2019年翻譯資格考試英語口譯高級模擬題：宜家帝國的核心螺栓

　　漢譯英

　　宜家帝國的核心螺栓

　　英格瓦·坎普拉德可不是一般的億萬富翁。這位宜家家具帝國的創(chuàng)始人乘坐經(jīng)濟(jì)艙旅行，開著一輛有十年歷史的沃爾沃汽車，總是下午去買水果和蔬菜，因?yàn)檫@時(shí)價(jià)格往往便宜些。如果有人問他生活中有什么奢侈的消費(fèi)時(shí)，他的回答是：我偶爾喜歡買一件高檔襯衫或一條圍巾，吃點(diǎn)瑞典魚子醬。‛

　　坎普拉德先生是戰(zhàn)后歐洲最杰出企業(yè)家之一。宜家創(chuàng)建于1943，當(dāng)時(shí)僅僅從事郵購業(yè)務(wù)，現(xiàn)如今已經(jīng)發(fā)展成為在全球31個(gè)國家經(jīng)營，員工總數(shù)超過7萬的國際化零售業(yè)巨頭。

　　宜家的銷售額逐年上漲。宜家的產(chǎn)品目錄是全世界印數(shù)最多的印刷品，每年達(dá)到不可思議的1.1億冊�？财绽�德先生也變得異常富有。根據(jù)美國《福布斯》雜志，他的身價(jià)達(dá)到134億美元(87億英鎊)，位列全球第17位。

　　宜家之所以取得了令人驚異的成功，首先是因?yàn)樗�那簡單得令人難以置信的經(jīng)營理念：向老百姓提供設(shè)計(jì)精美而又買得起的家具。其次就是坎普拉德本人，有魅力、謙遜、隨和。他的思想和價(jià)值觀絕對是宜家哲學(xué)的核心。

　　坎普拉德先生因生活極其節(jié)儉而聞名遐邇。他清洗用過的塑料杯以便再次利用。前不久，他決定不再讓那位已經(jīng)為他理發(fā)多年的瑞典理發(fā)師繼續(xù)為他提供服務(wù)，原因是在現(xiàn)居地瑞士他找到一位理發(fā)師，每次只收14瑞士法郎(6英鎊)。‚這數(shù)字合理，‛他笑著說。

　　宜家所有的高管都十分了解成本意識(shí)的重要性。公司不鼓勵(lì)他們乘坐頭等艙或商務(wù)艙旅行。‚最好的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)方式是以身作則‛，坎普拉德先生說過，‚讓我坐頭等艙，而讓我的同事們坐旅游艙，是我絕對不能接受的。‛

　　他巡視宜家集團(tuán)的店鋪時(shí)，他總是要和員工們握手或擁抱，以此向員工傳遞一種‚伙伴‛的感覺，這種做法在瑞典絕不多見。‚叫我英格瓦，‛他對員工說。他不喜歡打領(lǐng)帶，而是喜歡敞開襯衫的領(lǐng)口，這樣的衣著方式也突顯了他的不拘禮節(jié)和沒有等級觀念。

　　在個(gè)人生活方面和事業(yè)方面坎普拉德先生都經(jīng)歷過艱苦的奮斗過程。他一直與讀寫困難癥和其他疾病抗?fàn)帯?/P>

　　他性格中很突出的一點(diǎn)就是對細(xì)節(jié)的偏執(zhí)性關(guān)注。巡視他的商店時(shí)，他不僅和經(jīng)理們交談，還要和最基層的員工以及顧客們交談。在最近一次視察宜家的六家瑞典門店時(shí)，他說，‚發(fā)現(xiàn)了100個(gè)需要討論的細(xì)節(jié)性問題。‛

