【视频讲解】
Then worries about Uber’s culture mounted. A former employee wrote a blog post on how Uber’s human-resources department failed to act on her sexual-harassment complaint. Next, an Uber driver filmed Mr Kalanick arguing with him about fare cuts and uploaded the material, including the boss lamenting that “some people don’t like to take responsibility for their own shit”. The latest embarrassment was the revelation that Uber had secretly designed and used a software feature, called Greyball, to evade city officials attempting sting operations to catch Uber drivers violating local regulations.
随后,针对优步企业文化的忧虑升温。一名前员工发表博文称,优步人力资源部门对她遭性骚扰的投诉坐视不理。接着又有一名优步司机把自己与卡兰尼克就车费下调问题的争吵拍摄下来并上传到网上,卡兰尼克在其中哀叹“有些人就是不愿意为自己的屁事负责”。最新曝光的丑闻则是优步秘密设计并使用一款名为“灰球”(Greyball)的软件来逃避政府监管人员的执法钓鱼行动,使违反当地法规的优步司机得以逃脱。
mount v.上升 (increase), 爬上(to climb up onto)
- The troubles have continued to mount.
- The cowboy mounted his horse.
sexual-harassment complaint 性骚扰投诉
lament v.叹息 (to express sorrow, regret, or unhappiness about something)
embarrassment n.尴尬
evade v.逃避 (to avoid)
- The criminals have so far managed to evade the police.
sting n.圈套 (a clever plan to deceive someone in order to catch criminals)
Two questions face the company. One is whether Uber will continue prospering under Mr Kalanick’s leadership. Silicon Valley and its denizens may celebrate his type, but his public words and actions have made people close to the firm squirm. Bill Gurley, a venture capitalist and early Uber backer who sits on the board, is helping direct a search for a chief operating officer to keep Mr Kalanick in check and bring experience and discipline to the firm. It is certainly hard to keep on top of the firm’s growth: last year, its headcount doubled.
该公司面临两个问题。一是优步在卡兰尼克的领导下能否继续繁荣发展。硅谷及其科技精英们也许对卡兰尼克这类人赞赏有加,但他的公开言论及行为却令与优步有切身利益的人困窘难当。风险投资家、同时也是优步早期的投资人兼董事会成员的比尔•格利(Bill Gurley)正协助物色一名首席运营官来制衡卡兰尼克,并希望藉此将经验和规矩引入该公司。公司增长迅速,管理难度必然大增:去年,其员工数量翻了一番。
prosper v.蓬勃发展 (to become very successful usually by making a lot of money)
denizen n.居民 (a person/animal/plant that lives in a particular region)
- The polar bear is an iconic denizen of the snowy Arctic.
squirm n.不安 (show or feel embarrassment or shame)
keep ... in check 约束
discipline n.规矩
headcount n.员工数量
If Mr Gurley and the rest of the board cannot find an experienced candidate willing to work with Mr Kalanick, calls for him to step down may grow louder. But that is his decision to take. Uber is a prominent example of founders’ power at fast-growing tech firms. On its own, Uber’s board does not have the clout to change the CEO, because of his super-voting shares and those of his co-founder, Garrett Camp: together they control a majority of the voting stock.
假如格利及董事会其他成员找不到愿意与卡兰尼克共事的资深人选,要求卡兰尼克下台的呼声可能会高涨。但这个决定却是要由他本人来做出。在创始人掌控高速增长的科技公司方面,优步是个突出例子。优步的董事会单凭自身力量是无权更换CEO的,因为他和另一创始人格瑞特•坎普(Garrett Camp)都拥有超级投票权股份:两人控制了大部分的投票权股份。
prominent adj.突出的
clout n.影响力 (the power to influence)
The second question concerns Uber’s longer-term business prospects. One of the firm’s early-stage investors says that recent events have been a series of “body blows”, but he worries that there could be a “knockout blow” that would permanently damage Uber’s momentum. So far, he says, it looks as if Uber is merely bruised.
第二个问题事关优步的长期业务前景。该公司的一位早期投资者表示,最近的事件是一连串的“沉重打击”,而他担心优步可能会遭到“致命一击”,令发展势头受到永久性伤害。他说,目前为止,优步看起来还只是受了点皮外伤。
concern v.关于(be about),使担心
- The book concerns 3 soldiers.
- Her health concerns me.
prospect n.前景 (the possibility that something will happen in the future)
blow n.打击
knockout n.打晕
momentum n.势头
bruise v.擦伤
- bruise n.淤青