2月25日，娃哈哈创始人宗庆后，因病去世，享年79岁。消息传出后，全网震惊，纷纷缅怀。毕竟娃哈哈三个字，是我们一代又一代人的童年记忆。
我至今都还记得小时候站在小卖部前，哭着闹着要妈妈买娃哈哈的样子，也依然记得妈妈同意后喝到娃哈哈的满足与甜蜜。
宗庆后先生去世后，不仅国内媒体，主流外媒也纷纷对其进行了报道。这周的外刊精读专栏，我选了《华尔街日报》的一篇文章，带同学们读一读。
文章比较长，我从中选择了几个语言点比较丰富的段落带同学们读一读。
请同学们先独立阅读原文，读不懂的地方不要紧，后面会有详细讲解。
Like many from China’s first generation of private entrepreneurs, Zong grew up desperately poor. His hometown of Hangzhou later gained an image for technology, after Jack Ma based Alibaba Group Holding there, but business was more freewheeling in 1987 when Zong was selling drinks and ice cream for pennies from a three-wheeled vehicle.
He created Wahaha in 1989 after developing a “children’s tonic” drink that he pitched as a nutritious supplement for students who weren’t getting enough to eat. When he tried to use idled capacity in a government-owned canning company to make the popular drink, workers revolted for fear a private businessman would toss them out.
“The media also said we were capitalists,” Zong told the BBC in 2011. “It was a huge negative campaign.”
His bold move was to buy the 2,000-employee facility. Wahaha hit just as China’s economy was generating cash income for individuals who during its Communist era had goods allocated to them by the government. Zong capitalized on the trend by saturating media so Wahaha became better known than Coke to large segments of the population, and made his drinks available even deep in the countryside with aggressive distribution and low pricing.
Today, Wahaha is a sprawling enterprise covering nearly every Chinese province. The company’s 30,000 employees and more than 80 plants annually produce 30 billion bottles of milk, tea, juice, water and yogurt.
Zong Qinghou, Soft-Drink Magnate Who Bested Coke and Pepsi in China, Dies
曾打败可口可乐与百事可乐的
中国饮料大亨宗庆后去世
-
magnate
[ˈmægnət] 指「大亨，巨头」
(a rich and powerful person in industry or business)
。
the soft-drink magnate
便指「饮料大亨」。标题为节省版面，省略了冠词the。
外刊中常出现的表示「巨头」的词还有 giant, tycoon等等。
《纽约时报》关于宗庆后的报道，就用的
tycoon
这个词：
-
best
这里为动词，指「击败，超过」，相当于defeat sb。这里best
Coke and Pepsi 便指「打败可口可乐与百事可乐」。
我在美剧里也曾遇见过
best
的这个熟词僻义：
I've done it. I bested my depression.
-
CNN的报道用的是
take on sb
这个词：
-
take on sb
指「与...较量，接受...挑战」
(If you take someone on, you fight them or compete against them, especially when they are bigger or more powerful than you are.)
，这个词一般指与比自己实力比较强的对手较量。
《经济学人》一篇关于快手挑战抖音的文章，就用的
take on sth
:
Like many from China’s first generation of
private entrepreneurs
, Zon
g grew up
desperately poor
. His hometown of Hangzhou later
gained an image for
technology, after Jack Ma
based
Alibaba Group Holding there, but business was more
freewheeling
in 1987 when Zon
g was selling drinks and ice cream for pennies from a three-wheeled vehicle.
与许多中国第一代民营企业家一样，宗庆后自幼家境贫寒。他的家乡杭州后来因马云在当地创办阿里巴巴而树立起科技城市的形象，但在1987年那会儿，做生意的方式还相当原始奔放，当时宗庆后曾踩着三轮车卖饮料和冰棍。
-
private entrepr
eneurs
指「民营企业家」。
-
be desperately poor
指「极度贫困，赤贫」。
sb grew up desperately poor.
便指「某人出身贫寒」。
-
despera
tely
这里是个程度副词，指「非常，极其」，相当于extremely。
注意
desperately
其后一般
跟负面的形容词。
比如：
be desperately ill
病得很重
be desperately vulnerable
极其脆弱
I'm desperately worried about her.
