Google Inc. GOOG +1.11%says Chief Executive Larry Page has 'lost his voice,' but it won't say much more about the matter. Some corporate governance experts think the Internet company should speak up.
歌 (Google Inc.)说，公司首席执行长佩奇(Larry Page)"失声"，但不愿更多谈及此事。一些公司治理专家认为，这家互联网巨头应该披露更详细的情况。
The billionaire co-founder missed Google's annual meeting Thursday, and the company said he will miss two other important engagements over the next several weeks.
谷歌联合创始人、亿万富翁佩奇上周四没有参加谷歌一年一度的股东大会。谷歌说，佩奇还将缺席未来几周举行的两场其它重要活动。
Google gave no further information about Mr. Page's problems, though it said he continues to lead the company. The lack of details surrounding the matter prompted some speculation on Wall Street about whether he may have a serious medical condition.
谷歌没有就佩奇的情况做详细说明，但说他仍继续领导谷歌。由于缺少有关这件事的细节，华尔街纷纷猜测，佩奇会不会出现了严重的健康问题。
In an email to employees on Thursday, however, Mr. Page wrote that 'there is nothing seriously wrong with me' and that he would 'continue to run the company,' according to a person familiar with the matter.
不过有知情人士透露，佩奇在上周四一封致员工的电子邮件中写道：我没有大碍，将继续负责公司的运营。
The 39-year-old Mr. Page took over as chief executive last year, his second stint running Google in its 14-year history. He was absent from the shareholder meeting at the company's Mountain View, Calif., headquarters.
39岁的佩奇去年接任谷歌首席执行长一职，这是该公司成立14年以来佩奇第二次出任CEO。他没有参加在谷歌总部加州山景城(Mountain View)举行的股东大会。
At the meeting, Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt said Mr. Page had 'lost his voice' and 'can't do any public speaking engagements for the time being,' including the coming week's Google annualconference for software developers and at the second-quarter earningsconference call that is expected in mid-July. He added that 'Larry will continue to run the company, he's running all the strategic business decisions and all that.'
谷歌执行董事长施密特(Eric Schmidt)在股东大会上说佩奇失声了，暂时无法参加需要发言的活动，包括谷歌将于本周举行的年度软件开发者大会以及预计于7月中旬举行的第二季度财报会议。施密特还说，佩奇将继续负责公司的经营，负责所有战略性商业决定和其它事务。
Mr. Schmidt, who wished Mr. Page a 'quick recovery,' also joked that co-founder Sergey Brin 'has said that this problem will make Larry a better CEO because he's going to have to choose his words very carefully.'
施密特在股东大会上除祝愿佩奇尽快康复外，还调侃说，谷歌另一位联合创始人布林(Sergey Brin)讲，这件事将让佩奇成为一个更好的CEO，因为他将不得不"谨言"。
Few watchers of the Internet giant seemed in a joking mood, however. That is especially true in Silicon Valley, where the death of Apple Inc. AAPL +0.77%co-founder Steve Jobs is still fresh in people's minds.
不过，关注这个互联网巨头的人们似乎没有什么心情开玩笑。尤其是在硅谷，那里的人们对苹果公司(Apple Inc.)联合创始人乔布斯(Steve Jobs)去世一事仍记忆犹新。
Apple's disclosures about the health of Mr. Jobs, who died in October after a battle with pancreatic cancer, were criticized at times for providing few details about his condition.
'We have no specific reason to think there is anything more to Larry's condition, but we find it odd that the company would already rule him out of the 2Q call which is likely still a few weeks away,' wrote JP Morgan stock analyst Doug Anmuth in a note to clients.
摩根大通(JP Morgan)股票分析师安穆斯(Doug Anmuth)在给客户的报告里写道：我们没有具体理由认为佩奇的实际健康状况可能更糟，但奇怪的是，谷歌已将他排除在第二季度财报会议之外，而这次会议距离现在还有好几周的时间。
He added, 'We think this could raise some questions among investors.'
安穆斯还说，我们认为这可能会让投资者产生一些疑问。
Mr. Anmuth also noted that Mr. Page, who regularly posts links and comments on his Google+ social network account, hasn't posted anything publicly since May 25.
安穆斯还指出，佩奇常在社交网站Google+的账户里发布链接并发表评论，然而自从5月25日以来，他便没有再公开发过任何东西。
Inside Google, some executives were told Mr. Page's issue isn't serious and that he's 'OK,' according to a person familiar with the matter.
一位知情人士表示，谷歌向一些高管透露，佩奇的情况并不严重，没有大碍。
Susquehanna Financial Group analyst Herman Leung says he's started to get calls from investors, asking if they should be worried about this. 'Yeah, probably a little bit,' he said. 'Hopefully, Google will give us an update.'
