英国卫报:走向失控的博姿药妆(3)

What it is not is No 7 moisturisers, contact-lens solutions, angina pills.

不是7号润肤霜、隐形眼镜护理液、心绞痛药片。

It is not the shop on the high street with the white-coated pharmacist who fills your gran’s prescription¹,

不是商业街上那些穿着白大褂为你奶奶配药的药剂师的商店，

the shop where your mum used to go for your cough medicine.

你妈妈过去常去给你买咳嗽药的商店。

What it is not, in other words, is Boots.

换句话说，不是博姿。

But Tony’s story isn’t about one man who can’t rub along with his bosses.

但是托尼的故事并不是关于一个不能和老板和睦相处的人。

It is about a radically² changed business model that, in the eyes of many of the company’s own staff,

这种彻底改变的商业模式，在该公司许多员工眼中，

appears to suck the care out of a caring profession, harming employees while enriching those right at the top.

似乎从一个关心他人的职业中榨取了关爱之心，伤害了员工，同时也使高层变得富有。

This is the tale of how one of Britain’s oldest and biggest businesses went rogue³ –

这是一个关于英国历史最悠久、规模最大的企业如何变成流氓企业的故事-

to the point where its own pharmacists claim their working conditions threaten the safety of patients,

它的药剂师声称他们的工作条件威胁到病人的安全，

and experts warn that the management’s pursuit of demanding financial targets poses a risk to public health.

专家警告说，管理层追求高要求的财务目标对公众健康构成风险。

(Boots denies this, saying that “offering care for our colleagues, customers and the communities which we serve…is an integral part of our strategy.”)

（博姿否认了这一点，称“为我们的同事、客户和我们服务的社区提供关怀...这是我们战略不可分割的一部分。”）

At the heart of this story is one of the most urgent debates in post-crash Britain:

这个故事的核心是危机后英国最紧迫的争论之一：

what large companies owe the rest of us – in taxes, in wages, and in standards of behaviour.

大公司在税收、工资和行为标准上欠我们其他人的东西。

When David Cameron calls for a “responsible capitalism”, or the former Labour leader Ed Miliband decries⁴ “predator” corporations,

当戴维·卡梅伦呼吁建立“负责任的资本主义”，或前工党领袖埃德·米利班德谴责“掠夺者”企业时，

what both men are grasping for is a way of describing how some of our biggest and best-known businesses no longer resemble the societies they operate in.

这两个人所追求的，是一种描述我们一些最大、最知名的企业如何不再像它们所处的社会的方式。

Lawfully⁵ exploiting the opportunities afforded them by globalisation and new technology,

他们合法地利用全球化和新技术给他们带来的机会，

they hand over as little tax as possible to the countries on whose infrastructure⁶ and protections they rely,

依赖着国家的基础设施和保护，却上交着尽可能少的税收。

squeeze pay and conditions for employees even while handing out lavish⁷ rewards to managers,

压榨员工的工资和工作条件，同时却给经理们丰厚的奖励，

and underinvest in staff so as to over-reward shareholders⁸.

以及为了过度奖励股东，而对员工投资不足。

1 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

2 radically   

ad.根本地，本质地

参考例句：

• I think we may have to rethink our policies fairly radically. 我认为我们可能要对我们的政策进行根本的反思。
• The health service must be radically reformed. 公共医疗卫生服务必须进行彻底改革。

3 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

4 decries   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Mr Basescu decries communism as criminal, but Bulgarian leaders only mumble. 巴塞斯库总统将共产主义比作犯罪，而对这个问题，保加利亚的领导人却避而不谈。 来自互联网
• A staunch materialist,he decries economy. 一个坚定的唯物主义者公开谴责经济。 来自互联网

5 lawfully   

adv.守法地，合法地；合理地

参考例句：

• Lawfully established contracts shall be protected by law. 依法成立的合同应受法律保护。 来自口语例句
• As my lawfully wedded husband, in sickness and in health, till death parts us. 当成是我的合法丈夫，无论疾病灾难，直到死亡把我们分开。 来自电影对白

6 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

7 lavish   

adj.无节制的；浪费的；vt.慷慨地给予，挥霍

参考例句：

• He despised people who were lavish with their praises.他看不起那些阿谀奉承的人。
• The sets and costumes are lavish.布景和服装极尽奢华。

8 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任