经济学人254:堀江贵文的回归 升高升高再升高

　　Business
商业报道
Takafumi Horie's comeback
堀江贵文的回归
Up, up and away
升高，升高再升高
The controversial entrepreneur remains¹ popular, brash and ambitious
这个有着很大争议的企业家依旧很受欢迎并且野心勃勃
IN 2005 Takafumi Horie, then president of Livedoor, an internet firm, joined the X PRIZE Foundation,
2005年，互联网公司活力门的总经理堀江贵文加入了X奖基金会。
a charity which gives cash for innovative² projects such as space tourism.
X奖基金会是一个慈善组织，这个组织会为一些创新科技项目提供资金，如：太空旅行。
Joining forces with the likes of Larry Page and Elon Musk³, co-founders of Google and PayPal respectively, was a typically bold move by the self-styled boy billionaire from Fukuoka.
加入一个有拉里佩奇和埃隆?马斯克这样的人的组织，无疑是这个福冈不为人知的亿万富翁小子的一项勇敢举措。拉里佩奇和埃隆?马斯克分别是谷歌和贝宝的合作创建人。
222222222_副本.jpgInstead of going into orbit, however, Mr Horie went behind bars.
不像其他人那样走的一帆风顺，堀江贵文曾在监狱服过刑。
He was arrested in Japan's biggest financial scandal of the decade.
他被捕的原因是卷入了日本数十年来最大的财政丑闻。
Now, however, he is out on parole, and says he will soon launch a low-cost space-tourism business using a Russian capsule.
但是现在，他假释出狱，并且表示，他马上就会使用俄罗斯研发的一种太空舱经营一个低成本的太空旅行企业。
He has completed several test launches.
他已经进行了多次发射演练。
A large Japanese firm is on the verge⁴ of sponsoring a flight next year, he says.
他说，日本的一家大公司已经准备明年投资一架飞机。
Other investors⁵, he claims, are standing⁶ by.
并且声称，其他的投资者也都蠢蠢欲动了。
This time the money will come not from inflating⁷ the earnings⁸ and shares of Livedoor, for which Mr Horie was sent down,
现在这个时期，对于像堀江贵文这样子被开除的人来说，钱不是那么容易就能从活力门的股份和通货膨胀的工资中挣到，
but from a dedicated⁹ following of 20- and 30-somethings who pay to hear his thoughts via a monthly digital magazine.
但是他却可以从一大批忠心的追随者中赚到钱，那些追随者会订电子月刊付钱听他的想法。
He has almost a million followers¹⁰ on Twitter. Social media and crowdfunding platforms, he says, make it far easier now to launch new businesses.
他在推特上已经有了将近一百万的追随者。他说，社交媒体和云募资平台使得创建新企业变得更加容易。
Not even 21 months in a Japanese prison,
绝不仅仅只是21个月在日本监狱生活，
including solitary¹¹ confinement¹², freezing temperatures and forced labour, were able to stop him entertaining an audience.
这之中堀江贵文还被送到那种极度寒冷且被迫大量劳动的地方单独监禁，这种经历使得他不再用愉悦的口吻为自己的听众做讲解。
From his cell he published two well-received books with gritty manga strips describing his new life:
牢狱中，他在自己的小房间中出版了两本很受欢迎的书，书中他用日本漫画来描绘自己的生活：
cleaning pubic hair out of toilets, being farted at by the senior prisoners he had to tend to, and having to surrender porn magazines to prison guards.
清理洗手间的毛发，比自己早来的犯人冲着自己放屁，被迫向监狱看守交出自己的色轻杂志。
He also dreamed up dozens of new-business ideas.
他也在书中阐述了很多关于新企业的想法。
Among the 30 or so earthbound plans are a new reality show where fans will pay to put their idols¹³ on television,
大约有三十个切合实际的计划都是关于一个新的实体秀的，在这个实体秀中，粉丝需要付钱把他们的偶像放到电视上，
a celebrity-chat smartphone application and a scheme to undercut the price of livestreaming video to phones. Nothing too radical¹⁴, then:
付钱去申请一个和名人电话通话的机会，付钱去买更为廉价的主流音像资源到手机上。这之中没有任何一个特别激进的，然后：
Japan, after all, is already awash with social-media and smartphone start-ups.
日本就会充斥着社交媒体和智能电话企业。
As for his reception back into business life,
至于他返回商业界的感受，
Mr Horie jokes that everyone has welcomed me, except for the chairman of Fuji TV.
堀江贵文开玩笑地说道：每个人都很欢迎我，除了富士电视套台长。
Many people reckon the entrepreneur was punished harshly mainly because he tried to win control of the big broadcaster, and because he flaunted¹⁵ his wealth.
很多人推测堀江贵文之所以被如此严厉的惩戒主要是因为他曾经试图去控制广播公司，而且他还总是去炫耀自己的资产。
The authorities usually treat accounting¹⁶ fraud more leniently¹⁷. In July a group of executives at Olympus, a camera-maker, received suspended prison sentences for a far larger scheme.
政府惩罚做假账的都比这轻。七月，奥林巴斯的一组高官由于一个很大的商业阴谋而被判缓刑。
Mr Horie, now 40, says he is trying to forget what happened.
四十岁的堀江贵文说他正在试图忘记所发生的不好的事情。
It will be hard for his generation to do likewise.
但这对于他那一代人来说却很难。
William Saito, a serial¹⁸ entrepreneur who travels the country encouraging graduates to start new businesses, says he has spent the past five years trying to undo¹⁹ the dispiriting effect of Mr Horie's fall and punishment on young people.
连环创业者威廉斋藤游遍全国去游说毕业生创业，他说，他过去五年都在尝试解开堀江贵文的失败为年轻人们带来的负面效应。
A successful new venture would help greatly.
一个成功的新企业将会起到很大的帮助。

