外刊閱讀day 194，文章來自12月4日《紐約時報》。
日本有許多歷史悠久的企業，雖然疫情衝擊了國家的經濟，但與其他不堪衝擊的企業不同，它們依然堅挺如松。
獲利並不是這些老鋪的唯一目標，對於它們來說「延續」或許比利潤更重要。
即使在現代社會，許多老牌店鋪依然守著那份「歷史感」。
【文章難度】⭐⭐⭐
【詞彙】1467 words（文末可下載pdf）
This Japanese Shop Is 1,020 Years Old.
It Knows a Bit About Surviving Crises.
經歷戰爭、瘟疫和王朝變遷：
日本千年老鋪的成功秘訣
Naomi Hasegawa’s family sells toasted mochi out of a small, cedar-timbered shop next to a rambling old shrine in Kyoto. The family started the business to provide refreshments to weary travelers coming from across Japan to pray for pandemic relief — in the year 1000.
在京都一座布局凌亂的古老神社旁，長谷川直美(Naomi Hasegawa)一家在雪松木建造的小店裡出售烤麻糬。早在公元1000年，這家人就開始經營這個生意，向從日本各地趕來、為緩解瘟疫祈禱的疲憊旅客提供小吃茶點。
🌟refreshment
[rɪˈfreʃmənt] n. 飲料，小食
▷例子：Having not yet lunched, we went to the refreshment bar for ham sandwiches.我們都沒吃午飯，於是便去小吃店買了火腿三明治。
📒snack、nosh、refreshment都有小吃、點心的意思，那麼它們的區別是
✍️snack n. 小吃，點心；指正餐以外的小吃、零食。
▷例子：Drinks and light snacks are served at the bar.酒吧裡供應酒和小吃。
✍️nosh n. 小吃，點心；同 snack，但多用於非正式文體。
▷例子：I』ll just have a little nosh at lunchtime, perhaps a hot dog.我午餐時間吃點小吃就行，也許是熱狗吧。
⚠️refreshment n. 茶點，點心；較正式，通常用複數，指會議、聚會、體育賽事等期間提供的，或者在公共活動場所供應或銷售的點心和飲料。
Now, more than a millennium later, a new disease has devastated the economy in the ancient capital, as its once reliable stream of tourists has evaporated. But Ms. Hasegawa is not concerned about her enterprise’s finances.
如今，一千多年過去了，一種的新疾病嚴重破壞了這個古都的經濟，曾經穩定的遊客流消失了。但長谷川並不擔心她家企業的財務狀況。
Like many businesses in Japan, her family’s shop, Ichiwa, takes the long view — albeit longer than most. By putting tradition and stability over profit and growth, Ichiwa has weathered wars, plagues, natural disasters, and the rise and fall of empires. Through it all, its rice flour cakes have remained the same.
與日本許多企業一樣，她家的小店「一和(Ichiwa）」做的是長遠打算——只不過比大多數店都長罷了。將傳統與穩定置於利潤和增長之上，一和熬過了戰爭、瘟疫、自然災害和王朝興衰。在這一切之中，它的麻薯味道始終不變。
Ichiwa在京都的店面
🌟weather
[ˈweðə(r)] v. 經受住，尤指經受住各種困難
▷例子：The company just managed to weather the recession.這家公司勉強渡過了衰退期。
✍️weather做動詞還可指褪色
▷例子：Unpainted wooden furniture weathers to a grey colour.沒有上漆的木製家具會褪成灰色。
📒經受住的其他表達：
✍️withstand
▷例子：The plants were unable to withstand the rigours of a harsh winter.
這些植物經受不住嚴冬的考驗。
✍️stand up to
▷例子：The carpet is designed to stand up to a lot of wear and tear. 這種地毯設計得十分耐用。
Such enterprises may be less dynamic than those in other countries. But their resilience offers lessons for businesses in places like the United States, where the coronavirus has forced tens of thousands into bankruptcy.
這樣的企業可能在活力上不如其他國家的企業。但它的韌性能為其他地方的企業提供經驗，比如在新冠病毒已經導致成千上萬企業破產的美國。
「If you look at the economics textbooks, enterprises are supposed to be maximizing profits, scaling up their size, market share and growth rate. But these companies』 operating principles are completely different,」 said Kenji Matsuoka, a professor emeritus of business at Ryukoku University in Kyoto.
