新奇事件簿 汽车租赁公司赫兹申请破产

The car rental¹ company Hertz has filed for bankruptcy² protection in the US after plummeting³ rentals⁴.

由于租赁收入暴跌，美国汽车租赁公司赫兹申请破产保护。

Hertz is the world's second largest car rental company and is a household name.

赫兹是世界第二大汽车租赁公司，也是一个家喻户晓的名字。

It operates over 10,200 franchises⁵ in 150 countries on six continents.

其在六大洲的150个国家拥有超过10200家特许经营店。

It is one of the highest-profile companies to file for bankruptcy because of COVID-19.

该公司是因新冠疫情而申请破产的最知名公司之一。

It had already furloughed or laid off more than 20,000 of its employees as rentals dried up worldwide.

由于全球租赁业务的枯竭，该公司已经暂时解雇或辞退了两万名员工。

This is about half of its global workforce⁶. It said: "The impact of the pandemic on travel demand was sudden and dramatic,

该数量约为全球员工数量的一半。其表示：“疫情对旅游需求的影响突然又巨大，

causing an abrupt⁷ decline in the company's revenue and future bookings." Hertz had $18.8 billion of debt on its books as of March the 31st.

导致公司收入和未来预定量急剧下降。”到3月31日，赫兹的帐面上有188亿美元的债务。

Hertz was founded in 1923 when John Hertz of the Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company bought a small car rental company.

赫兹成立于1923年，当时the Yellow Cab and Yellow Truck and Coach Manufacturing Company的约翰·赫茨买下了一家小汽车租赁公司。

He pioneered what he called a "drive yourself" system, making available just a dozen Model T Ford⁸ cars to customers.

他开创了所谓的“自驾”系统，只向客户提供12辆T型福特汽车。

His mission was, "to be the most customer-focused, cost-efficient vehicle and equipment rental company in every market."

他的使命是“成为每个市场上最以客户为中心、最具成本效益的汽车和设备租赁公司。”

CNN wrote about how the pandemic has impacted Hertz and the entire car rental industry.

CNN报道了疫情对赫兹公司以及整个汽车租赁行业的影响。

It said rentals have been "devastated⁹ by the plunge¹⁰ in travel since the pandemic hit earlier this year".

其说到，“自年初疫情来袭，旅游人数骤降，令租赁业务受到重创”。

It added: "Nearly two-thirds of its revenue comes from rentals at airport locations, and air travel has fallen sharply."

其还补充道：“该公司近三分之二的收入来自机场汽车租赁服务，而航空旅行已大幅下滑。”

1 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 plummeting   

v.垂直落下，骤然跌落( plummet的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Prices are rising, falling, going up, going down, shooting up, plummeting, etc. 物价在上涨、下跌、上升、下落、猛然上涨、骤然下跌等。 来自辞典例句
• The enemy plane went plummeting into the sea. 敌机直直掉进海里。 来自辞典例句

4 rentals   

n.租费，租金额( rental的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• In some large hotels, the income derived from this source actually exceeds income from room rentals. 有些大旅馆中，这方面的盈利实际上要超过出租客房的盈利。 来自辞典例句
• Clerk: Well, Canadian Gifts is on the lower level. It's across from Prime Time Video Rentals. 噢，礼品店在楼下，在黄金时刻录像出租屋的对面。 来自口语例句

5 franchises   

n.（尤指选举议员的）选举权( franchise的名词复数 )；参政权；获特许权的商业机构（或服务）；（公司授予的）特许经销权v.给…以特许权，出售特许权( franchise的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder. 电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Ford dealerships operated as independent franchises. 福特汽车公司的代销商都是独立的联营商。 来自辞典例句

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 abrupt   

adj.突然的，意外的；唐突的，鲁莽的

参考例句：

• The river takes an abrupt bend to the west.这河突然向西转弯。
• His abrupt reply hurt our feelings.他粗鲁的回答伤了我们的感情。

8 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

9 devastated   

v.彻底破坏( devastate的过去式和过去分词)；摧毁；毁灭；在感情上（精神上、财务上等）压垮adj.毁坏的；极为震惊的

参考例句：

• The bomb devastated much of the old part of the city. 这颗炸弹炸毁了旧城的一大片地方。
• His family is absolutely devastated. 他的一家感到极为震惊。

10 plunge   

v.跳入，(使)投入，(使)陷入；猛冲

参考例句：

• Test pool's water temperature before you plunge in.在你跳入之前你应该测试水温。
• That would plunge them in the broil of the two countries.那将会使他们陷入这两国的争斗之中。