(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Phoebe Zimmermann. And I'm Steve Ember with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about Ray Kroc, the man who helped make the fast food industry famous. He expanded a small business into an international operation called McDonald's.
You probably know what fast food is. It is cooked food that is ready almost as soon as you enter a public eating place. It does not cost much. It is popular with most Americans and with many people around the world. Some experts say that at least twenty-five percent of American adults eat fast food every day. Most fast food restaurants offer ground beef sandwiches called hamburgers and potatoes cooked in hot oil called French fries. Other fast food places serve fried chicken, pizza or tacos. You see fast food restaurants almost everywhere in the United States. The names and the designs of the buildings are easily recognized – Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and of course, McDonald's. Most are chain restaurants. That means each one is part of a huge company. Each restaurant in the chain has the same large, colorful sign that can be recognized from far away. Each offers its own carefully limited choice of foods. Each kind of hamburger or piece of chicken tastes the same at every restaurant in the chain.
The fast food industry began with two brothers in San Bernardino, California in the nineteen forties. Mac and Dick McDonald owned a small, but very successful restaurant. They sold only a few kinds of simple food, especially hamburgers. People stood outside the restaurant at a window. They told the workers inside what they wanted to eat. They received and paid for their food very quickly. The food came in containers that could be thrown away. The system was so successful that the McDonald brothers discovered they could sell a lot of food and lower their prices. Ray Kroc sold restaurant supplies. He recognized the importance of the McDonald brothers' idea. He saw that food sales could be organized for mass production -- almost like a factory. Mister Kroc paid the McDonald brothers for permission to open several restaurants similar to theirs. He opened the first McDonald's restaurant near Chicago, Illinois, in nineteen fifty-five. Soon, more McDonald's were opening all across the United States. Other people copied the idea and more fast food restaurants followed.
Raymond Albert Kroc was a very wealthy businessman when he died in nineteen eighty-four. But he had not always been successful. Ray was born in Illinois in nineteen-oh-two. His parents were not rich. He attended school in Oak Park, near Chicago. Ray never completed high school, however. He left school to become a driver for the Red Cross in World War One. He lied about his age to be accepted. He was only fifteen. The war ended before he could be sent to Europe. After the war, Ray became a jazz piano player. He played with famous music groups. He got married when he was twenty. Then he began working for the Lily Tulip Cup Company, selling paper cups. He kept trying new things, however. He attempted to sell land in the southern state of Florida. That business failed. Ray Kroc remembered driving to Chicago from Florida after his business failed. He said: "I will never forget that drive as long as I live. The streets were covered with ice, and I did not have winter clothing. When I arrived home I was very cold and had no money." Ray Kroc went back to being a salesman for the Lily Tulip Cup Company. He was responsible for product sales in the central United States. His life improved when he started a small business that sold restaurant supplies. He sold a machine that could mix five milkshakes at one time.
In nineteen fifty-four, he discovered a small restaurant that was using eight of his machines. He went there and found that the owners of the restaurant had a good business selling only hamburgers, French fries and drinks. At first, Mister Kroc saw only the possibility for increasing the sales of his mixers to more restaurants. Then he proposed an agreement with the McDonald brothers to start a number of restaurants. Under the agreement, the McDonald brothers would get a percentage of all sales. The first McDonald's restaurant opened in Des Plaines, Illinois, in nineteen fifty-five. Ray Kroc was fifty-two years old -- an age when many people start thinking about retirement. He opened two restaurants. Soon he began to understand that the real profits were made in selling hamburgers, not the mixers. He quickly sold the mixer company and invested the money in the growing chain of McDonald's restaurants.
In nineteen-sixty, Mister Kroc bought the legal rights to the restaurants from the McDonald brothers. By then, the chain had more than two hundred restaurants. Fast food restaurants spread quickly in the United States because of franchising. Franchising means selling the legal right to operate a store in a company's chain to an independent business person. If the company approves, the business person may buy or lease the store for a period of years. Many people want to own a McDonald's restaurant, but only a few are approved. Each restaurant buys its supplies at a low cost from the parent company. Each restaurant also gives the company about ten percent of the money it earns in sales. Today, about seventy percent of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent businessmen and women.
