现代大学英语精读第三册 03b

　　Michael Dell's Two-Billion-Dollar Dream
One afternoon in 1977, as his parents and
two brothers fished in the Gulf¹ of Mexico, 12-year-old Michael Dell sat on the
beach, painstakingly² putting together a trotline, a maze³ of ropes to which
several fish hooks could be attached. "You're wasting your time," the
rest of the family called to Michael, as they pulled in fish. "Grab a pole
and join in the fun. "
Michael kept working. It was dinnertime
when he finished, and everyone else was ready to call it a day.
Still, the youngster cast the trotline far into the water, anchoring it to a
stick that he plunged⁴ deep in the sand.
Over dinner his family teased young
Michael about coming away empty-handed. But afterward⁵ Michael reeled in his
trotline, and on the hooks were more fish than the others had caught all
together!
Michael Dell has always been fond of
saying, "If you think you have a good idea, try it!" And today, at 29,
he has discovered the power of another good idea that has helped him rise in
just a few years from teen to tycoon⁶. He has become the fourth-largest
manufacturer of personal computers in America and the youngest man ever to
head a Fortune 500 corporation
Growing up in Houston, Michael and
his two brothers were imbued⁷ by their parents with the desire to learn and the
drive to work hard. Even so, stories about the middle boy began to be told
early.
Like the time a saleswoman came
asking to speak to "Mr. Michael Dell" about his getting a high-school
equivalency diploma. Moments later, eight-year-old Michael was explaining that
he thought it might be a good idea to get high school out of the way.
A few years later Michael had another
good idea, to trade stamps by advertising⁸ in stamp magazines. With the $ 2000
profit he made, he bought his first personal computer. Then he took it apart to
figure out how it worked.
In high school Michael had a job
selling subscriptions¹⁰ to the Houston Post. Newlyweds, so he figured
were the best prospects¹¹, so he hired friends to copy the names and addresses of
recent recipients¹² of marriage licenses¹³. These he entered into his computer, then
sent a personalized letter offering each couple a free two-week subscription⁹.
This time Dell made $18 000 and
bought a BMW. The car salesman was flabbergasted when the 17-year-old paid cash.
The next year Dell enrolled¹⁴ at the University of Texas in Austin. Like most
freshmen¹⁵, he needed to earn spending money. Just about everyone on campus was
talking about personal computers. At the time, anyone who didn't have a PC
wanted one, but dealers¹⁶ were selling them at a hefty markup¹⁷. People wanted
low-cost machines custom-made to their needs, and these were not readily
available. Why should dealers get such a big markup for so little added value
Dell wondered. Why not sell from the manufacturer directly to the end user?
Dell knew that IBM required its
dealers to take a monthly quota¹⁸ of PCs, in most cases more than they could sell.
He also knew that holding excess inventory¹⁹ was costly²⁰. So he bought dealers'
surplus stock at cost. Back
in his dorm room, he added features to improve performance. The souped-up
models found eager buyers. Seeing the
hungry market, Dell placed local advertisements offering his customized
computers at 15 percent off retail²¹ price. Soon he was selling to businesses,
doctors' offices and law firms. The trunk of his car was his store; his room
took on the appearance of a small factory.
During Thanksgiving break, Dell's
parents told him they were concerned about his grades. "If you want to
start a business, do it after you get your degree," his father pleaded.
Dell agreed, but back in Austin he
felt the opportunity of a lifetime was passing him by. "I couldn't bear to
miss this chance," he says. After one month he started selling computers
again--- with a vengeance²².
The quarters he shared with two
roommates looked like a combat zone- boxes piled high, computer boards and tools
scattered²³ around. One day his roommates heaped all his equipment into a pile,
preventing Dell from entering his room. It was time to come to grips with the
magnitude of what he had created
The business was now grossing more than $ 50 000 a month.
Over spring recess²⁴, Dell confessed to
his parents that he was still in the computer business. They wanted to know how
classes were going. "I have to quit school," he replied. "I want
to start my own company. "
What exactly is it that you want to
do?" asked his father.
"Compete with IBM," he
answered simply.
Compete with IBM? Now his parents
were really worried. But no matter what they said, Dell stuck fast
