2015考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》非洲大陆掀起消费潮

　　In Dar es Salaam in Tanzania electricity is on only for two unpredictable hours a day.

　　在坦桑尼亚首都达累斯萨拉姆，每天只能供应两个小时电力，还是不定时的。

　　South Africa is a good base from which to penetrate the rest of the continent,

　　要想把商品推广到整个非洲大陆，南非是一个很好的起点，

　　but it is a mistake to assume that what works south of the Limpopo will also work north of it.

　　但是如果简单地认为把林波波河以南地区的经验应用到林波波省以北地区就能取得成功，那可就大错特错了。

　　More than two-fifths of all Africans still subsist on $1.25 a day.

　　2/5以上的非洲人每天的消费水平仅为1.25美元。

　　Brands matter less than price in most of Africa, says Simon Crutchley, the boss of AVI, a bigSouth African consumer-goods firm with businesses across Africa.

　　在非洲大部分地区，价格比品牌更重要南非日用消费品企业AVI公司总裁Simon Crutchley 表示：

　　Many Africans are too poor to be brand aware, he says.

　　许多非洲人过于贫穷，没有什么品牌意识。

　　They have not grown up bombarded with advertising and barely recognise even famousbrands.

　　他们不是在广告轰炸下成长起来的，甚至连著名的商标也认不出几个。

　　But this is changing quickly, thanks to television and mobile phones.

　　但多亏了电视和移动电话的普及，这些正在很快转变。

　　Corruption is a huge headache.

　　腐败是一个让人深感头痛的问题。

　　At the border of Tanzania and Kenya lorries are kept waiting for a week or more if the rightpalms are not greased.

　　在坦桑尼亚和肯尼亚边境，如果没有给关键位置的人贿赂，运货卡车可能要等一个星期或者更久才能跨越边境。

　　Companies shifting perishable goods risk losing the lot if they refuse to pay up.

　　如果不交这笔钱，运输易腐商品的公司就面临着损失全部货物的风险。

　　Ports are a problem, too.

　　港口也是一个问题。

　　Durban, in South Africa, is perhaps the most efficient:

　　南非东部的德班港也许是非洲效率最高的港口：

　　containers whizz through in a few days.

　　集装箱在几天之内就能通过。

　　In other ports, the process can drag on for weeks.

　　在其他港口这一过程要耗费几周的时间。

　　The longer the delay, the greater the pressure to pay bribes, moans a long-sufferingcompany boss.

　　延误的时间越长，行贿的压力就越大一位长期忍受这些的老板抱怨道。

　　He adds that Dar es Salaam, the main port of Tanzania, could double its capacity by bringingits management up to Durban's standards.

　　他又补充道：要是达累斯萨拉姆的管理水平能够上升到和德班港一个档次，港口吞吐量就能翻一番

　　Gareth Ackerman, the boss of Pick 'n' Pay, a large supermarket chain based in Cape Town,says that his company's strategy is African creep—conquering new markets one at a time,moving steadily northward.

　　连锁超市Pay总裁表示其公司战略为African creep—每次只开设一家新店，稳扎稳打向北方扩展。

　　We need the supply chain, he explains.

　　我们需要这样的供应链。他解释道。

　　No longer the shopless continent

　　非洲不再是没有购物生活的大陆

　　Unilever's push into Africa is a return to familiar territory.

　　对联合利华来说，进军非洲市场实际上是重回他们熟悉的战场。

　　The firm made a fifth of its profits in Africa until the 1970s, when it shifted its attentions toAsia.

　　直到20世纪70之前，联合利华总利润的1/5的还来自非洲市场，从那之后，联合利华转攻亚洲市场。

　　Now it is back, employing 30,000 people on the continent and shifting soap, soup and so onworth 3 billion—out of total worldwide sales of 46 billion.

　　现在它又回来了，在非洲大陆上雇佣了3万名员工，销售日用品、食品等总价值约30亿欧元的商品—其全球销售总额为460亿欧元。

　　It is already Africa's biggest supplier of consumer goods, and aims to double sales in thenext five years by beefing up investment and bringing in more of its brands.

　　联合利华已成为非洲最大的日用消费品供应商，并打算在未来五年内通过追加投资、引入更多品牌等措施，将非洲地区的销售总额翻一番。

　　In spite of the risks, businessfolk are upbeat.

　　尽管有风险，这些企业还是非常乐观的。

　　A couple of decades ago, most African governments made life very hard for business.

　　几十年前，大多数非洲政府对商业管束的很严。

　　Now policies are more market-friendly, albeit with frequent relapses:

　　如今的政策更有利于市场运行，不过时有反复：

　　Zambia, for example, recently banned the use of American dollars in local transactions—aneedless extra hassle for firms operating there.

　　例如赞比亚最近禁止在国内交易中使用美元——这为在当地有业务的国际企业增添了许多不必要的麻烦。

　　Still, the corridor chatter at sub-Saharan conferences these days is cheerful.

　　不过，这几天就撒哈拉沙漠以南走廊地带经济状况召开的会议还是鼓舞人心的。

　　Klaus Schwab, founder of the World Economic Forum, says that cynicism about Africa hasturned to optimism.

　　世界经济论坛的创建者Klaus Schwab认为，以往人们对非洲的嘲笑态度已被一种乐观的情绪所替代。

　　We have a sense that things are really getting better, says Mr Braeken.

　　Mr Braeken 则表示我们感觉到，非洲确实在朝着好的方向发展。

　　Africa is not only about mining and oil any more.

　　非洲不再只有石油和矿产。

　　But, he says, the continent still needs to overcome what George Bush, in another context,called the soft bigotry of low expectations.

　　但Mr Braeken还表示，非洲必须克服乔治.布什所谓的软偏见导致的低要求问题。

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