2011年考研英语模拟预测题

四、翻译

1. If sustainable competitive advantage depends on work force skills, American firms have a problem. Human resource management is not traditionally seen as central to the competitive survival of the firm the United States. (46) Skill acquisition is considered as an individual responsibility. Labor is simply another factor of production to be hired—rented at the lowest possible cost—much as one buys raw materials or equipment.

The lack of importance attached to human-resource management call be seen in the corporation hierarchy. In an American firm the chief officer is almost always second in command. (47) The post of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chances to move up to Chief Executive Officer (CEO). By way of contrast, in Japan the head of human-resource management is central—usually the second most important executive, after the CEO, in the firm hierarchy.

(48) While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work forces, in fact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do the Japanese or German firms. The money they do invest is also more highly concentrated on professional and managerial employees. And the limited investments that are made in training workers are also much more narrowly focused on the specific skills necessary to do the next job rather than on the basic background skills that make it possible to absorb new technologies.

As a result, problems emerge when new breakthrough technologies arrive. (49) If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those is lower in Germany than it is the United States. (50) More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed. The result is slower pace of technological change. And in the end the skills of the bottom half of the population affect the wages of the top half. If the bottom half can't effectively staff the processes that have to be operated, the management and professional jobs that go with these processes will disappear.

46）. Skill acquisition is considered as an individual responsibility. Labor is simply another factor of production to be hired—rented at the lowest possible cost—much as one buys raw materials or equipment.

正确答案： 技能的获得被认为是个人的责任。劳动力不过是为了生产而雇来的另一个因素—以尽可能低的成本租用—就像购买原材料或者设备。

47）. The post of head of human-resource management is usually a specialized job, off at the edge of the corporate hierarchy. The executive who holds it is never consulted on major strategic decisions and has no chances to move up to Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

正确答案： 人力资源管理经理的职位通常是一项专门的工作，被划在公司等级边缘之外。坐在这个位子上的经理主管人员从来不会在主要战略性决策下受到咨询，并且没有机会上升到执行总裁的位子上。

48）. While American firms often talk about the vast amounts spent on training their work forces, in fact they invest less in the skills of their employees than do the Japanese or German firms.

正确答案： 美国公司经常谈到他们在培训他们的工作队伍上所花费的大笔的钱，然而，事实上他们比日本或德国公司在公司员工的培训上投资要少。

49）. If American workers, for example, take much longer to learn how to operate new flexible manufacturing stations than workers in Germany (as they do), the effective cost of those is lower in Germany than it is the United States.

正确答案： 举例说，如果美国的工人比德国工人（他们正是这样做的）花费更多的时间学习如何操作新型灵活的生产设备，那么那些设备能够产生效果的成本在德国就会比在美国低。

50）. More time is required before equipment is up and running at capacity, and the need for extensive retraining generates costs and creates bottlenecks that limit the speed with which new equipment can be employed.

正确答案： （在美国）设备装配完毕并以最大的生产能力运行需要更长的时间，大范围的再度培训的需要会增加成本并且形成瓶颈，这就限制了新设备可以达到的速度。