本周我先把问题提出来，然后请大家看正文。
1/ Such a handsome profit ought to be a cue to crack open the champagne and roast some Beijing duck. 这句话里的 CUE 是什么意思
2/ listed their shares 是否是证券上市的意思
3/ 您是否同意这句话的翻译 These initial public offerings typically included “cornerstone” investments by big Western firms. 这些首次发售的重要特征是包含了大型西方企业的"基础"投资
4/ 这里的BOUGHT是否是购买股票的意思 And Western banks bought chunks of the leading Chinese state banks when they were listed.
5/ 这里的 FLY IN 是什么意思 . “Fly-in” expat managers were often unfamiliar with China...
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AT FIRST glance, Vodafone has nothing to complain about. On September 8th it sold for $6.6 billion the 3.2% stake in China Mobile that it had bought for $3.3 billion between 2000 and 2002. Such a handsome profit ought to be a cue to crack open the champagne and roast some Beijing duck. Yet the British mobile-phone giant did not get what it really wanted: a way into China. In other countries, Vodafone has had a knack of turning a small investment into a controlling stake, but not in the Middle Kingdom. And it is not alone.
初看之下，沃达丰公司无可抱怨 . 9 月 8 日，该公司以 66 亿美元的价格售出其在中国移动持有的 3.2% 的股份， 该公司在 2000 年到 2002 年间购入的价格仅为 33 亿美元 . 如此丰厚的收益应该以开香槟，烤北京烤鸭来庆祝 . 但是此英国移动电话巨头并没有得到他们曾经想要的: 打开中国市场 . 在其他国家，该公司有能力以小投资转为控股权，但是在中国却做不到 . 而且他们并非个别案例 .
Since the late 1990s, several large state-owned Chinese companies have listed their shares. These initial public offerings typically included “cornerstone” investments by big Western firms. For example, BP, Exxon and Shell (three oil firms) and ABB (a Swiss-Swedish conglomerate) took strategic stakes in PetroChina and Sinopec (two big Chinese oil companies). Alcoa, an American aluminium company, invested in Chalco, a Chinese one. And Western banks bought chunks of the leading Chinese state banks when they were listed.
从 20 世纪 90 年代后期开始，中国数个国营企业的证券上市 . 这些首次发售的重要特征是包含了大型西方企业的"基础"投资 . 比如，英石油公司，埃克森石油公司和 ABB 公司(一瑞士和瑞典合并公司)战略性地购入了中石油和中石化(两家大型中国石油企业)的股份. . 一家美国铝公司 ALCOA 投资了中国铝公司 CHALCO. 中国大型国有银行上市时，西方银行购买了其大量股票 .
Foreign firms brought several things to the table: capital, technology, management skills and the prospect of better corporate governance. The Chinese press often referred to them as “elder brothers”. In return, these Western firms wanted access to China’s huge domestic market.
西方公司带来的好处是: 资金，技术，管理技能和更好的公司管理前景 . 中国媒体时常称他们为"老大哥" . 相应地，西方公司希望的是得到进入巨大的中国国内市场的途径.
It did not work out that way. The Chinese state-owned firms did not need capital so badly that they were prepared to cede control to foreigners. Some also found that the Westerners had less to teach them than they had hoped. “Fly-in” expat managers were often unfamiliar with China, says David Michael, a partner at the Boston Consulting Group. Chinese firms tended to learn more from multinationals that had taken the trouble to build their own large sales forces in China, he says.
此路并没有行通 . 中国国有企业并没有缺乏资金到准备把控制权交给外国企业的地步 . 一些中国企业发现西方企业可教给他们的东西比期望的少 . 波斯顿咨询集团的一个合作伙伴 DAVID MICHAEL 说，被称为飞进去的外派经理经常对中国并不熟悉 . 他说，中国企业通常从跨国公司学到的东西更多，而跨国公司则在建立他们自己的巨大销售力量时困难重重 .
Chinese firms no longer feel like little brothers. China Mobile now has a market value half as large again as Vodafone’s. PetroChina is much bigger than BP. Both Chinese firms are now rich enough to buy whatever expertise they want.
中国企业不再感到是小弟 . 现在，中国移动的市场价值重又达到沃达丰的一半 . 中国石油比英石油的更高 . 这两家中国公司都有足够的财力购买他们想要的任何专门技术 .
Western energy companies were quick to notice this shift. BP, Shell, ABB and Exxon all sold their holdings in state-owned Chinese firms by 2005. Alcoa got out in 2007. Financial firms followed, in whole or part, during the financial crisis. When China’s state-owned Agricultural Bank was recently listed, no big Western bank bought a significant stake.
西方能源公司很快注意到这些变化 . 英石油，壳牌石油， ABB 公司和埃克森公司在 2005 年前售出了他们在中国国有企业的股份 . 美国铝公司在2007年退出. 金融行业跟随其后，在金融危机期间，全部或者部分推出. 当最近国有的中国农行上市时，不再有西方银行购买大量股票.
Western firms grumble about their failure to turn their stakes in China Inc into a foothold in the Chinese market, but not too loudly, so that they do not annoy the government. Besides, thanks to a rising stockmarket, most made sacks of money from their investments.
西方企业抱怨他们在中国公司的股份未能成为中国市场的立足点，但为了不激恼中国政府，他们的抱怨声并不响亮 . 另外，由于股市上升，大部分企业都从他们的投资中赚得金钵满盆 .
A few have not yet cashed out. Telefónica, a Spanish telecoms firm, owns 8.8% of China Unicom and politely rebuffs bankers who advise it to sell. AT&T has 25% of a telecoms business in the Pudong district of Shanghai. Despite regulatory problems, it provides a nationwide service from Pudong, largely to multinational clients. It is a nice business, but a far cry from the dreams some Westerners once had about China.
有几个企业尚未兑现其股份 . 持有中国联通的 8.8% 股份的西班牙电信公司 Telefónica ，礼貌地回绝了建议其售出股份的银行 . AT&T公司在上海浦东区持有一电信企业25%的股份，尽管出现监管问题，此公司从浦东提供全国性服务，大部分客户为跨国公司 . 生意不错，但与某些西方企业从前的中国梦相距甚远 .
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