机构券商Susquehanna Financial Group的分析师Herman Leung说，他已陆续接到投资者打来的电话，问是否要为此事担心。他说，没错，可能是要有点担心，希望谷歌能进一步提供相关信息。
Mr. Page's voice generally sounds slightly strained, raspy or hoarse. A recording of a 20-minute speech last month in London showed Mr. Page noticeably pausing several times to swallow before continuing to speak, but it is unclear whether that was a symptom of his current problem.
佩奇的嗓音通常听起来略微发紧、刺耳或沙哑。从上个月他在伦敦发表的一场20分钟演讲的录音可以听出来，他明显停顿了几次咽唾沫，然后才继续演讲，但不清楚这是否是他眼下健康问题所表现出来的症状。
Some leadership experts contend Google should divulge more about Mr. Page's voice problem. As the CEO of a public company, 'he's not entitled to his privacy,'' said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a seniorassociate dean at Yale School of Management.
一些领导力专家认为，谷歌应该更多地披露有关佩奇嗓音问题的信息。耶鲁大学管理学院资深副院长索诺菲德(Jeffrey Sonnenfeld)说，作为一家上市公司的首席执行长，他没有隐私权。
'We need to know if it [his voice] is imperiled,' he said.
他说，我们需要知道他的嗓子是否有危险。
The Google board should inform shareholders about the cause and likely duration of Mr. Page's condition, according to Mr. Sonnenfeld, author of several leadership books. A degenerative health problem 'could have a material adverseimpact on the company,'' he added.
索诺菲德撰写有多部有关领导力的书。据他说，谷歌董事会应该向股东披露佩奇的病因及可能的持续时间。他还说，不断恶化的健康问题可能给谷歌带来实质性的不利影响。
Securities laws require publicly held companies to disclose material information that could affect investors' decision to acquire or sell shares. Directors decide what's material, however, and many boards have trouble deciding how much to tell shareholders about a CEO's sudden illness because corporate leaders prefer privacy.
根据证券法的规定，上市公司需披露可能影响股东买卖股票决定的实质性信息。不过，到底何为实质性信息，这还要由公司董事会成员决定。此外，很多公司的董事会难以决定应该向股东披露多少有关公司首席执行长突然患病的信息，因为公司领导们希望保护自己的隐私。
Seth Cohen, a laryngologist and associate professor at the Duke University Voice Care Center, said Mr. Page could have wide range of ailments including acute laryngitis, which is a viral infection that causes inflammation of the vocal cords and requires resting one's voice for at least week or two.
喉科医生、杜克大学(Duke University)嗓音护理中心副教授科恩(Seth Cohen)说，佩奇的病因可能有多种，包括急性喉炎。急性喉炎是由病毒感染造成的，可以导致声带发炎，患者需要禁声至少一两周的时间。
Another potential cause is muscletension dysphonia, which occurs when the muscles around the larynx, or voice box, are too tight and causes a person to use excesstension while speaking. Voice therapy is often required for such an ailment, said Dr. Cohen, who hasn't treated Mr. Page.
另外一种可能的原因是肌肉紧张性发声障碍。当喉部周围的肌肉过于紧张时，患者说话时需要用太多的力气，这样会造成肌肉紧张性发声障碍。科恩说，患上这种疾病常常需要嗓音疗法。他不是佩奇的医生。
Some people who naturally produce an unusual-sounding or hoarse voice may develop benign lesions that grow on the vocal cord, he said. 'That could have progressed to the point where he's having difficulty speaking,' he said.
他说，一些天生嗓音异常或嗓音沙哑的人声带上可能出现良性病变。他说，佩奇的病变情况可能到了使他说话困难的程度。
Surgery is sometimes required to remove the growths, Dr. Cohen added, and recovery could take a month or longer.
科恩还说，有时候需要手术切除病变部位，康复可能需要一个月或更长时间。
Robert Robins, a retired Tulane University political science professor that studies disabled leaders, sees parallels between the dearth of disclosures regarding Mr. Page and Apple's Mr. Jobs.
杜兰大学(Tulane University)退休政治学教授罗宾斯(Robert Robins)认为，有关佩奇情况的披露很少，这与苹果前首席执行长乔布斯的病情披露有相似之处。罗宾斯从事患病领导人的研究。
The Google situation 'seems to be following the same pattern,' said Mr. Robins.
罗宾斯说，谷歌的情况看起来是在效仿同样的模式。
Google's conference for developers, called I/O, runs from June 27 to June 29. Its second-quarter earnings report and conference call haven't been scheduled; last year they occurred on the second Thursday of the month, an indication they could be held on July 19, or in nearly four weeks.
谷歌开发者大会将于6月27日至29日举行。该公司二季度收益报告和相关电话会议尚未确定发布和举行的时间。去年是在7月份的第二个周四，如果今年依然如此，则可能是在7月19日，也就是近四周后举行。
Mr. Page's expected absence from the two events seems 'highly unusual,' said Rick Devine, head of Devine Capital Partners LLC, a high-tech search boutique in Redwood City, Calif. 'It's hard to imagine a CEO missing that much stuff and not have a serious problem.'
