考研英语阅读素材：如何做一个成功的老板？

　　今天给大家带来的内容是：如何做一个成功的老板？

　　(本文选自《经济学人》20201212期)

　　背景介绍：

　　常言道，好人没好报。在如今这个唯利是图的社会里，我们经常会发现，做个好人往往不会有好下场。但事实真的如此吗?大卫·博达尼斯在其撰写的新书《公平的艺术》中给出了他的答案。

　　Why fair play pays

　　为何公道自会有回报?

　　A new book argues that decency pays off in business as well as in life

　　一本新书认为，无论是做生意还是在生活中，诚以待人都将获得回报

　　Nice guys finish last. That pithy motto was coined by Leo Durocher, a baseball manager noted for exulting at injuring his opponents and for cheating his players at cards.

　　好人没好报。这句至简格言出自棒球经理里奥·杜罗切之口，他以伤害对手时狂喜以及与球员打牌时作弊而闻名。

　　In 1969 his Chicago Cubs had a big lead in the closing weeks of the season, but he so alienated his squad (and the umpires) that the team failed to make it to the World Series. In his case, nasty guys finished behind.

　　1969年，他所带领的芝加哥小熊队在赛季末的最后几周占据着巨大的领先优势，但由于他与球员(以及裁判)关系处得太差，以至于球队最终未能进入世界大赛。我们从他身上可以看到，坏人是没有好报的。

　　This is one of the tales told by David Bodanis, a writer best known for his science books, who has turned his attention to the issue of how leaders should exercise their authority. The core message in his book, “The Art of Fairness”, can be found in the subtitle: “The power of decency in a world turned mean”.

　　这是大卫·博达尼斯(一位以科学著作而闻名的作家)讲述的故事之一，他将话题转向了领导者应该如何行使职权的问题上。从他撰写的《公平的艺术》一书的副标题中，我们可以看到他想要表达的核心观点：“在这个卑鄙的世界里，诚以待人所具有的力量。”

　　The Empire State Building was constructed in just 13 months, and that included the dismantling of the Waldorf-Astoria hotel that sat on the site. Paul Starrett, the builder, treated his workers rather well by the standards of the time, paying much attention to safety and paying employees on days when it was too windy to work. Daily wages were more than double the usual rate and hot meals were provided on site.

　　帝国大厦的建造仅仅用了13月的时间，其中还包括拆掉原址上华尔道夫酒店的时间。以当时的标准来衡量，承建商保罗·斯塔雷特给予工人以优厚的待遇，他非常注意安全问题，即使在风大无法施工时也会给工人们发工资。这些工人拿到的工资是他们平日里的两倍多，此外工地上还会供应热乎的饭菜。

　　The concept is known as “efficiency wages”. Companies that compensate workers well and treat them fairly can attract better, more motivated staff. Unlike most construction projects, the Empire State Building had low staff turnover, and workers suggested productivity improvements such as building a miniature railway line to bring bricks to the site.

　　这一概念被称为“效率工资”。那些给予员工优厚报酬和公平待遇的公司能够吸引更优秀、更有干劲的员工前来。不同于大多数工程建设项目，帝国大厦项目有着很低的工人流动率，工人们甚至还会提出建议以提高生产率，例如，有人建议修建一条微型铁路，以便将砖块运送至工地。

　　But Starrett was not naively generous; he hired accountants to patrol the works, checking that all materials were accounted for, and staff attendance was recorded four times a day.

　　但斯塔雷特并不是个傻大粗老板;他雇用了会计师在工地巡查，核查材料与账目是否对得上，并对工人每天4次出勤情况进行记录。

　　The author contrasts Starrett’s story with the tale of Eastern Air Travel, an airline built by Eddie Rickenbacker, a pioneer aviator who had granted mechanics a 40-hour week, profit-related pay and a pension.

　　波达尼斯将斯塔雷特的故事与美国东方航空公司的故事进行了对比。东方航空是由飞行先驱埃迪·瑞肯巴克创立的一家航空公司，他只要求机修工每周工作40个小时，并为他们提供了与利润挂钩的工资和退休金。

　　But when Frank Lorenzo took over the company in the 1980s, he cut wages, alienated the staff and pursued a policy of asset-stripping the company. The workers went on strike in protest and Eastern went bankrupt.

　　但随着弗兰克·洛伦佐在上世纪80年代接管东方航空后，洛伦佐削减了员工工资，与员工逐渐疏远，并推行了剥离公司资产的政策。于是，工人们开始罢工抗议，东方航空最终破产。

　　Another contrast cited by the author is that between Steve Ballmer, the hard-charging chief executive of Microsoft notorious for his towering rages, and his more emollient successor, Satya Nadella.

　　作者还提到了另一个例子，即微软前首席执行官(生性强硬、以大发雷霆而闻名的史蒂夫·鲍尔默)与他的继任者(性格相对温和的萨蒂亚·纳德拉)之间的对比。

　　Mr Ballmer so disliked Apple that he seized an iPhone from a subordinate in full view of the humiliated employee and pretended to stomp on it. On his watch Microsoft missed out on several promising business opportunities.

　　鲍尔默非常厌恶苹果公司，他甚至会一把夺过员工手中的苹果手机，假装用脚踩，以对其羞辱。在他的带领下，微软错过了几个颇有前途的商业机会。

　　On the day Mr Ballmer announced his departure the share price jumped by 7.5%. Under Mr Nadella, Microsoft has successfully shifted its attention to cloud-based services and even briefly regained the title of the world’s most valuable listed company.

　　在鲍尔默宣布辞去首席执行官一职的当天，微软的股价上涨了7.5%。而在纳德拉的领导下，微软成功地将业务重心转向了云服务，甚至一度重新成为全球市值最高的上市公司(虽然只保持了短暂的一段时间)。

　　(红色标注词为重难点词汇)

　　重难点词汇：

　　pithy [ˈpɪθi] adj. 精练的;简洁有力的

　　alienate [ˈeɪliəneɪt] v. 疏远;离间;让与

　　umpire [ˈʌmpaɪər] n. 裁判员;仲裁人 v. 仲裁;当裁判

　　dismantle [dɪsˈmæntl] v. 拆除;取消;解散

　　compensate [ˈkɑːmpenseɪt] v. 补偿;赔偿;抵消

　　notorious [noʊˈtɔːriəs] adj. 声名狼藉的;臭名昭著的

　　emollient [ɪˈmɑːliənt] adj. 润肤的;镇痛的 n. 润肤霜;镇痛膏

　　stomp [stɑːmp] vt. 跺脚;践踏 n. 跺脚;重踩