
In many ways Mr Arnault, the first European to rise to the top of the world』s rich lists, is the epitome of how to do business in the old continent.
As his remarks to Jobs suggested, he thinks about the distant past and decades into the future, not just about next year』s profits.
He relishes craftsmanship, championing outré designers, perfumers and cellar masters, while often reserving for himself the last word on product details.
His own presence as a business titan is understated. Unlike Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, his most recent predecessors as the world』s richest people, he is not a household name—unless the household is a maison de couture, or palatial.
He is a regular on the Parisian fashion-show circuit, yet lets the clothes and those that wear them grab the spotlight.
He is soft-spoken but is no soft touch. As a writer on this newspaper put it back in 1989, he has 「a charming smile but teeth, apparently, of steel」.
That reputation, which goes well with his lupine looks, is one he has never seemed to mind.
這是《經濟學人》2022年12月刊的一篇文章「The sovereign of savoir-faire」第2段,共7句。
1
epitome:典範
continent:大陸
這個成為世界首富的首位歐洲人,Arnault先生在很多方面都是在這片舊大陸如何開展業務的典範。
2
正如他對喬布斯的那些建議,他思考的是關於遙遠的過去以及未來的幾十年,並不僅僅是下一年的利潤有多少。
3
relishes:渴望;喜歡
craftsmanship:手藝
outré:異類的
cellar:酒窖
他鐘愛手工藝,捍衛異類設計師,調香師以及釀酒大師,同時經常保留對產品細節的最終話語權。
4
palatial:富麗堂皇的
他自己作為一個商業巨頭的存在被低估了。與埃隆·馬斯克、傑夫·貝佐斯和比爾·蓋茨不同,他的前任是世界上最富有的人,但他並不是一個家喻戶曉的名字,除非這一家人是個時裝設計師或者是時尚富有。
5
circuit:巡迴
他是巴黎時裝秀的常客,不過目前為止都是那些時裝以及穿着時裝的人們引人注目。
6
他說話很溫和,但絕不手軟。正如1989年該報的一位作家所說,他有着「迷人的笑容,但顯然是鋼鐵般的牙齒」。
7
這一聲譽與他長相完美吻合,但他似乎從未介意。
-總結-
詞彙
epitome:典範
continent:大陸
relishes:渴望;喜歡
craftsmanship:手藝
outré:異類的
cellar:酒窖
palatial:富麗堂皇的
circuit:巡迴