-
image
这里指「形象，印象，声誉」
(the impression that a person, an organization, a product, etc. gives to the public)
。
比如：
public image
公众形象
-
base
为动词，指「把总部设在…，把办公地点设在…」。
-
地点-based
便指「总部设在…的」，也是一个非常实用的表达。比如：
a Shanghai-based company
一家总部设在上海的公司。
-
freewheel
由free（自由）和wheel（轮胎）构成，本来是指骑车或开车下坡时「滑行」。
freewheeling
为形容词，喻指「随心所欲的，自由放纵的」
(not concerned about rules or the possible results of what you do)
，非常有画面感的一个词，有一种野蛮生长的感觉。
《经济学人》一篇关于深圳的
文章也用到了 这个词：
And Shen-zhen’s special economic zone did well because it operated as a
freewheeling
hub.
深圳经济特区发展得很好，是因为它是一个不受拘束的枢纽。
-
penny
是「便士」的意思，指代钱。毛姆写的《月亮与六便士》英文名就叫作：
The Moon and Sixpence
。
He
created
Wahaha in 1989 after developing a “children’s tonic” drink that he
pitched as a nutritious supplement
for students who weren’t getting enough to eat.
1989年，宗庆后创办了娃哈哈，此前他开发出一种儿童营养饮料，将其作为营养液，为不爱吃饭的学生提供营养补充。
When he tried to use
idled capacity
in a government-owned canning company to make the popular drink, workers revolted for fear a private businessman would
toss them out.
当他试图利用一家国有罐头食品厂的闲置产能来生产这种广受欢迎的饮料时，遭到了罐头厂员工的反对，他们担心宗庆后会把他们赶走。
-
cr
eate sth
这里指「创办」。我们也可以说
found sth
。「创始人」就叫作
founder
。
You founded a ride-share app.
-
pitch
作动词，指「推销，争取...的支持」。比如你有一个新想法，想要说服老板，就可以做个PPT，pitch your new idea to your boss。
短语
pitch sth as sth
便指「把...作为...进行推销」。
文中
that he pitched as a nutritious supplement for students who weren’t getting enough to eat
是一个
that引导的定语从句
，修饰
a “children’s tonic” drink。
我们把先行词代入到定语从句，把定语从句单独写成一句话，即：
He
pitched
[the “children’s tonic” drink]
as
a nutritious supplement for students who weren’t getting enough to eat.
pitch
[pɪtʃ] 也可作名词，指「宣传，广告」，
make a pitch / pitches
指「宣传，营销」。
举个美剧《摩登家庭》里的例子：
-
a nutritious supplement
指「营养补充」。
-
nutritious
为形容词，指「有营养的，营养价值高的」，来自于名词
nutrition
（营养）。
-
malnutrition
指「营养不良」。
-
idle
d
为形容词，指「不工作的，闲置的」
(not working or producing anything)
。
比如《经济学人》一篇关于零工经济的文章有这样一句话：
Freshippo, Alibaba’s e-grocer, has engaged 2,000 staff from 30 idled restaurant chains.
阿里巴巴的线上超市盒马鲜生已从30 间停业的连锁餐厅雇佣了 2000 名员工。
-
我们也可以直接说：
idle
。
-
idle
也是形容词，形容机器、工厂时，指「闲置的」。
常见的搭配时：
to lie/stand/sit / remain idle
闲置着
-
idle
形容人时，指「没有工作的，闲散的」
(not working; unemployed)
。
我们来看一个台剧《茶金》里的例子：
The machines were lying idle.
idle
还有「漫无目的的」的意思。常和
gossip
搭配，
idle gossip
指「无聊的八卦」。
举个美剧里的例子：
-
capacit
y
为不可数名词，这里指「产能」。
-
revolt
[rɪˈvəʊlt] 为动词，指「反抗，反叛」
(to take violent action against the people in power)
。
-
for fear (that) … / for fear of sth
指「唯恐，生怕」
(because you are worried that you will make something happen)
。
《经济学人》一篇关于休假的文章也用到了词：
Some Americans are reluctant to take a long holiday
for fear that
their employer will find they can easily manage without them.
一些美国人并不愿意休⻓假，因为担心他们的雇主会发现离了他们公司照样能好好运转。
-
我们可以从这句话中提炼出一个句型：
sb is reluctant to do sth for fear that... / for fear of sth.
某人因为害怕...，而不愿意 做...。
《经济学人》一篇关于高管妈妈的文章用到了一模一样的句式：
They faced a lot of pressure to be hands-on mothers, had little support from their husbands and
were reluctant to
ask for reduced schedules
for fear of
not seeming committed to their jobs.
