经济学人文章双语

经济学人文章双语

THIS WAS supposed to be the quarter that Kraft Heinz showed America's huge, struggling food companies a new model for success. A merger in 2015 had joined two of the world's most iconic food makers. Backed by 3G Capital, a private-equity firm, the new group slashed costs at a pace that made rivals shudder and investors swoon. After a failed bid in 2017 for Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch giant, Kraft Heinz set out to prove it could not just cut fat but boost sales on its own. Bernardo Hees, the company's boss, pointed cheerfully to new products, including Heinz Mayochup and something called Just Crack an Egg. The company was on the path to "sustainable, profitable growth", he declared in November. Unfortunately, it wasn't.  On February 21st Kraft Heinz announced a staggering $15bn impairment, a dividend cut of more than 3o% and an inquiry into its procurement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earnings calls are often sleepy affairs. This one was a nightmare. Some of 3G's long-time critics are now clucking with satisfaction. Others fear 3G is tarnishing American treasures such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Warren Buffett, who partnered with 3G to combine Heinz and Kraft and last year lost nearly $3bn on the deal. Yet dramatic as Kraft Heinz's decline may seem, 3G's impact and the food industry's problems extend far beyond it.  While its founders are Brazilian, 3G's buyout business is based in Manhattan.(Its most famous founder, Jorge Paulo Lemann, lives in Switzerland.) Unlike many big private-equity firms, 3G's main investors are not pension funds but family offices and individuals, including its partners. It does not have a wide portfolio, but backs just two companies: Kraft Heinz and Restaurant Brands International (RBI). Blackstone, a private-equity firm based a few blocks away, has nearly 2,5oo 's New York office has fewer than two dozen. Yet 3G's leaders have rocked the consumer industry like few investors in history.  All buyout firms are thirsty for deals, but 3G is uniquely parched. Before starting 3G, the firm's founders went on a beer-buying spree that culminated in 2o16 with Anheuser-Busch InBev's purchase of SAB Miller for more than $100bn. AB InBev, in which 3G's partners have a large stake, now brews more than one in four of the world's beers. Kraft Heinz counts Kraft cheese, Heinz Ketchup, Jell-0, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Oscar Mayer among its holdings. RBI includes Burger King, Popeyes, a fried-chicken restaurant, and Tim Hortons, a popular Canadian chain. The way 3G runs companies is as notable as its appetite for buying them. In a practice called zero-based budgeting, managers must justify their expenses anew each year. The idea is to expand margins continuously. Overseeing this are managers chosen for their talent and work ethic, rather than mere experience. Daniel Schwartz, a 3G partner, became the chief executive of Burger King at 32. Mr Hees, a 3G partner who spent more than a decade working for a Latin American railroad, became Kraft Heinz's boss at 45. David Knopf, its chief financial officer, assumed his position in 2017 at 29.  To 3G's detractors, this all seems a bit mad. The company's strategy can be caricatured as follows: buy a big business, cut costs, repeat. This is not entirely fair. RBI has invested in marketing Burger King, winning prizes for its ads. AB InBev is working to boost its sales, for instance by pushing  higher-priced beers and deploying best practices across its vast geography.  