经济学人290:苏格兰的工程 从轮船到卫星的发展

 　　Scottish engineering

　　苏格兰的工程

　　From ships to satellites

　　从轮船到卫星的发展

　　How high-end engineering escaped industrial meltdown

　　高端工程如何在崩溃的产业中逃过一劫

　　Box me up Scotty

　　把我组装成箱，苏格兰人

　　SCOTLAND may not have broken off from Britain last year, but at least it got into space. Overshadowed by the ballyhoo over the referendum, the first satellite built in Scotland, UKube-1 (pictured below), was launched. The same dimensions as a boxed bottle of whisky, it was assembled on the banks of the river Clyde in central Glasgow by the country's first satellite manufacturer, Clyde Space. It is but one example of Scotland's surprisingly healthy engineering industry.

　　苏格兰去年未脱离英国，但至少进了太空。它大肆宣扬全民公决独立与否一事，声势之大，盖过其制造的第一颗卫星UKuble一号发射太空。该卫星大小与威士忌装盒相同，由英国首位卫星制造商克莱德航天公司在格拉斯哥中部的克莱德河河岸上组装而成，是苏格兰唯一健康发展的工程。

　　苏格兰的工程.jpg

　　The clean room where Clyde Space makes its satellites affords an excellent view of Govan, once a centre of world shipbuilding and now a reminder¹ of how quickly huge industries can collapse². Rather than trying to build everything, therefore, as the Clyde shipyards used to, Craig Clark, the founder³ of Clyde Space, is trying to master one small, but growing, niche⁴ of his industry. He builds only the smallest satellites, often costing as little as $50,000 (33,000) each, and also makes parts for bigger ones. The company was the first such to sell its products online. Mr Clark's firm, which employs 45 people, turned over 3m this year, and expects to double that next year.

　　克莱德航天公司制造卫星的地方宽敞明亮，可以欣赏到高湾的美景。高湾曾是世界轮船制造中心，而如今只是庞大工业迅速崩溃的受害者。因此，克莱德航天公司创始人克雷格·克拉克努力掌握航天业中不断发展的小众业务。他仅制造微小型卫星，每颗的花费通常只有5万美元（3.3万英镑），同时还制作稍大卫星的零部件。该公司是同行中首个在网上销售产品的公司。克拉克的公司共有45名职工人员，今年的营业额为300万英镑，预计明年营业额翻一番。

　　A few big engineering firms remain in Scotland, such as Babcock Marine⁵ and Thales, both of which supply defence equipment. But most of the country's 7,500 engineering companies belong to a long, thin tail. Often family-owned and generations old, the best of them combine technological⁶ savvy⁷ with a strong entrepreneurial spirit. Often, they are niche manufacturers to the world.

　　苏格兰仍有柏布考克海事集团（Babcock Marine）、泰利斯（Thales）等一些大型工程企业，这两家企业皆销售国防设备。然而，在英的7500家工程企业中，大部分都不成气候。而其中的精英往往是世代相传的家族企业，它们将技术方面的悟性与强烈的企业精神进行结合，往往是世界上精准定位的制造商。

　　One such is Castle Precision Engineering, in south-west Glasgow. It started out in 1951 making machines for the giant local Singer sewing-machine factory, then moved into car parts, medical equipment and aerospace—now its biggest market. On March 9th it created the fastest wheels ever made, for the “Bloodhound” car that will try to set a new land speed record next year. The wheels are strong enough to take a driver to 1,000mph in 55 seconds, rotating 177 times a second.

　　格拉斯哥西南部的城堡精密工程公司即为其一。该公司始创于1951年，为当地胜家牌大型缝纫机厂生产设备，之后转向汽车零部件、医疗设备以及现在最大的市场——航空航天产品的生产。3月9日，该公司为“寻血猎犬”汽车制造出史上最快车轮，该车明年将倾力创造陆地行驶速度的新纪录。车轮功能强大，汽车完全可以在55秒内达到1000英里的时速，且车轮每秒旋转177次。

　　In one respect, these firms are exceptions to the British rule. In a kingdom with a balance-of-trade deficit⁸ in goods amounting to fully⁹ 10 billion a month, they are fierce exporters. Castle sends about one-third of its wares¹⁰ abroad. Another niche firm, Clark Tracks, which makes caterpillar¹¹ tracks for forestry¹² vehicles, sells 90% of its products to Europe. Overall, engineering and technology companies account for over one-quarter of Scotland's exports.

　　一方面，这些企业不符合英国的规则。英国的商品贸易逆差每月高达100亿英镑，而这些企业的出口量极大。城堡公司三分之一的商品出口国外，另一家小型公司Clark Tracks（克拉克履带公司）生产林用车履带，其中90%的产品销往欧洲。总体而言，工程技术公司占有苏格兰出口量的四分之一。

　　But in another way they illustrate¹³ a familiar weakness in British industry. The country's firms tend to remain small or medium-sized—smaller than the German Mittelstand of export-orientated businesses. Even before the financial crisis Scotland's small engineering companies found it hard to raise money locally to expand. Some looked overseas instead. Clark Tracks was bought in 2007 by a Swedish company. The defence giant Thales acquired the illustrious old Glaswegian firm of Barr and Stroud in 2000. Its factory, now employing about 700 people, still specialises in submarine periscopes¹⁴ and optronics for the military.

