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(5)

McDonald's had by far the most efficient kitchen he'd ever seen, and he immediately lobbied the brothers to let him franchise¹ the business.

麦当劳餐厅拥有迄今为止他所见过的最高效的厨房，他立即游说俩兄弟让他特许经营这项生意。

In 1961 he bought out the co-founders for $2.7 million, and in 1965 he took the company public.

1961年，他以270万美元收购了联合创始人的全部产权，并于1965年将公司上市。

Today, McDonald's is the world's most recognizable restaurant empire and a formidable real estate venture

如今，麦当劳是世界上最知名的餐饮帝国，也是一家强大的房地产企业，

—its franchising² model has earned the company a fortune by acquiring and subsequently leasing the land beneath stores to their operators.

其特许经营模式通过收购并随后将店下土地出租给运营商，为公司赢得财富。

For a half-century, McDonald's greased its way onto every continent except Antarctica.

半个世纪以来，麦当劳在除南极洲以外的每片大陆上都大肆进行宣传。

It stayed ahead of scores of copycats, but the baby boomer loyalty³ that propped⁴ it up has steadily⁵ waned⁶.

它仍然领先于许多模仿者，但是支撑它的婴儿潮一代的忠诚度却在不断下降。

It's also become something of a cultural laggard⁷. The suitability of McDonald's in a looming⁸ Age of Kale was aggressively pondered in Super Size Me,

它也成为了一种文化落伍者。麦当劳是否能够适应即将到来的凯尔时代，在2004年的纪录片《超码的我》（Super-Size Me）中得到了积极的思考，

the 2004 documentary film in which director Morgan Spurlock attempts to subsist⁹ on the restaurant chain's food for a month.

在这部影片中，导演摩根·斯普洛克试图用这家连锁餐厅的食物生存一个月。

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He cast the company as an abhorrent¹⁰ peddler of heartburn and substandard bowel¹¹ movements.

他把这家公司说成是一个引起胃灼热和肠运动的令人憎恶的小贩。

There's also the inevitable¹² discomfort¹³ of being one of the world's largest purchasers of beef and poultry¹⁴.

作为世界上最大的牛肉和家禽购买者之一，也会引发不可避免的尴尬。

Younger generations concerned about the environmental cost of industrialized meat are opting¹⁵ for plant-based alternatives

关心工业化肉类环境成本的年轻一代正在选择以植物为基础的替代品，

such as Beyond Meat and the Impossible Burger, which is now available at Burger King.

比如美国人造肉“超越肉类”公司（Beyond Meat）和纯素“不可能汉堡”公司（Impossible Burger）的产品，现在都可以在汉堡王买到。

Animal-rights activists¹⁶ regularly erect¹⁷ giant inflatable chickens with bereaved¹⁸ expressions on the sidewalk outside McDonald's new head office in downtown Chicago.

在芝加哥市中心麦当劳新总部外的人行道上，保护动物权利的活跃分子经常竖起巨大的充气小鸡，上面画着丧亲的表情。

The company boasts a market valuation of $159 billion and an immense global reach, feeding about 1% of the human population daily.

该公司号称拥有1590亿美元的市场价值和巨大的全球影响力，每天养活约1%的人口。

But even in the fast-food realm it dominates, its share of the U.S. market has shrunk to 13.7% from 15.6% in 2013, according to data from Euromonitor International,

但是据欧睿信息咨询公司（Euromonitor International）的数据显示，即使在主导的快餐领域，其在美国市场的份额也从2013年的15.6%缩水至13.7%，

ceding¹⁹ ground to Pret a Manger and Panera Bread Co.

让位给快餐店 Pret A Manger和美国连锁面包店巨头Panera Bread。

1 franchise   

n.特许，特权，专营权，特许权

参考例句：

• Catering in the schools is run on a franchise basis.学校餐饮服务以特许权经营。
• The United States granted the franchise to women in 1920.美国于1920年给妇女以参政权。

2 franchising   

v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Franchising has costs as well as benefits for the economy. 对整个经济来说特许经销有利也有弊。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• Franchising, a practice adaptable to small business, has increased greatly in recent years. 近年来适用于小企业的特许经销发展得很快。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

3 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

4 propped   

支撑，支持，维持( prop的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He sat propped up in the bed by pillows. 他靠着枕头坐在床上。
• This fence should be propped up. 这栅栏该用东西支一支。

5 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

6 waned   

v.衰落( wane的过去式和过去分词 )；（月）亏；变小；变暗淡

参考例句：

• However,my enthusiasm waned.The time I spent at exercises gradually diminished. 然而，我的热情减退了。我在做操上花的时间逐渐减少了。 来自《用法词典》
• The bicycle craze has waned. 自行车热已冷下去了。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 laggard   

n.落后者；adj.缓慢的，落后的

参考例句：

• In village,the laggard living condition must be improved.在乡村落后的生活条件必须被改善。
• Businesshas to some degree been a laggard in this process.商业在这个进程中已经慢了一拍。

8 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

9 subsist   

vi.生存，存在，供养

参考例句：

• We are unable to subsist without air and water.没有空气和水我们就活不下去。
• He could subsist on bark and grass roots in the isolated island.在荒岛上他只能靠树皮和草根维持生命。

10 abhorrent   

adj.可恶的，可恨的，讨厌的

参考例句：

• He is so abhorrent,saying such bullshit to confuse people.他这样乱说，妖言惑众，真是太可恶了。
• The idea of killing animals for food is abhorrent to many people.许多人想到杀生取食就感到憎恶。

11 bowel   

n.肠(尤指人肠)；内部，深处

参考例句：

• Irritable bowel syndrome seems to affect more women than men.女性比男性更易患肠易激综合征。
• Have you had a bowel movement today?你今天有排便吗？

12 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

13 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

14 poultry   

n.家禽，禽肉

参考例句：

• There is not much poultry in the shops. 商店里禽肉不太多。
• What do you feed the poultry on? 你们用什么饲料喂养家禽?

15 opting   

v.选择，挑选( opt的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• What courses are most students opting for? 多数学生选什么课程？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Wells doesn't rule out opting out and then re-signing with Houston. 威尔斯没有排除跳出合同再与火箭重签的可能。 来自互联网

16 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 erect   

n./v.树立，建立，使竖立；adj.直立的，垂直的

参考例句：

• She held her head erect and her back straight.她昂着头，把背挺得笔直。
• Soldiers are trained to stand erect.士兵们训练站得笔直。

18 bereaved   

adj.刚刚丧失亲人的v.使失去（希望、生命等）( bereave的过去式和过去分词)；（尤指死亡）使丧失（亲人、朋友等）；使孤寂；抢走（财物）

参考例句：

• The ceremony was an ordeal for those who had been recently bereaved. 这个仪式对于那些新近丧失亲友的人来说是一种折磨。
• an organization offering counselling for the bereaved 为死者亲友提供辅导的组织

19 ceding   

v.让给，割让，放弃( cede的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He was ceding line but more slowly all the time. 他正在放出钓索，然而越来越慢了。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海
• Settlement would require ceding some Egyptian territory. 解决办法将要求埃及让出一些领土。 来自辞典例句