bbc随身英语Are you a born entrepreneur? 你是天生的企业家吗？（在线收听）

 Take Away English 随身英语 

30 September 2013

Are you a born entrepreneur? 你是天生的企业家吗？

Vocabulary: business 词汇: 商业

I couldn't sell a stove to an Innuit. I work hard but I am not very entrepreneurial. I admire people like Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg. They set up and grew their own profitable companies when they were very young. 

It got me wondering whether entrepreneurs are born with the skills they need or if men and women can be trained to earn money after spotting and exploring opportunities in the marketplace. 

For UK business consultant Peter Ryding, genes have a great deal to do with it. He says that an individual's talent for business is 70% born, 10% nurture, and 20% trainable.

Another expert, Brian Morgan, professor of entrepreneurship at Cardiff Metropolitan University, places more importance on acquired knowledge. He says business skills can be learned "through college courses or by working with a large company in a sector that the budding entrepreneur is keen to enter."

"This experience might help the candidate to develop some of the fundamental business and networking skills," adds Mr Morgan.

The owner of a chain of restaurants in the UK, Luke Johnson, says that "taking charge of your working life can actually be a better choice to control your own destiny."

A friend of mine did exactly that. She put a counter in a crowded shopping centre and sold coconut macaroons. She prepared a business plan, got a bank loan and organised some advertising.

Her start-up was successful in the beginning. She was proud of her coconut macaroons. 

Well, maybe too proud - as she offered free samples to everybody. She'd give away bags of her cakes. 

Profits started to go down but her entrepreneurship did help her to control her own destiny. The owner of a big department store in the shopping centre was impressed by the caring way she dealt with her customers. They ended up getting married. My friend is a born entrepreneur. She now has coconut macaroon counters all over town.

词汇表请参看答案与词汇部分

Richard Branson set up his first business -  a magazine called ‘Student’ - at 16 

Quiz 测验

阅读短文并回答问题。

1.  Why does the article's author admire Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg? 

2.  Who believes that people are born entrepreneurs?  

3.  What did the author's friend have to do to open her own company?  

4.  What made her profits go down? 

5.  Which expression means 'happy with your own achievement'? 

Exercise 练习

请你在不参考课文的情况下完成下列练习。从每个表格中选择一个意思合适的单词填入句子的空格处。

1.  Why are you always lonely? You should go out more and develop your ___________.

acquired knowledge      networking skills       business plan    customers

2.  Oh! I can't find my wallet! I must have left it on the ___________ when I bought a cup of coffee.

start-up        counter          company      jobs market

3.  Shall we have this new packet of soup for dinner? This is a ___________ I was given in the supermarket.

free sample      piece          counter         start-up

4.  You can't start a company from nothing. The least you've got to have is ___________.

the jobs market    a business plan      a start-up       genes

5.  When you don't know much about a subject, you ask ___________. 

the owner of a store    an Innuit    a consultant      an entrepreneur

Answers and Glossary 答案与词汇

Quiz 小测验

1.  Why does the article's author admire Richard Branson, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg? Because they are successful entrepreneurs.

2.  Who believes that people are born entrepreneurs? UK business consultant Peter Ryding. 

3.  What did the author's friend have to do to open her own company? Prepare a business plan, get a bank loan and organise advertising. 

4.  What made her profits go down? She was giving away too much of her product instead of selling it.

5.  Which expression means 'happy with your own achievement'? Proud.

Exercise 练习

1. Why are you always lonely? You should go out more and develop your networking skills.

2. Oh! I can't find my wallet! I must have left it on the counter when I bought a cup of coffee.

3. Shall we have this new packet of soup for dinner? This is a free sample I was given in the supermarket.

4. You can't start a company from nothing. The least you've got to have is a business plan.

5. When you don't know much about a subject, you ask a consultant. 

Glossary 词汇表

an Innuit

（美洲爱斯基人的）伊努伊特族人

entrepreneurial

具有企业家素质的，创业的

profitable

盈利的，赚钱的

an entrepreneur

企业家

to spot

发现

the marketplace

市场

a consultant

顾问

nurture

依靠培养得来的

entrepreneurship

企业家精神，企业家身份

acquired knowledge

学到的知识

a budding entrepreneur  初露头角的企业家

networking skills

建立人际关系技能

a chain (of restaurants)

连锁（餐厅）

a counter

柜台

a business plan

经营计划，商业企划

a bank loan

银行贷款

advertising

登广告

a start-up

一个刚创办的公司

a free sample

免费赠送的样品

profit