Henry Ford, the famous U.S. inventor and car manufacturer, once said, “The business of America is business.” By this he meant that the U.S. way of life is based on the values of the business world.
美国著名发明家和汽车制造商亨利·福特曾说过：“美国的事业就是商业。”他的意思是，美国的生活方式是基于商业世界的价值观。
Few would argue with Ford’s statement. A brief glimpse at a daily newspaper vividly shows how much people in the United States think about business. For example, nearly every newspaper has a business section, in which the deals and projects, finances and management, stock prices and labor problems of corporations are reported daily. In addition, business news can appear in every other section. Most national news has an important financial aspect to it. Welfare, foreign aid, the federal budget, and the policies of the Federal Reserve Bank are all heavily affected by business. Moreover, business news appears in some of the unlikeliest places. The world of arts and entertainment is often referred to as “the entertainment industry” or “show business.”
很少有人会对福特的声明提出异议。只要看一眼日报，就能生动地看出美国人对商业的看法。例如，几乎每家报纸都有一个商业板块，每天报道公司的交易和项目、财务和管理、股价和劳动力问题。此外，商业新闻可以每隔一节出现。大多数国家新闻都有重要的金融方面。福利、对外援助、联邦预算和联邦储备银行的政策都受到商业的严重影响。此外，商业新闻出现在一些最不可能的地方。艺术和娱乐的世界经常被称为“娱乐业”或“演艺事业”。
The positive side of Henry Ford’s statement can be seen in the prosperity that business has brought to U.S. life. One of the most important reasons so many people from all over the world come to live in the United States is the dream of a better job. Jobs are produced in abundance because the U.S. economic system is driven by competition. People believe that this system crates more wealth, more jobs, and a materially better way of life.
亨利·福特的声明的积极一面可以从商业给美国生活带来的繁荣中看出。来自世界各地的许多人来到美国生活的最重要原因之一是梦想有一份更好的工作。就业机会丰富因为美国的经济体系是由竞争驱动。人们相信，这个体系带来了更多的财富、更多的工作和物质上更好的生活方式。
The negative side of Henry Ford’s statement, however, can be seen when the word business is taken to mean big business. And the term big business—referring to the biggest companies, is seen in opposition to labor. Throughout U.S. history working people have had to fight hard for higher wages, better working conditions, and the fight to form unions. Today, many of the old labor disputes are over, but there is still some employee anxiety. Downsizing—the laying off of thousands of workers to keep expenses low and profits high—creates feelings of insecurity for many.
然而，当“商业”一词被视为大企业时，亨利·福特声明的负面影响就可以看出了。“大企业”一词指的是最大的公司，被视为反对劳工。纵观美国历史，劳动人民不得不为更高的工资、更好的工作条件和组建工会而努力奋斗。如今，许多旧的劳资纠纷已经过去，但仍存在一些员工焦虑。裁员——为了保持低开支和高利润而解雇数千名工人——给许多人带来了不安全感。
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