Agoodspeechshouldbelikeawoman'sskirt:longenoughtocoverthesubjectandshortenoughtocreateinterest.好的演讲应该像女子的短裙，既要长到涵盖主题，又要短到吸引眼球。也许你听说过这句机智诙谐的（witty）名言没错出自丘吉尔（WinstonChurchill）他是今天这篇文章谈到的三位领导人之一原文：BUSINE
A good speech should be like a woman's skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest.
好的演讲应该像女子的短裙，既要长到涵盖主题，又要短到吸引眼球。
也许
你听说过这句机智诙谐的（witty）名言
没错
出自丘吉尔（Winston Churchill）
他是今天这篇文章谈到的三位领导人之一
原文：
BUSINESS leaders often have a poor opinion of politicians, preferring to find their heroes elsewhere—in other boardrooms or on the coaching field. But running a country is an even greater test of leadership and character than running a corporation. Those who have passed through the fire surely have something to teach modern-day managers.
Take three of the most feted national leaders: Otto von Bismarck, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Many will object both to what they achieved and to the violence they used. But their successes and failures hold lessons for CEOs.
Bismarck was an old-school Prussian aristocrat. But he proved remarkably flexible and imaginative during nearly three decades in office. As a manager, he had a clear goal—to unite Germany under his king (who became Kaiser Wilhelm I in 1871). This required him to overcome the suspicions of other German states, which he did by uniting them against a series of enemies, from Denmark through Austria to France—a merger strategy that allowed Germany to compete on equal footing[compete on equal terms].
Bismarck also proved flexible when it came to domestic policy. Though no social reformer, he worried about the danger of working-class support for socialism. So he pushed through a series of welfare measures in the 1880s, including old-age pensions and health insurance. He understood the benefits of social responsibility long before CSR departments became a thing.
Like many corporate empire-builders, however, he overreached—in his case by annexing Alsace-Lorraine from France. But his less capable successors were less disciplined still; it was they who led Germany down the path to disaster.
Where Bismarck built a successful conglomerate, Roosevelt proved to be a consummate turnaround artist. Like the Prussian, FDR showed plenty of flexibility. Although he campaigned for office on the promise of a balanced budget, he adapted when circumstances required it to become the first Keynesian leader. Economists will probably spend the rest of history debating the merits of his various policy measures. But like an executive who rescues a failing company, he showed the power of leaders to change the mood, notably with his inaugural declaration that “the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”
As he took over the presidency, in 1933, unemployment started to fall and GDP began to rise; the latter rose by 9.5% a year in his first term of office. Although there was plenty of doubt about the route that Roosevelt took, there was no question about his desired destination, whether ending the Depression or winning the second world war. He communicated his message clearly and often—a lesson to modern bosses, even if they prefer Twitter to fireside chats on the wireless.
That made him popular enough with voters to remain at the helm for 12 years, until his death in 1945—twice as long as shareholders in America tolerate a typical chief executive today, and three times as long as they do in Britain. Although he was flexible on economic policy, he was unimpressed by ideologies such as fascism and communism, and remained true to the core principles of the American enterprise. Many executives would do well to emulate Roosevelt’s confidence in his own judgment and his ability to convey it (it helped that this confidence seldom proved unjustified).
Like Roosevelt, Churchill was supremely confident. His political career contained numerous mistakes and many episodes of poor judgment, not least when it came to his attitude towards citizens of British colonies. He would not have lasted long as a modern chief executive, given his bad temper, excessive drinking and eccentric working hours. He was never short of ideas but his subordinates learned to ignore most of them. Like Steve Jobs, a similarly mercurial figure, the first part of his career ended in failure.
But as with Apple’s founder, Churchill’s other qualities won out. His strategic insight was unrivalled, whether recognising that Hitler was a threat to the world in the 1930s or refusing a peace deal with Germany in the dark days of 1940. He was canny in using his charm to get aid from Roosevelt before America entered the war—and flexible when he accepted an alliance with Stalin’s Russia, despite his lifelong anti-communism. His bulldog attitude and powerful speeches inspired after a succession of mediocre leaders.
Clear strategic goals, flexibility in tactics and an ability to inspire others. Those are three qualities that any executive or entrepreneur might usefully acquire. Bosses should read more history books.