So they made a deal; over summer vacation he would try to launch a computer
company. If he didn't succeed, he would have to go back to school in September.
Returning to Austin, Dell risked all
his savings²⁵ and incorporated Dell Computer Corp. on May 3, 1484.
He was 19. Under a deadline, his pace
was frantic²⁶. He rented a one-roam office on a month-to-month lease and hired his
first employee, a 28- year-old manager to handle finance and administration. For
advertising, he grabbed an empty pizza box and on the back sketched²⁷ the first ad
for Dell Computer. A friend copied it onto paper and took it to the newspaper.
Dell still specialized²⁸ in direct
marketing²⁹ of stripped-down IBM PCs to which he added custom features
As orders came in, Dell rushed around gathering³⁰ up the right parts to assemble
each order. First-month sales topped $180 000; the second, $ 265 000. Dell
barely noticed when the new school year arrived.
Within a year, he was selling 1000
PCs and hired more staff. Customers phoned orders to an 800 number, and then the
staff assembled the units. Parts were ordered only as needed, keeping inventory
and overhead low. UPS trucks picked up daily that day's production for delivery.
It was very efficient-- and very profitable.
Just when it seemed the sky was
the limitand sales had topped $3 million, the manager that Dell had hired quit. But, as
Dell always told himself, " Every time you have a crisis, something good
comes out of it. " From necessity, he learned accounting³¹ basics- experience
that would prove invaluable³² in the years ahead. "It's a lot easier to learn
something if it's important to you," he says.
Unlike other manufacturers, Dell gave
his customers money-back guarantees. He also realized that when a computer is
down, the customer wants it back up and working right away. So Dell guaranteed
next- day on site service for his products, and introduced a 24-hour-a-day toll-free
line for customers to talk directly with computer technicians. Ninety percent of
computer technical problems, according to Dell, can be solved over the phone.
Constant telephone contact with
customers kept the company close to the market. Customers let Dell Computer know
directly what they liked or didn't like about a particular model. "My
competitors were developing products and then telling customers what they should
want, instead of finding out what the market really wanted and then developing
products," Dell says.
By the day Michael Dell would have
graduated from college, his company was selling $ 70 million worth of computers
a year. Dell quit dealing³³ in souped-up versions of other companies' products,
and started designing, assembling and marketing his own.
Today Dell Computer has wholly owned
subsidiaries in 16 countries, including Japan. The company has revenues of over
$2 billion, employs some 5 500 persons, and Dell's personal fortune is between $
250 million and $ 300 million. To encourage even greater productivity, Dell
Computer gives its employees awards for ideas worth trying even if they don't
pan out. "Our success has forced the giants to become more
competitive," Dell says. "That's good for the consumer. "
Dell, his wife and their two-year-old
daughter lead a pretty normal life. His charity is generous but quiet. Recently
the couple announced the donation of a parcel of land for a civic³⁴ center
to Austin's Jewish community. Dell also regularly lectures on entrepreneurship
to MBA students at the University of Texas Graduate School of Business in
Austin.
What concerns Michael Dell is that
our country is losing its competitive edge. "There's
too much of an entitlement attitude nowadays," he says. "' I deserve
this' needs to he replaced with 'I earned this.' "
He credits his own success to the
fact that Alexander and Lorraine Dell expected their three sons to learn and
work hard- and draws a lesson. "The reason our schools are failing isn't
because classroom sizes are too big. I can show you schools in Thailand where
kids study in unbelievably crowded classrooms - and yet they're learning much
more than our students. Why? Because they want to learn. Because they want to
work hard. Because their parents and their teachers expect that of them. "
Back when his firm was two people in
one room, Dell told his friends his dream was to become the world's largest
personal-computer maker³⁵. He was unrealistic, they said.
Why would anyone want to be second or
third or tenth?" he replied. His message to us all: why not at least try to
realize your dream, what deep down you would truly love to achieve?

