精彩对白

John Crowley: Dr. Renzler, be reasonable. The company is only 6 months old, and we are making great progress towards in vivo testing.

Dr. Renzler: I don't know. The way the company is burning money...

John Crowley: Well, we've got to get a leg up on the competition. You know that Zymagen has far more spending power than we do.

Dr. Renzler: So, what you're saying, I should have invested in Zymagen.

John Crowley: No, what I'm saying is, is that we've got to beat 'em to the punch. Either that, or scare them into buying us out.

Dr. Renzler: Well, you're scaring us investors¹ a hell of a lot more than you're scaring Zymagen. You sell the company to Zymagen, you're in clinical trials by the end of the fiscal² year, or we pull the plug and cut our losses. Goodbye.

John Crowley: Hello?

Dr. Stonehill: This construct's looking pretty good, but we gotta get better cleavage between the alpha and the beta subunits.

Colleague: Well, what if we add a furin site like the one in uncovering enzyme³?

Dr. Stonehill:... Why would you wanna do that? Doesn't it have its own...

John Crowley: We need to talk.

Dr. Stonehill: I'm busy.

John Crowley: You're always busy.

Dr. Stonehill: You always wanna talk. Yeah, we could add furin and try and cleave⁴ it before purification. What are you doing? Guys, would you excuse us for a minute?

John Crowley: Giving you a preview... of what's going to happen if we are not in clinical trials in 4 months. Our investors will turn out the lights.

Dr. Stonehill: Science takes time, Jersey⁵. Don't they understand?

John Crowley: Yeah, they do. They can read the Wall Street Journal. They see that Zymagen is testing 3 different Pompe drugs.

Dr. Stonehill: They're testing 3 'cause they don't know what the hell they're doing. I'm testing one 'cause it's the right one!

John Crowley: I know. I believe you, Bob. Why else do you think I put up with all your shit? Look. I want you to go toe-to-toe with Zymagen's scientists. Prove to them that your enzyme is best.

Dr. Stonehill: I can do that.

John Crowley: That's the reason I've entered into conversations with them to buy our company.

Dr. Stonehill: You're telling me? You're not asking me?

John Crowley: Come on, Bob. I am just being fiscally⁶ responsible.

Dr. Stonehill: Nobody is gonna tell me how to run my lab!

John Crowley: If I can engineer a deal, and that is a really big "if," you're going to have to forgive me for all the money I'm gonna make you.

Dr. Stonehill: I don't care about money. I'm a scientist. I care about more important things than that.

John Crowley: Don't you tell me about more important things to care about. Do the math. Either we sell the company and get a huge cash infusion⁷, or the investors will shut us down. Where you going?

Dr. Stonehill: I'm gonna go take a crap, if that meets with your fiscal approval.

妙语佳句 活学活用

1. in vivo: 在活的有机体内。这里的in vivo testing就是指“体内测试”。

2. beat someone to the punch: 抢先下手，抢在前面。这里约翰的意思是“我是说我们一定会打败他们”。

例如：a marketing⁸ team that beat all the competitors to the punch.（某销售组织先于其竞争者做出了重大行动）

上下班“打卡”就可以用punch the clock来表示。

3. buy out: 买断…的股份；买下…的全部股权。也可以指付给补偿金，付遣散费（为使某人提前退役、离职等）。

例如：Our competitors must be worried by our new product because they offered to buy us out.（我们的对手一定在为我们的新产品而忧虑，因为他们提出要买下我们的全部产权。）

4. clinical trial: 临床试验。

5. fiscal year: 财政年度。

6. pull the plug: 拔掉电源。

pull the plug on someone/something则用来指“阻止；制止；终止”，例如：Executives can also quickly pull the plug on a reality show if it falters⁹, and then finance another.（如果一出“真人秀”收视率不稳，经理们可以激流勇退，转而投资下一个节目。）

7. go toe-to-toe with: 合作。

例如：Japan and Deutschland are global drivers of industrial innovation and can go toe-to-toe with each other in this sphere.（日本和德国都是全球产业创新的先驱，双方可以在这一领域进行紧密的合作。）

8. do the math: 你好好算算。

9. cash infusion: 资金注入。