「看經濟學教科書，你會覺得企業應該追求利潤最大化，擴大規模、市場份額以及提高增長率。但這些企業的經營原則完全不同，」京都龍谷大學(Ryukoku University)的商學名譽教授松岡健次(Kenji Matsuoka)說。
🌟emeritus
[iˈmerɪtəs] adj. 榮譽退休的，常指大學教師
⚠️the Emeritus Professor of Biology
榮譽退休的生物學教授
「Their No. 1 priority is carrying on,」 he added. 「Each generation is like a runner in a relay race. What’s important is passing the baton.」
「他們的首要目標是延續，」他補充道。「每一代經營者都像是接力賽中的賽跑者。重要的是把接力棒傳遞下去。」
Japan is an old-business superpower. The country is home to more than 33,000 with at least 100 years of history — over 40 percent of the world’s total. Over 3,100 have been running for at least two centuries. Around 140 have existed for more than 500 years. And at least 19 claim to have been continuously operating since the first millennium.
日本是老牌企業的超級大國。它擁有超過3.3萬家百年老店——佔全球總數的40%以上。經營超過兩個世紀的有3100多家。約有140家已經存在500多年。至少有19家聲稱自公元第一個千年以來就在經營。
(Some of the oldest companies, including Ichiwa, cannot definitively trace their history back to their founding, but their timelines are accepted by the government, scholars and — in Ichiwa’s case — the competing mochi shop across the street.)
（包括一和在內，有些最古老的企業已經無法確切追溯其歷史，但他們給出的時間脈絡仍被政府、學者、以及——如一和的情況——街對面與之競爭的麻糬店所接受。）
The businesses, known as 「shinise,」 are a source of both pride and fascination. Regional governments promote their products. Business management books explain the secrets of their success. And entire travel guides are devoted to them.
這些被稱為「老鋪(shinise)」的企業是日本自豪感與魅力的源泉。地方政府推廣它們的產品。商業管理書籍闡釋它們成功的秘訣。有整本整本的旅遊指南專門介紹它們。
Most of these old businesses are, like Ichiwa, small, family-run enterprises that deal in traditional goods and services. But some are among Japan’s most famous companies, including Nintendo, which got its start making playing cards 131 years ago, and the soy sauce brand Kikkoman, which has been around since 1917.
與一和一樣，這些老鋪大多是經營傳統特色商品和服務的小型家族企業。但有些已經成為日本最著名的公司，比如在131年前開始製作撲克牌的任天堂(Nintendo)，以及在1917年成立的醬油品牌龜甲萬(Kikkoman)。
🌟soy sauce 醬油
📒調味料seasonings：
vinegar 醋
ketchup 番茄醬
oyster sauce 蠔油
cooking wine 料酒
green onion 蔥
ginger 姜
garlic 蒜
To survive for a millennium, Ms. Hasegawa said, a business cannot just chase profits. It has to have a higher purpose. In the case of Ichiwa, that was a religious calling: serving the shrine’s pilgrims.
長谷川說，要生存千年之久，企業就不能只追求利潤。它必須有一個更高的目標。就一和而言，那是一種宗教式的召喚：為神社的朝聖者服務。
Those kinds of core values, known as 「kakun,」 or family precepts, have guided many companies』 business decisions through the generations. They look after their employees, support the community and strive to make a product that inspires pride.
這種被稱為「家訓(kakun)」的核心價值觀，一代代指導著許多企業的商業決策。他們照顧自己的員工，支持社區，並努力製作出能激發自豪感的產品。
For Ichiwa, that means doing one thing and doing it well — a very Japanese approach to business.
對一和來說，這意味著只做一件事，並把它做好——這是一種非常日式的經營模式。
The company has declined many opportunities to expand, including, most recently, a request from Uber Eats to start online delivery. Mochi remains the only item on the menu, and if you want something to drink, you are politely offered the choice of roasted green tea.
這家企業拒絕了很多擴張機會，包括最近優食(Uber Eats)向他們提出開通線上外賣的要求。麻糬仍是其菜單上的唯一商品，如果你想喝點什麼，店鋪會禮貌地為你提供焙香綠茶的選擇。
For most of Ichiwa’s history, the women of the Hasegawa family made the sweet snack in more or less the same way. They boiled the rice in the water from a small spring that burbles into the shop’s cellar, pounded it into a paste and then shaped it into balls that they gently toasted on wooden skewers over a small cast-iron hibachi.
