英文早读第32篇，选自巴菲特年度信，友才翻译。

The Question of Size
关于规模的问题

Aside from the question as to what happens upon my death (which with a metaphysical twist, is a subject of keen interest to me), I am probably asked most often:"What affect is the rapid growth of partnership funds going to have upon performance?"
除了关于我去世了会怎样的问题（有点邪乎的扭曲，我对这个话题也很感兴趣），我或许被问到最多的是：“快速增长的合伙资金将会怎样影响表现？”

Larger funds tug in two directions. From the standpoint of "passive" investments, where we do not attempt by the size of our investment to influence corporate policies, larger sums hurt results. For the mutual fund or trust department investing in securities with very broad markets, the effect of large sums should be to penalize results only very slightly. Buying 10,000 shares of General Motors is only slightly more costly (on the basis of mathematical expectancy) than buying 1,000 or 100 shares.
更大的资金拖进了两个方向。从消极投资的观点来看，我们不会到可以影响公司策略的投资规模，更大的数量会损伤结果。对于共同基金和信托在大盘股票中投资，大资金对结果的影响微乎其微。买10000股通用汽车比买1000股或者100股仅仅贵一点点（基于数学算法的预期）。

In some of the securities in which we deal (but not all by any means) buying 10,000 shares is much more difficult than buying 100 and is sometimes impossible. Therefore, for a portion of our portfolio, larger sums are definitely disadvantageous. For a larger portion of the portfolio, I would say increased sums are only slightly disadvantageous. This category includes most of our work-outs and some generals.
在部分我们交易的股票中（无论如何不是所有的）买10000股比买100股困难的多，有时是不可能的。因此，对于部分我们的投资，大资金确实是劣势。对我们交易的更多的股票而言，我想说增加的资金仅仅是微微劣势。这个策略包括大部分的套利类和一些一般类。

However, in the case of control situations increased funds are a definite advantage. A "Sanborn Map" cannot be accomplished without the wherewithal. My definite belief is that the opportunities increase in this field as the funds increase. This is due to the sharp fall-off in competition as the ante mounts plus the important positive correlation that exists between increased size of company and lack of concentrated ownership of that company's stock.
然而，对于控股类的情况而言，增加的资金是实打实的优势。像三伯恩地图公司没有这些资金是不能完成的。我确信随着资金增加在这一领域的机会也在增加。这是因为竞争骤然减少，当赌注增加，再加上增长的公司规模和公司股份集中持股的缺乏之间的重要关系。

Which is more important -- the decreasing prospects of profitability in passive investments or the increasing prospects in control investments? I can't give a definite answer to this since to a great extent it depends on the type of market in which we are operating. My present opinion is that there is no reason to think these should not be offsetting factors; if my opinion should change, you will be told. I can say, most assuredly, that our results in 1960 and 1961 would not have been better if we had been operating with the much smaller sums of 1956 and 1957.
哪一个是更重要的——在消极投资中盈利水平降低的预期还是在控股类投资中增长的预期？我不能给出确切答案，因为这很大程度上取决于我们操作的市场类型。我现在的观点是，没有理由不认为这些资金不能看作一种补偿因素；如果我的观点变了，你会被告知。我可以说，很确定，我们在1960年和1960年取得的成果不会比只有1956年和1957年更少资金时操作的更好。

And a Prediction
一个预测

Regular readers (I may be flattering myself) will feel I have left the tracks when I start talking about predictions. This is one thing from which I have always shield away and I still do in the normal sense.
长期读者（我或许在自卖自夸）会有感觉当我开始谈到预测时就脱轨了。这是一件我一直避免的事情，我会继续基于尝试做事。

I am certainly not going to predict what general business or the stock market are going to do in the next year or two since I don't have the faintest idea.
我当然不会去预测一般的商业或者股市在下一年或者两年将会怎样，因为我对此没有任何想法。

I think you can be quite sure that over the next ten years there are going to be a few years when the general market is plus 20% or 25%, a few when it is minus on the same order, and a majority when it is in between. I haven't any notion as to the sequence in which these will occur, nor do I think it is of any great importance for the long-term investor.
我认为你可以相当确定在接下来10年，有一些年份大盘会涨20%或者25%，有一些年份同样比例下降，大部分年份介于两者之间。关于这些发生的次序我没有主意，我也不认为这对长期投资者很重要。

Over any long period of years, I think it likely that the Dow will probably produce something like 5% to 7% per year compounded from a combination of dividends and market value gain. Despite the experience of recent years, anyone expecting substantially better than that from the general market probably faces disappointment.
在任何长期的一段时间，我认为有可能道琼斯指数会产生年化复合5%到7%的增长，包括股息和市值增长合在一起。尽管有最近这些年的经历，任何人期望会比大盘明显领先可能都会面临失望。