Ray Kroc was good at identifying what the public wanted. He knew that many American families wanted to eat in a restaurant sometimes. He gave people a simple eating place with popular food, low prices, friendly service and no waiting. And all McDonald's restaurants sold the same food in every restaurant across the country. Ray Kroc established rules for how McDonald's restaurants were to operate. He demanded that every restaurant offer "quality, service and cleanliness." People lucky enough to get a franchise must complete a program at a training center called Hamburger University. They learn how to cook and serve the food, and how to keep the building clean. More than sixty-five thousand people have completed this training.
McDonald's began to expand around the world in nineteen sixty-seven. Ray Kroc's business ability made McDonald's the largest restaurant company in the world. There are now more than thirty thousand McDonald's restaurants on six continents. The company operates in about one hundred twenty countries. Every day, McDonald's restaurants around the world serve about fifty million people. In later years, Ray Kroc established the Kroc Foundation, a private organization that gives money to help others. He also established a number of centers that offer support to families of children who have cancer. They are called Ronald McDonald houses. Many people praised Ray Kroc for his company's success and good works. But other people sharply criticized him for the way McDonald's treated young employees. Many of the workers were paid the lowest wage permitted by American law. Health experts still criticize McDonald's food for containing too much fat and salt.
In the nineteen seventies, Ray Kroc turned his energy from hamburgers to sports. He bought a professional baseball team in California, the San Diego Padres. He died in nineteen eighty-four. He was eighty-one years old.
That first McDonald's restaurant in Des Plaines, Illinois, was torn down. It was replaced by a store and visitors center that attempts to copy what was in the original building. Another museum in nearby Oak Park describes the life of Ray Kroc. Ray Kroc's story remains an important part of McDonald's history. And his way of doing business continues to influence fast food restaurants that feed people around the world.
重点解析
1.expand 发展；张开，展开
The popular ceramics industry expanded toward the middle of the 19th century.
大众陶瓷业在19世纪中叶得到了发展。
2.offer 提供
The hotel offers excellent facilities for families.
本旅馆提供优良的家庭服务设施。
3.permission 许可
He asked permission to leave the room.
他请求离开房间的许可。
4.attend school 上学