在一和歷史上的大部分時間裡，長谷川家族的女性基本都用同樣的方法製作這種甜食。她們將一小口泉水引入店內地窖，把米放在水裡煮好，搗成糊狀，然後捏成球型，串進木籤，輕輕放在一個鑄鐵小炭盆上烤熟。
Ichiwa的烤麻薯
🌟burble
[ˈbɜ:bl] v. 汩汩作響
▷例子：The water burbled over gravel.水流過卵石，汩汩作響
✍️burble還可用來形容人說話，嘟囔
▷例子：He burbled something incomprehensible.他不知咕噥了些什麼東西。
📒英語中的擬聲詞
✍️babble [ˈbæbl]
▷例子：Mom babbled on and on about how he was ruining me.媽媽喋喋不休地念叨著他正如何毀掉我。
✍️gurgle [ˈɡɜ:ɡl]
▷例子：Water gurgled through the pipes.水汩汩地從管道中流過。
▷例子：Henry gurgles happily in his baby chair.亨利在嬰兒椅裡開心地咯咯笑。
✍️paste [peɪst] n.糨糊
▷例子：He then sticks it back together with flour paste.然後他用麵糊把它重新粘了起來。
paste作名詞還可指麵團
▷例子：She mixed the flour and water to a smooth paste.她把面和水和成細潤的麵團。
還可指烹飪用的醬，如下段的miso paste味增醬
The rice’s caramelized skin is brushed with sweet miso paste and served to the shrine’s visitors hot, before the delicate treat cools and turns tough and chewy.
在烤焦的米糰外皮刷上香甜的味噌醬，趁熱端給神社的遊客，以免這種精緻小食在冷卻後變得堅硬難嚼。
🌟caramelize
[ˈkærəməlaɪz] v. 變成焦糖
▷例子：Cook until the sugar starts to caramelize.將糖熬成焦糖。
✍️caramelized apples 拔絲蘋果
✍️caramelized potatoes 拔絲馬鈴薯
⚠️caramel [ˈkærəmel] n. 焦糖；焦糖色
Ichiwa has made a few concessions to modernity. The local health department has forbidden the use of well water. A mochi machine hidden in the kitchen mechanically pounds the rice, saving a few hours of work each morning. And, after centuries of operating on the honor system, it charges a fixed price per plate, a change it instituted sometime after World War II as the business began to pay more attention to its finances.
一和對現代化做出過一些讓步。當地衛生部門已經禁止使用井水。藏在廚房裡的麻糬製作機機械地碾著米，每天早上能節省數小時的工作。而且，在經歷了幾個世紀由顧客自覺付費的運營方式後，它固定了每盤食物的收費，這是在第二次世界大戰以後做出的改變，當時該店對財務狀況有了更多關注。
honor system誠信制度，一種信賴人能自動守規則的制度（見知識拓展3）
The Japanese companies that have endured the longest have often been defined by an aversion to risk — shaped in part by past crises — and an accumulation of large cash reserves.
日本經營最久的企業往往厭惡風險（這在一定程度上是受過去危機的影響），習慣掌握大量現金儲備。
It is a common trait among Japanese enterprises and part of the reason that the country has so far avoided the high bankruptcy rates of the United States during the pandemic. Even when they 「make some profits,」 said Tomohiro Ota, an analyst at Goldman Sachs, 「they do not increase their capital expenditure.」
這是日本企業共同的特點，也是迄今為止日本在疫情期間能夠避免美國那種高破產率的部分原因。即使他們「賺了一些錢」，高盛(Goldman Sachs)分析師太田智宏(Tomohiro Ota)表示，「也不會增加資本支出。」
Large enterprises in particular keep substantial reserves to ensure that they can continue issuing paychecks and meet their other financial obligations in the event of an economic downturn or a crisis. But even smaller businesses tend to have low debt levels and an average of one to two months of operating expenses on hand, Mr. Ota said.
