Chris向一家香港公司的老板Hank 和部门主管Rebecca介绍申请国际认证的程序。首先是安全，其中还有防范恐怖袭击的要求。老板Hank表示不解。
C: Well, after the terrorist attacks on September 11th, all the rules and regulations have become much stricter. If you ship a container to the United States, it could possibly be used by bad guys to send dangerous materials.
R: So what kind of precautions do we need to take?
C: You need to have a 24-hour surveillance and alarm system set up, and the doors and gates should be monitored by guards to make sure only those who should be in the factory are in the factory.
H: That's pretty reasonable and I think we can handle that.
Chris解释说，九一一恐怖袭击事件发生后，保安方面的要求严格了很多。要得到国际认证，需要安装全天候的监视和警报系统，24-hour surveillance and alarm system; 门口需要警卫站岗。老板Hank觉得。这些要求很合理，pretty reasonable, 公司完全可以做到。We can handle that. Chris继续说，
C: OK, let's move on to the next point: treatment of workers.
H: You know, I don't mean to be rude, but why do U.S. companies need to know how we treat our workers? That's an internal affair, isn't it?
C: I can understand your frustration, but nowadays it's a big issue. A few years ago, many activist groups began targeting the big American retailers. They demanded that the big sellers prove that the cheap items they are selling weren't made by child laborers or through other unethical practices.
除去安全保障措施外，还有工人待遇的问题。Hank不明白，自己公司的事情，internal affair，美国公司为什么要插手。Chris解释说，这是因为几年前，一些人权活动团体开始针对美国一些主要零售商家，要求他们证明，自己出售的廉价商品，没有使用童工child laborers, 也没有其它unethical practices不正当的做法。
R: So now any company that sells to the big retailers has to prove they are above board?
C: Yep. And it's not just America. When you sell to Europe you have to do the same thing—in fact, the European laws are even stricter!
H: Well, I guess I can understand their position, but it is quite a hassle.
R: Yeah, but it's worth it. As soon as we're certified we can sell our goods all across Europe and the U.S.
因此，现在凡是这些美国零售商的供货商家，都必须证明，They are above board. 他们的经营方式是光明正大的。虽然申请国际认证很麻烦，it is quite a hassle. 可是Rebecca觉得值，it's worth it. 因为有了国际认证，跟美国和欧洲公司做生意就可以畅通无阻了。 |