But buying big companies and slashing costs remain 3G's speciality. The risks of that strategy have become clear. RBI struggled to integrate franchisees at Tim Hortons. AB InBev last year said it would slash its dividend by half.  Nowhere has 3G's approach played out more tumultuously than at Kraft Heinz. America's food industry seemed the perfect target, with flabby companies and powerful brands. Rare is the American who has not slurped Kool-Aid or downed an Oscar Mayer hot dog smothered in Heinz reckoned the brands were strong enough to withstand large cuts. As it turns out, they were not.  This was not the same for AB InBev, which despite abysmal results in America, has little beer competition from in-store brands, is rarely sold online and faces ample growth abroad. Kraft Heinz's business, by comparison, is concentrated in America, where the food industry is being turned on its head. Its brands may be familiar, but that does not make them popular. Small firms are offering healthier options, taking advantage of cheap digital marketing and nimble contract manufacturers. The smallest 20,000 packaged goods players account for about half the industry's growth, according to Nielsen, a research firm.  Meanwhile, the rise of e-commerce and European discount grocers has put pressure on food retailers, which are in turn squeezing food companies. Stores led by Walmart are using extensive data to launch their own, increasingly sophisticated, low-cost private label goods, all the while pushing companies to lower their prices.  Things started well for Kraft Heinz. Its operating profit margin surged from 15% in 2014 to 24% in 2017. The first big setback came that year when Paul Polman, then Unilever's boss, rebuffed the company's $143bn courtship.(Unilever, wisely, has devoted growing attention not to food but to beauty and household products.) Without his megadeal, Mr Hees turned to the basic work of lifting sales by pouring more money into advertising, product innovation and Kraft Heinz's sales force, but that ate into profits.  Equally striking is the company's new $15bn impairment, a recognition that the value of giant brands has shrivelled. Mr Buffett says that he misjudged the worth of Kraft's stable of products. "The management team entered into this merger with the assumption they could cut the spending needed to maintain brands, let alone help them grow," says Robert Moskow of Credit Suisse, a bank. "The world changed on them-retailers changed and consumers changed." Flawed though 3G's approach may seem, few food companies offer a successful alternative. Companies have tried to evolve by buying smaller firms, often at lofty prices and with mixed results. For instance Campbell Soup bought Bolthouse Farms, a maker of fruity drinks, in 2o12, but is now trying to sell it. Last year it bought Snyder's-Lance, a pretzel and popcorn company, to boost its snacks business. Its debt level has risen accordingly. Indeed, shopping sprees at Campbell, ConAgra and General Mills have made those companies more levered than Kraft Heinz, according to Sanford C Bernstein, a research firm.  Kraft Heinz now wants to shrink to grow: it plans divestments over the next 18 months to improve its balance sheet so it can make other, big deals. But the SEC's subpoena suggests that some internal processes might be unravelling as managers struggle to meet bold goals. The notion that big deals will save American food firms looks increasingly dubious. In 2014, before Heinz bought Kraft, the combined gross operating profits of the companies were about $. Now, due in part to some problems beyond its control, Kraft Heinz expects its 2019 profits to be about the same.