TEXT 55
Evolve or die
不进则退（陈继龙 编译）
Jul 27th 2006
From The Economist print edition
（1）THE personal computer spawned[1] a new industry. But many of the firms that initially flourished in the PC era are now finding life difficult.Dell, the leading PC-maker, issued a profit warning last week that sent its share-price to a five-year low. Intel is trying to regain ground lost to AMD, its increasingly confident competitor. Microsoft has just announced that it will buy back 8% of its shares for around $20 billion—a sign that its high-growth days are behind it.
个人计算机（PC）造就了一个新产业。然而，众多最初在PC时代兴盛一时的公司如今却发现举步维艰。头号PC制造商戴尔公司上周发布了一则利润警报，造成其股价跌至五年来最低水平。因特尔也在设法夺回被其信心与日俱增的对手——AMD所占领的市场。微软则刚刚宣布将以200亿美元左右的价格回购其8%的股份——这意味着它曾经的高速增长时代已成过眼烟云。
（2）But none of these firms is in mortal danger.That is more than can be said for many of the smaller firms of a similarvintage[2]to the PC. Novell's two top executives departed in June following a string of poor results. Silicon Graphics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. 3Com replaced its boss earlier this year followinglacklustre[3]performance. Borland shed one-fifth of its workforce and is preparing to sell the best-known part of its business; this month its finance chiefr_______①.
不过，这些公司还没有哪一家面临灭顶之灾，而许多同期开始生产PC的小公司就说不准了。Novell公司的两位最高执行官由于一连串糟糕的业绩已于6月份离职。硅谷制图公司则于5月份申请了《破产法》第11章规定的破产保护。3Com公司的老总也因无出众成绩而于今年早些时候被免职。Borland公司则裁减了五分之一的员工，并拟转让公司部分知名业务；其财务主管也已在这个月辞职。
All four firms arec_______②of the IBM PC, the creatures of a distant era when only around 200 institutions were connected to the internet. （3）Each had a bold vision of technology, but then failed to evolve as the very innovations they pioneered became commonplace.
这四家公司与IBM个人计算机均处于同一时代，都出自那个久远的年代——当时只有200家左右的公共机构接通了互联网。在技术上，它们个个都曾有着大胆的洞察力，可当它们开创的新技术广为应用时，自己却止步不前了。
Novell prospered by selling networking software to link up computers and enable group-working. Yet the firm failed to keep up with its rivals,c_______③Microsoft and IBM. It then shifted strategy and acquired an open-source software company in 2004, leaving users of its earlier products feeling neglected.
Novell依靠销售连接计算机并实现群组工作的网络软件获得成功，可是最终却被它的对手（主要是微软和IBM）甩到了后面。后来，它又转变战略，于2004年接手了一家开放源代码软件公司，这又让其前期产品的用户有一种被怠慢的感觉。]
Silicon Graphics, founded in 1982, makes sophisticated computers for modelling things such as cars and aeroplanes. But as PCs became more powerful, the firm waswrongfooted[4]by the shift to commoditised hardware: its last profitable year was 1999. (The firm has kept itself afloat by selling its lavish office buildings to Google, the technology industry'sd______④today.)
成立于1982年的硅谷制图公司生产用于绘制汽车、飞机之类模型的高尖端计算机。但是随着PC功能日趋强大，硬件商品化的转变将该公司逼入了尴尬境地：它最近一个创收年还是1999年。（该公司已将其奢华的办公大楼卖给了当今技术产业新宠Google公司，从而得以走出困境。）
Similarly, 3Com, which makes computer-networking gear,floundered[5]as such products turned into low-cost commodities. （4）And Borland, which makes programming tools, was squeezed between industry giants on the one hand and free software on the other.
同样，生产计算机网络设备的3Com公司由于此类产品沦为廉价商品而感到不知所措。还有生产程序设计工具的Borlan公司可谓腹背受敌，一边是各大公司，另一边则是自由软件。
（5）Companies that start off with a wildly successful product often fail to stay the course, explains Jim Collins, the author of “Built to Last”. “If you have a GREat idea, it creates a false sense that you are stronger and more successful than you actually are,” he says. Failure to evolve can then lead toe_______⑤.
《以建设谋持久》一书作者吉姆-科林斯解释说，依靠某种红极一时的产品发家的公司常常都无法坚持到最后。（译注：按照Longman注解，wildly一词有两个意思，一是“in a very uncontrolled or excited way”，即“失控地，兴奋地，狂热地”，二是“extremely”，即“极度，非常”。这句话的意思是指：有些公司刚开始推出一种产品并大获成功，从而得以扬名立万，可由于缺乏与时俱进的意识而原地踏步或者干脆倒闭。这句话为后面的引语作了铺垫。“有了一个好主意”是不够的，不能吃老本，要不断“想出好主意”，不断进步。）他说：“如果你想出一个好主意，就会给你一种错觉，以为你自己很强大，很成功，其实并非如此。”不进则退啊（不能进化就会走向灭绝）。
[QUIZ]
1. 根据上下文和英文释义，补全单词：
①r_______（v.to officially announce that you have decided to leave your job or an organization）
②c_______（n.someone who lived or was in a particular place at the same time as someone else）
③c________（adv.mostly but not completely [= mainly]）
④d________（n.used when speaking to someone you love；the most popular person or thing in a particular group or area of activity）
⑤e________（n.when a particular type of animal or plant stops existing）
2. 英译汉（将划线部分英文翻译成中文）：
[NOTES](LONGMAN)
1. spawn v.产卵，大量繁殖后代；造成，产生
2. vintage n.葡萄酒酿造年期；制造年期
3. lackluster adj.无光泽的；黯淡的，不活跃的
4. wrongfoot v.to surprise and embarrass someone, especially by asking a question they did not expect使难堪；使窘促不安: Woo's political skill and ability to wrongfoot the opposition
5. flounder v.挣扎；踌躇，不知所措；有很多问题且极有可能失败
[KEY TO QUIZ]
[replyview]1. ①resigned 辞职（表示“to leave a job or organization”：leave - quit - resign - retire - hand in your notice/resignation递交离职通知/辞职书 - pack/jack it in辞掉；离开；停止）
②contemporaries 同时代的人（物）
③chiefly 首要地；主要地（用于表达“the main reason for something or the main part of something”的词有：mainly - largely/chiefly - primarily/principally - above all - first and foremost）
④darling 心爱的人；宠儿
⑤extinction 消灭；灭绝
2.（见译文，仅供参考，欢迎指正）
不进则退—知名PC公司举步维艰
2023-01-07英汉翻译
