大家好!这周的“每周一段”整理、改编自 2018 年 12 月 01 日《经济学人》Working for a purpose 一文。
一、文本
An influential paper by Oliver Hart and Luigi Zingales last year argued that profitability is not the only criterion that should apply and that shareholders’ welfare is affected by a broad range of factors, including social and environmental conditions. Mr Mayer takes a similar line, arguing that companies have relationships with many more people than just shareholders. As well as financial capital, they use several other types—human, intellectual, material (buildings and machinery), natural (the environment) and social (public goods like infrastructure).
译文:
去年,奥利弗•哈特(Oliver Hart)和路易吉•津加莱斯(Luigi Zingales)撰写了一篇颇具影响力的论文,他们在论文中指出:盈利能力不是衡量股东福利的唯一标准,股东福利应受多种因素影响,包括社会和环境因素。梅耶先生与他们观点类似,他认为公司不仅仅与股东,还与更多人有关系。除了金融资本,公司还使用其他类型的资本ーー人力、智力、物质(建筑物和机械)、自然(环境)和社会(基础设施等公共财产)。
文章原文:
The modern company has morphed into a “money monster” enslaved to the doctrine of shareholder value. That is the thesis of a new book by Colin Mayer, a professor at the Saïd Business School in Oxford. It is the latest challenge to the principle enunciated by Milton Friedman, an economist: namely, that “there is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game.” An influential paper by Oliver Hart and Luigi Zingales last year argued that profitability is not the only criterion that should apply and that shareholders’ welfare is affected by a broad range of factors, including social and environmental conditions.
Mr Mayer takes a similar line, arguing that companies have relationships with many more people than just shareholders. As well as financial capital, they use several other types—human, intellectual, material (buildings and machinery), natural (the environment) and social (public goods like infrastructure).
二、段落解读
这段话整理、改编自《经济学人》Business 板块 Bartleby 专栏的 Working for a purpose 一文。文章主要概括并评价了牛津大学赛德商学院科林•梅耶教授即将出版的新书 Prosperity: Better Business Makes the Greater Good 中的观点。梅耶教授认为,企业不应该完全由盈利驱动,应该承担相应的社会责任。
这个段落为观点综述/引用类写作提供了一个参考模板。全段共 3 句,第 1 句概括了一篇论文的观点,第 2 句写另一个作者也持有相似的观点,第 3 句稍微补充后者的观点。语言方面,注意“take a similar line”的意思是“观点相同”,英文中“观点”也常常用“line of reasoning”;
这个段落对想要使用英文写议论文、文献综述、书评的同学尤其有帮助。如果没有这些写作需求,掌握基本的句式即可。
三、句子学习
临摹:提炼句型+造句
临摹句子 1:An influential paper by Oliver Hart and Luigi Zingales last year argued that profitability is not the only criterion that should apply and that shareholders’ welfare is affected by a broad range of factors, including social and environmental conditions.
提炼出句型:An influential paper by X argued that Y.
造句示范:
The End of History and the Last Man, an influential book by American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama, argued that democracy is the best and final form of government.
临摹句子 2:Mr Mayer takes a similar line, arguing that companies have relationships with many more people than just shareholders.
提炼出句型:X takes a similar line, arguing that Y.
造句示范:
The Economist takes a similar line, arguing that the Trump administration is making American politics less predictable.
临摹句子 3:As well as financial capital, they use several other types—human, intellectual, material (buildings and machinery), natural (the environment) and social (public goods like infrastructure).
提炼出句型:As well as X, Y use several other types—A, B, and C.(提炼句型的时候可以有一定的灵活性。注意破折号后面的单词是形容词、具有形容词属性的名词或普通名词。)
造句示范:
a) As well as Oxford English Dictionary, students use several other alternatives—Longman, Merriam Webster, and Collins.
b) As well as technical skills, competent professionals should have several others—problem-solving, communication, and management. (communication 和 management 虽然都是名词,但可以用在 skills 前面起修饰作用。)
四、段落仿写
由于这周“每周一段”的仿写难度较大,需要练习者头脑中有一定的知识储备,所以提供一个中文版本:
创新工场董事长兼首席执行官李开复在他的新书《AI·未来》中指出,中美之间的人工智能大战不可避免,而且中国会从中取胜。谷歌前 CEO 埃里克•施密特与他的观点类似,他认为中国程序员屡屡在谷歌举办的编程竞赛中获奖足以说明中国人工智能人才的质量。除了人才外,中国还在资金、监管和数据这几个重要因素中更胜一筹。
大家可以按照大意,结合“每周一段”的结构和句式尝试翻译。
五、作业
在下方评论区完成练习作业:
1)参考第三部分的句型造句,造句时请用中文写出具体的语境。
2)翻译第四部分的段落。翻译时如果遇到不确定的专有名词(人名、书名、公司名),建议使用搜索引擎解决。翻译时只要照顾到基本意思即可,无需逐字翻译。
段落英文翻译将在 12 月 13 日的写作反馈直播中给出。</pre>
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