英文早读第203篇，选自巴菲特年度信，友才翻译。
Equity holdings of our insurance companies with a market value of over 5 million on December 31, 1977 were as follows:
到1977年12月31日我们保险集团持有的市值超过500万美金的公司如下：
We select our marketable equity securities in much the same way we would evaluate a business for acquisition in its entirety. We want the business to be (1) one that we can understand, (2) with favorable long‐term prospects, (3) operated by honest and competent people, and (4) available at a very attractive price. We ordinarily make no attempt to buy equities for anticipated favorable stock price behavior in the short term. In fact, if their business experience continues to satisfy us, we welcome lower market prices of stocks we own as an opportunity to acquire even more of a good thing at a better price.
我们挑选可交易的权益证券，所用方式与评估是否整体收购一家企业大致相同。我们希望这家企业具备以下特点：（1）我们能够理解其业务；（2）拥有良好的长期发展前景；（3）由诚实且有能力的人经营管理；（4）其股价极具吸引力。通常情况下，我们不会出于预期短期内股价上涨的目的而买入股票。事实上，如果这些企业的经营状况持续令我们满意，我们乐见所持股票的市场价格下跌，因为这是一个以更优价格买入更多优质资产的机会。
Our experience has been that pro‐rata portions of truly outstanding businesses sometimes sell in the securities markets at very large discounts from the prices they would command in negotiated transactions involving entire companies. Consequently, bargains in business ownership, which simply are not available directly through corporate acquisition, can be obtained indirectly through stock ownership. When prices are appropriate, we are willing to take very large positions in selected companies, not with any intention of taking control and not foreseeing sell‐out or merger, but with the expectation that excellent business results by corporations will translate over the long term into correspondingly excellent market value and dividend results for owners, minority as well as majority.
我们的经验表明，真正卓越的企业，其按比例持有的部分股权，有时在证券市场上的售价，会较通过协商收购整个公司时所对应的价格大幅折让。因此，直接通过企业收购无法获得的划算买卖，却能通过间接持有股票来实现。当价格合适时，我们愿意在选定的公司中大量持股，目的并非获取控制权，也不指望公司会被出售或合并，而是期望这些公司凭借出色的经营业绩，长期来看，能为所有股东，无论是大股东还是小股东，带来相应出色的市场价值提升和股息收益。
Such investments initially may have negligible impact on our operating earnings. For example, we invested 10.9 million in Capital Cities Communications during 1977. Earnings attributable to the shares we purchased totaled about 1.3 million last year. But only the cash dividend, which currently provides 40,000 annually, is reflected in our operating earnings figure.
这类投资起初对我们的运营收益可能影响甚微。例如，1977年我们对首都城市传播公司投资了1090万美元。去年，我们所购股份对应的收益总计约130万美元。但在我们的运营收益数据中，仅体现了现金股息，目前每年为4万美元。
22.competent：有能力的；合格的；称职的
23.pro-rata：按比例；成比例
24.foresee：预知；预见；预料
25.correspondingly：相应的；相似的；关联的
26.negligible：微不足道的；不值一提的
