The main ingredient of a semiconductor is silicon, but it might as well be pyrite, or fools gold. That is because consistently making money out of chips is notoriously difficult. Cyclical demand means that profits are volatile, and new kinds of chips quickly become commoditised. The business is also highly capital-intensive: a new fabrication plant, or fab, costs $3 billion-5 billion, and new facilities must be built every few years as technology advances.
Accordingly, many Western technology firms, such as Philips, Hewlett-Packard, Motorola and Siemens, long ago spun off their chipmaking units in order to focus on the final products, rather than the bits inside them. Japans huge electronics conglomerates have largely resisted this fab lite strategy. This now seems to be changing, though the companies willingness to let go fully is still in doubt.
On October 18th Sony said it would put its processor-chip division into a joint venture with Toshiba, which will also buy Sonys chipmaking facilities. Sony will no longer have to make huge investments in chip technology, and will still be sure of a supply of processors for its PlayStation 3 games consoles and other products. Its chip division lost 10 billion last year, and the company has been getting rid of non-core businesses. Last month it floated its financial-services arm, raising nearly $3 billion. For its part Toshiba, one of the worlds biggest chipmakers, will gain economies of scale.
Sanyo, another Japanese electronics firm, had hoped to do something similar. But its plan to sell its semiconductor unit for nearly $1 billion to Advantage Partners, a private-equity fund, fell through on October 16th. Sanyo is owned by a number of investors, including Goldman Sachs, which are doing their best to revive the struggling company by slimming it down to focus on its solar-panel and battery businesses. But the banks financing the purchase of Sanyos chip unit balked at the price and at Advantages plan to retain the existing management. Sanyos announcement that it would keep the unit sent its share price plummeting.
Meanwhile, NEC, which in 2002 turned its chip business into a separate, publicly listed subsidiary, NEC Electronics, has spurned an offer from Perry Capital, a New York fund. Perry is willing to pay $1.3 billion to raise its stake from roughly 5% to 30%, on the condition that NEC relinquishes control of the chipmakers board. Now Perry is quietly trying to convince other shareholders of the merits of its offer.
Taken together, this action adds up to a test of the willingness of managers at Japans electronics firms to take rational but uncomfortable decisions. Spin-offs make sense because there are too many firms doing the same thing on too small a scale, and the need to finance new fabs is a drag on the firms main businesses. In Japan, however, corporate pride often trumps economic logic. Electronics giants are used to being diversified and vertically integrated: they regard selling a subsidiary as akin to amputating an arm. Still, some now see the need for surgery.
1. Profits in chips industry are unsteady because_____
[A] there is no great demand of chips.
[B] the technology advances fast.
[C] the demand is periodic.
[D] the production of silicon is unstable.
2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of fab lite strategy?
[A] Japans electronics conglomerates are now commencing to consider of implementing this strategy.
[B] The attitude of Japans electronics conglomerates towards the strategy is still quite dubious.
[C] The strategy is beneficial in promoting companies manufacturing more focused on final products.
[D] The strategy is applicable the captive-intensive industry.
3. Sony hands over its processor-chip division to Toshiba in order to_____
[A] float its financial-services arm through saving huge investment from chip making.
[B] cater to help Toshibas strategy of gaining economies of scale.
[C] focus on its main business by cutting off non-core branches.
[D] supply processors for its PlayStation 3 games consoles.
4. Sanyos plan of selling its semiconductor unit miscarried mainly due to _____
[A] the high price it charged.
[B] the dispute among the investors, some of whom pays great effort to revive the company.
[C] the difficulty of retaining the management of the chip manufacturing.
[D] the sudden fall of its share price.
5. NEC refused the offer from Perry Capital because_____
[A] the bit by Perry is not ideal.
[B] it is afraid of losing its chip unit.
[C] the condition raised by Perry is unreasonable.
[D] it regards its chip unit as an inseprable part.
文章剖析：
这篇文章讲述了电子公司的分割其分公司以进行统一整合的策略。第一段讲述芯片产业的特点;第二段讲述西方国家和日本对于分离芯片部门的态度;第三、四、五段讲述索尼、三洋公司和NEC的个案;第六段讲述日本公司的心理。
词汇注释：
pyrite n. 黄铁矿 volatile adj. 不稳定的，可变的
spin off v. 分割从更大的实体中派生出(如公司或产品)
balk v. 停滞 plummet v. 垂直落下
spur v. 轻视地拒绝 relinquish v. 放弃
amputate v. 切除(手臂、腿等)
难句突破：
Sanyo is owned by a number of investors, including Goldman Sachs, which are doing their best to revive the struggling company by slimming it down to focus on its solar-panel and battery businesses.