規模大的企業更是會保留大量現金儲備，以確保在經濟衰退或危機發生時能繼續發放工資，履行其他財務義務。但太田表示，即使是規模較小的企業，負債水平往往也比較低，手上平均留著足夠一到兩個月的運營費用。
When they do need support, financing is cheap and readily available. Interest rates in Japan have been low for decades, and a government stimulus package introduced in response to the pandemic has effectively zeroed them out for most small enterprises.
當他們確實需要支持的時候，融資成本也比較低廉且容易獲得。日本的利率數十年來一直處於低位，而政府也為應對疫情出臺了經濟刺激計劃，實際上已將大部分小企業的利率降到了零。
Small shinise often own their own facilities and rely on members of the family to help keep payroll costs down, allowing them to stockpile cash. When Toshio Goto, a professor at the Japan University of Economics Graduate School who has written several books on the enterprises, conducted a survey this summer of companies that are at least 100 years old, more than a quarter said they had enough funds on hand to operate for two years or longer.
規模小的老鋪通常擁有店面產權，並依靠家庭成員來降低工資成本，從而累積現金。日本經濟大學(Japan University of Economics)研究生院教授後藤敏夫(Toshio Goto)寫過幾本關於這些企業的書，當他在今夏對超百年歷史的企業進行調研時，超過四分之一的對象表示，他們手頭的資金足夠支撐兩年以上的經營。
🌟stockpile
[ˈstɒkpaɪl] v. 大量貯備
▷例子：People are stockpiling food for the coming winter.人們正在為即將到來的冬天貯備大量食物。
📒stock v. 貯備
▷例子：The shop stocks everything from cigarettes to recycled loo paper.商店貨品齊全，從香菸到再生廁紙應有盡有。
📒stock up與stock同義
▷例子：We ought to stock up on film before our trip.我們應該在旅行前備足膠捲。
Still, that does not mean they are frozen in time. Many started during the 200-year period, beginning in the 17th century, when Japan largely sealed itself off from the outside world, providing a stable business environment. But over the last century, survival has increasingly meant finding a balance between preserving traditions and adapting to quickly changing market conditions.
不過，這並不意味著他們在漫長的時間裡固步自封。許多企業是在從17世紀以後的200年時間裡創立的，當時日本基本與世隔絕，商業環境穩定。但在過去一個世紀，企業的生存越來越需要在保存傳統和適應迅速變化的市場環境之間找到平衡。
🌟seal off 封鎖，隔離
▷例子：We need to seal off this area until the police can make a full investigation. 我們得封鎖這一帶，直到警察進行了充分的調查為止
For some companies, that has meant updating their core business. NBK, a materials firm that started off making iron kettles in 1560, is now producing high-tech machine parts. Hosoo, a 332-year-old kimono manufacturer in Kyoto, has expanded its textile business into home furnishings and even electronics.
對一些企業來說，這意味著核心業務的更新換代。1560年就在生產鐵壺的材料公司NBK，如今在生產高科技的機器部件。有332年歷史的京都和服製造商細尾(Hosoo)，已將紡織業務擴展到家居乃至電子產品領域。
For others, keeping up with the times can be hard, especially those, like Tanaka Iga Butsugu, that are essentially selling tradition itself.
至於另一些企業，跟上時代步伐可能會很困難，尤其是像田中伊雅佛具店(Tanaka Iga Butsugu)這樣的企業，它們本質上就在銷售傳統本身。
Tanaka Iga has been making Buddhist religious goods in Kyoto since 885. It is famous for what its 72nd-generation president, Masaichi Tanaka, jokingly refers to as the 「Mercedes-Benz」 of butsudan — household shrines that can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
自885年以來，田中伊雅家族就一直在京都製作佛教用品。該店最為知名的佛壇，被第72代總裁田中雅一(Masaichi Tanaka)戲稱為「佛壇中的梅賽德斯-奔馳(Mercedes-Benz)」——這種家用神龕可以賣出數十萬美元的價錢。
田中伊雅家族的佛教用品店
The pandemic has been 「tough,」 he said, but the biggest challenges faced by his company, and many others, are Japan’s aging society and changing tastes.
他說，疫情讓經營變得「困難」，但他的企業和其他許多企業面臨的最大挑戰，還是日本社會的老齡化以及人們喜好的變化。
Some companies have closed because the owners could not find a successor. For Mr. Tanaka, it is getting harder and harder to replace skilled traditional workers. Business is crimped because fewer people nowadays go to the temples he supplies. And new homes are rarely built with a place to put a butsudan, which normally occupies its own special nook in a traditional Japanese-style room with tatami flooring and sliding paper doors.
