Passage 2
Doing business in another country may be extremely tricky. For example, merely asking the right question is sometimes crucial. In one reported case, a paper-manufacturing firm neglected to inspect some wooded land for sale in Sicily prior to its purchase. Only after the company had bought the land, built a plant, and hired a labor force did it realize that the trees were only knee-high and not suitable for making paper. The plant had to import logs.
Numerous problems result from the failure to adapt packaging for different cultures. Sometimes only the color of the package needs to be altered to enhance a product’s sales. White, for instance, symbolizes death in much of Asia; green represents danger or disease in Malaysia. Obviously, use of these colors in these countries might produce negative reactions to products.
Some product names travel poorly. American Motor’s Matador car might conjure up images of strength and power in America, but in Puerto Rico its name means “Killer”, an unfavorable connotation in a place with a high traffic fatality rate. When the gasoline company Esso realized that its name means “stalled car” in Japan, it understood why it had had difficulties in that market.
However, some company names have travelled well. Kodak may be one of the most famous examples. A research team deliberately developed this name after searching for a word that was pronounceable everywhere but had no specific meaning anywhere.
Many international advertising errors are due to faulty translations. The best translations embody the general theme and concept of the original ad campaign but do not attempt to be precise duplicates of the original slogan. Pepsi Co. learned this lesson when it reportedly discovered that its slogan “Come alive with Pepsi” was literally translated into German as “Come alive out of the grave with Pepsi”. And in Asia, it was translated as “Bring your ancestors back from the dead.” General Motors encountered problems in Belgium, where “Body by Fisher” was translated as “Corpse by Fisher”.
Proper market research may reduce or eliminate most international business mistakes. Market researchers can uncover needs for product adaptation, potential name problems, promotional requirements, and proper market strategies. Good research techniques may even uncover potential translation problems.
47.International companies run the risk of failure if they overlook differences between countries.
A、True
B、False
【正确答案】：A
【名师解析】:选项A "True" 是正确的。文章通过多个例子说明了国际公司在不同国家做生意时可能遇到的风险和挑战。例如，一家造纸公司在西西里岛购买了土地后才发现树木高度不够，不适合制作纸张；不同文化对颜色的理解和反应不同，如白色在亚洲象征死亡，绿色在马来西亚代表危险或疾病；产品名称和广告翻译不当也可能导致误解或负面反应，如Pepsi的广告语在德语和亚洲的不同翻译问题，以及General Motors的“Body by Fisher”在比利时的翻译问题。这些例子都强调了如果国际公司忽视了不同国家之间的差异，就可能面临失败的风险。因此，正确的市场研究可以减少或消除这些国际商务中的错误。