她们面临着很大的压力，要成为亲力亲为的母亲，几乎得不到丈夫的支持，也不愿请求缩短工作时间，因为害怕自己看起来对工作不够投入。
-
我们联系热点话题「心理健康」造个句:
很多抑郁症患者不愿意看医生，因为担心遭到他人的歧视。
Many people with depression
are reluctant to
seek treatment for fear of being discriminated against.
-
toss sb out
把某人扔出去，指「赶走，撵走某人」。
I mean, it could be time we tossed you out on street.
“The media also said we were capitalists,” Zong told the BBC in 2011. “It was a huge negative campaign.”
宗庆后在2011年告诉BBC：当地媒体还说我们是资本家。他说，这是一场声势浩大的负面宣传。
His bold move was to buy the 2,000-employee facility. Wahaha hit
just as
China’s economy was generating cash income for individuals who during its Communist era had goods
allocated
to them by the government.
宗庆后采取大胆举动，收购了这家拥有2000名员工的罐头厂。在当时的中国，经济的发展让个人手中有了现金收入，而之前在计划经济时代则是由政府向个人分配物资，娃哈哈正是在这样的背景下崛起的。
Zong capitalized on the trend by
saturating
media so Wahaha became better known than Coke to large segments of the population, and
made
his drinks
available
even deep in the countryside with aggressive distribution and low pricing.
宗庆后利用这一趋势，在媒体上投放了大量广告，使娃哈哈比可口可乐更为广大民众所熟知，并通过积极的分销和低廉的价格，将他的饮料销售网络深入到农村偏远地区。
-
bold
为形容词，指「大胆的，果敢的」
(not afraid of taking risks and making difficult decisions)
。
分享一句电影
《真心半解》
里的台词，其中就用到了bold：
-
mov
e
这里为可数名词，指「行动，举措」
(something that you decide to do in order to achieve something)
。
-
just as…
指「恰逢...，正当...」。
我们再来看个电影《情动假日》里的例子：
It's a shame you're leaving just as we started dating.
我们刚开始约会，你就要走了，太可惜了。
-
allocate
[ˈæləkeɪt]为动词，指「分配，拨给」
(to give something to someone as their share of a total amount, for them to use in a particular way)
。
比如《华尔街日报》一篇关于应届生就业情况的文章有这样一句话：
In Shanghai, the local government mandated that local state-owned companies allocate at least half of new positions to college graduates this year.
在上海，当地政府规定，市属和区属国有企业要在年度招聘计划中，安排不低于50%的就业岗位面向上海市高校毕业生定向招聘。
-
have sth done
指「让...被...」。
比如：
She had all her jewellery stolen
.她所有的首饰都被偷了。
文中
had goods allocated to them by the government
便指「让商品被政府分发给他们」。
-
capitalize on /upon sth
指「充分利用…」
(to gain a further advantage for yourself from a situation)
。
我们来看一个电影《妇女参政论者》里的例子：
Capitalize on press interest.
近义表达还有take advantage of sth, make the most of sth 等等。
-
saturate
[ˈsætjʊreɪt] 作动词时，本来是「浸透，使...湿透」的意思。
引申出「使...充满，使...饱和」的意思
(to fill a thing or place completely so that no more can be added)
。
saturate media
渗透媒体，也就是在媒体上大量投放广告的意思。
-
短语
be saturated with
指「充满...，充斥着...」。
比如：我们的文化里充斥着电视和广告。
O
ur culture
is saturated with
television and advertising.
《纽约时报》一篇关于疫情对全球影响的文章曾这样写道:
The losses to companies, many already saturated with debt, risk triggering a financial crisis of cataclysmic proportions.
许多公司已经负债累累，这些损失有可能引发一场规模巨大的金融危机。
这里be saturated with debt 便是「充满债务，负债累累」的意思。
-
segment
[ˈseg.mənt] 为可数名词，指「部分」。
large segments of the population
便指「人口中的很大部分，众多人口」。
-
available
为形容词，指「可获得」。
make sth available (to sb)
便指「让...能够获得...」。
文中
made his drinks available even deep in the countryside
即「让
他的饮料在农村偏远地区也买得到
」。
我们在
“人人影视”被判刑！《经济学人》如何报道？
还讲过一个近义词：
make sth accessible to sb
也是「让...能获得...」，大家顺便复习一下。
-
pricing
这里为不可数名词，指「定价」。
low pricing
即「低廉的定价」。
-
deep
这里是副词，指「在深处，至深处」，后面多跟副词或介词。
deep in the countryside
便指「深入农村偏远地区」。再举两个例子，大家熟悉一下deep的这个用法：
He stood with his hands
deep in his pockets
