BEC中级阅读材料：成功之道
下面是小编整理的关于成功之道的商务英语阅读材料，提供给大家复习参考。
When I am interviewed, I am occasionally asked: “What is the secret of business success?”
If I knew the perfect answer, I would have made far fewer mistakes over the years; in truth I suspect there are many ingredients. Nevertheless, as an exercise, I have noted below a number of contributing factors that I think matter more than most.
● Work for yourself. To be self-employed can be lonely, and is likely to be hard work. But ultimately you will gain the rewards for your efforts if you are right – as long as you are lucky. You can certainly earn a handsome living working in a big bank or an accountancy firm, but you will never achieve a spectacular capital gain, or change the world in the way that an entrepreneur can by fulfilling their dream.
● Be in the right place. History shows that growing markets, where entrepreneurs are encouraged, offer greater opportunities than places where there is stagnant demand, high tax and lots of regulation. On that basis, anyone with little to lose who is living in the west should emigrate to the east: it's what I advise anyone under the age of 30 to do. This is a harsh verdict, and inevitably there are thousands of exceptions. But it is undeniable that far more new millionaires and billionaires are being minted in countries such as India and China than in Europe. Growing gross domestic product, expanding populations, low costs and modest tax rates offer a powerful combination that the west simply cannot match.
● Learn how to borrow. An ability to find and use debt is a factor in most stories of great wealth. Even if banks are not extending much credit right now, the cycle will turn and eventually they will reopen for business. I was slow to realise the fundamental importance of using debt. Many entrepreneurs overdo it at the top, and end up losing many of their leveraged assets when prices fall. But somehow they rarely go bankrupt, and very often reappear with new bankers in tow when the cycle turns.
参考译文：
在我接受采访时，偶尔会有人问我：“企业成功的秘诀是什么?”
如果我当初知道正确答案，那么这么多年来我会少犯很多错误;实际上，我认为成功的要素有许多。不过，我还是尝试着列出了以下几个在我看来最重要的影响因素。
● 为自己工作 自己当老板可能会很孤单，而且可能工作繁重。但只要你走运，而又判断正确，你最终会为自己的付出获得回报。在一家大银行或会计师事务所打工，你肯定能生活得不错，但你永远不会获得丰厚的资本收益，或者像企业家那样实现梦想，改变世界。
● 占取地利 历史经验表明，相对于需求低迷、税赋沉重、监管严格的市场，鼓励创业的成长型市场会提供更大的机遇。有鉴于此，所有没什么可失去的西方人，都应该移居东 方：对30岁以下的年轻人，我都是这样建议的。这是个粗略的判断，必然存在诸多例外。但不可否认，印度和中国等国创造的新科百万富翁和亿万富翁，要远远多 于欧洲。国内生产总值(GDP)不断增长，人口持续增加，成本低廉，税赋适中，这些因素的强大组合令西方难以望其项背。
● 学习如何借债 获得并利用债务的能力，是大多数巨额财富故事中的一个要素。即使目前各银行发贷不多，但周期会转向，银行最终会再次向商业敞开大门。我花了很长时间才认识 到利用债务的根本重要性。许多企业家在信贷高峰期做得太过火，最终在资产价格下跌时失去了大量杠杆资产。但他们很少破产，往往会在周期转向时，携手新的银 行家卷土重来。
拓展阅读：2016年BEC中级阅读材料之联合国贸易
全球去年FDI创1.5万亿美元新高，联合国(UN)初步数据显示，去年全球外国直接投资(FDI)猛增至创纪录的`1.5万亿美元，超过此前于2000年创下的1.4万亿美元峰值水平。Worldwide foreign direct investment surged to a record $1,500bn last year, surpassing the previous peak of $1,400bn in 2000, according to preliminary UN figures.
联合国贸易和发展会议(Unctad)在昨日发布的报告中表示，去年下半年的金融震荡并未冲击总体外国直接投资流动，不过2008年的前景更加不确定。The UN Conference on Trade and Development said in its report released yesterday that financial turmoil in the second half of last year had not hit overall FDI flows, although the outlook for 2008 was more uncertain.
美元走软可能鼓励了流入美国的外国投资，由于企业和其它持有不断升值货币的投资者纷纷抢购廉价美国资产，美国成为外国直接投资的最大接收国，吸引外国直接投资估计达1930亿美元。Dollar weakness may have encouraged inward investment to the US, the largest recipient attracting an estimated $193bn (€131bn, ￡98bn) in FDI, as companies and other investors with funds in appreciating currencies snapped up cheap American assets.
2007年富国和穷国吸引的外国直接投资都出现强劲增长，其中三分之二流向工业化国家，剩余三分之一流向发展中国家和俄罗斯等“转型”国家。Rich and poor countries alike saw strong growth in FDI in 2007, with two-thirds going to industrialized nations and the rest to developing and “transition” countries such as Russia.
受飞速发展的能源行业推动，去年外国对俄罗斯的投资跃升70%，至近500亿美元。Foreign investment in Russia, propelled by its booming energy sector, jumped 70 per cent last year to nearly $50bn.
联合国贸易和发展会议表示，外国直接投资反映出全球许多地区的强劲经济表现，以及在企业利润高企和收购资金充裕的推动下，跨境并购活动活跃。Unctad said the growth in FDI reflected a strong economic performance in many parts of the world and buoyant cross-border mergers and acquisitions activity fuelled by high corporate profits and an abundance of cash for purchases.
然而，在去年夏天的信贷紧缩之后，2007年下半年的并购交易额有所下降。联合国贸易和发展会议警告，世界经济各种下行风险可能影响2008年的前景。However, the value of M&As declined in the second half of 2007 following the summer’s credit squeeze. Various downside risks for the world economy could affect prospects for 2008, Unctad warned.
“全球外部失衡持续存在、汇率大幅波动、利率不断上升和通胀压力不断加剧，以及大宗商品价格高企和波动，造成的风险可能对全球外国直接投资流动产生降温影响。”“Continuing global external imbalances, sharp exchange rate fluctuations, rising interest rates and increasing inflationary pressures, as well as high and volatile commodity prices, pose risks that may have a chilling effect on global FDI flows.”
英国紧随美国之后，以1710亿美元的外国直接投资流入，成为去年第二大新增外国投资接收国，法国以1230亿美元位居第三。欧盟(EU)是吸引外国直接投资最多的地区，占2007年全部外国投资额的40%。After the US, the UK was the second biggest host to new foreign investment last year with FDI inflows of $171bn, followed by France at $123bn. The European Union was the largest host region, accounting for 40 per cent of all inflows in 2007.
中国仍然是发展中国家中吸引外国直接投资最多的国家，其金额从2006年的690亿美元，略微下滑至670亿美元，但香港吸引的投资从430亿美元上升至540亿美元，增幅逾四分之一。巴西、墨西哥和新加坡并列第三，去年均吸引了约370亿美元的外国直接投资。FDI flows to China, still the biggest recipient among developing countries, de-clined slightly from $69bn in 2006 to $67bn, but investment in Hong Kong was up by more than a quarter from $43bn to $54bn. In equal third place, Brazil, Mexico and Singapore all netted about $37bn in FDI last year.
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