Most of the children had never held a camera before and do not attend school.
大部分的孩子从来没有接触过相机，也没有上过学。
5.as long as 只要
As long as my heart still beats, I will go on working for the people.
只要我的心脏还在跳动，我就要为人民工作。
6.franchising 特许经营权；特许专营
As a new business model, franchising has greatly promoted the development of modern business.
作为一种新型商业模式，特许经营极大的促进了现代商业的发展。
参考译文
我是菲比·齐默尔曼。我是史蒂夫·恩贝尔。这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们将讲述雷·克拉克的故事，他让快餐业风靡全球。他将一家小店扩张成了全球连锁店—麦当劳。你或许知道快餐—进店就能吃到熟食的店。快餐也不算贵。大部分美国人和世界多数人都很喜欢。一些专家说至少25%的美国成年人每天都要吃快餐。多数快餐店都会提供碎牛肉三明治—汉堡，和热油炸的土豆—薯条。其他快餐店还有炸鸡、披萨或炸玉米饼。在美国，快餐店随处可见。这些店的名字和设计很容易识别—汉堡王、肯德基、必胜客塔可钟，当然还有麦当劳。大部分都是连锁店。这意味着每一家店背后都是一家大公司。每一家连锁店都同样规模、同样的招牌，从很远就能看见。每一家提供的食物经仔细选择。每一家锁店里汉堡或炸鸡的味道都一样。
上世纪40年代，加利福尼亚州圣贝纳迪诺的两兄弟开创了快餐业。麦克和迪克·麦当劳两兄弟有一家生意兴隆的小餐厅。他们店里只卖几种简单的食物，特别是汉堡类。顾客站在餐厅外边，透过窗户告诉里边的服务员他们要什么。他们拿到食物然后付款。食物被放在一个集装箱中。这种方法非常成功，麦当劳两兄弟发现他们可以以低价卖出更多的食物。雷·克拉克销售餐厅用品。他意识到了麦当劳两兄弟这个想法的重要性。他发现食物销售可以组织起大规模生产—就像是一家工厂。克拉克向麦当劳两兄弟购买许可，开了几家相似的餐厅。
1955年，他在伊利诺斯州芝加哥附近开了第一家麦当劳餐厅。很快，美国有越来越多的麦当劳餐厅。其他人复制这个想法，更多的快餐店接踵而至。1984年，雷蒙德·阿尔伯特·克罗克去世时，他已经是一位非常富有的商人了。但是他的成功并一帆风顺。
1902年，雷出生在伊利诺斯州。他的父母并不富有。他在芝加哥附近的奥克帕克上学。但是，雷高中都没毕业。一战时期，他辍学成为了红十字会的一名司机。为了被录用，他谎报了自己的年龄。那时他只有15岁。被送往欧洲前，战争已经结束了。战后，雷成为了一名爵士钢琴演奏者。他和著名音乐团体一同演奏。他20岁的时候就结婚了。然后，他开始在Lily Tulip Cup Company公司卖杯子。但他一直在尝试新的事情。他还在佛罗里达州卖地卖房。但是生意未能做成。雷·克拉克回忆起，生意失败后，他开车从佛罗里达回到芝加哥。他说：“我永远也不会忘记那一次的路程。街道被冰雪覆盖，我没有冬衣。当我回到家时，我很冷，也没有钱。”雷·克拉克回到Lily Tulip Cup Company公司继续当销售员。他负责美国中部的产品销售。销售餐厅用品的事业让他的生活得到了改善。他卖一种可以同时混合五种奶昔的机器。1954年，他发现了一家餐厅，他们向他买了8台这样的机器。他来到这里，发现这家餐厅的生意很好，他们只卖汉堡、薯条和饮料。起初，克拉克只看到了向更多商店推销更多机器的可能性。然后他和麦当来兄弟达成协议开设更多的餐厅。根据他们的协议，麦当劳兄弟从总销售额中抽取分成。
1955年，第一家麦当劳餐厅开在了伊利诺斯州的德斯普兰斯。那时雷·克拉克52岁—在那个年纪，很多人都开始考虑退休了。他开了两家餐厅。很快他便意识到，真正的利润来自于汉堡而非搅拌机。他很快便卖掉了搅拌机公司，将钱全部用于开设更多麦当劳餐厅。1960年，克拉克从麦当劳兄弟那里买下了餐厅的合法权益。那时，连锁店已经有了两百多家餐厅。由于特许经营，快餐餐厅迅速风靡全美。特许经营指的是独立个体经营公司连锁店的合法权益。如果公司批准，那么独立个体会买下或租用一家店且有年限限制。很多人都想拥有一家麦当劳餐厅，但是公司只批准了几家。每家餐厅以低价从母公司购买用品。每家餐厅还要将其销售额的约10%交给公司。如今，全球范围内，约70%的麦当劳餐厅都是由独立商人所有。
雷·克拉克很擅长鉴别人们想要什么。他知道很多美国家庭有时想在餐厅用餐。他为人们提供了简单的用餐场所，价格低廉、食物好吃、服务友好且不用等待。美国所有的麦当劳餐厅都销售同样的食物。雷·克拉克为经营麦当劳餐厅制定了规则。他要求每家餐厅提供“质量、服务和清洁。”有幸获得特许经营的人必须在汉堡包大学完成培训课程。他们学习如何制作食物和提供服务以及如何保持餐厅的整洁。六万五千人完成了这个培训。
1967年，麦当劳开始全球扩张。雷·克拉克的营业能力让麦当劳成为全球最大的餐饮公司。如今三万多家麦当劳餐厅开在6洲大陆。公司在约120个国家经营。每天，全世界的麦当劳餐厅为五千万人提供服务。晚年的雷·克拉克建立了克拉克基金，一家为他人提供资金帮助的私营组织。他还建立了几家中心为癌症儿童家庭提供帮助，这些中心被称为麦当劳叔叔之家。很多人因雷·克拉克事业的成功和善举而赞扬他。但是其他人因为麦当劳对待年轻雇员的方式而尖锐地批评他。很多员工的工资都是美国法律允许的最低标准工资。健康专家仍然批评麦当劳的食物含有太多的脂肪和盐。
上世纪70年代，雷·克拉克将他对汉堡的精力转到了体育界。他买下了加利福尼亚的一家职业棒球队—圣地牙哥教士。他于1984年去世，享年81岁。位于伊利诺斯州德斯普兰斯的第一家麦当劳被拆除。取代它的是一家商店和游客中心，他们试图复制原有房屋中的一切。奥克帕克附近的另一家博物馆讲述了雷·克拉克的一生。雷·克拉克的故事仍是麦当劳历史上的重要部分。他经营企业的方式仍影响着服务全球客户的快餐店。
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