卡夫亨氏《Kraft Heinz）本应在这个季度向美国规模巨大但陷入困境的食品公司展示一种通往成功的新模式。2015年，两家全球最具标志性的食品制造商合二为一。在私募股权公司G资本的支持下，新集团以令竞争对手战栗、令投资者狂喜的速度削减成本。2017年收购英荷巨头联合利华失败后，卡夫亨氏开始想办法证明自己不但会减肥，还能凭自身提高销焦额。公司老板贝尔纳多·希斯（Bernardo Hees）兴高采烈地搬出新产品作例证，包括亨氏的蛋黄番茄酱（Mayochup）和一种叫“打个蛋”（just Crack an Egg）的食品。去年11月他查布公司正走在遇往可持续、有盈利的增长“的道路上。遗憾的是，并没有。 上月21日，卡夫亨氏披露了150亿美元的巨额减记、削减超过30%的股息，以及美国证券交易委员会（SEC）调查其采购部门的事宜。财报电话会议通常让人昏昏欲题，这一次却是一场露梦。一些长期批评3G资本的人现在难掩得意之情。另一些人则担心，3G资本正在玷污像卡夫亨氏通心粉和巴菲特这样的美国瑰宝。之前正是巴非特与3G资本联手促成了亨氏和卡夫的合井，去年他因这笔交易亏损近30亿美元。不过，尽管卡夫亨氏的业绩下滑看起来很惊人，3G资本的影响和食品行业的问题却远不止于此。 3G资本的几位创始人都是巴西人，但收购业务的总部设在曼哈顿。（公司最知名的创始人豪尔赫·保罗·雷曼[Jorge Paulo Lemann]住在瑞士。）与许多大型私募股权公司不同，3G资本的主要投资者不是养老基金，而是家族办公空和个人，包括它的合伙人。它的投资组合并不广泛，只支持两家公司：卡夫亨氏和国际餐饮品牌公司（Restaurant Brands International，RBJ）。私募股权公司需石（Blackstone）的总卸离3G资本只有几个街区，有近2500名员工，而3G资本纽约办事处的员工还不到24人。不过，3G贸本的领导者却震憾了整个消费行业，极少有投资者曾做到这一点。 所有的投资收购公司都渴望达成交易，但3G资本在这方面的热望独一无二。在成立3G资本之前，该公司的创始人掀起了一场啤酒业收购狂湖，在2016年百威英博（Anheuser-Busch InBev）以逾1000亿美元收购SAB米勒（SAB Miller）时达到顶峰。如今，由G资本的合伙人大量持股的百威英博酿造了超过全球四分之一的啤酒。卡夫亨氏的产品包括卡夫奶酪、亨氏番茄、Jell-O果冻、菲力奶油奶酪和Oscar Mayer肉制品。RBI旗下有汉堡王、炸鸡店Popeyes和颇受欢迎的加拿大连锁店Tim Hortons。 3G资本运营所持有公司的方式和收购它们的劲头一样引人注目。它采用一种“零基预算法”的做法，经理们每年都要重新证明他们的支出是合理的。此举是为了持续扩大利润率。而监督这一操作的管理层是因他们的才能和职业道德而不仅仅是经验被选定的。3G资本的合伙人之一丹尼尔·施瓦茨（Daniel Schwartz）出任汉堡王的首席执行官时才32岁。另一位合伙人希斯在一家拉美铁路公司工作了十多年，45岁时成为卡夫亨氏的老板。首席财务官戴维·克诺夫（David Knopf）2017年上任时才29岁。 对于3G资本的抨击者来说，这一切似乎有点疯狂。夸张一点说，该公司的战略就是：收购一家大企业，削减成本，然后再重复。但这么说并不完全公平。RBI在汉堡王的营销上投资，赢得了广告大奖。百威英博正努力提振销售，比如推销价格更高的啤酒，并在公司广阔的版图上应用最佳实践。 但收购大公司和削减成本仍是3G资本的专长。这种策略的风险已经变得很明显。整合Tim Hortons的加盟商让RBI不堪重负。百威英博去年表示将把股息削减一半。 3G资本的这套做法用在卡夫亨氏上时表现得最为混乱。美国的食品产业看起来是个完美的目标，因为该行业里企业臃肿但品牌强大。很少有美国人没喝过速溶饮料Kool-Aid，或是没吃过涂满亨氏番茄酱的Oscar Mayer热狗。3G资本认为这些品牌足够强大，能承受大幅成本削减。事实证明它们并不能。 百威英博的情况就不一样了。尽管在美国的业绩糟糕透顶，但百威英博几乎没有遇到过来自商店自有品牌啤酒的竞争，很少在网上销售，而且海外增长强劲。相比之下，卡夫亨氏的业务集中在美国，而美国的食品行业正在发生翻天覆地的变化。它的各个品牌可能为人熟知，但这并不能让它们大卖。小公司正利用便宜的数字营销和灵活的承包生产商带来的优势，提供给消费者更健康的选择。根据研究公司尼尔森的数据，规模最小的两万家包装食品公司占了整个行业增长的一半左右。 与此同时，电子商务和欧洲折扣杂货商的崛起给食品零售商带来了压力，它们继而又向食品公司施压。以沃尔玛为首的商店正在利用大量数据推出越来越精致且价格低廉的自有品牌商品，并始终在促使食品公司降价。 卡夫亨氏的开局不错。营业利润率从2014年的15%飙升至2017年的24%。2017年，卡夫亨氏遭遇了第一次重大挫折，时任联合利华老板的保罗.波尔曼（Paul Polman）拒绝了该公司1430亿美元的求购。（联合利华明智地将注意力越来越多地放在美容和家用品而非食品上。）巨额收购计划落空，希斯转而专注于提高销售额这项基础工作，将更多资金投在广告、产品创新和卡夫亨氏的销售队伍上，但这侵蚀了利润。 同样惹人注目的是该公司150亿美元的新一轮减记，这等于承认公司各大品牌价值缩水。巴菲特表示他错误地判断了卡夫众多产品的价值。“管理团队设想的是，合并之后他们可以削减品牌维护所必需的开支，更不用说帮助品牌成长了，”瑞信银行的罗伯特·莫斯可（Robert Moskow）说道，“世界在他们那里发生了变化——零售商变了，消费者也变了。” 3G资本的方法似乎存在缺陷，但极少有食品公司能拿出一个成功的替代方案。各大公司尝试通过收购规模较小的公司来自我进化，这些收购交易的价格往往很高，而收效不一。例如，金宝汤（Campbell Soup）于2012年收购了果汁饮料生产商Bolthouse Farms，但现在又想把它卖掉。去年它收购了一家椒盐脆饼和爆米花公司Snyder's-Lance，以扩大零食业务。它的债务水平也相应上升。研究公司盛博称，实际上，金宝汤、康尼格拉（ConAgra）和通用磨坊（General Mills）的疯狂收购使得这些公司的杠杆率比卡夫亨氏还高。 卡夫亨氏现在希望通过收缩规模来实现增长：它计划在未来18个月剥离资产以改善资产负债表，以便能实现其他大规模交易。但美国证交会的传票显示，由于管理层难以达到大胆的目标，一些内部流程可能正在瓦解。大型交易能拯救美国食品公司的想法看起来越来越不可靠了。2014年在亨氏收购卡夫之前，两家公司的总营业利润约为65亿美元。现在，一定程度上由于公司自身无法控制的一些问题，卡夫亨氏预计2019年的利润将与合并前大致相同。

Three kingdoms, two empires 三国鼎立，两帝称雄 ★题目翻译： three kingdoms应该是借鉴了中国的《三国演义》，而中文翻译也同样借鉴了“三国鼎立”这个成语，相当于增补了一个动词； 后半部分的two empires则为了和前面对应，同样增补了动词“称雄”♂ 这个增补词语的选择与正文所讲述的内容有关，主要讲了中国三大互联网公司的发展现状，其中阿里巴巴和腾讯发展势头迅猛而百度则被甩开，所以这里取“称雄”作为动词。THERE was a time, not that long ago, when China’s big internet companies were dismissed by investors in Silicon Valley as marginal firms with a tendency to copy Western products. Not any more . Today they are monsters with increasingly hefty international ambitions . 就在不久前，硅谷的投资者还根本不把中国的大型互联网公司放在眼里，认为它们不过是些边缘企业，往往都是照搬西方的产品。时过境迁，今天这些中国互联网公司已经长成了猛兽，在国际市场上的野心不断膨胀。 ★单词 dismiss : V-T If you dismiss something, you decide or say that it is not important enough for you to think about or consider. 