投资顾问Jerry跟客户Frank见面，向他推销一种投资想法。
Jerry: I believe the iron is hot right now in the field of energy and transportation. Everyone is looking for new ways to reduce energy consumption.
F: Yeah, you're right. I bought a hybrid car last month...saves me as much as 50% in gasoline use!
J: Hybrids are the hottest thing on the market these days, and I think they fill a niche right now, but I'm betting that the future belongs to fully electric-powered vehicles.
Jerry 觉得，能源和交通是投资的正确方向，一定要趁热打铁。Frank表示赞成，说自己上个月刚买了一辆汽电混合动力车hybrid，耗油量少了一半。Jerry承认，汽电混合动力车现在很流行，有自己的市场定位niche, niche is spelled n-i-c-h-e，但他觉得，汽车今后还是要向纯电动的方向发展。
F: That might be true. But I manufacture in China. Millions of people there don't even have a gas-powered car yet.
J: Yes...but don't you see? This is a golden opportunity! Millions of middle class Chinese could potentially leapfrog over the old technologies and embrace electric vehicles.
F: It's an interesting idea. I know the government is supporting electric vehicles since many cities have serious air pollution.
Frank的工厂在中国，而中国很多人连汽油动力车都没有，哪谈得上什么纯电力车呢？Jerry却觉得，这是绝好的机会。This is a golden opportunity. 因为中国数以百万计的中产阶级都可以跨越陈旧的技术，直接利用新技术，这里所说的leapfrog蛙跳，是跃过，跨过的意思。Frank觉得，这种想法有道理，因为中国政府为了治理空气污染，非常支持电动汽车的发展。
J: Just imagine! You could make a lot of money AND help make China a better place for people to live.
F: So you want me to invest in producing electric cars?
J: I think the real area of interest here is batteries. Battery technology needs to catch up. We already have a lot of companies that can make the cars, but batteries are far too expensive.
开发电力汽车，这种既能赚钱，又能改善中国生活环境的事何乐而不为呢？Jerry补充说，他其实不是建议Frank投资电力汽车，The real area of interest is batteries，真有干头的是电池这一块，因为battery technology needs to catch up，电池技术还需要改进。Frank会被Jerry说服，投资电力汽车电池技术的开发吗？我们下次继续听。 |