雙語新聞:追蹤悍馬的神祕騎士
【英文原文】
Tracking Hummer's Mysterious Buyer
摘要：幾乎每個關注通用汽車(General Motors)破產案的人都在問同一個問題：收購通用汽車旗下悍馬(Hummer)品牌的這家中國公司到底是何方神聖？
Google searches shot up exponentially Tuesday for China's Sichuan Tengzhong Heavy Industrial Machinery Co.
Nearly everyone following the General Motors bankruptcy case is asking the same question: Who is the Chinese company buying GM's Hummer?
Not many have a good answer, not even some veteran industrial analysts. 'I don't know the Sichuan company,' said Scott Laprise, an analyst at CLSA Ltd. in China tracking the auto and steel industries.
It isn't just on Google, and it isn't just in the U.S. Before Tuesday's news hit the Web, only a handful of results showed up for Sichuan Tengzhong on baidu, the largest Chinese search engine.
The top results? Job posts on a migrant workers' Web site and chat room conversations about its possible salary. One Sichuan local wrote in a bulletin board that Tengzhong pays its employees about 3,000 yuan a month, or about $450.
Tengzhong's own Web site said the company specializes in producing construction equipment and special-use vehicles. According to China Security News, a leading financial newspaper in the country, Tengzhong has never made its own consumer vehicles.
Little is known about the finances of the closely held company. China News Net, an official Chinese news site, said Tengzhong expected revenue in 2007 of 3 billion yuan, or $440 million. As bankers estimate the Hummer deal's price as less than $500 million, the question remains, is Tengzhong biting off more than it can chew. Tengzhong's interest in the gas-guzzling Hummer brand seems somewhat counterintuitive, as the company just entered the business of making wind-turbine gearboxes last year.
Chinese mainstream news and individuals expressed mixed feelings. Some took great pride in the prospect of making Hummer a Chinese brand, while others think Tengzhong is only buying something GM wants to get rid of. This acquisition is an irrational reaction in a time of financial crisis. China has a great number of rich people who are dying to own a piece of the great brand,' wrote Mihai Keman on Sina forum, China's biggest news portal.
According to a report from Xinhua, China's official news agency, China's government is reviewing the deal.
【中文譯文】
週二在谷歌(Google)搜索引擎上，對中國四川騰中重工機械有限公司的搜索量成倍增長。
幾乎每個關注通用汽車(General Motors)破產案的人都在問同一個問題：收購通用汽車旗下悍馬(Hummer)品牌的這家中國公司到底是何方神聖？
沒多少人能給出滿意的答案，即便是一些資深的行業分析師也不太清楚。里昂證券亞洲(CLSA)駐中國追蹤汽車和鋼鐵行業的分析師萊普瑞斯(Scott Laprise)就說，我沒聽說過這家公司。
這並不僅僅是谷歌上面的搜索情況，也不僅僅是美國網絡上的搜索情況。在收購悍馬的消息週二傳出之前，最大的中文搜索引擎百度上關於四川騰中重工的搜索條目也只是寥寥數條。
排在前列的搜索結果是什麼？一個民工網站上的招聘信息，以及關於該公司可能開多少薪水的聊天室會話。一個四川人在一個網絡公告牌上寫道，四川騰中重工的員工每月工資是人民幣3,000元左右（約合450美元）。
四川騰中重工網站的信息顯示，公司主要生產建築機械和特種車輛。據中國主要金融報紙《中國證券報》報導，四川騰中重工從未生產過自己的消費車輛。
人們對這家未上市企業的財務狀況也是知之甚少。據中國官方的中國新聞網(China News Net)報導，四川騰中重工曾預計2007年收入是人民幣30億元(合4.4億美元)。而銀行業人士預計悍馬品牌的售價爲不到5億美元，問題仍然在於，四川騰中重工是不是在蛇吞象。
四川騰中重工看上油耗子品牌悍馬似乎有點不合常理，因爲該公司去年纔剛剛進入製造風電齒輪箱的業務。
中國主流新聞媒體和民衆對此也表達了不同的看法。一些人對悍馬成爲國產品牌的前景感到驕傲，而其他人認爲騰中重工只是在揀通用汽車急於甩掉的包袱。科曼(Mihai Keman)在中國最大新聞門戶網站新浪網的論壇上寫道，這筆收購是金融危機當中的一個不理性反應。中國有大量富人夢寐以求地想擁有這個偉大品牌。
據中國官方的新華社報導，中國政府正在審議這一交易。
【詞彙講解】
1. exponentially adv. 成倍地，冪地，指數地
Electronic commerce has become a reality and is expected to grow exponentially.
而且電子商業已成爲事實，並預料會以倍數增長。
2. veteran n.經驗豐富的人
The baseball veteran loved to coach young players.
這位棒球老手喜歡指導年輕選手。
3. bulletin board (電子)公告牌
Please post this notice on the school bulletin board.
請把這個通知貼在學校的布告欄上。
4. counterintuitive adj. 違反直覺的
5. wind turbine 風力渦輪機；風輪機
6. gearbox n. 變速箱，變速器
Can the engine and the gearbox be supplied separately?
發動機和變速箱能分開供應嗎？
7. irrational adj.無理性的；失去理性的；不合理的
After taking the drug she became completely irrational.
她在吸毒後變得完全失去了理性。
【語法和句型】
1. As bankers estimate the Hummer deal's price as less than $500 million, the question remains, is Tengzhong biting off more than it can chew.
而銀行業人士預計悍馬品牌的售價爲不到5億美元，問題仍然在於，四川騰中重工是不是在蛇吞象。
bite off 表示“咬掉，截去”的意思，例如：
"He tried to bite off my nose," he concluded.
“他還想咬掉我的鼻子！”他結束了回答。
chew的意思是“咀嚼；咬”，例如：
Chew your food slowly.
食物要慢慢嚼。
bite off more than one can chew的意思就是“貪多嚼不爛”
2. Some took great pride in the prospect of making Hummer a Chinese brand, while others think Tengzhong is only buying something GM wants to get rid of.
一些人對悍馬成爲國產品牌的前景感到驕傲，而其他人認爲騰中重工只是在揀通用汽車急於甩掉的包袱。
get rid of 表示“除掉，去掉”，例如：
It is difficult to get rid of insects.
除掉蟲子可不容易。
We must get rid of this bad style.
我們必須去掉這種不良作風。