1 gulf   

n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂

参考例句：

• The gulf between the two leaders cannot be bridged.两位领导人之间的鸿沟难以跨越。
• There is a gulf between the two cities.这两座城市间有个海湾。

2 painstakingly   

adv. 费力地 苦心地

参考例句：

• Every aspect of the original has been closely studied and painstakingly reconstructed. 原作的每一细节都经过了仔细研究，费尽苦心才得以重现。
• The cause they contrived so painstakingly also ended in failure. 他们惨淡经营的事业也以失败而告终。

3 maze   

n.迷宫，八阵图，混乱，迷惑

参考例句：

• He found his way through the complex maze of corridors.他穿过了迷宮一样的走廊。
• She was lost in the maze for several hours.一连几小时，她的头脑处于一片糊涂状态。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 afterward   

adv.后来；以后

参考例句：

• Let's go to the theatre first and eat afterward. 让我们先去看戏，然后吃饭。
• Afterward,the boy became a very famous artist.后来，这男孩成为一个很有名的艺术家。

6 tycoon   

n.有钱有势的企业家，大亨

参考例句：

• The tycoon is on the verge of bankruptcy.那名大亨濒临破产的边缘。
• The tycoon has many servants to minister to his needs.那位大亨有很多人服侍他。

7 imbued   

v.使（某人/某事）充满或激起（感情等）( imbue的过去式和过去分词 )；使充满；灌输；激发（强烈感情或品质等）

参考例句：

• Her voice was imbued with an unusual seriousness. 她的声音里充满着一种不寻常的严肃语气。
• These cultivated individuals have been imbued with a sense of social purpose. 这些有教养的人满怀着社会责任感。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

9 subscription   

n.预订，预订费，亲笔签名，调配法，下标（处方）

参考例句：

• We paid a subscription of 5 pounds yearly.我们按年度缴纳5英镑的订阅费。
• Subscription selling bloomed splendidly.订阅销售量激增。

10 subscriptions   

n.（报刊等的）订阅费( subscription的名词复数 )；捐款；（俱乐部的）会员费；捐助

参考例句：

• Subscriptions to these magazines can be paid in at the post office. 这些杂志的订阅费可以在邮局缴纳。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Payment of subscriptions should be made to the club secretary. 会费应交给俱乐部秘书。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。

12 recipients   

adj.接受的；受领的；容纳的；愿意接受的n.收件人；接受者；受领者；接受器

参考例句：

• The recipients of the prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者的姓名登在报上。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The recipients of prizes had their names printed in the paper. 获奖者名单登在报上。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

13 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

14 enrolled   

adj.入学登记了的v.[亦作enrol]( enroll的过去式和过去分词 )；登记，招收，使入伍（或入会、入学等），参加，成为成员；记入名册；卷起，包起

参考例句：

• They have been studying hard from the moment they enrolled. 从入学时起，他们就一直努力学习。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He enrolled with an employment agency for a teaching position. 他在职业介绍所登了记以谋求一个教师的职位。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

16 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

17 markup   

n.加价，涨价，利润

参考例句：

• This mean that international delivery will line markup from today.这意味着国际快递将从今天起全线涨价。
• Our products are expensive,and distributors and retailers always want a large markup.我们的产品很贵，经销商和零售商总是要求高额利差。

18 quota   

n.（生产、进出口等的）配额，（移民的）限额

参考例句：

• A restricted import quota was set for meat products.肉类产品设定了进口配额。
• He overfulfilled his production quota for two months running.他一连两个月超额完成生产指标。

19 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

20 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

21 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

22 vengeance   

n.报复，报仇，复仇

参考例句：

• He swore vengeance against the men who murdered his father.他发誓要向那些杀害他父亲的人报仇。
• For years he brooded vengeance.多年来他一直在盘算报仇。

23 scattered   

adj.分散的，稀疏的；散步的；疏疏落落的

参考例句：

• Gathering up his scattered papers,he pushed them into his case.他把散乱的文件收拾起来，塞进文件夹里。

24 recess   

n.短期休息，壁凹（墙上装架子，柜子等凹处）

参考例句：

• The chairman of the meeting announced a ten-minute recess.会议主席宣布休会10分钟。
• Parliament was hastily recalled from recess.休会的议员被匆匆召回开会。

25 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

26 frantic   

adj.狂乱的，错乱的，激昂的

参考例句：

• I've had a frantic rush to get my work done.我急急忙忙地赶完工作。
• He made frantic dash for the departing train.他发疯似地冲向正开出的火车。

27 sketched   

v.草拟（sketch的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The historical article sketched the major events of the decade. 这篇有关历史的文章概述了这十年中的重大事件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He sketched the situation in a few vivid words. 他用几句生动的语言简述了局势。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

28 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。

29 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

30 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

31 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

32 invaluable   

adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的

参考例句：

• A computer would have been invaluable for this job.一台计算机对这个工作的作用会是无法估计的。
• This information was invaluable to him.这个消息对他来说是非常宝贵的。

33 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

34 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

35 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。