经济学人 A SECOND WAVE
Some bosses may see an opportunity to restructure their workforce.
一些老板可能会看到重组员工的机会。
On October 6th Jerome Powell , the chairman of the Federal Reserve ,made a plea for immediate extra stimulus, arguing that “too little support would lead to a weak recovery, creating unnecessary hardship for households and businesses”. Hours later President Donald Trump shocked USA Inc by declaring he wants no new stimulus until after the election in November (he later backtracked a bit). But do some company bosses see an opportunity in the prolonged pain of the pandemic?
10月6日，美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）呼吁立即出台额外刺激措施，称"支持太少将导致经济复苏乏力，给家庭和企业带来不必要的困难"。几个小时后，唐纳德·特朗普宣布，在11月大选之前，他不会希望出台新的刺激计划，这震惊了美国公司（后来，他又收回了这句话）。但是，一些公司老板在大流行的长期痛苦中看到了机会吗？
make a plea for
主张; 恳求;
Mr. Nicholas made his emotional plea for help in solving the killing.
尼古拉斯先生发出了令人感动的呼吁，恳求帮助破解这桩杀人案。
I want to make a plea for people not to expect miracles. (17KB)
我倒希望人们不要寄望于奇迹。
hardship
艰苦，困难
economic hardship
经济困难
until after
直到......结束之后为止
There was no criticism of her work until after she was downgraded.
直到她被降职之后，才有人开始对她的工作说三道四。
I'm not a morning person until after breakfast.
我在吃早餐之前都不是个爱早起的人。
backtrack
收回说法；改变意见
[ + speech ] "All right," he backtracked, "It's possible that I was mistaken."
“好吧，”他改变了态度说道：“我可能是错了。”
The officers were forced to backtrack on their statements.
这些军官被迫收回他们的声明。
She refused to backtrack from her criticisms of the proposal.
她拒绝收回对该提案的批评。
The sudden shutdown of big parts of the economy in spring forced over 20m people out of their jobs. As the economy rebounded during the summer, many went back to work and the rate of new lay-offs slowed. Yet the nature of the sackings is evolving, with a sharp rise in permanent unemployment. Now a new wave of layoffs suggests firms are getting ready to make deeper cuts. In recent days leading airlines have said they will cut over 30,000 workers. Disney, an entertainment giant, plans to shed 28,000. Regal Cinemas, the country’s second-biggest chain of theatres, is shutting all 500-plus venues in America. Even LinkedIn, a social network used by professionals to find work, plans to lose nearly 1,000 employees in America and beyond.
春季，大部分经济的突然停止，使超过2000万人失业。 夏季，随着经济的反弹，许多人重返岗位，而且新增失业的速度也在放缓。 然而，随着固定失业人数的增加，裁员的性质正在发生着变化。 现在，一波新的裁员浪潮显示，公司正在准备更大规模的裁员。 最近几天，主要的航空公司都表示他们将裁员3万多人。 娱乐行业巨头迪士尼计划裁员2.8万人。 美国第二大连锁影院 帝王影院 关闭了全美500多家影院。 甚至连专业人士用来找工作的社交网络领英，也计划在美国及周边地区裁员1000人。
out of work/jobs
失业
The problem is that those who are out of jobs probably rob.
问题是那些那些失业者或许抢劫
The region has also been hit hard by cutbacks in defence spending, which has left thousands out of work.
该地区也深受造成数千人失业的国防开支缩减的打击。
layoffs
解雇
It will close more than 200 stores nationwide resulting in the layoffs of an estimated 2,000 employees.
在全国范围内将关闭二百多家商店，造成约两千人失业。
sacking
开除 [英式英语] [非正式]
There was yet another round of sackings.
还有另一轮的解雇。
get ready to do
准备好
So get ready to party!
所以做好准备去参加聚会吧。
Pack your trunks and get ready to come with me.
把您的箱子收拾好，预备跟我一起走。
cut
削减；减少；缩减；降低
a cut in expenditure/interest rates/hospital waiting lists
花销的削减／利率的降低／医院候诊名单的缩短
leading
主要的；顶级的，尖端的
a leading expert on the country's ecology
研究该国生态的顶级专家
the world's leading manufacturer of audio equipment
世界顶级音响制造商
shed
去除，摆脱
900 jobs will be shed over the next few months.
接下来几个月中要裁减900个职位。
Psychotherapy helped him to shed some of his insecurity/inhibitions.
心理疗法帮助他摆脱了一些不安全感／自我压制。
I'm going on a diet to see if I can shed (= become thinner by losing) a few pounds.
我要节食，看能不能瘦掉几磅。
lose
失去，损失，减少
I'm trying to lose weight.
我正在努力减肥。
He's losing his hair.
他在掉头发。
She lost a lot of blood in the accident.
她在事故中流了很多血。
to lose your memory/sight
失忆／失明
beyond
Few people live beyond the age of a hundred.
很少有人活过100岁。
We cannot allow the work to continue beyond the end of the year.
我们不能允许这项工作延续到下一年。
I've got nothing to tell you beyond (= in addition to) what I told you earlier.
除了先前告诉你的以外，我没有别的可说了。
The repercussions will be felt throughout the industry and beyond (= in other areas).
影响将波及整个产业及其他领域。
The disruption caused by the pandemic is one obvious explanation for deeper cuts in payroll. But David Garfield of Alix Partners, an advisory firm, reckons if companies must make do with only 70-90% of historical sales, as may happen with an anaemic recovery, they cannot survive without “major restructuring”. Mr Garfield believes firms must reduce complexity if they want to build resilience into supply and distribution networks. A recent study found that big grocery stores today offer 80% more varieties of products than the average store did three decades ago. Mondelez, a big consumer-products firm, plans to slash the number of stock-keeping units it offers by a quarter. Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble have made similar noises.
