英国卫报:小冰块下的大生意(11)

If this is something that The Ice Co has taken proactive steps to address – all its ice is now made using green energy,

The Ice Co公司现在所有的冰块都是用绿色能源制造，所有的包装都是100%可回收利用，

all packaging is 100% recyclable and plastic use has been reduced 40% in the past two years – other events in the industry remain beyond their control.

塑料的使用量在过去两年里减少了40%，如果这是Ice Co已经采取积极措施来解决的问题，那么行业内的其他事件仍然是他们无法控制的。

Competitors' attempts at market consolidation¹ are a constant risk.

竞争对手试图整合市场的风险将持续存在。

In 2018, the private equity-backed Procubitos Europe group was formed out of a merger² between the two largest packaged-ice manufacturers in Spain;

2018年，西班牙两家最大的包装冰制造商合并成立了私人股本支持的Procubitos Europe集团。

after adding the largest Italian player, Polo Nord, to the portfolio³, the group now owns packaged ice in Germany, too, right on the fringes of The Ice Co's dominion⁴.

在收购了意大利最大的竞争者Polo Nord后，该集团现在在德国也拥有了包装冰，就在The Ice Co公司统治的边缘。

Consumer tastes remain fickle⁵: following the gin-and-tonic boom, there is now talk of the non-alcoholic spirits explosion, the dawn of tequila and soda⁶, the emerging craft rum supremacy⁷.

消费者的口味仍变化无常：继杜松子酒和奎宁水的热潮后，人们又开始谈论非酒精烈酒的爆炸式增长、龙舌兰酒和苏打水的黎明、手工朗姆酒的新兴霸主地位。

The specifics of these trends are meaningless. The only thing that matters for an ice-maker is how those drinks are served, and how the people who need ice for them get hold of it.

这些趋势的细节是没有意义的。对制冰商来说，唯一重要的是如何供应这些饮料以及需要冰块的人如何获得这些饮料。

There might be grounds for cautious optimism in the general pandemic-induced shift towards online retail⁸ (always a bonus with a product as bulky and unpleasant to carry as packaged ice),

在由疫情引起的向网络零售转变的过程中，或许有理由保持谨慎的乐观态度(对于像包装冰一样笨重且难以携带的产品来说，这无疑是一种奖励)，

but like generations of Marrs before her, Polly Metcalfe can only hope to remain vigilant⁹, in the hope that she and her team are able to provide the market with frozen water in whatever form the market dictates¹⁰.

但与玛尔斯之前的几代人一样，波莉·梅特卡夫只希望保持警惕，希望她和她的团队能够为市场提供各种形式的冰水。

"We're always looking out – we don't want to be left behind," she noted¹¹, and for an MD in a different industry, that might scan as a perfectly¹² acceptable platitude¹³.

“我们总是在向前看——我们不想落在后面，”她指出，对于一个不同行业的总经理来说，这可能是一个可以完全接受的陈词滥调。

Ice, though, is different. And The Ice Co is not just the company that makes ice; it is also the company that ice made.

不过冰块就不同了。The Ice Co不仅制造了冰块，同时也被冰块所塑造。

As 200 years of modern ice-trade history have taught us, we would do well not to overlook the things too apparently¹⁴ uninteresting to merit our attention.

正如200年的现代冰贸易历史给我们的启示：我们最好不要忽视那些由于太过枯燥而不值得我们注意的事情。

The evidence of the cubes melting in your glass suggests that it is the world that changes ice. But ice has changed the world, too.

冰块在杯子里融化的证据表明，是世界改变了冰，但冰也改变了世界。

1 consolidation   

n.合并,巩固

参考例句：

• The denser population necessitates closer consolidation both for internal and external action. 住得日益稠密的居民，对内和对外都不得不更紧密地团结起来。 来自英汉非文学 - 家庭、私有制和国家的起源
• The state ensures the consolidation and growth of the state economy. 国家保障国营经济的巩固和发展。 来自汉英非文学 - 中国宪法

2 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

3 portfolio   

n.公事包；文件夹；大臣及部长职位

参考例句：

• He remembered her because she was carrying a large portfolio.他因为她带着一个大公文包而记住了她。
• He resigned his portfolio.他辞去了大臣职务。

4 dominion   

n.统治，管辖，支配权；领土，版图

参考例句：

• Alexander held dominion over a vast area.亚历山大曾统治过辽阔的地域。
• In the affluent society,the authorities are hardly forced to justify their dominion.在富裕社会里，当局几乎无需证明其统治之合理。

5 fickle   

adj.(爱情或友谊上)易变的，不坚定的

参考例句：

• Fluctuating prices usually base on a fickle public's demand.物价的波动往往是由于群众需求的不稳定而引起的。
• The weather is so fickle in summer.夏日的天气如此多变。

6 soda   

n.苏打水；汽水

参考例句：

• She doesn't enjoy drinking chocolate soda.她不喜欢喝巧克力汽水。
• I will freshen your drink with more soda and ice cubes.我给你的饮料重加一些苏打水和冰块。

7 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

8 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

9 vigilant   

adj.警觉的，警戒的，警惕的

参考例句：

• He has to learn how to remain vigilant through these long nights.他得学会如何在这漫长的黑夜里保持警觉。
• The dog kept a vigilant guard over the house.这只狗警醒地守护着这所房屋。

10 dictates   

n.命令，规定，要求( dictate的名词复数 )v.大声讲或读( dictate的第三人称单数 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• Convention dictates that a minister should resign in such a situation. 依照常规部长在这种情况下应该辞职。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He always follows the dictates of common sense. 他总是按常识行事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

12 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

13 platitude   

n.老生常谈，陈词滥调

参考例句：

• The talk is no more than a platitude. 这番话无非是老生常谈。
• His speech is full of platitude. 他的讲话充满了陈词滥调。

14 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。