2018年经济学人 共享经济—船只共享新创公司(1)

 

One of the busiest times of the year at Arzal marina on the coast of western France is a wooden sailing-boat festival in early summer.

初夏时节的木制帆船节是法国西部海岸阿尔扎码头一年中最繁忙的时期。

Hundreds of enthusiasts² join Breton dances on the quayside,

数百名爱好者加入布列塔尼人的行列在码头周围起舞，

but as usual most of the 1,000-or so yachts, catamarans, daysailers and motor-cruisers remain tied to the pontoons.

但和往常一样，约千支游艇、双体船、小帆船和马达巡洋舰中的大部分依然系在了浮舟上。

Few boat-owners make regular use of their expensive assets. By one estimate, a French yacht slips its moorings on average for just ten days a year,

少数船主会经常使用他们昂贵的资产。据估计，一支法国游艇平均起航次数一年仅十次，

and for America's 12m recreational boats, typical annual usage is two weeks.

美国游艇的年度平均使用次数为两周。

Meanwhile, would-be sailors have had few options, beyond pricey short charters.

同时，想要成为水手的人，除了昂贵的短期租赁，几乎没有选择。

Marine⁴ versions of property-sharer Airbnb or ride-sharer BlaBlaCar are trying to match the two.

房屋共享公司爱彼迎或汽车共享公司BlaBlaCar正设法将两者相整合。

In Europe a French firm founded in 2013 by Jeremy Bismuth and Edouard Gorioux sets the pace.

在欧洲，一家由Jeremy Bismuth和Edouard Gorioux于2013年成立的公司起到了带头作用。

Click&Boat has 70 staff crammed⁵ onto a barge⁶, its headquarters, on the Seine in Paris.

Click&Boat的总部位于巴黎塞纳河，其总部员工有70人。

They manage bookings for a fleet of 22,000 private craft, mostly in Europe.

他们负责管理22,000支私人船只的预定，其工作范围主要在欧洲。

Rental⁷ costs vary widely but can be remarkably⁸ cheap--one eight-berth yacht in Arzal is advertised for just 40 euro a day, for example.

租金浮动范围很大，但也可以相当便宜—例如，阿尔扎一支8锚位游艇的宣传价格仅为40欧元一天。

The firm takes a 15% commission and is profitable. Last year bookings were worth 15m euro.

公司收取15%的佣金，利润丰厚。去年客户预定价值为一千五百万欧元。

America's leader is six-year-old Boatsetter, based near Miami.

而美国国内的领域领导者则是Boatsetter，该公司位于迈阿密附近。

Founded by a sailing enthusiast¹, Jackie Baumgarten, it has raised $17m of venture-capital funding and notched⁹ up over 26,000 rentals¹⁰.

该公司由航海爱好者Jackie Baumgarten成立。公司共筹到了一千七百万美元的创业投资基金并创下了高达两万六千多例租赁记录。

Ms. Baumgarten sees three broad categories of customer: aspirational¹¹ types who want to pose on a luxury yacht;

Baumgarten女士将客户分为三大类：梦寐以求型—想要豪华游艇；

fishing enthusiasts who opt³ for less glitzy craft; and families.

垂钓爱好者—选择更加朴素的船只；以及家庭出游型。

1 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

2 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册

3 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？

4 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

5 crammed   

adj.塞满的，挤满的；大口地吃；快速贪婪地吃v.把…塞满；填入；临时抱佛脚( cram的过去式)

参考例句：

• He crammed eight people into his car. 他往他的车里硬塞进八个人。
• All the shelves were crammed with books. 所有的架子上都堆满了书。

6 barge   

n.平底载货船，驳船

参考例句：

• The barge was loaded up with coal.那艘驳船装上了煤。
• Carrying goods by train costs nearly three times more than carrying them by barge.通过铁路运货的成本比驳船运货成本高出近3倍。

7 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

8 remarkably   

ad.不同寻常地，相当地

参考例句：

• I thought she was remarkably restrained in the circumstances. 我认为她在那种情况下非常克制。
• He made a remarkably swift recovery. 他康复得相当快。

9 notched   

a.有凹口的，有缺口的

参考例句：

• Torino notched up a 2-1 win at Lazio. 都灵队以2 比1 赢了拉齐奧队。
• He notched up ten points in the first five minutes of the game. 他在比赛开始后的五分钟里得了十分。

10 rentals   

n.租费，租金额( rental的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some large hotels, the income derived from this source actually exceeds income from room rentals. 有些大旅馆中，这方面的盈利实际上要超过出租客房的盈利。 来自辞典例句
• Clerk: Well, Canadian Gifts is on the lower level. It's across from Prime Time Video Rentals. 噢，礼品店在楼下，在黄金时刻录像出租屋的对面。 来自口语例句

11 aspirational   

志同的，有抱负的

参考例句：

• Most of the images that bombard us all are aspirational. 轰击的图像，我们都期望最大。
• Analysts said self-help and aspirational reading could explain India's high figures. 分析师们指出，自助读书、热爱读书是印度人均读书时间超过别的国家的主要原因。