不予理会，比如： Mr. Wakeham dismissed the reports as speculation. 韦克厄姆先生把这些报道当作臆测而不予理会。 其他常用含义： 解雇 V-T When an employer dismisses an employee, the employer tells the employee that they are no longer needed to do the job that they have been doing. marginal : ADJ If you describe people as marginal, you mean that they are not involved in the main events or developments in society because they are poor or have no power. 无足轻重的，比如： The tribunals were established for the well-integrated members of society and not for marginal individuals. 这个特别法庭是为社会中的主流人群设立的，而不是为了无足轻重的小人物。 其他常用含义： 边际的 ADJ Marginal activities, costs, or taxes are not the main part of a business or an economic system, but often make the difference between its success or failure, and are therefore important to control. 边际的 hefty : ADJ Hefty means large in size, weight, or amount. 庞大的; 沉重的，比如： She was quite a hefty woman. 她是个相当高大的女人。 其他常用含义: 有力的 ADJ A hefty movement is done with a lot of force. ★翻译tips as-这里把介词翻译成了“认为”，动词化。 with a tendency：译为频度副词“往往”，而不是直译成“有…的趋势”。 Not any more. 英文文章中常见的一句话，“时过境迁”是个值得积累的中文表达，意思是随着时间推移，情况发生了变化。 international ambitions：增译，只译为“国际野心”没有任何含义，在根据语境增译了“市场”，意思就通顺了。Alibaba, China’s biggest e-commerce group, handles more transactions each year than do eBay and Amazon combined. Jack Ma, its chairman, pledges to serve 2bn consumers around the world within 20 years. Tencent, which specialises in online games and social media, is now the world’s tenth most valuable public firm , worth some $275bn. Pony Ma (no relation), its chairman, wants China to “preside over the global tech revolution of the future”. But as the two firms become global forces, the third member of China’s “ BAT” trio of internet giants, Baidu, an online-search firm that came to dominate the mainland market after Google left the country to avoid censorship, is lagging behind. 中国最大的电商集团阿里巴巴每年处理的交易量超过eBay和亚马逊的总和，董事局主席马云承诺要在20年内为全球20亿消费者提供服务。专注网络游戏和社交媒体的腾讯公司现在是世界第十大最有价值的上市公司，市值约2750亿美元。董事长马化腾（和马云不是亲戚）希望中国能“领导未来的全球科技革命”。中国互联网三巨头“BAT”中的第三位是百度。谷歌为避免审查制度退出中国后，百度便称霸中国大陆的在线搜索市场。另外两大巨头已成为国际大公司，百度却落在人后。 ★单词 马云、马化腾有“二马”之称，在外刊中一般都只使用他们的英文名字，前者Jack Ma，后者Pony Ma public firm ：上市公司。go public 上市 preside over : to be in a position of authority at a time when important things are happening 负责（重要局面），比如： The government seemed to be presiding over large-scale unemployment. 政府似乎正面临着大规模的失业状况。 其他含义： 1）to be the head of a company or organization 掌管，管辖，领导 2）to be in charge of a meeting or activity 主持 BAT trio ： 1）trio：a set or group of three people or things三人组，三件套。主要是强调“三”这个概念，和原文中的trio of internet giants合起来就是常说的“三巨头”。Trio还有一个意思是“三重唱，三重奏”，与之相关的独唱（奏）、二重唱（奏）、四重唱（奏）分别是solo，duet，quartet 2）BAT-中国国内三大互联网公司，B-Baidu百度、A-Alibaba阿里巴巴、T-Tencent腾讯。 美国也有类似的三巨头，称为“GAF”,即：G-Google谷歌、A-Amazon亚马逊/A-Apple苹果、F-Facebook脸书。 bn=billion 十亿；mn=million 百万；tn=trillion 万亿/兆 ★长难句解析 Alibaba(主语), China’s biggest e-commerce group（同位语）, handles（谓语） more transactions（宾语） each year（时间状语） /than do eBay and Amazon combined(状语). 不好理解的点在于than后面的部分，do代替了前面的handle，combined作后置定语修饰eBay and Amazon表示二者加起来的。涉及比较的句子中，如果谓语动词是实义动词，那么than后面的比较对象的动词一般用do/did/does替代，并提到名词前面。 But as the two firms become global forces（状从）, the third member of China’s “BAT” trio of internet giants（主语）, Baidu（同位语）, an online-search firm（同位语）/ that came to dominate the mainland market after Google left the country to avoid censorship（定语从句，after是定从嵌套的状从）/, is lagging behind（主句谓语）. 这一句主语部分较长，官方的译文并没有严格按照英文的顺序进行翻译，而是根据中文的表达逻辑进行了调整。 1）先翻译the third member of China’s “BAT” trio of internet giants, Baidu将短语译成了句子。先翻这一句是因为前面分别介绍了阿里巴巴和腾讯，从这一句开始都是讲百度，所以先把句子的主要对象引出来，再去翻译它的情况。 