Daphne提供观众所需的背景数据后,便进入presentation的核心阶段。她必须以专业者的眼光指出天籁在美国成功的销售经验与在台湾所需的行销企划之间所存在的重要差异。
I know EarthSound has used all of these advertising methods successfully in
the United States, and you may feel that what works in the States will
work in Taiwan. This is definitely
not the case. There are important differences between EarthSound's advertising
and the advertising of successful companies in Taiwan.
我知道贵公司在美国已经非常成功地运用这几种广告,而且,各位也许会认为,这些广告在美国有效,在台湾应该也一样。其实不然,贵公司的广告与刚才我提到的几家在台湾成功的公司所做的广告有很大的不同。
EarthSound's slogan is, "EarthSound - the healthy alternative for you and the
environment," while V08's slogan is, "Thank you, V08, for making me beautiful."
Why the difference? My calculations show that 85% of the American public
believes they can do something to help the environment, but only 30% of Taiwan's
people feel the same. America's politicians and its media have made people
aware of this issue. This has
created a market for EarthSound's products. If Taiwan's politicians and media
would do the same, then the people of Taiwan would be ready for EarthSound's advertising. This hasn't
happened yet.
天籁的口号是:"天籁--你和环境的健康选择",V08的口号是:"V08,谢谢你把我变得美丽"。为什么会有这样的差异呢?我的统计显示有85%的美国大众相信他们能做些有助于环境的事,但只有30%的台湾人会这么想。美国的政客和媒体已让大众意识到环境的问题,这就为天籁的产品创造了市场。如果台湾的政客和媒体也能做一样的事,那台湾人才会接受天籁的广告,但这种情况还没有出现。
Notes:
1. (be) aware of 注意;察觉;意识到
aware是个形容词,原意为“知道、晓得”,与of一起使用。be aware
of的意思是指感觉到或注意到某一种情况或气氛。同义的词组有become aware of。
We should be aware of the
financial risks before committing ourselves.
我们承诺之前应先注意财务上的风险。
2. be
ready for... 准备好的;可以(做……)了
ready是形容词,意思为“准备好的”。be ready
for即“有准备要做……”,引申有“对……是适合的”之意。presentation中,Daphne认为台湾人的环保意识还不够普遍,故 not ready for
accepting(还不能接受)天籁的广告词。
We should be ready for strong competition when we
move into the Taiwan market.
开拓台湾市场时,我们应该做好迎接激烈竞争的准备。
3. work
有效;成功;达到目的
work
一般的意思是“工作”(动词;名词);在这里是个口语用法,“有效;发挥功能”的意思,例如它在文中就是用来描述美国的广告词若原封不动搬到台湾就没办法“产生效果”。要注意的是,“work”用做“有效”的意思时,其主词一定是某事、物或某个办法,而不是人。
If
your training program works in Hong Kong, it will work in
Singapore.
你们的训练课程如果在香港适用,在新加坡也会适用的。
句型总结
● 比较差异
1. There are important differences between (A) and (B).
2.
There are great distinctions between (A) and (B).
3. There are obvious
contrasts between (A) and (B).
4. We can see discrepancies between (A) and
(B).
5. We find great differences between (A) and (B).
presentation中要做一些比较时,最好提醒观众的注意,例如先说“There are important differences
between...and...,……(之间)有很大的不同”,然后再说出不同之处。这个句型可以直接指出某两项事物有极大的差异;differences,“差别”在此为复数,表示有多项不同点,并以
important 来形容,有强调差异性的作用;介词 between 之后加相比较的事物,并注意要用 and
来连结这两者。如果差异并不复杂,你甚至可以接着把它们列出来。
● 提出因果关系
2. If (the cause), then (the
effect)
3. When (the cause) happens, (the effect) happens
4. When we do
(the cause), (the effect) occurs
5. (The cause) caused (the effect)
6.
(Effects) were all due to (the cause)
有果必有因,presentation中尤其要说明结果的来由,以服众人。“If..., then...”就是经常用来说明因果的句子。If
后面接表示原因的句子,then
后面接表示结果的句子。通常都是先说明原因再提到结果,这样比较合乎逻辑又易懂。但有时候为了强调,也可以先列出一连串的结果再说明造成的原因。
(上海理工大学通讯员何旖文供稿 英语点津 Annabel 编辑)