英文早读第254篇，选自巴菲特年度信，友才翻译。
Our Workers Compensation operation suffered a severe loss when Frank DeNardo died last year at 37. Frank instinctively thought like an underwriter. He was a superb technician and a fierce competitor; in short order he had straightened out major problems at the California Workers Compensation Division of National Indemnity. Dan Grossman, who originally brought Frank to us, stepped in immediately after Frank's death to continue that operation, which now utilizes Redwood Fire and Casualty, another Berkshire subsidiary, as the insuring vehicle.
我们的工伤保险业务由于弗兰克德纳尔多去年37岁早逝损失重大。弗兰克本能地像一名保险经理。他是出色的技术专家和凶猛地对手；很短时间就纠正了我们国家保障公司在加州工伤保险分公司的主要问题。丹格鲁斯曼，最初将弗兰克引荐给我们，在弗兰克去世后就立刻来接管了运营，现在以伯克希尔另一家子公司红木火灾与意外保险公司作为承保公司主体。
Our major Workers Compensation operation, Cypress Insurance Company, run by Milt Thornton, continues its outstanding record. Year after year Milt, like Phil Lieshce, runs an underwriting operation that far outspaces his competition. In the industry he is admired and copied, but not matched.
我们主要的工伤保险业务，由米尔特桑顿运营的塞浦路斯保险公司继续创造出色的记录。米尔特像菲尔来舍尔一样，年复一年的远超竞争对手经营着承保业务。在这个行业他是令人钦佩并被追寻的，但是无人能及。
Overall, we look for a significant decline in insurance volume in 1981 along with a poorer underwriting result. We expect underwriting experience somewhat superior to that of the industry but, of course, so does most of the industry. There will be some disappointments.
总的来说，我们预计1981年保险规模会大幅下降并且有更糟的承保业绩。我们预期承保开展会比行业更好，当然，行业中大部分公司差不多也这么认为。届时肯定会有些令人失望的情况出现。
116.instinctively：本能的；自然而然的
117.fierce：猛烈地；凶猛地
118.straighten：挺直；端正；变直
