能的人；（由遗嘱检验法庭指定的）遗产管理人；奉派暂管主教教区的牧师

参考例句：

• He had administrators under him but took the crucial decisions himself. 他手下有管理人员，但重要的决策仍由他自己来做。 来自辞典例句
• Administrators have their own methods of social intercourse. 办行政的人有他们的社交方式。 来自汉英文学 - 围城

31 ambivalent   

adj.含糊不定的；(态度等)矛盾的

参考例句：

• She remained ambivalent about her marriage.她对于自己的婚事仍然拿不定主意。
• Although she professed fear of the Russians,she seemed to have ambivalent feelings toward Philby himself.虽然她承认害怕俄国人，然而她似乎对菲尔比本人有一种矛盾的感情。

32 shovelling   

v.铲子( shovel的现在分词 )；锹；推土机、挖土机等的)铲；铲形部份

参考例句：

• The workers are shovelling the sand. 工人们正在铲沙子。 来自辞典例句
• They were shovelling coal up. 他们在铲煤。 来自辞典例句

33 hymn   

n.赞美诗，圣歌，颂歌

参考例句：

• They sang a hymn of praise to God.他们唱着圣歌，赞美上帝。
• The choir has sung only two verses of the last hymn.合唱团只唱了最后一首赞美诗的两个段落。

34 muses   

v.沉思，冥想( muse的第三人称单数 )；沉思自语说（某事）

参考例句：

• We have listened too long to the courtly muses of Europe. 欧洲那种御用的诗才，我们已经听够了。 来自辞典例句
• Shiki muses that this is, at least, probably the right atmosphere. 志贵觉得这至少是正确的气氛。 来自互联网