　　在他自己看來，他最大的優(yōu)點(diǎn)就是選擇正確的人員來管理他的企業(yè)。

　　他下定決心不讓宜家集團(tuán)上市，因?yàn)楣蓶|的短期要求和企業(yè)長期的規(guī)劃會(huì)有沖突。‚我討厭急功近利的決策。如果你想實(shí)施長效的決策，上市后就很難了。進(jìn)入俄羅斯市場時(shí)，我們就曾不得不決定要虧損十年。‛

　　自1986年從集團(tuán)總裁位置上退下來以后，坎普拉德先生就慢慢地從業(yè)務(wù)中淡出。盡管他承認(rèn)自己非常不愿意完全退出，但他仍然堅(jiān)持說自己是‚參與過多，過問的細(xì)節(jié)太多。‛

　　問題是：假如沒有坎普拉德先生，宜家能否恒久存在?宜家是否太過于依賴其創(chuàng)始人?宜家控制權(quán)漸漸從坎普拉德先生轉(zhuǎn)移到他的三個(gè)兒子手中以后，宜家帝國能否繼續(xù)輝煌?

　　參考譯文

　　Ingvar Kamprad is no ordinary multi-billionaire. The founder of the Ikea furniture empire travels economy class, drives a 10-year-old Volvo and buys his fruit and vegetables in the afternoons, when prices are often cheaper. Ask him about the luxuries in his life and he says:“ From time to time, I like to buy a nice shirt and cravat and eat Swedish caviar.”

　　Mr. Kamprad is one of Europe’s greatest post-war entrepreneurs. What began as a mail-order bu8siness in 1943 has grown into an international retailing phenomenon across 31 countries with 70,000 employees.

　　Sales have risen every single year. The Ikea catalogue is the world’s biggest annual print run an incredible 110m copies a year. And Mr. Kamprad has grown extraordinarily rich. He is worth $13.4bn and is the 17th richest person in the world, according to Forbes, the US magazine.

　　The concept behind Ikea’s amazing success is unbelievably simple: make affordable, well-designed furniture available to the masses. And then there is Mr. Kamprad himself charismatic, humble, private. It is his ideas and values that are at the core of Ikea’s philosophy.

　　Best known for his extremely modest lifestyle, he washes plastic cups to recycle them. He has just left his long-standing Swedish barber because he found one in Switzerland, where he lives, who charges only SFr14 for a cut. ‘That’s a reasonable amount,’ he chuckles.

　　All Ikea executives are aware of the value of cost-consciousness. They are strongly discouraged from travelling first or business class. ‘There is no better form of leadership than setting a good example. I could never accept that I should travel first class while my colleagues sit in tourist class,’ Mr. Kamprad says.

　　As he walks around the group’s stores, he expresses the feeling of ‘togetherness’ physically, clasping and hugging his employees. This is very uncharacteristic of Sweden. ‘call me Ingvar,’ he says to staff. The informality and lack of hierarchy are emphasized by his dress style, with an open-necked shirt preferred to a tie.

　　Mr. Kamprad has had both personal and business battles. He has fought against dyslexia and illness.

　　One of Mr. Kamprad’s characteristics is his obsessive attention to detail. When he visits his stores, he talks not only to the managers but also to floor staff and customers. A recent visit to six of the group’s Swedish stores has produced ‘100 details to discuss’, he says.

　　By his own reckoning, his greatest strength is choosing the right people to run his businesses.

　　He is determined that the group will not go public, because short-term shareholder demands conflict with long-term planning. ‘I hate short-termist decisions. If you want to take long- lasting decisions, it’s very difficult to be on the stock exchange. When entering the Russian market, we had to decide to lose money for 10 years.’

　　Mr. Kamprad has been slowly withdrawing from the business since 1986, when he stepped down as group president. He maintains that hi is still ‘too much involved and in too many details’ , although he admits to a distinct reluctance to withdraw altogether.

　　The question is: can there be an eternal Ikea without Mr. Kamprad? Does the group depend too much on its founder? Will the empire continue, as control of Ikea gradually moves to Mr. Kamprad’s three sons?