Sandoz眼前最大的问题是中南美洲当地不良的卫生状况。从法律观点来看，只要在包装上印上“切勿使用脏水”的警告标示，就毋须对后果负责。但基于职业道德与社会良心，Sandoz仍然希望善尽人事。这个片段中，与会的人针对如何确保当地人会以净水冲泡奶粉进行讨论。
Vincent: As a good corporate citizen, we must face the following issues. One is to make the powder so that you can't mix it with dirty water. Two is that we find a way to give clean water to everyone who uses the powder.
身为一家有社会良知的公司，我们必须面对以下的关键问题：一是制造出一种无法用不洁的水冲泡的奶粉；二是找到法子，提供净水给所有食用奶粉的人。
Sam: Can we do both and still not make the price too high? We want to market it to the people who need it the most - the poor. And most of those people in those places are very, very poor.
我们可以两样都做到，又不致使成本涨幅过高吗？我们想把奶粉卖给最需要的人－－穷人。这些地方的住民大部份都非常、非常的穷。
Vincent: A valid point. Well then, let's toss the first problem around a little. We can't make the powder so that you can't mix it with dirty water. The price will be too high, and people could get sick if they still try to drink it. But I think we can add something that would make the color change.
完全同意。那，我们就先讨论一下第一个问题。我想我们无法制造出这种用脏水冲泡后即无法食用的奶粉。成本太高了！而且如果当地人硬是要喝，他们还是可能会生病的。不过我想我们可以掺入一些会改变颜色的添加物。
Grace: Good idea. Like black or something. Nobody would let their kids drink something that didn't look like milk.
好办法！诸如黑色之类的东西，没有人会让自己的孩子喝下不像牛奶的东西。
Sam: I'm sorry, but I have to disagree. These people wash, drink, and even swim every day in the water that LOOKS dirty. But they do it anyway, because they're so poor there's no way they can get clean water.
很抱歉，我无法同意。这些人每天洗涤、饮用、甚至游泳，都在那些看起来很脏的水里；但是他们横竖还是用了。只因为太穷，他们根本没办法得到净水。
Vincent: That's true. Maybe we could add something that would make it smell bad too. If it smells bad and looks bad, that might make sure they don't drink it. But I don't know how much more it will add to the cost.
没错。不然我们添加一些会变得难闻的物质，如果牛奶既难闻又难看，那铁定没有人会喝了。不过我不知道成本会提高到多少。
Grace: If it jacks up the cost too much nobody will buy it. That won't help anyone -- them or us. But we can't just sell it without a way to stop buyers from using dirty water.
不过成本太高，就没有人会买了。这样对谁－－不论是他们或我们，都没有好处。不过我们也不能只管销售，而不去想办法阻止顾客使用脏水。
Notes:
1. good corporate citizen 有社会责任感的公司（公民）
Corporate 的意思是“法人组织的”；citizen为“公民”。这个词组原义是指好公民，如今已意义已被扩展，包括有社会良知的机构组织－－即不为私利而牺牲大众福祉，并能关怀社会的团体。
It was over 10 years ago that Nests sold its powdered milk in Africa, but people still believe it is not a good corporate citizen.
雀巢在非洲销售奶粉已是十多年前的事了，但至今世人仍视它为缺乏社会道德的公司。
2. toss (something) around 非正式的讨论；随意聊聊
Toss 的原义为“投掷”，尤其指不停地丢来丢去的动作；因而常用来比喻你一言，我一语地讨论。这种讨论是不拘形式，也不必按特定的程序进行。toss around为美式口语，意思是“随意、非正式地讨论”。
I'm not sure if Raymond or Nicole should become general manager; let's toss it around and see if we can decide right now.
我不确定是Raymond还是Nicole调任总经理比较好；我们不妨讨论一下，看能否立刻下决定。
3. jack up 上涨；上升
jack当名词是“千斤顶”－－用以顶住并托起车子的底盘，以便进行修理的机器；因此当动词时有“使……上升”之意，可形容价格、成本的上扬。
I don't think we can jack up our prices on our books anymore, because people don't have much extra money to spend these days.
我不认为我们的书价还可以再提高，因为现在大家没有太多闲钱可花了。 |