（参考译文在上是方便以后反译）
企业领导人/商界领袖通常对政客评价不高，往往在其他地方找寻自己的偶像，比如别家公司的董事会会议室里，或训练场上。但和经营公司相比，治理国家是更严峻的考验，更能检验领导者的能力和品格。那些历经火的试炼的人必定有可供现代管理者学习之处。
BUSINESS leaders often have a poor opinion of politicians, preferring to find their heroes elsewhere—in other boardrooms or on the coaching field. But running a country is an even greater test of leadership and character than running a corporation. Those who have passed through the fire surely have something to teach modern-day managers.
01. have a poor opinion of sb
对某人评价不高/低
02. Hero: 偶像
a man who is admired very much for a particular skill or quality
hero这个词人人不陌生。最先接触的意思可能是“英雄”，“英雄”自然也是一种偶像。可以根据语境来翻。
When I was small, Uncle Fred was my hero.
我小时候，弗雷德叔叔是我的偶像。
Einstein is the hero of those who explore science at its deepest level.
爱因斯坦是探索科学最深层秘密的人心目中的偶像。
以三位最受尊崇的国家领导人为例：奥托·冯·俾斯麦、富兰克林·罗斯福、温斯顿·丘吉尔。很多人会不认可他们的成就以及他们使用暴力的做法，但CEO们可从这三人的成功与失败中汲取教训。
Take three of the most feted national leaders: Otto von Bismarck, Franklin Roosevelt and Winston Churchill. Many will object both to what they achieved and to the violence they used. But their successes and failures hold lessons for CEOs.
03. take: 举例说明; 以某人/某事为例
People love British cars. Take the Mini. In Japan, it still sells more than all the other British cars put together.
人们喜欢英国车。就拿Mini汽车来说， 在日本它的销量仍然超过其他所有英国汽车销量的总和。
There's confusion and resentment, and it's almost never expressed out in the open. Take this office, for example...
有人迷惘，有人憎恨，可是几乎谁也没有公开表达过。就拿这个办公室的人来说吧。
Lots of couples have problems in the first year of marriage. Take Ann and Paul.
在婚后头一年里，许多夫妇都出现一-些问题。安和保罗就是个例子。
总结：
都是“举例说明”的意思
04. feted
If someone is feted, they are celebrated, welcomed, or admired by the public.
备受赞誉/备受欢迎/备受尊崇
The British dress designer was feted in New York this week at a spectacular dinner.
英国服装设计师阿瑙斯卡·亨普尔本周在纽约出席豪华晚宴时大受追捧。
The metamorphosis from anxious wife to feted author was rapid and dramatic.
从整日焦虑的妻子到备受欢迎的作家，这变化迅速而巨大。
之前在一篇文章中还遇到这样一句：
Samar Mubarakmand, feted for his role in Pakistan’s nuclear-weapons programme, has just shut…
萨马尔·穆巴拉克门德（Samar Mubarakmand）因为对巴基斯坦核武器项目的贡献而备受赞誉……
05. 值得某人学习/某人可以从…中汲取经验教训
可以记住以上两段的最后一句，举一反三：
Those who have passed through the fire surely have something to teach modern-day managers.
Their successes and failures hold lessons for CEOs.
影视台词：
期末考试了，复习了吗？
以下台词来自《憨豆先生》（Mr. Bean）
—(Have you) done your revision?
—Oh, yes. I've concentrated on trigonometry.
—I’ve done calculus mainly.
—Oh? I believe they concentrated on calculus last year.
—Oh, oh dear.
—复习了吗？
—oh，当然。我集中复习了三角学。
—我主要复习了微积分
—oh？我猜想他们去年考了微积分。
—oh，oh天啊
复习: revise
名词：revision
1.不及物：revise (for)
She’s revising for her history exams.
她正在温习，准备历史考试。
I have to revise for maths.
我得复习数学。
I can’t go out tonight. I have to revise.
我今晚不能出去。我得复习。
I’d better skip the party and stay at home to revise.
我最好还是不去参加这个聚会，留在家里温习功课。
2. 及物动词：
I’ve got to revise my geography.
我得复习一下地理。
3. 名词：
do the/his/her/enough revision
I know I haven’t done enough revision for tomorrow’s exam.
我知道明天的考试我准备不足。
