VOA慢速英语2016 星巴克新任首席执行官将于2017年任职（在线收听）

New Starbucks CEO to Take Over in 2017 星巴克新任首席执行官将于2017年任职

This is What’s Trending Today.

以下是今日新鲜事。

The coffee company Starbucks said its chief executive officer, Howard Schultz, plans to leave his position in April of 2017. He will reportedly work on a new Starbucks brand.

星巴克咖啡公司称，公司首席执行官霍华德·舒尔茨将于2017年4月离职。据报道，他将就职于一家新的星巴克品牌店。

Schultz, 63, is credited with greatly expanding the company and its brand worldwide. He began working with Starbucks in 1982 as the operations and marketing director. At the time, Starbucks had just four coffee shops. All were in Seattle, Washington.

63岁的舒尔茨扩大了公司规模，使星巴克品牌享誉全球。他从1982年起开始在星巴克工作，当时的职位是运营和营销总监。那时，星巴克仅有4家咖啡店。咖啡店均位于西雅图和华盛顿。

Today, the company has 24,000 stores in 70 countries.

如今，星巴克已在全球70个国家开了24000个分店。

Starbucks opened its first store outside of the U.S. in 1996 in Tokyo, Japan. Since then, Starbucks stores have opened in China, Dubai, Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Mexico and many other places.

1996年，星巴克在日本东京开了首家海外分店。从那时起，星巴克分店拓展到了中国、迪拜、泰国、印度尼西亚、韩国、墨西哥以及其他许多地区。

Schultz was the company’s CEO from 1987 until 2000. He became the CEO again in 2008. Kevin Johnson will replace him. Johnson is currently the company’s chief operating officer and once worked with Microsoft.

舒尔茨于1987年到2000年间，任职星巴克公司首席执行官。他于2008年再次出任首席执行官一职。凯文·约翰逊将成为星巴克下一任的首席执行官。目前，约翰逊是公司首席运营官，他曾经在微软工作。

Schultz said that after he steps down, he will work to make a special Starbucks brand bigger. That brand is called Starbucks Reserve. It serves high-quality drinks. The coffee served in its cafes can be two times more expensive than regular Starbucks coffee.

舒尔茨表示，他离职后，将会努力让一个星巴克的特殊品牌变得更为强大。该品牌为星巴克甄选店。甄选店提供高质量饮品。该店咖啡的价格要比普通的星巴克店贵两倍。

There are still very few Starbucks Reserve stores. But, Starbucks reportedly plans to open many more of these cafes around the world in the near future.

目前星巴克甄选店数量较少。不过，报道称未来公司将会在世界范围内开更多的星巴克甄选店。

People reacted to the news of Schultz’s departure on social media. Some Twitter users had not heard of Starbucks Reserve stores before.

人们在社交媒体上对舒尔茨离职的新闻做出回应。一些推特用户从未听说过星巴克甄选店。

One person wrote: “high-end coffee? Isn’t that what Starbucks is? If paying $3.16 for an iced medium coffee isn’t high-end, I don’t know what is.”

一名用户写道：“高端咖啡？星巴克不就是高端咖啡吗？如果花3.16美元买一杯中杯冰咖啡还不算高端的话，我真不知道什么是高端了。”

Another person wrote: “I’ll not purchase one $12 coffee in my lifetime.”

另一用户写道：“我这辈子都不会买12美元一杯的咖啡。”

Others on social media wondered if Schultz was considering running for president in 2020. He supported Democrat Hillary Clinton in the recent U.S. elections.

其他人在社交媒体上好奇，舒尔茨是否会考虑竞选2020年美国总统。他曾在最近的美国大选中支持了民主党候选人希拉里·克林顿。

Words in This Story

brand – n. a category of products that are all made by a particular company and all have a particular name

chain –n. a group of businesses (such as stores, restaurants, or hotels) that have the same name and basic appearance and sell the same products or services

high-end –adj. higher in price and of better quality than most others

credit –v. to give honor or recognition to (someone or something) for doing something or for making something happen