(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Now, the VOA Learning English program Words and Their Stories.
There are many special terms in the world of business. The following story is about a woman who has a business making signs. She tells us about a recent sweetheart deal. She made a deal with a friend, and they both made a profit.
Here is Faith Lapidus with that story.
I had started a small company several years ago. I worked hard to make it successful. It was a sign-making business. It was a small company, not a blue chip company. It was not known nationally for the quality of its signs. It did not make millions of dollars in profits. And it was private. It was not a public company with shares traded on the stock market.
Still, I worked hard building up my business. I did not work only a few hours each day -- no banker's hours for me. Instead I spent many hours each day, seven days a week, trying to grow the company. I never cut corners or tried to save on expenses. I made many cold calls. I called on possible buyers from a list of people I had never seen. Such calls were often hard sells. I had to be very firm.
Sometimes I sold my signs at a loss. I did not make money on my product. When this happened, there were cut backs. I had to use fewer supplies and reduce the number of workers. But after several years, the company broke even. Profits were equal to expenses. And soon after, I began to gain ground. My signs were selling very quickly. They were selling like hotcakes.
I was happy. The company was moving forward and making real progress. It was in the black, not in the red. The company was making money, not losing it.
My friend knew about my business. He is a leader in the sign-making industry – a real big gun, if you know what I mean. He offered to buy my company. My friend wanted to take it public. He wanted to sell shares in the company to the general public.
My friend believed it was best to strike while the iron is hot. He wanted to take action at the best time possible and not wait. He offered me a ball park estimate of the amount he would pay to buy my company. But I knew his uneducated guess was low. My company was worth much more. He asked his bean-counter to crunch the numbers. That is, he asked his accountant to take a close look at the finances of my company and decide how much it was worth. Then my friend increased his offer.
My friend's official offer was finally given to me in black and white. It was written on paper and more than I ever dreamed. I was finally able to get a break. I made a huge profit on my company, and my friend also got a bang for the buck. He got a successful business for the money he spent.
And that is the end of our business story. But even if you're not in business, some of these expressions can be used in other situations.
For example, you can cut corners or get a break anywhere. Let's say you are planning a party and don't have enough money. You might have to cut corners on the food you serve. Or you could get a break by winning $100 on free food at your local grocery store!
The expression black and white can also mean a very clear choice that leaves no confusion. Sometimes we use it in the negative. Politics, for example, is not as black and white as some people may think. There are often shades of gray when dealing with complicated political issues and how they affect government policy.
And that's all for this Words and Their Stories.
After listening to this story, you should strike while the iron is hot! While the expressions are still fresh in your mind, practice using them in a business conversation.
I'm Anna Matteo.
重点解析
1.make a profit 盈利
His purpose was to make a profit by improving the company's performance.
他的目标是通过提高公司的业绩来实现盈利。
2.cut corners 走捷径
You have no reason to hurry, no reason to cut corners or to try to do too many things at once.
你没有理由匆忙，没有理由走捷径，也没有理由一次做太多的事情。
3.cold calls 电话推销；冷不防的电话；冷不防电话
You should refuse to meet anyone who cold calls with an offer of financial advice.
你应该拒绝和那些贸然打电话提供理财建议的陌生人见面。
参考译文
这里是VOA学英语《词汇掌故》节目。
商界有许多专门的术语。接下来的故事是关于一个做广告牌生意的女性。她给我们讲述了最近发生的一次私下交易（sweetheart deal）。她和一个朋友做了一单生意，而且彼此都挣了钱。
这里是费斯·拉皮德斯带来的那个故事。
几年前我开了一家小公司。为了让它经营下去我努力工作。公司是做广告牌生意的。它只是家小公司，不是那种一流公司（blue chip company）。它的质量在全国并不为人所知，也没有赚几百万。它属于私营企业，不是一家在股票市场交易的上市公司。
尽管如此，我还是努力工作，建立了我的业务。我没有每天只工作几小时——我的工作时间可不短。我每天花大量时间，一周七天，努力壮大公司。我从没想过偷工减料或者削减花费。我打了很多推销电话（cold calls）。我给一堆素未谋面的潜在客户打推销电话。我都是硬性推销（hard sells）。我必须非常坚强。
有时候我亏本卖广告牌。我的产品不挣钱。这个时候就只能缩减开支了。我必须减少供应量和工人的数量。几年后，公司收支平衡（broke even）。利润等于费用。很快，我开始盈利（gain ground）了。我的广告牌卖得很快。它们成了畅销品（hotcakes）。
我很开心。公司步入了正轨并取得了实质性进展。公司开始扭亏为盈。（It was in the black, not in the red.）公司开始盈利，不亏损了。
我的朋友知道我做这个生意。他是广告牌制作行业的领军人物——真正的大人物，你懂我的意思吧。他主动提出要收购我的公司。我的朋友想让公司上市（take it public）。他想向大众售卖公司股份。
我朋友认为趁热打铁（to strike while the iron is hot）最好。他想在时机可能好的时候就采取行动而不是坐等。他给了我他收购的一个预估（ball park estimate）价。但我知道他估值偏低，我的公司值更多钱。他让他的统计专家计算准价。也就是他让他的会计师近一步察看我公司的经济状况，然后决定这个公司值多少钱。然后我的朋友加码了。
我朋友的正式报价最后白纸黑字地给了我，甚至比我想得还多。我终于可以歇一歇了。我靠公司赚了巨额利润。我的朋友也获取了资金回报。他花的钱为他带来了一笔成功的生意。
这个故事就是这样的。但即使你不做生意，其中一些表达也可以用在其他情境中。
例如，你可以在任何地方抄近道或者休息一下。假设你正计划一个聚会，但钱不够。你也许会在减少食物供给。或者你交好运（get a break）的话，也可以在当地的杂货店赢得100美元的免费食物！
白纸黑字（black and white）这个表达也表示没有疑惑，清清楚楚的选择。有时候我们会在否定句里用到它。例如政治不像一些人想的非黑即白。当他们处理复杂以及影响政府政策问题的时候，经常会有灰色地带。
这就是今天《词汇掌故》的所有内容了。
听完这个故事后，你应该趁热打铁！当这些表达在你的脑海里还很清晰，试着在商业交谈中练习一下它们。
我是安娜·马特奥。
