2010年考研英语一新题型 Part B 原文翻译及答案

A) The first and more important is the consumer's growing preference for eating out: the consumption of food and drink in places other than homes has risen from about 32 percent of total consumption in 1995 to 35 percent in 2000 and is expected to approach 38 percent by 2005. This development is boosting wholesale demand from the food service segment by 4 to 5 percent a year across Europe, compared with growth in retail demand of 1 to 2 percent. Meanwhile, as the recession is looming large, people are getting anxious. They tend to keep a tighter hold on their purse and consider eating at home a realistic alternative.

首先且更重要的是消费者对在外就餐的日益偏好：在家庭以外的地方消费食品和饮料的比例已从1995年的总消费的约32%上升到2000年的35%，并预计到2005年将接近38%。这一发展正在推动整个欧洲食品服务部门的批发需求每年增长4%至5%，相比之下，零售需求的增长为1%至2%。与此同时，随着经济衰退的迫近，人们变得焦虑。他们倾向于紧缩开支，并将在家用餐视为一种现实的选择。

B) Retail sales of food and drink in Europe's largest markets are at a standstill, leaving European grocery retailers hungry for opportunities to grow. Most leading retailers have already tried e-commerce, with limited success, and expansion abroad. But almost all have ignored the big, profitable opportunity in their own backyard: the wholesale food and drink trade, which appears to be just the kind of market retailers need.

欧洲最大市场的食品和饮料零售销售停滞不前，使得欧洲食品杂货零售商渴望增长机会。大多数领先零售商已经尝试了电子商务，但成效有限，以及向海外扩张。但几乎所有人都忽略了自己后院的巨大盈利机会：食品和饮料批发贸易，这似乎正是零售商所需的市场。

C) Will such variations bring about a change in the overall structure of the food and drink market? Definitely not. The functioning of the market is based on flexible trends dominated by potential buyers. In other words, it is up to the buyer, rather than the seller, to decide what to buy. At any rate, this change will ultimately be acclaimed by an ever-growing number of both domestic and international consumers, regardless of how long the current consumer pattern will take hold.

这些变化会改变食品和饮料市场的整体结构吗？绝对不会。市场的运作基于由潜在买家主导的灵活趋势。换句话说，决定买什么的是买家，而不是卖家。无论如何，这一变化最终将受到越来越多的国内外消费者的欢迎，无论当前的消费模式将持续多久。

D) All in all, this clearly seems to be a market in which big retailers could profitably apply their gigantic scale, existing infrastructure, and proven skills in the management of product ranges, logistics, and marketing intelligence. Retailers that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe may well expect to rake in substantial profits thereby. At least, that is how it looks as a whole. Closer inspection reveals important differences among the biggest national markets, especially in their customer segments and wholesale structures, as well as the competitive dynamics of individual food and drink categories. Big retailers must understand these differences before they can identify the segments of European wholesaling in which their particular abilities might unseat smaller but entrenched competitors. New skills and unfamiliar business models are needed too.

总而言之，这似乎明显是一个市场，其中大型零售商可以有利可图地应用其巨大规模、现有基础设施以及在产品范围、物流和营销情报管理方面的成熟技能。掌握欧洲批发复杂性的零售商很可能期望从中获得可观利润。至少，整体来看是这样。更仔细的审查揭示了最大国内市场之间的重要差异，特别是在客户细分和批发结构，以及个别食品和饮料类别的竞争动态方面。大型零售商必须理解这些差异，然后才能确定欧洲批发中哪些细分领域，他们的特定能力可能取代较小但根深蒂固的竞争对手。还需要新的技能和不熟悉的商业模式。

E) Despite variations in detail, wholesale markets in the countries that have been closely examined - France, Germany, Italy and Spain - are made out of the same building blocks. Demand comes mainly from two sources: independent mom-and-pop grocery stores which, unlike large retail chains, are too small to buy straight from producers, and food service operators that cater to consumers when they don't eat at home. Such food service operators range from snack machines to large institutional catering ventures, but most of these businesses are known in the trade as "horeca": hotels, restaurants, and cafes. Overall, Europe's wholesale market for food and drink is growing at the same sluggish pace as the retail market, but the figures, when added together, mask two opposing trends.

尽管细节上存在差异，但经过仔细研究的国家——法国、德国、意大利和西班牙——的批发市场由相同的构建块组成。需求主要来自两个来源：独立的家庭式杂货店，它们不像大型零售连锁店，规模太小而无法直接从生产商购买；以及食品服务运营商，它们为不在家用餐的消费者提供服务。这些食品服务运营商从自动售货机到大型机构餐饮企业不等，但大多数这些企业在行业中被称为“horeca”：酒店、餐馆和咖啡馆。总体而言，欧洲食品和饮料批发市场以与零售市场相同的缓慢速度增长，但将这些数字加在一起时，掩盖了两种相反的趋势。

F) For example, wholesale food and drink sales came to $268 billion in France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the United Kingdom in 2000 - more than 40 percent of retail sales. Moreover, average overall margins are higher in wholesale than in retail; wholesale demand from the food service sector is growing quickly as more Europeans eat out more often; and changes in the competitive dynamics of this fragmented industry are at last making it feasible for wholesalers to consolidate.

例如，2000年在法国、德国、意大利、西班牙和英国，食品和饮料批发销售额达到2680亿美元——超过零售销售额的40%。此外，批发的平均整体利润率高于零售；随着更多欧洲人更频繁地在外就餐，食品服务部门的批发需求正在快速增长；这个分散行业的竞争动态变化最终使得批发商合并成为可能。

G) However, none of these requirements should deter large retailers (and even some large food producers and existing wholesalers) from trying their hand, for those that master the intricacies of wholesaling in Europe stand to reap considerable gains.

然而，这些要求都不应阻止大型零售商（甚至一些大型食品生产商和现有批发商）尝试，因为掌握欧洲批发复杂性的企业有望获得可观收益。