理查德·布兰森提及越南企业

AS IT IS 2015-09-15 Richard Branson Speaks to Vietnamese Businesses 理查德·布兰森提及越南企业

In the 1960s, Richard Branson quit high school and started a magazine. He hoped he could change the world by using the magazine to protest¹ the Vietnam War. Fifty years later, Mr. Branson is visiting Vietnam to tell people they can change the world in another way.  This change can come through free enterprise².

Mr. Branson is best known as the founder³ of the company called the Virgin⁴ Group, which includes air travel and music businesses.

At a conference in Ho Chi Minh City, he said that this money made it possible for him to pay for his philanthropic interests. Professional success can come in many ways, Mr. Branson said. But people who reach success as business leaders have a responsibility to invest⁵ their money in their community.

"You've got to make sure you use that money to tackle⁶ problems in your community, in your country," he told an audience of 7,000 people. Some people paid as much as $3,500 to meet with Mr. Branson. That is a large amount of money in a country with per capita income of $2,000 a year.

Conferences like these are known as "self-help" classes. They involve speakers suggesting that people can improve themselves or solve their problems without the help of others. Mr. Branson's style of business self-help lecture is very popular in Vietnam. Ninety percent of businesses in the country are small or medium size. And Vietnamese often express the desire to work for themselves rather than a large company.

Most Vietnamese already accept capitalism⁷. Last year, the Pew Research Center, a U.S. organization which studies public opinion, reported 95 percent of Vietnamese agree that people are better off in a free market economy. They agreed with this position even if it meant some people are rich and some are poor. The Center reported no other country, including the US, showed that level of support for capitalism.

However, Mr. Branson said he hoped Vietnam's rising business leaders would use their wealth and power for social causes. On his own, Mr. Branson is involved in many causes, including education and internet access for the poor.

The change from communism to free markets in Vietnam started in the 1980s. Many of the people who attended saw this event as an expert lesson in areas like how to lead, sales and wealth creation⁸.

Bui Minh Hao is the director of Daicata International, a cosmetics⁹ company. Mr. Bui attended the conference to learn about management, sales and making money from the speakers.

"Everything is new in Vietnam,” he said. "So in Vietnam really we have to learn the new model from another country. From Singapore or [the] USA or Europe… We have to learn the new things, the updated things."

Words in This Story

free enterprise – n. a system in which private businesses are able to compete with each other with little control by the government

philanthropic – adj. related¹¹ to giving money and time to help make life better for other people

per capita income – n. the amount of money in a country divided by the population

capitalism – n. a way of organizing an economy so that the things that are used to make and transport products  are owned by individual people and companies rather than by the government

free market – adj. an economic market or system in which prices are based on competition among private businesses and not controlled by a government

communism – n. a way of organizing a society in which the government owns the things that are used to make and transport products and there is no privately¹² owned property

cosmetic¹⁰ – n. a substance such as a cream, lotion, or powder that you put on your face or body to improve your appearance

1 protest   

v.反对，抗议；宣称；n.抗议；宣称

参考例句：

• I can't pass the matter by without a protest.我不能对此事视而不见，我要提出抗议。
• We translated his silence as a protest.我们把他的沉默解释为抗议。

2 enterprise   

n.企业单位，商业公司，事业，计划

参考例句：

• They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
• The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 virgin   

n.处女，未婚女子；adj.未经使用的；未经开发的

参考例句：

• Have you ever been to a virgin forest?你去过原始森林吗？
• There are vast expanses of virgin land in the remote regions.在边远地区有大片大片未开垦的土地。

5 invest   

v.投资；投入(时间等)；授予，赋予

参考例句：

• I have decided to invest in a new car.我已经决定买一辆新汽车。
• The best time to invest is now.现在是投资的最佳时机。

6 tackle   

n.工具，复滑车，扭倒；v.处理，抓住

参考例句：

• Don't forget to bring your sports tackle with you tomorrow.别忘了明天带上你的体育用具。
• We have gained sufficient experience to tackle this problem.我们已经有了足够的经验来处理这个问题。

7 capitalism   

n.资本主义

参考例句：

• The essence of his argument is that capitalism cannot succeed.他的论点的核心是资本主义不能成功。
• Capitalism began to develop in Russia in the 19th century.十九世纪资本主义在俄国开始发展。

8 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

9 cosmetics   

n.化妆品

参考例句：

• We sell a wide range of cosmetics at a very reasonable price. 我们以公道的价格出售各种化妆品。
• Cosmetics do not always cover up the deficiencies of nature. 化妆品未能掩饰天生的缺陷。

10 cosmetic   

n.化妆品；adj.化妆用的；装门面的；装饰性的

参考例句：

• These changes are purely cosmetic.这些改变纯粹是装饰门面。
• Laughter is the best cosmetic,so grin and wear it!微笑是最好的化妆品，所以请尽情微笑吧！

11 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

12 privately   

adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地

参考例句：

• Some ministers admit privately that unemployment could continue to rise.一些部长私下承认失业率可能继续升高。
• The man privately admits that his motive is profits.那人私下承认他的动机是为了牟利。