Unit 38
SoftBank of Japan is making its biggest gamble yet: entering the American cellphone market. SoftBank’s complex $20.1 billion deal to buy majority control of Sprint Nextel will unite Japan’s fastest-growing cellphone service provider with one of the United States’ most troubled. The idea is to provide Sprint with a stronger, deeper-pocketed partner that can help finance its network overhaul and, eventually, pursue additional mergers. But SoftBank, an Internet and communications company, is making a risky wager that it can break the dominance of Verizon and AT&T in the United States the way it did a similar duopoly that long reigned over the Japanese market.
“SoftBank brings so much more to Sprint than money,” Daniel R. Hesse, Sprint’s chief executive, said on an analyst call. “This investment provides the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and expertise of a leader in mobile Internet technology with a proven track record of challenging larger incumbent carriers.” Together, the two companies would have $80 billion in revenue and $18 billion in earnings before interest and taxes. And they would nearly double Sprint’s customer base to 96 million, giving the company greater purchasing power. SoftBank’s founder and chief executive, Masayoshi Son, was blunt in his goal: creating the biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States. It is the strategy his own company is pursuing in Japan, aimed at drawing in users of the latest smartphones. Sprint is only beginning to roll out its next-generation Long Term Evolution network, trailing Verizon Wireless and AT&T. “U.S. citizens don’t have this experience of high speed,” Mr. Son said on the analyst call. “We’re going to bring that to the States.”
Shareholders in Sprint and SoftBank appeared less pleased by the transaction. Sprint’s shares closed down slightly on Monday, at $5.69, while SoftBank’s stock tumbled 5.3 percent, to 2,268 yen（$28.92）. While infusing Sprint with cash, the deal would slow SoftBank’s efforts to repay its own hefty debt load, which stood at nearly $13 billion as of June 30. Mr. Son has said that he has already repaid much of the debt his company took on when it bought Vodafone’s Japan arm in 2006 and has done it well ahead of schedule.
The deal on Monday was a welcome development for the financial advisers involved in a year starved for deal activity. If completed, Monday’s transaction would be the biggest deal by a Japanese company in the United States in more than three decades, according to data from Thomson Reuters. It would also be the biggest deal so far this year involving a foreign investment in an American company.
注（1）：本文选自The New York Times;
注（2）：本文习题模仿对象：本文习题的第1、2、5题模仿2011年真题Text 1的第1、4、5题，第3、4题模仿2011年真题Text 2的第3、4题。
1. We can learn from Para. 1 that entering the American cellphone market, Softbank has ______.
A) incurred criticism
B) raised suspicion
C) faced risks
D) aroused curiosity
2. What can’t Sprint benefit from Softbanks?
A) Much money and more customers.
B) Knowledge and expertise.
C) Greater purchasing power.
D) Biggest and fastest wireless network in the United States.
3. The word “tumble”（Line 2, Paragraph 3）most probably means ______.
A) decrease
B) increase
C) reach
D) keep
4. It can be inferred from the last paragraph that ______.
A) the deal was a welcome development
B) the transaction was the biggest deal in more than three decades
C) it would be the biggest deal so far
D) the transaction features in historic significance
5. From the text we can see that the writer seems ______.
A) positive
B) negative
C) uncertain
D) neutral
篇章剖析
本文是一篇说明文，主要介绍日本软银进军美国手机市场的情况。文章第一段首先讲述了日本风险投资公司做了最大的赌注：进入美国手机市场；第二段说明了软银带给Sprint的诸多益处；第三段介绍了软银股票下跌致使股东不满；最后一段总结软银购买Sprint股票对美国来说意义非凡。
词汇注释
overhaul /ˌəuvəˈhɔːl/ n. 全面修改v. 彻底检修
wager /ˈweɪdʒə(r)/ n. 赌博 v. 打赌
duopoly /djuːˈɒpəli/ n. 两强垄断市场
incumbent /ɪnˈkʌmbənt/ adj. 现任的，在职的
blunt /blʌnt/ adj. 直率的；不锋利的，生硬的
tumble /ˈtʌmbl/ v. 暴跌；跌倒，摔倒
infuse /ɪnˈfjuːz/ v. 灌输；使获得
hefty /ˈhefti/ adj. 大量的；强壮的，肌肉发达的
难句突破
But SoftBank, an Internet and communications company, is making a risky wager that it can break the dominance of Verizon and AT&T in the United States the way it did a similar duopoly that long reigned over the Japanese market.