2）an online-search firm that came to dominate the mainland market after Google left the country to avoid censorship 把定语从句和先行词也单独译成了一句。这一句主要按照时间顺序翻译，先说谷歌退出中国，再说百度占领市场，并且先行词和定从中的market进行了结合，避免重复介绍百度，同时说清楚了它所占领的是什么市场。 3）介绍了百度之前的情况之后，在翻译现在和另外两家公司的对比，But as the two firms become global forces以及is lagging behind两部分。 这一个长句的翻译很好的体现了中英文表达上逻辑的不同，这一句主要是按照以时间为线索，先介绍主体，再介绍主体过去和现在的情况。All three firms differ from their Western peers in important ways. First, Western companies usually prefer to focus on a few core areas, whereas Chinese internet firms typically try to do everything from cloud computing to digital payments. When this works, as with Tencent’s wildly successful app, WeChat, the results can be impressive. 这三家公司与西方同行在几个重要方面有所不同。首先，西方公司通常会聚焦几个核心领域，而中国互联网公司一般涉猎广泛，从云计算到数字支付无不尝试。这样的尝试一旦成功，结果便会非常可观，腾讯大获成功的应用微信即是如此。 ★单词 as with ：正如，如同…一样 ★翻译tips When this works, as with Tencent’s wildly successful app, WeChat, the results can be impressive. this-Chinese internet firms typically try to do everything from cloud computing to digital payments as…WeChat 插入语放到了后面翻译，先翻译从句和主句 Second, with the exception of political censorship , the internet sector in China is lightly regulated. Facebook, Apple and Google, in contrast, face increasing scrutiny. Chinese internet firms can achieve market domination of a sort that would attract close attention in other markets. 第二，抛开要接受政治审查这一点，中国互联网行业的监管较为宽松；而Facebook、苹果和谷歌则面临日益严格的审视。以中国互联网企业能达到的市场支配地位，换在其他市场，会受到监管机构的密切关注。 ★单词 censorship : N-UNCOUNT Censorship is the censoring of books, plays, movies, or reports, especially by government officials, because they are considered immoral or secret in some way. (官方对书刊、剧本、电影或新闻报道的) 审查，比如： The government today announced that press censorship was being lifted. 该政府今日宣告说正在撤销新闻审查。 中国的电影审查制度就用 film censorship；电影分级制度可以说film/motion picture rating system；（电影电视中）广告植入 product placement of a sort ：一种，一类，sort可看做等于market domination 其他含义：of sorts/of a sort 勉强称得上的，勉强算的，比如： I have a conversation of sorts with a very drunk man at the bus third difference is that they can succeed on a rapid and massive scale because the state-dominated economy is so inefficient. Often there is not even a physical infrastructure to leapfrog —so-called third-tier cities, for example, often lack big retail centres. Nationwide there is one shopping mall per people. 第三个区别是，由于国家主导的经济效率低下，中国互联网企业可以快速取得大规模成功。企业发展过程中通常甚至都没有挡路的实体机构，比如在所谓的三线城市，往往都缺少大型零售中心。中国每120万人才有一个大型购物中心。 ★单词 physical ：实体的。实体店-physical store leapfrog : V-T/V-I If one group of people leapfrogs into a particular position or leapfrogs someone else, they use the achievements of another person or group in order to make advances of their own. (利用别人成就) 超越，比如： It is already obvious that all four American systems have leapfrogged over the European versions. 显然，美国的全部4套系统已经超越了欧洲的版本。 third-tier ：三线城市；second-tier：二线城市。或者也可以说tier two/tier three city ★翻译tips: a physical infrastructure to leapfrog： 1)infrastructure 通常译为“基础设施”，既可以是可数名词也可以是不可数名词，原文前面加了a，所以译文将其具体化成“实体机构”，主要是指国有的机构。 2）按照顺序应该是“对企业来说甚至没有可以让其超越的实体机构”，译文直接转换了角度，将“企业去超越实体机构”转换成“挡路的实体机构”，更符合中文表达习惯。A huge home market has not stopped the trio from fighting bloody turf wars among each other. The outcome to this battle is rapidly becoming clear. Tencent and Alibaba are surging ahead; a series of own goals has left Baidu far behind. The common jibe about Baidu among local experts is that it is becoming the Yahoo of China, a once-dominant search giant that sank owing to a lack of innovation and a series of management blunders . 国内市场如此巨大，却仍未能阻止这三巨头相互厮杀抢夺地盘。这场战斗的结果正迅速明朗。腾讯和阿里巴巴遥遥领先，百度则因自己一连串的乌龙球而远远落后。