Our job is to pile up yearly advantages over the performance of the Dow without worrying too much about whether the absolute results in a given year are a plus or minus. I would consider a year in which we were down 15% and the Dow declined 25% to be much superior to a year when both the partnership and the Dow advanced 20%. I have stressed this point in talking with partners and have watched them nod their heads with varing degrees of enthusiasm. It is most important to me that you fully understand my reasoning in this regard and agree with me not only in your cerebral regions, but also down in the pit of your stomach.
我们的工作是年复一年的累计优于道琼斯指数的表现，而不用过多担心在某一年的绝对值是正还是负。我会考虑我们下降15%而道琼斯指数下降25%的年份会比我们的合伙基金和道琼斯指数都增长20%的年份要好得多。我已经在和合伙人谈论时强调了这一点，并且看到了他们伴随着不同程度的兴奋而点头赞成。对我来说最重要的是充分理解我在这一方面的推论并同意我，不仅是在你的理智范畴，同时需要降低你的胃口预期。

For the reasons outlined in my method of operation, our best years relative to the Dow are likely to be in declining or static markets. Therefore, the advantage we seek will probably come in sharply varying amounts. There are bound to be years when we are surpassed by the Dow, but if over a long period we can average ten percentage points per year better than it, I will feel the results have been satisfactory.
根据我的运作方法的概述，我们相较于道琼斯指数最好的年份似乎是下降的或持稳的市场。因此，我们需求的优势可能会有巨大的差异。有一些年份会让我们被道琼斯指数超越，但是如果长期来看，我们可以平均优于道琼斯指数10个百分点，我会对这个结果满意。

Specifically, if the market should be down 35% or 40% in a year (and I feel this has a high probability of occuring one year in the next ten--no one knows which one), we should be down only 15% or 20%. If it is more or less unchanged during the year, we would hope to be up about ten percentage points. If it is up 20% or more, we would struggle to be up as much. The consequence of performance such as this over a period of years would mean that if the Dow produces a 5% to 7% per year overall gain compounded, I would hope our results might be 15% to 17% per year.
具体来说，如果市场一年下降35%或者40%（我认为这会大概率在接下来10年的某一年发生——没有人知道哪一年），我们应当下降15%或者20%。如果这年基本没有变化，我们会希望增长大约10个百分点。如果道琼斯指数增长20%或者更多，我们将会艰难的去增长同样多。这个在这么长时间年份表现的推论意味着如果道琼斯指数年化复合净值增长5%到7%，我希望我们的结果会是每年15%到17%。

The above expections may sound somewhat rash, and there is no question but that they may appear very much so when viewed from the vantage point of 1965 or 1970. It may turn out I am completely wrong. However, I feel the partners are certainly entitled to know what I am thinking in this regard even though the nature of the business is such as to introduce a high probability of error in such expectations. In anyone year, the variations may be quite substantial. This happend in 1961, but fortunately the variation was on the pleasant side. They won't all be!
上面这些预测或许听起来有点粗糙，他们没有问题但他们或许到1965年或者1970年回顾收益点数时才更清晰。它或许结果证明我完全错了。然而，我认为合伙人应该有权知道我在这一领域正在思考的东西尽管商业的真谛可能最终导致了我这些预测的高概率错误。在任何一年，差异似乎都很大。这在1961年发生了，但是幸运的是，这个差异时令人开心的一面。他们不会都是！

Miscellaneous
杂事

We are now installed in an office at 810 Kiewit Plaza with a first-class secretary, Beth Henley, and an associate with considerable experience in my type of securities, Bill Scott. My father is sharing office space with us (he also shares the expenses) and doing a brokerage business in securities. None of our brokerage is done through him so we have no "vicuna coat" situation.
我们现在在基伟特广场810室设立了办公室，有一个头等助理贝斯·亨利，和一个在我股票领域有很多经验的同事比尔·斯考特。我的父亲和我分享办公空间（他同样分担花费），他在做股票经纪业务。我们的股票经济没有任何一件给他做，因此我们没有“驼羊绒外套”的事情。

Overall, I expect our overhead, excluding interest on borrowing and Nebraska Intangibles Tax, to run less than 0.5% of 1% of net assets. We should get our money's worth from this expenditure, and you are most cordially invited to drop in and see how the money is being spent.
总的来说，我希望我们的运作花费，除掉借款利息和内布拉斯州无形税后，少于净资产的0.5%或1%。我们应当使我们的钱值这些开销，我们很热情地邀请你来顺道拜访，看一看这些钱是如何被花的。

With over 90 partners and probably 40 or so securities, you can understand that it is quite a welcome relief to me shake loose some of the details.
有超过90名合伙人和大约40支股票，你可以理解说一说这些细节对我是一个很好的解脱。