加州雷德伍德市(Redwood City)高科技产业招聘公司Devine Capital Partners LLC的负责人迪瓦恩(Rick Devine)说，预计佩奇将缺席上述两场活动，这一点看起来非常不同寻常；很难想像一位没有严重健康问题的首席执行长会缺席这么多的活动。
Investors have taken the news in stride. Google shares gained $6.27 or 1.1% on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Friday to $571.48. The stock has gained 17% over the past year.
投资者对这一消息反应淡然。上周五，在纳斯达克上市的谷歌股票涨6.27美元，至每股571.48美元，涨幅1.1%。该股过去一年累计上涨17%。
AMIR EFRATI / JOANN S. LUBLIN
- executive [ig´zekjutiv]
a.行政的 n.行政官 (初中英语单词) - annual [´ænjuəl] a.每年的 n.年刊 (初中英语单词)
- medical [´medikəl] a.医学的；医疗的 (初中英语单词)
- seriously [´siəriəsli] ad.严肃；严重，重大 (初中英语单词)
- running [´rʌniŋ] a.奔跑的；流动的 (初中英语单词)
- absent [´æbsənt, əb´sent] a.不在的 vt.使缺席 (初中英语单词)
- conference [´kɔnfərəns] n.讨论(会)；会谈 (初中英语单词)
- valley [´væli] n.谷；河谷；流域 (初中英语单词)
- cancer [´kænsə] n.癌；毒瘤 (初中英语单词)
- account [ə´kaunt] vi.说明 vt.认为 n.帐目 (初中英语单词)
- financial [fi´nænʃəl] a.金融的，财政的 (初中英语单词)
- slightly [´slaitli] ad.轻微地；细长的 (初中英语单词)
- swallow [swɔləu] n.燕子 v.吞，咽；淹没 (初中英语单词)
- associate [ə´səuʃieit] v.联合a.同伴的n.伙伴 (初中英语单词)
- affect [ə´fekt] vt.影响；感动；假装 (初中英语单词)
- acquire [ə´kwaiə] vt.求得，获得，学得 (初中英语单词)
- illness [´ilnis] n.生病，不健康，疾病 (初中英语单词)
- muscle [´mʌsəl] n.肌肉；体力；力量 (初中英语单词)
- excess [´ekses] n.超过 a.过分的 (初中英语单词)
- indication [,indi´keiʃən] n.指示；征兆，迹象 (初中英语单词)
- absence [´æbsəns] n.不在，缺席；缺乏 (初中英语单词)
- missing [´misiŋ] a.缺掉的；失踪的 (初中英语单词)
- surrounding [sə´raundiŋ] n.周围的事物 (高中英语单词)
- speculation [,spekju´leiʃən] n.思索，推测；投机 (高中英语单词)
- specific [spi´sifik] a.具体的；特有的 (高中英语单词)
- regularly [´regjuləli] ad.有规律地；经常地 (高中英语单词)
- symptom [´simptəm] n.症状，症候 (高中英语单词)
- leadership [´li:dəʃip] n.领导(能力) (高中英语单词)
- contend [kən´tend] v.竞争；斗争；争论 (高中英语单词)
- senior [´si:niə] a.年长的 n.前辈 (高中英语单词)
- disclose [dis´kləuz] vt.揭露；透露；泄露 (高中英语单词)
- infection [in´fekʃən] n.感染，影响 (高中英语单词)
- potential [pə´tenʃəl] n.&a.潜在的；可能的 (高中英语单词)
- recovery [ri´kʌvəri] n.重获；获得；恢复 (高中英语单词)
- regarding [ri´gɑ:diŋ] prep.关于 (高中英语单词)
- stride [straid] n.进展 v.跨过；骑 (高中英语单词)
- network [´netwə:k] n.网状物 vt.联播 (英语四级单词)
- hoarse [hɔ:s] a.嘶哑的；嗓门粗哑的 (英语四级单词)
- adverse [´ædvə:s] a.不利的；反对的 (英语四级单词)
- tension [´tenʃən] n.紧张；压力；拉力 (英语四级单词)
- ailment [´eilmənt] n.疾病；精神不安 (英语四级单词)
- speaking [´spi:kiŋ] n.说话 a.发言的 (英语六级单词)
- earnings [´ə:niŋz] n.收益；报酬；获得 (英语六级单词)
- publicly [´pʌblikli] ad.公然；公众所有地 (英语六级单词)
- noticeably [´nəutisəbli] ad.显著地，显然 (英语六级单词)
- duration [djuə´reiʃən] n.持久；持续期间 (英语六级单词)
- impact [´impækt] n.影响，作用；冲击 (英语六级单词)
- retired [ri´taiəd] a.退休的；通职的 (英语六级单词)
- dearth [də:θ] n.缺少，缺乏；饥荒 (英语六级单词)
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