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 innovative   

adj.革新的，新颖的，富有革新精神的

参考例句：

• Discover an innovative way of marketing.发现一个创新的营销方式。
• He was one of the most creative and innovative engineers of his generation.他是他那代人当中最富创造性与革新精神的工程师之一。

3 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

4 verge   

n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• She was on the verge of bursting into tears.她快要哭出来了。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

7 inflating   

v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的现在分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• I felt myself inflating slowly with rage, like a tyre. 我感到自己体内的怒气正慢慢膨胀，像一只轮胎那样。 来自互联网
• Many are already overheating, with prices rising and asset bubbles inflating. 随着物价日益上涨、资产泡沫膨胀，很多新兴国家经济已经过热。 来自互联网

8 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

9 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

10 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

11 solitary   

adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士

参考例句：

• I am rather fond of a solitary stroll in the country.我颇喜欢在乡间独自徜徉。
• The castle rises in solitary splendour on the fringe of the desert.这座城堡巍然耸立在沙漠的边际，显得十分壮美。

12 confinement   

n.幽禁，拘留，监禁；分娩；限制，局限

参考例句：

• He spent eleven years in solitary confinement.他度过了11年的单独监禁。
• The date for my wife's confinement was approaching closer and closer.妻子分娩的日子越来越近了。

13 idols   

偶像( idol的名词复数 )； 受崇拜的人或物； 受到热爱和崇拜的人或物； 神像

参考例句：

• The genii will give evidence against those who have worshipped idols. 魔怪将提供证据来反对那些崇拜偶像的人。 来自英汉非文学 - 文明史
• Teenagers are very sequacious and they often emulate the behavior of their idols. 青少年非常盲从，经常模仿他们的偶像的行为。

14 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

15 flaunted   

v.炫耀，夸耀( flaunt的过去式和过去分词 )；有什么能耐就施展出来

参考例句：

• She flaunted the school rules by not wearing the proper uniform. 她不穿规定的校服，以示对校规的藐视。 来自互联网
• Ember burning with reeds flaunted to the blue sky. 芦苇燃烧成灰烬，撒向蔚蓝的苍穹。 来自互联网

16 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

17 leniently   

温和地，仁慈地

参考例句：

• He marked the paper leniently. 他改考卷打分数很松。
• Considering the signs he showed of genuine repentance,we shall deal leniently with him. 鉴于他有真诚悔改的表现，我们将对他宽大处理。

18 serial   

n.连本影片，连本电视节目；adj.连续的

参考例句：

• A new serial is starting on television tonight.今晚电视开播一部新的电视连续剧。
• Can you account for the serial failures in our experiment?你能解释我们实验屡屡失败的原因吗？

19 undo   

vt.解开，松开；取消，撤销

参考例句：

• His pride will undo him some day.他的傲慢总有一天会毁了他。
• I managed secretly to undo a corner of the parcel.我悄悄地设法解开了包裹的一角。