一些企業因為所有者找不到繼任者而倒閉。田中的問題則是填補熟練傳統工匠空缺的難度越來越大。由於如今去他供貨的神社的人變少了，他的生意也受了影響。新屋很少再設有擺放佛壇的地方，通常佛壇都要放在鋪榻榻米地板、有滑動紙門的傳統日式房間的一個特別的角落。
🌟crimp
[krɪmp] v.限制，妨礙
▷例子：The dollar’s recent strength is crimping overseas sales and profits.美元最近的堅挺影響了國外的銷量和利潤。
✍️crimp還可指壓出褶皺
▷例子：Crimp the edges to seal them tightly.把邊緣折起來以便封緊。
【形近詞區分】
✍️crimp v.限制
✍️cramp n.抽筋 v.阻礙
*佛壇和佛像
佛壇指安置佛像的壇座。日本的佛壇通常是一個華麗的平臺，或者僅僅是一個木製柜子，有時會帶櫃門，柜子裡會放置佛像或菩薩的雕像或繪畫。
When it comes to religious tradition, there is little room for innovation, Mr. Tanaka said. Many of his products』 designs are nearly as old as the company. He has considered incorporating 3-D printers into his business, but he wonders who’s going to buy items made with one.
田中說，宗教傳統基本沒有創新的空間。他的許多產品設計幾乎和這家企業本身一樣古老。他曾考慮將3D列印納入業務，但不確定有誰會購買這種機器做出來的佛壇。
Ichiwa is blissfully untroubled by such concerns. The family is large, the business is small, and the only special skill needed to grill the mochi is a high tolerance for blistering heat.
一和幸運地沒有受到這些擔憂的困擾。他們的家族規模大，生意規模小，而且烤麻糬唯一需要的特殊技能就是忍耐酷熱。
🌟grill
[ɡrɪl] v. 燒，烤
▷例子：Grill the sausages for ten minutes. 把香腸烤十分鐘。
📒grill的其他釋義：
✍️v. 盤問
▷例子：They grilled her about where she had been all night. 他們盤問她整個夜晚待在什麼地方。
✍️n. 烤架
▷例子：Place the omelette under a gentle grill until the top is set.將煎蛋餅放在烤架下用文火烘烤，直到表面凝固。
⚠️英國用grill，美國用broil（烤架broiler）
🌟blistering
[ˈblɪstərɪŋ] adj. 酷熱的
▷例子：The blistering noonday sun beat down on them without mercy. 午間酷熱的陽光無情的蒸烤著他們。
📒表示熱的形容詞：
scorching adj. 酷熱的
baking adj. 灼熱的
roasting adj. 燥熱的
But Ms. Hasegawa, 60, admits she sometimes feels the pressure of the shop’s history. Even though the business doesn’t provide much of a living, everyone in the family from a young age 「was warned that as long as one of us was still alive, we needed to carry on,」 she said.
但是，現年60歲的長谷川承認，她有時會感到這家店的歷史帶來的壓力。她說，儘管店裡生意提供不了多少生計，但家裡的每個人從小「就被警示，只要我們中還有人活著，就必須繼續做下去」。
One reason 「we keep going,」 she added, is 「because we all hate the idea of being the one to let it go.」
她還說，「我們堅持做下去」的一個原因是，「誰都不想做放棄的那個人。」
1. 單詞小結：
refreshment [rɪˈfreʃmənt] n. 飲料，小食
weather [ˈweðə(r)] v. 經受住，尤指經受住各種困難
emeritus [iˈmerɪtəs] adj. 榮譽退休的
burble [ˈbɜ:bl] v. 汩汩作響
paste [peɪst] n.糨糊
caramelize [ˈkærəməlaɪz] v. 變成焦糖
stockpile [ˈstɒkpaɪl] v. 大量貯備
crimp [krɪmp] v.限制，妨礙
grill [ɡrɪl] v. 燒，烤
blistering [ˈblɪstərɪŋ] adj. 酷熱的
2. 詞組小結：
stimulus package 經濟刺激計劃
seal off 封鎖，隔離
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