华尔街的赚钱经 第64期:隔夜快递之父(5)

 　　The early days of Federal Express were marked by extreme frugality¹ and enormous financial losses. It was not uncommon² for FedEx drivers to pay for gasoline for their vans out of their own pockets. But despite such problems, Smith always showed concern for the welfare for his employees (as he has continued to do ever since). "Even when we didn't have the money, even when there weren't couches in this office and electric typewriters, we had a good medical plan for our people." He recalled.

　　早期的联邦快递经营非常困难，亏损严重。送货员们不得不经常自掏腰包出油钱。尽管问题重重，史密斯却一直很关心职员的福利（至今仍是如此）。他回忆道，“即使我们没有钱，即便办公室里没有沙发，没有电子打印机，我们仍要为每名员工提供完善的健康计划。”

　　Today, FedEx is a $32 billion global transportation and logistics company, serving over 220 countries and territories. Operations include more than 670 aircraft and 70, 000 vehicles. Some 260, 000 employees and independent contractors³ worldwide handle more than 6 million shipments each business day.

　　如今，联邦快递是一家拥有320亿美元资产的全球运输、168物流公司，业务遍及220多个国家和地区，拥有超过670架那且飞机和70，000辆运输车。每个工作曰，在全球范围内，大约260, 000名遍及全球的职员和独立承包商都要装运600多万批货物。

　　Along the way, FedEx pioneered the "hub and spoke⁴" system, which has since been adopted by almost all major airlines. The phrase "FedEx it" has become as much a part of the language as Xerox⁵ or Google.

　　在发展过程中，联邦快递率先建立了“车轮式中心辐射”系统，之后被几乎所有的大航空公司所采用。“选择联邦快递”已经成为与施乐公司和谷歌齐名的流行语汇。

1 frugality   

n.节约，节俭

参考例句：

• We must build up our country with industry and frugality.我们必须勤俭建国。
• By frugality she managed to get along on her small salary.凭着节俭，她设法以自己微薄的薪水生活。

2 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

3 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

5 xerox   

n./v.施乐复印机，静电复印

参考例句：

• Xerox and Lucent are two more high-tech companies run by women.施乐和朗讯是另外两家由女性经营的大科技公司。
• You cannot take it home,but you can xerox it.你不能把它带回家，但可以复印。