英语小达人 220 Prepare Three Envelopes

 　　Prepare Three Envelopes

　　准备三个信封

　　A bright young man had just been hired as the new general manager of a large firm. The manager who was stepping down met with him privately¹ and handed him three numbered envelopes.

　　一个精明的年轻人刚被任命为一家大公司的总经理。前任经理私下里见了他并给了他三个编了号的信封。

　　"Open one if you encounter a crisis you don't think you can solve," he said.

　　“当你遇到自己无法化解的危机时就打开一个信封，”前任经理说。

　　Well, things went along pretty smoothly², but six months later, everything went wrong. Sales took a nosedive and he was really catching³ a lot of heat from the board.

　　刚开始一切进展顺利，可是6个月后，所有事情都变糟了。因为销售额骤降，新任的总经理备受董事会的指责。

　　At his wit's end, he remembered the three envelopes in his drawer. He hurried back to his office and took out the first envelope.

　　全然束手无策之时，他想起了放在抽屉里的三个信封。他赶紧回到办公室，拿出第一个信封。

　　The message inside read, "Blame your predecessor⁴."

　　里面的纸上写着：“抨击你的前任。”

　　The new manager called a press conference and tactfully laid the blame at the feet of the previous general manager. Satisfied with his comments, the board, the press, and Wall Street responded positively⁵, sales picked up, stock prices rose and the problem was soon behind him.

　　新任总经理召开了一个新闻发布会，圆通得体地把责任推到了前任总经理的身上。董事会满意他的解释，媒体和华尔街也对他的说辞做出了下面的反应，销售额上涨，股票也回升了，问题很快就得到了解决。

　　About a year later, the firm was again experiencing a slight dip in sales, combined with serious product problems. Having learned from his previous experience, the manager wasted no time in opening the second envelope.

　　又过了一年左右，公司的销售额又出现了小幅下降，还有严重的产品质量问题。有了上次的经验，总经理马上就拆开了第二个信封。

　　The message read, "Reorganize."

　　里面的纸上写着：“重组。”

　　This he did, and again the company quickly rebounded⁶.

　　他这样做了，公司很快就重振声威了。

　　After several consecutive⁷ profitable quarters, the company once again fell on difficult times. The manager went to his office, closed the door and opened the third envelope.

　　在连续几个季度赢利后，公司再次陷入危机。总经理回到办公室，锁上门，打开了第三个信封。

　　The simple message said, "Prepare three envelopes!"

　　里面的纸上写着简单的几个字：“准备三个信封！”

　　重点讲解：

　　1. step down

　　辞职；下台；让位；

　　eg. Judge Ito said that if his wife was called as a witness, he would step down as trial judge.

　　伊藤法官说，如果他的妻子被传作证，他将不再担任初审法官。

　　eg. Many would prefer to see him step aside in favour of a younger man.

　　很多人更希望看到他下台，以让位给更年轻的人。

　　2. go along

　　进展；进行；

　　eg. My life is going along nicely.

　　我的生活一帆风顺。

　　eg. Things were going along fairly well.

　　事情进展十分顺利。

　　3. at sb's wit end

　　智穷才尽；黔驴技穷；无计可施

　　We row a lot and we never have time on our own. I'm at my wit's end.

　　我们经常争吵，从无在一起的时间，我真是没有办法了。

　　eg. He had approached every friend and acquaintance for help in vain and he was at his wit's end.

　　他曾向每位朋友和熟人求助，但毫无结果,那时他真是一筹莫展。

　　4. waste no time in doing sth.

　　立即；马上；

　　eg. Tom wasted no time in telling me why he had come.

　　汤姆马上告诉了我他来的原因。

　　eg. If you are so certain that these newsletters contain nothing of interest, waste no time in reading them.

　　如果你确定这些通讯没有任何令你感兴趣的东西,那就不要浪费时间去读它。

1 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。

2 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

3 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。

4 predecessor   

n.前辈，前任

参考例句：

• It will share the fate of its predecessor.它将遭受与前者同样的命运。
• The new ambassador is more mature than his predecessor.新大使比他的前任更成熟一些。

5 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

6 rebounded   

弹回( rebound的过去式和过去分词 )； 反弹； 产生反作用； 未能奏效

参考例句：

• The ball rebounded from the goalpost and Owen headed it in. 球从门柱弹回，欧文头球将球攻进。
• The ball rebounded from his racket into the net. 球从他的球拍上弹回网中。

7 consecutive   

adj.连续的，联贯的，始终一贯的

参考例句：

• It has rained for four consecutive days.已连续下了四天雨。
• The policy of our Party is consecutive.我党的政策始终如一。