纪录片《美国商业大亨传奇》 铁路之争（9）

I think there are people in every generation that have a

每一代中总有一些人

vision that, um, transcends¹ their moment and their time.

有着超越时代的眼光和智慧

"Commodore" Cornelius Vanderbilt owns

"船长"科尼利厄斯·范德比尔特

more miles of rail than anyone in the world.

拥有的铁路长度比世界上任何人都多

But like all men of power, he faces constant challenges.

不过同所有权势者一样 他也持续面临着挑战

Competition gets very aggressive.

竞争变得白热化

People have no idea how aggressive it is.

没人知道这有多残酷

And sometimes, you don't even hear it,

有时 你甚至无法察觉

because what goes on behind your back is not a pretty picture.

你永远不知道背后发生着怎样的阴谋

At the height of his power,

在处在权利高峰时

Vanderbilt is outsmarted by a pair of unknowns.

范德比尔特被两个名不见经传的人打败

To Vanderbilt's money!

为范德比尔特的钱干杯

Jay Gould and Jim Fisk

杰·古尔德和吉姆·菲斯克

have fleeced the Commodore out of millions.

从船长手里捞走了数百万美元

And they want the world to know it.

不仅如此 他们还要公之于世

Thank you, don't mind if I do.

谢谢 不要介意我这么做

Now, it is no secret what Vanderbilt has been trying to do.

范德比尔特想做什么已经不是秘密了

He owns more railroads than anybody else.

他比任何人拥有的铁路都多

But Gould and me, we have struck a blow for the little guy.

但我和古尔德 打击了这个小老头一次

Now, sure, he may be rich, and sure, he may be powerful,

没错 他很富有 没错 他也很有权

but somebody had to stand up to the old bastard².

但必须要有人站起来 对付这个老杂种

It was a humiliating defeat for the Commodore,

对船长而言 这是一次很丢脸的失败

a man who was so fiercely competitive,

一个具有如此强烈竞争意识的人

who wanted to win at absolutely everything,

一个希望赢得一切的人

to whom money was so important,

一个将钱看得如此重要的人

and here he was, defeated, and insulted publicly,

然而却被被古尔德和菲斯克这样打败

by Gould and Fisk.

并在公开场合受到这样的侮辱

Gould and Fisk may be on top of the world,

古尔德和菲斯克或许觉得飘飘欲仙

but they've awakened³ a sleeping lion.

但他们唤醒了一头沉睡的狮子

Vanderbilt vows⁴ to never be beaten again.

范德比尔特发誓不再会被打败

They don't think in terms of money.

他们不会用钱来衡量问题

They think in terms of winning.

他们会用胜利来衡量

Now, naturally, if you win big in business, money follows,

只要能在商业中取胜 赚钱是自然而然的

but that shouldn't be your objective.

但钱不应成为你的目标

Your objective should be to win.

你的目标应该是取胜

Win, win, win. All the time.

赢 赢 赢 一直赢下去

Not sometimes. Every time.

不是有时 而是一直

Vanderbilt immediately begins looking for a new edge.

范德比尔特立刻开始寻找新的突破点

He realizes that the railroads have been overbuilt,

他认识到 铁路已经建得有点太多了

and the future of the industry isn't in building new lines,

行业的未来并不在于建立新线路

but in transporting new cargo⁵.

而在于运输新货物

Innovation is not a big breakthrough invention every time.

创新并不需要每次都有突破性发明

Innovation is a constant thing.

创新是一个持续的过程

And if you don't have an innovate⁶ company

如果你的公司不能够

coming to work everyday to find a better way,

每天都创新 来找到更好的做法

you don't have a company.

它就算不上是真正的公司

You're getting ready to die on the vine.

你很快就会一败涂地

If Vanderbilt can corner the market on a new source of freight,

如果范德比尔特能够找到一种新货物

one that can keep his trains constantly full,

让自己的火车总能被装满

he'll be able to control the railroad industry.

他就能控制整个铁路行业

And the Commodore knows just where to look.

船长很快就找到了方向

1 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

2 bastard   

n.坏蛋，混蛋；私生子

参考例句：

• He was never concerned about being born a bastard.他从不介意自己是私生子。
• There was supposed to be no way to get at the bastard.据说没有办法买通那个混蛋。

3 awakened   

v.（使）醒( awaken的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）觉醒；弄醒；（使）意识到

参考例句：

• She awakened to the sound of birds singing. 她醒来听到鸟的叫声。
• The public has been awakened to the full horror of the situation. 公众完全意识到了这一状况的可怕程度。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

5 cargo   

n.(一只船或一架飞机运载的)货物

参考例句：

• The ship has a cargo of about 200 ton.这条船大约有200吨的货物。
• A lot of people discharged the cargo from a ship.许多人从船上卸下货物。

6 innovate   

v.革新，变革，创始

参考例句：

• We must innovate in order to make progress.我们必须改革以便取得进步。
• It is necessary to innovate and develop military theories.创新和发展军事理论是必要的。