《英语流行话题阅读:语境识词4500》33 The Founder of Rolls-Royce (II)

　　Unit 33
The Founder¹ of Rolls-Royce (II)
About the same time, Charles Rolls was also in business for himself, like Royce, very successfully. But achieving this had been rather less of a struggle for Rolls than it was for his future partner. Rolls was born into the aristocracy, being the third son of Lord and Lady Llangattock. The landed gentry² were never expected to work in those days and Rolls, like most young men in similar families, was reared for a life of ease and luxury. He was educated at Eton and Cambridge University where his natural talent for engineering work enabled him to gain a degree in Mechanical Engineering and Applied³ Sciences. It was while he was still at Cambridge that he began to take an interest in the fledgling motor industry. He went to France with his father and on his return bought himself a car, which soon made a name for himself with Rolls at the wheel. It was the first car ever seen at Cambridge. By the time Rolls graduated, he was probably the most skilful⁴ driver in the country. In 1902, Rolls had gone into business for himself selling motor cars and the firm, known as CS Rolls Co. quickly became a leading motor car distributor.
Rolls, however, still had two major ambitions. First he wanted his name to be associated with cars in the same way as Chubb's was with safes and Steinway's was with pianos. And, secondly⁵, he wanted to find a British car as good or preferably better than the foreign cars he was then selling. But he very nearly missed his chance to achieve both these aims at once because when Henry Edmunds, a shareholder⁶ in Royce Ltd, told Rolls about Henry Royce's new 2 cylinder⁷ car, Rolls assumed that it would be as noisy and inefficient⁸ as all the other 2 cylinder cars on the road. He was, of course, wrong and Henry Edmunds persuaded Rolls to make the trip up to Manchester to see the car.
Rolls, Edmunds and Royce met at the Midland Hotel in Manchester and the meeting was an immediate⁹ success. Rolls tried the car and became a wholehearted enthusiast¹⁰ and he said afterwards that Royce "was the man I have been looking for years". An agreement was quickly reached giving Rolls exclusive sales rights for all the cars Royce could produce and the two men really got down to work. On December 23rd, 1904, a contract between the two companies was signed, including a clause stipulating¹¹ that all the cars should be called "Rolls-Royce".
The story of the brand goes back 100 years and its name has become linked with that of Bentley Motors since the 1930s. But the greatest change in its long and illustrious history took place towards the end of the last millennium¹². The company had been owned by British defense¹³ group Vickers plc since 1980, and was sold to the highest bidder¹⁴ -- Volkswagen -- in 1998. The German car maker¹⁵ took control of Bentley and the factory in Crewe, Cheshire but the right to the famous Rolls-Royce name was retained by aero engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce plc.

1 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

2 gentry   

n.绅士阶级，上层阶级

参考例句：

• Landed income was the true measure of the gentry.来自土地的收入是衡量是否士绅阶层的真正标准。
• Better be the head of the yeomanry than the tail of the gentry.宁做自由民之首，不居贵族之末。

3 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

4 skilful   

(=skillful)adj.灵巧的，熟练的

参考例句：

• The more you practise,the more skilful you'll become.练习的次数越多，熟练的程度越高。
• He's not very skilful with his chopsticks.他用筷子不大熟练。

5 secondly   

adv.第二，其次

参考例句：

• Secondly,use your own head and present your point of view.第二，动脑筋提出自己的见解。
• Secondly it is necessary to define the applied load.其次，需要确定所作用的载荷。

6 shareholder   

n.股东，股票持有人

参考例句：

• The account department have prepare a financial statement for the shareholder.财务部为股东准备了一份财务报表。
• A shareholder may transfer his shares in accordance with the law.股东持有的股份可以依法转让。

7 cylinder   

n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸

参考例句：

• What's the volume of this cylinder?这个圆筒的体积有多少？
• The cylinder is getting too much gas and not enough air.汽缸里汽油太多而空气不足。

8 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

10 enthusiast   

n.热心人，热衷者

参考例句：

• He is an enthusiast about politics.他是个热衷于政治的人。
• He was an enthusiast and loved to evoke enthusiasm in others.他是一个激情昂扬的人，也热中于唤起他人心中的激情。

11 stipulating   

v.（尤指在协议或建议中）规定，约定，讲明（条件等）( stipulate的现在分词 )；规定，明确要求

参考例句：

• Shall we first sign a barter trade agreement stipulating the general terms and conditions? 我们先签一个易货贸易协议，规定一般性条款，行吗？ 来自互联网
• The other firm are stipulating for and early exchange of information regarding the contract. 作为协议条件，另一家公司坚持要求早日交换有关合同的信息。 来自互联网

12 millennium   

n.一千年，千禧年；太平盛世

参考例句：

• The whole world was counting down to the new millennium.全世界都在倒计时迎接新千年的到来。
• We waited as the clock ticked away the last few seconds of the old millennium.我们静候着时钟滴答走过千年的最后几秒钟。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

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。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

15 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。