国内专家最常用来挖苦百度的一个说法就是它正在变成中国的雅虎。雅虎一度是占据市场主导地位的搜索巨头，却因缺乏创新和一系列管理失误而沉沦。 ★单词 turf wars : a fight or argument over the areas or things you think belong to you 地盘之争 turf：N-UNCOUNT 1）Someone's turf is the area which is most familiar to them or where they feel most confident. 地盘; 活动范围，比如： Their turf was : its streets, theaters, homes, and parks. 他们的地盘是圣路易斯：它的街道、剧院、住宅和公园。 2）草皮 own goal ： 1）a goal that you accidentally score against your own team without intending to in a game of football, hockey etc. 乌龙球（足球、曲棍球等比赛中） 2）an action or remark that has the opposite effect from what you intended （不利于自己的）错事，蠢话，自打嘴巴 ，比如： The minister’s admission turned out to be a spectacular own goal. 这位部长的招认结果成了引人注目的自打嘴巴。 leave behind ：把…落在后面（常用被动），比如： In class, a child with poor eyesight can soon be left behind. 在课堂上，视力不好的孩子很快就会落在别人的后面。 近义词：lag behind 落后于（与be left behind同义），比如： Britain is lagging behind the rest of Europe. 英国落后于欧洲其他国家。 blunder ： 1）N-COUNT A blunder is a stupid or careless mistake. 愚蠢错误，比如： I think he made a tactical blunder by announcing it so far ahead of time. 我认为他如此提早宣布消息是犯了战术上的错误。——可以替换mistake 2）V-I If you blunder, you make a stupid or careless mistake. 犯愚蠢错误，比如： No doubt I had blundered again. 不用说我又犯了个蠢错。 3）V-I If you blunder into a dangerous or difficult situation, you get involved in it by mistake. 误入 (危险境地或困境)，比如： People wanted to know how they had blundered into war, and how to avoid it in the future. 人们想弄清他们怎么会错误地卷入战争，将来如何才能避免这样的事。 4）V-I If you blunder somewhere, you move there in a clumsy and careless way. 跌跌撞撞地走，比如： He had blundered into the table, upsetting the flowers. 他撞上了桌子，打翻了花。 ★翻译tips The common jibe about Baidu among local experts is that it is becoming the Yahoo of China, a once-dominant search giant that sank owing to a lack of innovation and a series of management blunders. 1）The common jibe about Baidu among local experts：国内专家最常用来挖苦百度的一个说法——jibe-词性转换，译为动词；增译“一个说法” 2）a once-dominant search giant that sank owing to a lack of innovation and a series of management blunders. 同位语，介绍Yahoo的情况，译文中以“雅虎”为主语重启一句。Its revenue growth fell to in 2016, down from 35% in 2015 and 54% in 2014. The firm gets some nine-tenths of its revenues from online ads, but this income is plunging as marketers redirect spending from search ads on Baidu to social-media networks like WeChat and mobile-commerce platforms run by Alibaba. Meanwhile, Baidu is burning cash trying to keep its various big bets on artificial intelligence (AI), online video, virtual and augmented-reality technologies, and “online to offline” (O2O) services going. One of China’s most respected business consultants is pessimistic about its future: “There is very little chance they’ll be relevant in five years.” 百度的收入增长率在2016年下降至，远低于2015年的35%和2014年的54%。公司收入约九成都来自在线广告，但由于商家把花在百度搜索广告的钱转投至微信这样的社交媒体网络以及阿里巴巴运营的移动商务平台，百度的收入大幅下滑。同时，百度还在烧钱维系它的几个大赌注：人工智能（AI）、在线视频、虚拟和增强现实技术，以及“线上到线下”（O2O）服务。中国最受尊敬的商业顾问之一对百度的未来持悲观态度：“五年以后很可能就没百度什么事了。” ★单词 burn cash ：花钱，烧钱。跟中文的“烧钱”意思相通。 ★翻译tips There is very little chance they’ll be relevant in five years. 五年以后很可能就没百度什么事了 正说反译，原句中未出现not之类的否定词，而在翻译中则用到了“没”这个中文中的否定词。

