Bezos believed in the benefits of communication with customers and listened to and used their ideas for expansion. via the Web site Amazon customers were encouraged to recommend their favorite books and products through reviews, and many compiled lists of their favorite items.

贝佐斯相信与客户良好沟通、昕取并采用他们的意见有利于公司的发展。通过网站，亚马逊鼓励顾客反馈使用心得，以此推荐他们最喜爱的书籍和产品，许多顾客列出了自己最喜欢的商品的清单。

In 2000 Bezos and his company were put to the ultimate test. At a time when many dot-com companies were going out of business, Amazon's stock price fell from $106 in December 1999 to $41.50 in September 2000. To deal with this crisis, Bezos was forced to layoff 1, 300 employees in February 2001. He also cut back on products, eliminating those that had yet to prove profitable for the company. Through the efforts of Bezos and his team Amazon turned a profit in the last quarter of 2001. Amazon not only survived the crisis of 2000 but flourished.

2000年，贝佐斯和他的公司面临着终极考验。那个时候，众多网络公司破产，亚马逊的股票价格从1999年12月的106美元跌至2000年9月的41. 50美元。为了应对?；?，贝佐斯被迫于2001~2月裁员 1300人。他还削减产品线，只保留了那些能使公司获利的商品。通过贝佐斯和他的团队的努力，亚马逊在2001年最后一个季度扭亏为盈。经历了2000年的?；?，亚马逊公司不仅没有倒闭，而且生意更加兴隆。

Ultimately, Bezos, 44, wants to create something that transcends his own company. He points to Sony Corp, whose co-founder, a kio Morita, aimed to make Japan known for quality. For his part, Bezos wants to set new standards for providing a great customer experience. If he can pull that off he will deserve an enduring place in the history books.

现年44岁的杰夫·贝佐斯想要超越自己的公司，创造另一个奇迹。他向索尼公司看齐，索尼创建者之一川端章森田希望使日本成为高质量的象征。而贝佐斯希望为顾客完美购物的体验设立新标准。如果他能成功，杰夫·贝佐斯会在史书中留下浓墨重彩的一笔。

注释：

1. expansion n. 膨胀;阐述;扩张物

例句：We only know it exists because of its effect on the expansion of the Universe. 我们只能根据它对宇宙膨胀所起的作用来认识到它的存在。

2. recommend vt. 推荐，介绍;劝告;使受欢迎;托付

例句：I have not any power in the firm except to recommend. 我在公司里除了有建议之权外，什么实权也没有。

3. compile vt. 编译;编制;编辑;[图情] 汇编

例句：If your system does not have this, you'll have to compile it into your kernel. 如果您的系统不是这样的，那么您就必须将它编译到您的内核中。

4. transcend vt. 胜过，超越

例句：What brings us together is that we have common interests which transcend those differences. 把我们聚集在一起的是超越这些差异的共同利益。