[主体句式] Sanyo is owned by a number of investors.
[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。Including现在分词结构是修饰前面的宾语的;which引导的非限定性定语从句也是修饰investors的, 在该定语从句中, by结构是句子的方式状语。
[句子译文] 三洋目前由一些投资者控股，包括高盛公司, 他们正削减其规模以专注于太阳能板和电池产业,从而让勉强经营的三洋可以重新振作起来。
Meanwhile, NEC, which in 2002 turned its chip business into a separate, publicly listed subsidiary, NEC Electronics, has spurned an offer from Perry Capital, a New York fund.
[主体句式] NEC has spurned an offer.
[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。Which引导的定语从句用来修饰主语;NEC Electronics是前面subsidiary的同位语。
[句子译文] 同时，NEC于2002年将芯片业务转为一个公开上市的独立子公司NEC电子，并拒绝了美国一家基金佩里的出价。
题目分析：
1. Profits in chips industry are unsteady because_____ 1. 芯片产业的利润不稳定是因为_____
[A] there is no great demand of chips. [A] 芯片的需求量不大。
[B] the technology advances fast. [B] 技术更新太快。
[C] the demand is periodic. [C] 需求有一定的周期性。
[D] the production of silicon is unstable. [D] 硅产量是不稳定的。
[答案] C
[难度系数] ☆
[分析] 细节题。文章第一段提到，周期性的需求也就意味着利润是不稳定的，关键在于理解cyclical这个词的意思。因此，答案为C选项。
2. Which one of the following statements is TRUE of fab lite strategy? 2. 关于轻生产策略，下列陈述哪项是正确的?
[A] Japans electronics conglomerates are now commencing to consider of implementing this strategy. [A] 日本电子巨头目前正在开始考虑实施该策略。
[B] The attitude of Japans electronics conglomerates towards the strategy is still quite dubious. [B] 日本电子公司对于这个战略的态度仍然是不清楚的。
[C] The strategy is beneficial in promoting companies manufacturing more focused on final products. [C] 该策略对于推动公司更加注重最终产品的制造是有益的。
[D] The strategy is applicable to the captive-intensive industry. [D] 该策略适用于资金密集型产业。
[答案]A
[难度系数] ☆☆☆
[分析] 细节题。选项A，文章第二段指出日本电子巨头本来对该策略非常抵触，但现在这种态度也在变化，因此，可以推断他们也在考虑实施该策略。B，文章第二段最后一句话指出日本最大的电子集团以前对这种轻制造的策略强烈抵触，但是好像现在也发生了变化，尽管还不一定要全面放开，从中我们还是可以很清晰地看出这些企业态度的变化的，因此该选项错误。C，文章没有明确指出这个策略是否是beneficial因此也不正确。D，文章并没有提到。因此，A选项为正确答案。
3. Sony hands over its processor-chip division to Toshiba in order to_____ 3. 索尼将自己的芯片公司转让给东芝是为了_____
[A] float its financial-services arm through saving huge investment from chip making. [A] 通过从取消芯片生产节省下来的投资来创立自己的金融服务公司。
[B] cater to Toshibas strategy of gaining economies of scale. [B] 迎合东芝获得规模性效益的策略。
[C] focus on its main business by cutting off non-core branches. [C] 通过砍掉非核心部门来专注自己的主营业务。
[D] supply processors for its PlayStation 3 games consoles. [D] 为其游戏站3游戏控制台提供服务器。
[答案]C