PEACOCKS strut; bowerbirds build lovenests; spiders gift-wrap flies in silk. Such courtship rituals play an important role in what Charles Darwin called sexual selection: when the female of a species bears most of the costs of reproduction, males use extravagant displays and gifts to demonstrate their “reproductive fitness” and females choose between them. For human males, shards of a crystalline form of carbon often feature. A diamond engagement ring signals a man’s taste, wealth and commitment, all to persuade a woman that he is a good bet. 孔雀昂首阔步；园丁鸟建起爱巢；蜘蛛吐丝把苍蝇包起来作为礼物。这样的求爱仪式在达尔维所说的“性选择”中扮演着重要的角色：当一个物种的词性为繁殖承担了大部分代价时，雄性会极尽炫耀之能事，并伴之以礼物，来展现自己的“生殖适合度”，而雌性则会从它们当中挑选。对男性而言，碳晶体碎颗粒往往是求爱过程的重头戏。一枚订婚钻戒彰显一个男人的品味、财富和承诺，所有这些都是为了让女人相信他是个好的选择。 Strut  趾高气扬地走：He struts around town like he owns the place.他在城里趾高气扬地走着，好像他拥有着这地方似的。 它可以是及物动词，表示支撑，撑开，比如：The holes were close-boarded and strutted.那些洞被木板紧密围封并加有支撑。 它可以做名词，表示建筑物的支柱，比如：...the struts of a suspension bridge.…一座悬索桥的支柱。 gift-wrap ：用花纸(或缎带等装饰品)包装(用作礼物的商品)；把…包装得美观花哨。 Ritual 宗教仪式; 典礼。这个词还有形容词性，仪式性的，传统的，比如：..fasting and ritual dancing.…斋戒和仪式性舞蹈。 sexual selection  性选择，不能翻译成“性别选择”，性选择和性别选择是两个概念。性别选择是sex selection，一般是指人工选择胎儿的性别。 Display 动物求偶的炫耀行为，比如：The teal were indulging in delightful courtship displays野鸭忘情地做着愉快的求爱动作。 Shard : （玻璃、陶瓷或金属的）碎片；Crystalline: 晶体的，水晶般的，比如：Diamond is the crystalline form of the element carbon.钻石是碳元素的晶体结构。 Feature 这里是不及物动词，意思是，（在……中）起重要作用，比如：The latest movies from British directors feature in the current film season.由英国导演执导的最新影片是这个电影季的重头戏。 bet ：（非正式）有可能成功的人选（或备选行动），比如：Tom looked a good bet for victory.看上去汤姆是一个很有成功希望的人选 Your best bet is to call the official liquidators.找官方的资产清算人应是你的首选。 This particular courtship gift was dreamed up by an ad agency for De Beers, the cartel that sold almost all of the world’s diamonds throughout the 20th century. In the 1930s it started to promote a link between diamonds and marriage. Diamonds’ unmatched hardness would symbolise love’s endurance and their “fire”, or brilliance, its passion. Two months’ salary, the firm suggested, was what the ring should cost—a good investment since, as the admen said, “A diamond is forever.” 钻石作为求爱礼物是一家广告公司为戴比尔斯(De Beers) 编织的想象。整个20世纪全世界几乎所有的钻石都由这一垄断组织售出。20世纪30年代，它开始宣传钻石和婚姻之间的联系。钻石无与伦比的硬度象征着爱的恒久，而钻石的“火彩”即光彩则象征着爱的热烈。该公司建议，男士们应该花两个月的薪水来买一枚戒指，而且就像广告词所说的那样，“钻石恒久远，一颗永流传”，买钻戒还会是个不错的投资。 Dream up : 虚构出; 凭空设想出。I dreamed up a plan to solve both problems at once.我想出了一个可以立刻解决这两个问题的计划。 Cartel 卡特尔; 同业联盟。...a drug cartel.…药业联盟。  “卡特尔”这个词现在也被赋予了垄断企业集团的意义：垄断利益集团、垄断联盟、企业联合、同业联盟（Cartel）也称卡特尔，是垄断组织的一种表现形式，是由一系列生产类似产品的企业组成的联盟，通过某些协议或规定来控制该产品的产量和价格。 Diamonds’ unmatched hardness would symbolise love’s endurance and their “fire”, or brilliance, its passion.这是一个 谓语省略结构 。如果后句谓语部分与前句谓语部分完全一样，后句谓语部分就可以全部省略。例如： John is eating an apple and Petter（is eating） an orange．约翰在吃苹果，彼得在吃桔子。 Some turned to the left and others（turned） to the right．一些向左转，而另一些向右转。 Mary looked sad； but Tom（looked） happy．玛丽看上去悲哀，但汤姆却高兴。 Reading means a full man； conference（means）a ready man；and writing （means） an exact man．阅读使人知识丰富，辩论使人头脑敏捷，书写使人精确。 这句也是省略了谓语，如果补充完整就是 their “fire”, or brilliance, would symbolize its passion. Or brilliance是个插入语，fire和brilliance还有hardness都是钻石方面的专业术语，火彩、亮度、硬度。要按照这个名词去翻译。其他和钻石品质相关的术语还有：净度 Clarity, 克拉重量 Carat 切工 Cut。 Now, that promise is dimming. Though a growing Chinese middle class will probably prop up demand for a while, millennials in Western countries seem keener on memorable experiences than on bling. Diamonds’ image has been blemished by some being mined in warzones and sold to pay for the fighting. Meanwhile, laboratory-grown “synthetic” diamonds, long fit only for industrial use, are becoming good enough to compete with gems from out of the ground. 现在，这一允诺暗淡下来。尽管日渐壮大的中国中产阶级可能会在一段时间里支撑起需求，但比起锦衣美钻，西方国家的千禧一代似乎更热衷难忘的经历。有些钻石是在战乱地区开采的，卖掉它们是为战争买单，钻石的形象因此沾上污点。与此同时，在实验室里制成、一直以来仅适用于工业用途的“合成”钻石，正变得足以与地下出产的宝石相媲美。 Promise 此处是双关。一个是承诺，上文阐述的钻石与婚姻爱情之间的联系，钻石恒久远的这种承诺。Promise还有前途前景的意思，对应上文说的a good investment，所谓好投资就是升值前景好，而且后面也在说钻石受到了各方的冲击，说明这个投资前景可能不乐观了。 Though a growing Chinese middle class will probably prop up demand for a while, millennials in Western countries seem keener on memorable experiences than on bling. 