　　但另一方面，这些企业自身具有英国工业的普遍缺陷。英国企业往往保持中小型规模，但小于德国中小型出口企业。金融危机爆发之前，苏格兰的小型工程企业发现难以在当地筹集用于扩大规模的资金。有些企业将目光转向海外。2000年，国防设备生产大户泰利斯买下格拉斯哥著名老牌公司斯特劳德，其工厂现有700名工人，继续从事军用潜艇潜望镜和光电产品的专项生产。2007年，瑞典一家企业收购Clark Tracks。

　　Now change is coming to Scottish engineering, via the North Sea. The oil and gas industry is both a blessing¹⁵ and a curse for engineers. It is a big market for their products, but it also competes fiercely for labour. Glasgow-based companies complain about the shortage of skilled workers even more than do firms elsewhere in Britain. Yan Tiefenbrun, the boss of Castle, got involved in the Bloodhound project to create publicity¹⁶, hoping talent would be drawn¹⁷ to his apprenticeship¹⁸ scheme. The current woes¹⁹ of Aberdeen's offshore²⁰ industry, facing tumbling oil prices and squeezed margins²¹, could be a boon²² for the country's other engineers.

　　但是，苏格兰工程即将借助北海迎来转机。油气工业对工程商来说是福亦是祸。这一巨大市场可用来销售其产品，但对于劳动力的竞争也很激烈。在格拉斯哥，投诉技术工人无法胜任工作的企业数量居全国之首。城堡公司老板Yan Tiefenbrun为了提高企业知名度，参与了“寻血猎犬”工程，同时希望为其学徒计划招揽人才。亚伯丁海上石油开采业当前面临油价下跌、收益缩水，它们的祸可能是英国其他工程商的福。

　　1.expect to 期许

　　You cannot expect to like all the people you will work with.

　　不要指望你会喜欢所有和你共事的人。

　　I do expect to have some time to myself in the evenings.

　　我确实希望晚上能有些属于自己的时间。

　　2.combine with 与…结合

　　I am partial to desserts that combine fresh fruit with fine pastry²³.

　　我偏爱加有新鲜水果的精致油酥甜点。

　　Combine the flour with 3 tablespoons water to make a paste.

　　往面粉里加3大勺水揉成面团。

1 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

2 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

3 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。

4 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

5 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

6 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

7 savvy   

v.知道，了解；n.理解能力，机智，悟性；adj.有见识的，懂实际知识的，通情达理的

参考例句：

• She was a pretty savvy woman.她是个见过世面的漂亮女人。
• Where's your savvy?你的常识到哪里去了？

8 deficit   

n.亏空，亏损；赤字，逆差

参考例句：

• The directors have reported a deficit of 2.5 million dollars.董事们报告赤字为250万美元。
• We have a great deficit this year.我们今年有很大亏损。

9 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

10 wares   

n. 货物, 商品

参考例句：

• They sold their wares at half-price. 他们的货品是半价出售的。
• The peddler was crying up his wares. 小贩极力夸耀自己的货物。

11 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

12 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

13 illustrate   

v.举例说明，阐明；图解，加插图

参考例句：

• The company's bank statements illustrate its success.这家公司的银行报表说明了它的成功。
• This diagram will illustrate what I mean.这个图表可说明我的意思。

14 periscopes   

n.潜望镜( periscope的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Periscopes at various heights and apparatus of visual relationship between the departed and the living souls. 借助不同高度和方位的潜望镜，人们可以看到逝去与活着的灵魂之间的视觉关系。 来自互联网

15 blessing   

n.祈神赐福；祷告；祝福，祝愿

参考例句：

• The blessing was said in Hebrew.祷告用了希伯来语。
• A double blessing has descended upon the house.双喜临门。

16 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

17 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

18 apprenticeship   

n.学徒身份；学徒期

参考例句：

• She was in the second year of her apprenticeship as a carpenter. 她当木工学徒已是第二年了。
• He served his apprenticeship with Bob. 他跟鲍勃当学徒。

19 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

20 offshore   

adj.海面的，吹向海面的；adv.向海面

参考例句：

• A big program of oil exploration has begun offshore.一个大规模的石油勘探计划正在近海展开。
• A gentle current carried them slowly offshore.和缓的潮流慢慢地把他们带离了海岸。

21 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

22 boon   

n.恩赐，恩物，恩惠

参考例句：

• A car is a real boon when you live in the country.在郊外居住，有辆汽车确实极为方便。
• These machines have proved a real boon to disabled people.事实证明这些机器让残疾人受益匪浅。

23 pastry   

n.油酥面团，酥皮糕点

参考例句：

• The cook pricked a few holes in the pastry.厨师在馅饼上戳了几个洞。
• The pastry crust was always underdone.馅饼的壳皮常常烤得不透。