[难度系数] ☆☆☆
[分析] 推理题。文章第三段提到索尼的举措，索尼的芯片公司是亏损的，将芯片公司转让给东芝后，就不必往该公司投入大量的资金了，但是又可以有服务器供应;索尼还把其他非核心业务的公司也裁掉了。而文章举索尼的例子也是为了说明这种策略，将副营业务去除，专营主营业务。因此，选项C是正确的。
4. Sanyos plan of selling its semiconductor unit miscarried mainly due to _____ 4. 三洋出售半导体分部的计划流产是因为_____
[A] the high price it charged. [A] 三洋要价过高。
[B] the dispute among the investors, some of whom pay great effort to revive the company. [B] 投资者有分歧，其中一些力图要重振公司。
[C] the difficulty of retaining the management of the chip manufacturing. [C] 保持芯片生产管理的困难。
[D] the sudden fall of its share price. [D] 其股价的突然下跌。
[答案]A
[难度系数] ☆☆☆☆
[分析] 细节题。文章第四段指出，银行是停步在价格和Advantage想要保留目前管理的计划上的，可以推断该计划流产就是因为价格过高，而且Advantage想要维持原来的管理模式。因此，A选项为正确答案。其他三项的内容在该段中都有所提及，但却不是该计划流产的原因。
5. NEC refused the offer from Perry Capital because_____ 5. NEC拒绝佩里基金的收购是因为_____
[A] the bit by Perry is not ideal. [A] 佩里的出价不理想。
[B] it is afraid of losing its chip unit. [B] 它担心失去芯片公司。
[C] the condition raised by Perry is unreasonable. [C] 佩里提出的条件不合理。
[D] it regards its chip unit as an inseprable part. [D] 他将芯片部门看作是不可分割的一部分。
[答案]D
[难度系数] ☆☆
[分析] 推理题。文章最后一段是承上启下的，说这种做法或拒绝这样做可以检验日本是否愿意采取这种理性的策略，日本的电子巨头习惯了经营多样化的模式，他们认为失去一个分公司就好像失去了自己身体的一部分，因此不愿意这样做，即使明白这样有利于公司长远的发展。可以推断，NEC这样做是因为把芯片部门看作是自己身体的一部分，选项中D最为符合题意。
参考译文：
半导体的主要成分为硅，但也可以是黄铁矿，或称作傻瓜的金子，因为大家都知道，总是依靠芯片赚钱是非常难的。周期性的需求意味着利润是不稳定的，新型芯片很快就会成为平价商品。同时这也是一个资金高度密集型产业，新建一个加工厂需要投资3050亿元，而且每隔几年随着技术进步就需要增添新设备。
因此，许多西方科技公司，如飞利浦、Hewlett-Packard、摩托罗拉和西门子在很早以前就把芯片制造部门分离出来，专注于制造终端产品而非里面的芯片。日本最大的电子集团以前对强烈抵制这种轻制造的策略，但现在似乎也发生了变化，尽管还不一定要全面放开。
10月18日，索尼称将其信息芯片部门放入于东芝成立的一家合资企业中，而东芝也购买了索尼的芯片制作设备。由此索尼不再需要向芯片科技投入大量资金，且仍然不用担心其第三游戏站游戏控制台和其他产品处理器的供应。其芯片分部去年损失了100亿日元(合9000万美元)，同时公司也将非核心业务都分割了出去。上个月索尼创立了其金融服务公司，筹集了近30亿美元。而世界最大的芯片制造商东芝公司也将获得规模效应。
另外一家日本电子公司三洋也希望效法索尼的做法。但是它以10亿美元将其半导体部门卖给私立基金Advantage Partners的计划于10月16日失败了。三洋目前由一些投资者控股，包括高盛公司, 他们正削减其规模以专注于太阳能板和电池产业,从而让勉强经营的三洋可以重新振作起来。但是筹集资金收购三洋芯片部的银行却因价格以及Advantage想要保留目前管理权等因素而停手。而后三洋宣布将保留该部门，这使得公司的股价直线下降。
同时，NEC于2002年将芯片业务转为一个公开上市的独立子公司NEC电子。美国一家基金佩里愿意支付13亿美元将自己的股份从5%提高到30%， 条件是NEC放弃对芯片制造董事会的控制，但遭NEC拒绝。(在过去三个月内平均股价高出60%溢价成交。) 现在佩里正悄悄地试图说服其他股东该其收购会带来利益。
总的说来，通过这种行为(和无行为)可以看出日本电子公司经理是否愿意采取这种合乎理性的但合乎心意的决定。分离还是有必要的，因为太多公司都在以很小的规模做一件事情，要给新的工厂投资也会拖累公司的主营业务。但是在日本，公司的荣誉往往会战胜经济逻辑。电子巨头们习惯于产业多样化和垂直结合：他们觉得卖掉分公司就好像是斩去了一条胳膊。不过，一些人发现现在也有必要来一个手术。
上一篇： 六级阅读主旨题答题技巧及实战演练(9)
下一篇： 大学英语考试拓展阅读-晨读美文26