华尔街的赚钱经 第61期:隔夜快递之父(3)

 　　Growing up in Memphis, Tennessee, Smith says, "I didn't know I wanted to go into business, but I knew I wanted a leadership position. That appealed to me."

　　在田纳西州孟菲斯市长大的史密斯说道，“我自己不清楚到底要不要从商，但我知道我想当上领导。这点极其吸引力。”

　　At 15, he was operating a crop-duster over the flat fields of the Mississippi Delta¹.As a student at Yale University, he helped resurrect the Yale flying club; its alumni had populated naval² aviation history, including the famous "millionaires' unit" in World War I. Smith took care of the club's business and ran a small air-charter operation in New Haven³.

　　15岁时，他曾在密西西比三角洲的平原上驾驶过农用飞机。作为耶鲁大学的学生，他帮忙重建了耶鲁大学飞行俱乐部；其中不少成员的大名都书写在海军航空史上，包括第一次世界大战中著名的“百万富翁支队”。飞史密斯不仅掌管着俱乐部，还在纽黑文经营了一家小型飞机租赁公司。

　　With little time to study, his scholastic⁴ performance suffered, but Smith never stopped looking for the "big idea."

　　他没什么时间学习，学业成绩开始下滑，但是史密斯从来没有放弃追求自己的“远大抱负”。

　　He thought he had found it when he wrote a term paper for an economics class. He outlined an idea for a transportation company that would guarantee overnight delivery of small, time-sensitive goods一 replacement⁵ parts and medical supplies-to major U.S. cities. The professor was not impressed.

　　在写经济学的学期论文时，他觉得自己找到了“远大抱负”。他大致描述了一下自己的想法，他想建立一家运输公司，隔夜运送一些小的、保质期短的物品——备用零件和医疗供给到美国的主要城市。然而教授对此并不感兴趣。

　　Smith was certain he was onto something, but it would be a while before he could turn his idea into reality.

　　史密斯确定他将有所行动，但要把想法变成现实还需要一段时间。

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 naval   

adj.海军的，军舰的，船的

参考例句：

• He took part in a great naval battle.他参加了一次大海战。
• The harbour is an important naval base.该港是一个重要的海军基地。

3 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

4 scholastic   

adj.学校的，学院的，学术上的

参考例句：

• There was a careful avoidance of the sensitive topic in the scholastic circles.学术界小心地避开那个敏感的话题。
• This would do harm to students' scholastic performance in the long run.这将对学生未来的学习成绩有害。

5 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。