商业周刊:麦当劳CEO史蒂夫·伊斯特布鲁克使麦当劳陷入冰寒时节(3)

"I'm a Quarter Pounder guy," he says with a calculated slowness not unlike Daniel Day-Lewis's "I'm an oil man" in There Will Be Blood.

“我是个汉堡狂，”他说得很慢，一副深思熟虑的样子，这和《血色将至》中丹尼尔·戴·刘易斯说“我是一个石油商”时的样子没什么差别。

The 52-year-old British CEO has the tall, broad frame of a rugby player, with thick waves of black hair and piercing blue eyes.

这位52岁的英国首席执行官身材高大，体格健硕，身材很像橄榄球运动员，他有着浓密的黑发和犀利的蓝眼睛。

He's described as an inscrutable blend of mild manners and obsessive¹ competition by members of his fresh-faced leadership team.

其全新的领导团队将他描述为，是拥有温和的举止和执著的竞争意识的令人难以捉摸的混合体。

(Upon taking the top job in 2015, Easterbrook fired or let go 11 of the 14 most senior executives he inherited.)

（伊斯特布鲁克在2015年就任首席执行官后，解雇了他接手的14位高管中的11位。）

He expects the delivery business to account for about $4 billion in sales by the end of this year.

他预计，到今年年底，配送业务的销售额将达到约40亿美元。

Catching² up to Burger King on delivery would be the first item on a long list of improvements Easterbrook already had in mind for McDonald's.

在伊斯特布鲁克为麦当劳准备的一长串改进计划中，赶超汉堡王将是第一项任务。

Broadly, he wants to reconfigure his restaurants into enormous data processors, complete with machine learning and mobile technology, essentially³ building the Amazon of excess sodium⁴.

大体上，他希望将自己的餐厅重新配置成巨大的数据处理器，配备机器学习和移动技术，基本上就是建立像亚马逊公司那样的机制。

Franchisees⁵ have balked⁶ at the costs of implementing⁷ his vision, which includes drive-thrus equipped with license-plate scanners (the better to recall one's previous purchases)

特许经营商对实现他的愿景的成本犹豫不决，其中包括配备有车牌扫描仪（最好能回忆起以前购买的商品）的汽车餐厅

and touchscreen kiosks that could ultimately suggest menu items based on the weather.

和最终可以根据天气来建议菜单的触摸屏式服务亭。

So far, the strategy has proved compelling:

到目前为止，这一战略已被证明令人不可抗拒：

Only a handful of other companies in the S&P 500,

自2015年以来，只有少数标准普尔500指数中的其他公司的业绩超过了麦当劳的收益，

almost all of them California technology suppliers such as semiconductor⁸ giant Advanced Micro Devices and chipmaker Nvidia, have outperformed McDonald's returns since 2015.

这些公司几乎都是加州的技术供应商，如半导体巨头超微半导体公司（Advanced Micro Devices）和芯片制造商英伟达（Nvidia）。

The gains have generously rewarded institutional investors⁹ like BlackRock Inc. and Vanguard Group Inc., who've long been among the chain's largest backers.

这些巨头对资产管理公司贝莱德（BlackRock Inc.）和美国先锋投资集团（Vanguard Group Inc.）等机构投资者进行慷慨地回报。这些公司长期以来一直是麦当劳的最大支持者。

Easterbrook wants to reclaim¹⁰ the company's image as a beacon¹¹ of innovation, a designation McDonald's hasn't enjoyed since roughly the Truman administration.

伊斯特布鲁克希望重新树立公司作为创新标志的形象，这是自杜鲁门政府执政以来麦当劳从未享有的称号。

1 obsessive   

adj. 着迷的, 强迫性的, 分神的

参考例句：

• Some people are obsessive about cleanliness.有些人有洁癖。
• He's becoming more and more obsessive about punctuality.他对守时要求越来越过分了。

2 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

3 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

4 sodium   

n.（化）钠

参考例句：

• Out over the town the sodium lights were lit.在外面，全城的钠光灯都亮了。
• Common salt is a compound of sodium and chlorine.食盐是钠和氯的复合物。

5 franchisees   

n.特许经营人( franchisee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Works on these franchisees' facilities were moving ahead rapidly. 这些专营设施的工程正迅速推展。 来自互联网
• Another good source of information about a franchise is other franchisees. 另一个了解特许经营的可靠信息源是其他经营者。 来自互联网

6 balked   

v.畏缩不前，犹豫( balk的过去式和过去分词 )；（指马）不肯跑

参考例句：

• He balked in his speech. 他忽然中断讲演。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They balked the robber's plan. 他们使强盗的计划受到挫败。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

7 implementing   

v.实现( implement的现在分词 )；执行；贯彻；使生效

参考例句：

• -- Implementing a comprehensive drug control strategy. ――实行综合治理的禁毒战略。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• He was in no hurry about implementing his unshakable principle. 他并不急于实行他那不可动摇的原则。 来自辞典例句

8 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

9 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

10 reclaim   

v.要求归还，收回；开垦

参考例句：

• I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
• You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时，必须出示这张票子。

11 beacon   

n.烽火，（警告用的）闪火灯，灯塔

参考例句：

• The blink of beacon could be seen for miles.灯塔的光亮在数英里之外都能看见。
• The only light over the deep black sea was the blink shone from the beacon.黑黢黢的海面上唯一的光明就只有灯塔上闪现的亮光了。