英文早读第18篇，选自巴菲特年度信，友才翻译。
Advance Payments:
预付款：
Several partners have inquired about adding money during the year to their partnership. Although an exception has been made, it is too difficult to amend partnership agreements during mid-year where we have more than one family represented among the limited partners. Therefore, in mixed partnerships an additional interest can only be acquired at the end of the year.
有几个合伙人在去年已经要求给他们的合伙基金增资。尽管一个例外已经发生，但在年中修改合伙协议是很困难的，我们不止代表一个有限合伙人的权利。因此，在混合的合伙基金里，额外的利息只能在年末获得。
We do accept advance payments during the year toward a partnership interest and pay interest at 6% on this payment from the time received until the end of the year. At that time, subject to amendment of the agreement by the partners, the payment plus interest is added to the partnership capital and thereafter participates in profits and losses.
我们确实接受年中预付款基于合伙基金的利益，并且会按从收到的时间到年末年率6%支付利息。在那时，根据合伙人修订协议，付款和利息将会被加入合伙基金资本中，并从此之后参与到盈利或亏损。
Sanborn Map：
三伯恩地图：
Last year mention was made of an investment which accounted for a very high and unusual proportion (35%) of our net assets along with the comment that I had some hope this investment would be concluded in 1960. This hope materialized. The history of an investment of this magnitude may be of interest to you.
去年提到了一个投资占了我们净资产非常高和不同寻常的比例（35%），同时注释到我希望这项投资可以在1960年结束。这个愿望实现了。这种量级投资的历史你或许会感兴趣。
Sanborn Map Co. is engaged in the publication and continuous revision of extremely detailed maps of all cities of the United States. For example, the volumes mapping Omaha would weigh perhaps fifty pounds and provide minute details on each structure. The map would be revised by the paste-over method showing new construction, changed occupancy, new fire protection facilities, changed structural materials, etc. These revision would be done approximately annually and a new map would be published every twenty or thirty years when further pasteovers became impractical. The cost of keeping the map revised to an Omaha customer would run around 100 per year.
三伯恩地图公司从事美国城市超精细地图的出版和修订。例如，奥马哈市的地图汇编大约重50磅，并提供每个建筑的详细细节。这个地图每年通过插入贴片的方式进行修订，用来展示新的建筑、更改的地面占用、新的失火保护设施、改变的建筑物材料等等。这些修订基本按年完成，新的地图每20或30年会出版，那是更多的插入贴边变的不切实际。对一个奥马哈客户来说，保持地图修订的花费每年约100美金。
The detailed information show diameter of water mains underlying streets, location of fire hydrants, composition of roof, etc., was primarily of use to fire insurance companies. Their underwriting departments, located in a central office, could evaluate business by agents nationally. The theory was that a picture was worth a thousand words and such evaluation would decide whether the risk was properly rated, the degree of conflagration exposure in an area, advisable reinsurance procedure, etc. The bulk of Sanborn's business was done with about thirty insurance companies although maps were also sold to customers outside the insurance industry such as public utilities, mortgage companies, and taxing authorities.
这些细节展示了街道下方水管的直径，消防栓的位置，屋顶的结构等等，对于火灾保险公司是首要用途。他们的承保部门，坐落于中央办公区，可以通过全国的代理人来评估业务。这个理论是一个图片比一千个字更有用，这些评估可以决定风险是否合理评级，一个区域大火的暴露程度，有参考性的再保险流程等等。三伯恩公司的大量业务由三十家保险公司完成，尽管地图同样出售给保险业以外的客户，例如公用事业单位，担保抵押公司，税务局。
For seventy-five years the business operated in a more or less monopolistic manner, with profits realized in every year accompanied by almost complete immunity to recession and lack of need for any sales effort. In the earlier years of the business, the insurance became fearful that Sanborn's profits would become too great and placed a number of prominent insurance men on Sanborn's board of directors to act in a watch-dog capital.
在75年间，业务或多或少以垄断形势运作，每年实现利润同时几乎不受经济萎缩影响，也不用努力销售。在业务早年间，保险公司担心三伯恩的利润会太大，于是安置了一批资深保险人在三伯恩的董事会来扮演看门狗资本。
25.exception：例外
26.amend：修正；修订
27.subject to：从属于；服从于
28.thereafter：之后；此后；以后
29.conclude：结束；终止；得出结论；达成；订立；推断出
30.materialize：实现；发生；突然显现；神奇的出现
31.magnitude：巨大；震级；星等；重大
32.engage in：参与；从事；参加
33.revision：修订；修改；复习
34.structure：结构；构造；体系；建筑物；精心组织
35.paste over：粘贴；涂；插入；拼贴
36.occupancy：（房屋、土地）等的占用、使用
37.impractical：不切实际的；不现实的；不明智的
38.diameter：直径；对径；放大率；放大倍数
39.main：主要的；电源；主管道；总管；水电煤供应干线；下水道煤气源；污水管
40.hydrant：消防栓；龙头；取水管；加油栓
41.underwriter：核保人；承包人；保险商
42.conflagration：大火；火灾
43.exposure：暴露；面临；底片；胶片；揭露；被报道
44.mortgage：抵押贷款；按揭；按揭贷款
45.monopolistic：独占的；垄断的；控制的
46.immunity：免疫；免除；豁免；受保护
47.recession：经济衰退；经济萎缩；撤回；退后
48.prominent：显眼的；显著的；杰出的
