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1、戴尔的梦想20亿美元Michael Dells Two-Billion-Dollar DreamOne afternoon in 1977, as his parents and two brothers fished in the Gulf of Mexico, 12-year-old Michael Dell sat on the beach, painstakingly putting together a trotline, a maze of ropes to which several fish hooks could be attached. Youre wasting your
2、 time, the rest of the family called to Michael, as they pulled in fish. Grab a pole and join in the fun. Michael kept working. It was dinnertime when he finished, and everyone else was ready to call it a day(收工;停止). Still, the youngster cast the trotline far into the water, anchoring it to a stick
3、that he plunged deep in the sand.Over dinner his family teased young Michael about coming away empty-handed. But afterward Michael reeled in his trotline, and on the hooks were more fish than the others had caught all together!Michael Dell has always been fond of saying, If you think you have a good
4、 idea, try it! And today, at 29, he has discovered the power of another good idea that has helped him rise in just a few years from teen to tycoon. He has become the fourth-largest manufacturer of personal computers in America and the youngest man ever to head a Fortune 500 corporation(领导一个财富500强企业)
5、.Growing up in Houston, Michael and his two brothers were imbued by their parents with the desire to learn and the drive to work hard. Even so, stories about the middle boy began to be told early.Like the time a saleswoman came asking to speak to Mr. Michael Dell about his getting a high-school equi
6、valency diploma. Moments later, eight-year-old Michael was explaining that he thought it might be a good idea to get high school out of the way.A few years later Michael had another good idea, to trade stamps by advertising in stamp magazines. With the $ 2000 profit he made, he bought his first pers
7、onal computer. Then he took it apart to figure out how it worked.In high school Michael had a job selling subscriptions to the Houston Post. Newlyweds, so he figured(他这样分析认为), were the best prospects, so he hired friends to copy the names and addresses of recent recipients of marriage licenses. Thes
8、e he entered into his computer, then sent a personalized letter offering each couple a free two-week subscription.This time Dell made $18 000 and bought a BMW. The car salesman was flabbergasted when the 17-year-old paid cash. The next year Dell enrolled at the University of Texas in Austin. Like mo
9、st freshmen, he needed to earn spending money. Just about everyone on campus was talking about personal computers. At the time, anyone who didnt have a PC wanted one, but dealers were selling them at a hefty markup. People wanted low-cost machines custom-made to their needs, and these were not readi
10、ly available. Why should dealers get such a big markup for so little added value?(产品在经销商手中产生的附加增值微乎其微，他们有什么理由把价位定得那么高从中获取那么多的利益?) Dell wondered. Why not sell from the manufacturer directly to the end user?Dell knew that IBM required its dealers to take a monthly quota of PCs, in most cases more than
11、 they could sell. He also knew that holding excess inventory was costly. So he bought dealers surplus stock at cost(他以成本价买下经销商的积压产品). Back in his dorm room, he added features to improve performance. The souped-up models found eager buyers(经过改装后的机型十分热销). Seeing the hungry market, Dell placed local ad
12、vertisements offering his customized computers at 15 percent off retail price. Soon he was selling to businesses, doctors offices and law firms. The trunk of his car was his store; his room took on the appearance of a small factory.During Thanksgiving break, Dells parents told him they were concerne
13、d about his grades. If you want to start a business, do it after you get your degree, his father pleaded.Dell agreed, but back in Austin he felt the opportunity of a lifetime was passing him by. I couldnt bear to miss this chance, he says. After one month he started selling computers again- with a v
14、engeance.The quarters he shared with two roommates looked like a combat zone- boxes piled high, computer boards and tools scattered around. One day his roommates heaped all his equipment into a pile, preventing Dell from entering his room. It was time to come to grips with the magnitude of what he h
15、ad created.(他必须认真考虑如何应对他创建的庞然大物) The business was now grossing more than $ 50 000 a month.Over spring recess, Dell confessed to his parents that he was still in the computer business. They wanted to know how classes were going. I have to quit school, he replied. I want to start my own company. What
16、exactly is it that you want to do? asked his father.Compete with IBM, he answered simply.Compete with IBM? Now his parents were really worried. But no matter what they said, Dell stuck fast(顽固坚持). So they made a deal; over summer vacation he would try to launch a computer company. If he didnt succeed, he would have to go back to school in September.Returning to Austin, Dell risked all his savings