这一大流行病造成的混乱是工资进一步削减的一个明显原因。但咨询公司阿利克斯合伙人的大卫·加菲尔德（David Garfield）认为，如果公司只能做70-90%的历史销售额，就像复苏乏力时可能发生的一样，如果不进行"重大重组"，它们就无法生存下去。加菲尔德认为，如果企业想要在供应和分销网络中建立弹性，它们必须降低复杂性。最近的一项研究发现，如今的一家大型杂货店提供的产品种类比30年前的平均商店多80%。大型消费品公司Mondelez计划将其提供的库存单位数量削减四分之一。可口可乐和宝洁也有类似的计划。
make do with
设法应付，勉强对付
Yeah, at this point we'll have to make do with what we've got.
是的，我们要善加利用手上已有的东西。
There is so much variety that you never have to make do with second best.
物品品种繁多，从来不必用二等品来凑合。
anaemic
/əˈniː.mɪk/
没有活力的，无精打采的
Both actors gave fairly anaemic performances.
两个演员的表演都苍白无力。
build sth in/into sth
（使）包括；使成为（计划、系统或协议的）组成部分
When drawing up a contract it is vital to build in safety measures.
草拟合同时，将安全措施包括在内很重要。
figurative Inequalities are often built into (= cannot be separated from) society.
社会中往往会存在不平等现象。
consumer products
消费品
Turning implants into consumer products is even harder to imagine.
让植入物变成消费品甚至更难想象。
We are also adding indoor exhibition zones for high-end consumer products.
室内我们要增加高端消费品的展区，
slash
大幅削减，大幅减少（金钱、工作等）
Prices have been slashed by 50 percent!
价格直降50%！
stock-keepings
库存，存货
Create the catalog structure and add product information, including name, category, stock keeping unit (SKU) number, and image.
创建目录结构并加入产品信息，包括名字、类别、库存单元(SKU)号和图像。
make noises
（在言语间）透露，暗示；放出风声
He's been making noises about taking us all to Rio, but we haven't heard anything definite.
他一直暗示要把我们都带去里约，但是我们却没有听到任何确切说法。
Bain, another consultancy, sees American companies “retooling for the new normal” by ploughing $5trn-10trn over the next decade into automation. This may kill old-fashioned jobs in the short term, but create new, tech-savvy ones over time.
另一家咨询公司贝恩（Bain）认为，美国公司"为新常态进行重组"，在未来十年内投入5万亿至10万亿美元进行自动化。这在短期内可能会扼杀传统的工作，但随着时间的推移，创造新的、精通技术的工作。
see
看待；认为；考虑；想象
She didn't see herself as brave.
她不认为自己很勇敢。
[ + obj + -ing verb ] I can't see her accepting (= I don't think she will accept) the job in the present circumstances.
我认为在目前情况下她不会接受那份工作。
As I see it/things/the situation, we'll have to get extra help.
在我看来，我们得找更多的人帮忙。
Try and see it my way - I'll be left without any help if you go.
设想一下我的处境——如果你离开，我就孤立无援了。
retool
重新装备; 更换(工厂用机器或公司用设备)
Each time the product changes, the machines have to be retooled.
每次更换产品，就得重新装备机器。
His company will have to retool for a new line of products.
为了一个新的产品线，他的公司将不得不更换机器设备。
plough sth into sth
把（资金）投入
They ploughed all their savings into their daughter's business.
他们将所有的积蓄都投到了女儿的生意里。
kill
终止；使停止；扼杀；破坏
Lack of romance can kill a marriage.
缺少浪漫会毁掉婚姻。
They gave her some tablets to kill the pain.
他们给她一些药片来止痛。
Kill your speed.
停下来。
over time
久而久之，随着时间的推移
Over time, however, the technology is diffused and adopted by other countries.
然而，随着时间的推移，这项技术在其它
Over time, though, Watson's views gained in popularity.
然而，随着时间的推移，沃森的观点越来越受到赞同。国家得以传播并使用。
The jobs picture is likely to get worse before it gets better. The pandemic is the proximate cause, but the deeper driver is bosses preparing for a new economy. “This is your moment to strike as chief executive if you want a dramatic change in market share,” says Hernan Saenz of Bain.“ Recessions are an amazing opportunity.”
就业情况在好转之前可能会变得更糟。大流行是近因，但更深层次的驱动因素是老板们正在为新经济做准备。贝恩的埃尔南•萨恩兹（HernanSaenz）表示："如果你想让市场份额发生巨大变化，那么现在就是你作为首席执行官出击的时刻。经济衰退是一个绝佳的机会。
picture
情况；局面；事态
After watching the news, I had a clearer picture of what was happening.
看完新闻后，我进一步了解了当时发生的情况。
The picture emerging in reports from the battlefield is one of complete confusion.
据报道，战场上的局面一片混乱。
proximate cause
近因
近因是指在法律上对损害后果有足够相关性的事件，足以构成损害后果的原因。
In other words, we have to go beyond the proximate cause and probe further and further.
换句话说，我们必须超越事物的近因，进一步讨论其起因。
strike
击，打；撞击；碰撞；攻击
Her car went out of control and struck an oncoming vehicle.
她的汽车失控，撞上了迎面开来的一辆车。
The police have warned the public that the killer could strike again.
警方提醒公众，杀手可能会再次下手。