主体句式：But SoftBank is making a wager...
结构分析：这个长句看上去结构复杂，其实主句非常短。an Internet and communications company作同位语补充说明SoftBank，后接一个包含两个that的长句。前一个that是一个典型的同位语从句的引导词，用来具体说明日本软银正在进行什么样的赌博，it代替句首的SoftBank；后一个that则是定语从句的引导词，先行词是duopoly。
句子译文：但对于软银这样一家网络通讯公司而言，试图打破威瑞森电信和AT&T在美国通讯市场上两强垄断的局面如同一次危险的赌博，这种两强垄断的局面正如它们过去长期对日本无线通讯市场的垄断一样。
题目分析
1. C 推断题。作者在第一段中开门见山地说SoftBank of Japan is making its biggest gamble yet: entering the American cellphone market. 还有后面的But SoftBank...is making a risky wager that...从这两处可以得知，软银进入美国市场是存在很多不确定性的，是在冒险下赌注，只有C项符合原文。其余三项并未在文中体现。
2. D 细节题。A、B和C选项皆在文中有直接体现，而D选项则是软银在美国市场的战略目标，与题意不符。
3. A 语义题。根据原文Sprint’s shares closed down slightly...while...可知此句中while是个关键词，表示对比，前面说的是Sprint股价稍有下降，以5.69美元收盘，而软银的股价却…2268日元，以此可以推断出股价是降低了，跌了。
4. D 推断题。A、B和C均是说这笔交易的重大意义，由这三方面作为论据推断出这笔交易有历史重要性，故本题选D。
5. D 情感态度题。本文是一篇经济类文章，旨在陈述经济现象，因此作者持中立态度。
参考译文
日本风险投资公司——软银集团正在进行一场迄今为止最大的赌博：进入美国手机市场。软银以201亿的价格购买了美国无线运营商Sprint Nextel的大部分股权，这项举措成为日本发展最快的手机服务供应商和美国问题最多的运营商的一次联姻。这样做是想使Sprint获得一个财力更加雄厚的合作伙伴，资助其进行一次彻底的网络检修并最终寻得另外的合并公司。但对于软银这样一家网络通讯公司而言，试图打破威瑞森电信和AT&T在美国通讯市场上两强垄断的局面如同一次危险的赌博，这种两强垄断的局面正如它们过去长期对日本无线通讯市场的垄断一样。
“软银带给Sprint的远不止资金。”Sprint的CEO丹尼尔·R.赫西在一次分析电话中称：“这项投资还使Sprint有机会从一个电话网络技术领头羊身上学到专业知识，而这一电话网络领头羊曾成功地挑战了比自己更大的运营商。”Sprint和软银在扣除利息和税费之前总共会有800亿美元的销售总额和180亿美元的收入。它们几乎使Sprint的消费者基数翻倍至9600万，同时赋予Sprint更强的购买力。软银的创始人兼CEO孙正义对其目的直言不讳：在美国建立最大、最快速的无线网络。这是他的公司在日本一直追求的战略目标，旨在吸引最新智能手机的用户首选其移动网络。Sprint只是刚开始推广它的新一代长期演进网络，紧跟威瑞森电信和AT&T的步伐。孙先生在分析电话中说：“美国公民还从未体验过这么高速的网络，我们将会把它引进美国。”
然而Sprint和软银的股东对这一事态似乎并不那么满意。周一，Sprint清盘时的股价稍有下降，以5.69美元收盘，而软银的股价却跌至2268日元，约合28.92美元，下跌了5.3%。软银在注资Sprint的同时，降低了自身偿还高额债款的能力，6月30日，软银还欠约130亿美元的外债。孙先生说，他其实已经还了2006年购买沃达丰日本分支时所欠下的绝大部分债务了，并且这部分债务的偿还比原计划早很多。
这笔周一进行的交易（软银购买Sprint股票）对于牵涉其中的财务顾问们来说再好不过了，他们已经期盼这类交易一年了。根据汤姆森路透社的资料，这笔交易如果能够完成，将是三十多年来日资企业在美国进行的最大一次投资，同时也是今年为止美国公司融得的最大一笔外资。
