Lesson69

9、 An Important Meeting
重要会议

A：Hello, Jim. How are you doing?
喂，吉姆，你好吗？

B：Fine! And yourself?
很好！你呢？

A：Can’t complain. Did you have time to look at my proposal? I think it’s going to be helpful.
没什么可抱怨的，你抽空看我的建议书了吗？我想它对公司会大有帮助的。

B：No, not really. Can we go over it now? I have some time.
还没呢。我们现在可以看一下吗？我现在有时间。

A：Sure. I’ve been trying to come up with some new production and advertising strategies. First of all, if we want to stay competitive, we need to modernize our factory. New equipment is long overdue. We’re behind the times.
当然可以。我在考虑推出一些新产品和广告策略。首先我们如果要保持竞争力的话，就需要使我们的工厂现代化。我们早就应该添置新设备了，那些早已过时。

B：How much will that cost? We have to think about our budget you know.
费用是多少？我们必须要考虑财政预算。

A：We have several options ranging from one hundred thousand dollars all the way up to half a million.
我们有几种选择，从10万美元到50万美元都有。

B：OK. We’ll have to discuss these costs with finance.
我们得跟财务部门讨论这些开支。

A：We should also consider human resources. I’ve been talking to personnel as well as our staff at the factories. We need some new people.
我们同时还要考虑人力资源问题。我已经跟人事部与工厂职员谈过了。我们需要些新人。

B：What’s the picture?
情况怎么样？

A：We’ll probably have to hire three or four engineers to help us modernize the factory.
我们可能得雇用三至四个工程师，来帮助我们实现工厂现代化。

B：What about advertising?
广告的事怎么办？

A：Marketing has some interesting ideas for television commercials. They really seem powerful.
市场部对电视广告的点子很有意思。他们好像能起到作用。

B：TV—isn’t that a bit too expensive for us? What’s wrong with advertising in the papers, as usual?
电视对我们来说是不是太贵了一点？像往常一样在报上打广告有什么不好呢？

A：Quite frankly, it’s just not enough anymore. We need to be more aggressive in order to keep ahead of our competitors. This is 21st century.
坦白地说吧，这太不够劲了。我们必须加强攻势，才能走在竞争对手的前面。这可是21世纪了。

B：Will we be able to afford all this? I’m not so sure.
我们能付得起这么多钱吗？我不是很有把握。

A：Well, I’ll look into it, but I think higher costs will be justified. These investments will result in higher profits for our company.
嗯，我调查一下吧，但我认为多花一点钱是值得的。这样的投资将使我们公司获得更高的利润。

B：We’ll have to look at these figures more closely. Have finance draw up a budget for these investments.
我们得仔细看看这些数据。让财务部起草一份投资预算。

A：Will do. Thanks for your time.
行。谢谢你抽出时间来跟我讨论。

额外成就感

商务英语
equipment 设备
* You need the right equipment for the job.
你需要适当的办公设备。
* This airplane is fitted with the most modern equipment available.
这架飞机所装配的设备是目前最现代化的。

modernize 使现代化；更新
* Our equipment is old; we need to modernize.
我们的设备太陈旧了，需要更新。
* We plan to completely modernize our company before China enters the WTO.
我们准备在中国加入WTO之前使公司全部实现现代化。

competitive 竞争的；有竞争力的
* In order to stay competitive with other companies, we must modernize our production.
为了保持在市场上的竞争力，我们必须要更新产品。
* The import and export business is very competitive.
进出口行业竞争非常激烈。

budget 预算
* We have enough money for television advertisement in our budget.
我们的预算中有足够的资金用于做电视广告。
* We have to budget our time carefully because we only have a few days.
我们只有几天时间，所以要好好调配时间。


口语要素
★ Can’t complain. 挺好的，没什么可抱怨的。
★ We’re behind the times. 我们落伍/过时了。
★ What’s the picture? 情况怎么样？
★ I’m not so sure. 我不是很有把握。
★ I’ll look into it. 我来调查一下。
★ Will do. 行。
★ Thanks for your time. 谢谢你抽出时间来。