We presently have partners residing in locations from California to Vermont, and assets at the beginning of 1962 amounted to 7,178,500.00. Susie and I have an interest in the partnership amounting to 1,025,000.00, and other relatives of mine have a combined interest totalling 782,600.00. The minimum for new partners last year was 25,000, but I am giving some thought to increasing it this year.
我们现在的合伙人定居在从加州到佛蒙特州的地方，在1962年初的资产达到了717.85万美金。苏西和我在合伙基金的股份到102.5万美金，我的其他的亲戚总共拥有78万2600美金的股份。去年对新合伙人的最小投资金额是2.5万美金，但是我想今年再增加这个金额。

Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Company did an excellent job of expediting the audit, providing tax figures much earlier than in the past. They assure me this performance can be continued.
毕特马威克米歇尔合伙公司在加快审计上做了卓越的工作，比过去提供税务数据早很多。他们对我承诺这个表现会持续下去。

Let me hear from you regarding questions you may have on any aspects of this letter, your audit, status of your partnership interest, etc. that may puzzle you.
让我听到你关于这封信任何方面的问题，你的审计，你的合伙基金收益状态等等，他们可能困扰着你。

Cordially Warren E. Buffett.
热情地沃伦 E. 巴菲特

75.aside from：除了；除……之外
76.as to：至于；谈到；关于
77.metaphysical：形而上的；玄学的
78.twist：扭曲；捻、搓；（用手）转动、旋转；使弯曲；使缠绕
79.keen：渴望；激烈的；热衷于；强烈的；有兴趣的；低廉的；（为死者）恸哭；挽歌
80.tug：（朝某一方向用力）拉；拖；拽；猛拉；拖船
81.standpoint：立场；观点
82.penalize：处罚；惩罚；（体育运动中）判罚；处以刑罚；置于不利低位
83.costly：昂贵的；花钱多的；造成损失的；价钱高的；引起困难的
84.expectancy：预期；期望；期待；预料；盼望
85.passive：被动的；消极的
86.by no means：无论如何；尽一切办法
87.wherewithal：（做某事的）所需资金；必要的设备；所需技术
88.fall-off：（数量的）减少；（质量的）降低
89.ante：赌注；预付的一笔款；分担额；下赌注；付款
90.correlation：相关；相关性；关联；相互关系
91.concentrate：集中（注意力）；使……集中；聚精会神
92.mount：攀登；登上；准备；爬上；组织开展；逐步增加；爬上（雌性动物的背）进行交配；托架；山
93.profitability：盈利能力
94.offset：补偿；抵消；弥补；胶印的
95.flatter：奉承；讨好；使高兴；使感到荣幸；使显得更漂亮；向……谄媚
96.shield：保护某人或某物；给……加防护罩；盾；护罩；盾形徽章；盾形奖牌
97.faintest：（用于否定句，起强调作用）极小的；些微的；一丁点的
98.pile：摞；堆；叠放；蜂拥；装入；捰起
99.nod：点头致意；打盹；点头示意；（朝……方向）点头
100.enthusiasm：热情；热忱；热心；热衷的事务
101.cerebral：大脑的；智力的；理智的
102.pit：矿井
103.stomach：胃；腹部；能吃；欣赏；吃得下；欣然接受；喜欢和……相处
104.rash：轻率的；鲁莽的；皮疹；疹；许多；大量；（涌现的）令人不快的事物
105.vantage：优势
106.entitle：使享有权利；给……命名；使符合资格；赋予权力
107.pleasant：令人愉快的；宜人的；友好的；吸引人的；文雅的
108.miscellaneous：各种各样的；混杂的
109.install：安装；安顿；建立；使就职；任命
110.secretary：秘书；部长；助理；大臣；干事；文书
111.brokerage：经纪业务；经纪人佣金
112.vicuna coat：骆马绒外套。“骆马绒外套事件”(Vicuna Coat Affair)，1958年，美国总统艾森豪威尔(Dwight Eisenhower)的幕僚长舍曼•亚当斯(Sherman Adams)，这位当年美国政坛最有影响力的铁腕，因为收了一件外套礼物而终止了仕途。送他外套的是纺织业的巨头，巨头当时正在接受联邦调查。对亚当斯的指控称，亚当斯受豪礼左右，试图维护巨头的利益、影响联邦机构的裁定。
113.overhead：开销；经常费用；经常开支；（飞机）顶舱；高架的；管理费用的；经费的
114.intangible：无形的
115.expenditure：支出；开支；费用；消费；耗费
116.cordially：非常；十分；热情友好地；和蔼可亲地
117.drop in：突然走访；顺道拜访
118.relief：宽慰；安心；救济；浮雕；消除；（痛苦、焦虑）减轻；解围；解困；救援物品
119.reside：居住在；定居于
120.expedite：加快；加速；迅速的；没有阻碍的
121.audit：审计；稽核；检查
122.outline：概述；略述；显示……的轮廓；勾勒……的外形