意群先划分一下： Though（引导让步状语从句） /a growing Chinese middle class （从句主语）/will probably prop up （从句谓语）/demand （宾语）/for a while（时间状语）, millennials in Western countries /（主句主语）seem keener on （主句谓语）/memorable experiences than on bling. Bling 奢华高档的首饰或服装：Big-name jewellers are battling it out to get celebrities to wear their bling.大牌珠宝商们为了让名人们戴他们的高档首饰正在一争高下。 ...gangsta rap's love of bling-bling.…匪帮说唱乐手对奢华高档服饰的热爱。 这里就是指钻石了。 Blemish : 破坏……的完美外观，玷污，可引申为损害：My main problem was a blemished skin. 我的主要问题是皮肤有瑕疵。 Mine 采掘：The pit is being shut down because it no longer has enough coal that can be mined economically.那个煤矿要关闭了，因为储量不足，难以经济开采。 But the long-term threat to diamonds’ lustre is more surprising: that their price could plummet. In recent years regulators (and market forces) have undermined De Beers’s cartel by limiting the share of other producers’ stones that it can buy. Now responsible for just a third of global sales, the company can no longer manage supply by stockpiling gems when demand turns down. It is spending less on advertising, since it no longer gets the lion’s share of the benefits. But the very value of diamonds lies in being scarce and coveted—that is, costly. 不过光彩夺目的钻石所面临的长期威胁要更令人惊讶：它们的价格可能会暴跌。最近几年监管机构（和市场力量）对戴比尔斯从其他生产商处购买钻石的份额做出限制，削弱了它的垄断力量。现在这家公司的销售量仅占全球的三分之一，已无法通过在需求下降时囤积宝石来管理供应。它的广告支出也在减少，因为它已不再占有最大份额的收益。但是钻石的价值恰恰在于它的稀有和人们对它的渴求，换言之，就是它的昂贵。 By limiting的逻辑主语应该是主句主语，也就是监管机构，是监管机构通过限制的方式，而不是这家公司去限制。 Stones 这里就是钻石。大概总结一下这篇文章到这里总共用了多少个词替换钻石相关的名词，gem, diamond, bling, stone, shards of a crystalline form of carbon. 平时自己看外刊的时候，也可以注意积累一下这种同类词的替换表达。 这里需要科普一个商业逻辑，也是当年这家公司的操盘手段。上世纪30年代，戴比尔斯发展成国际性钻石矿业公司，以其卓越的组织里和庞大的财力，联合各国独立矿山，形成一个采购与销售有控制力的大机构，在钻石的供求量上予以调节，在经济萧条时紧缩钻石的供应量，以维持钻石的价格不致下跌。在经济景气时放宽钻石的供应量，以满足市场需求，并抑制钻石价格的过分上涨，使钻石价格维持着稳定增长的势头，使钻石成为值得人们信任的投资。 这句话的大意是，从前，这家公司卖出了上世纪全世界的钻石，但如今份额只有三分之一了，说明它就算再怎么囤积，也只能控制顶多全球三分之一的供应量，无法再像以前一样呼风唤雨了。这就是market forces的作用。加上前一句说的监管机构的反垄断手段，限制它从其他制造商那里囤货，所以它的经营雪上加霜了。 Stockpile  大量储备：People are stockpiling food for the coming winter.人们正在为即将到来的冬天大量储备食物。 Responsible for  这里颇有点“承担”的意思：Gooch was responsible for 198 of his side’s 542 runs.古奇得了本队542（跑动）得分中的198分。 Lion’s share  最大份额，可以联想中文里的“狮子大开口”：Military and nuclear research have received the lion's share of public funding.军事研究和核研究得到了公共资助里最大的份额。 Converted 令人垂涎的：Allan Little from Radio 4 took the coveted title of reporter of the year.第4电台的艾伦·利特尔获得了令人垂涎的年度记者的头衔。 ...one of sport's most coveted trophies.…体育界最令人向往的奖杯之一。 In the jargon, they are “Veblen goods”, named after a 19th-century economist: prestige-enhancing trinkets for which a higher price encourages buyers. With most products, lower prices increase demand; with diamonds, they could kill it. Greater equality for women might seem to render male-courtship displays redundant. But mating preferences evolved over millennia and will not change quickly. If diamonds were to cease being a way to signal a man’s marriageability, what might take their place? 用行话说，它们属于“凡勃伦商品 (Veblen goods，以19世纪的一位经济学家的名字命名)”，指的是那种提高名望的小玩意儿，价格越高越能激发人们的购买欲。对于大多数商品来说，价格降低会提升需求；但对钻石来说，低价却可能扼杀需求。女性地位的提升看似令男性求偶的炫耀行为变得多余。但人类的择偶偏好历经数千年的演化，并不会迅速发生改变。如果钻石不再是一个男人适合结婚的信号，那什么会成为它的替代品？ jargon  行话：The manual is full of the jargon and slang of self-improvement courses.该手册中满是自我完善课程的行话和俚语。 Veblen good , 韦伯伦商品(Veblen Good)，又称炫耀财，是经济学上用以描述一种商品，其特色是商品需求与商品价格成正向关系，而非正常需求法则的反向关系。这种商品能满足人类的虚荣心，是财富与地位的炫耀，故称为炫耀性消费(Conspicuous consumption)。此名词源于其概念提出者托斯丹·范伯伦(Thorstein Veblen)。价格高昂的宝石、名车、名牌精品等奢侈品皆为韦伯伦商品的例子。 Name after  可以是因……而得名，以谁的名字命名，名字取自谁。 Prestige-enhancing 从字面理解是提升名望，意思就是说，你拥有的这个东西能够提升你的名望地位，让你很有面子，这就是“炫耀财”。 Trinke   价廉物美的首饰; 廉价小装饰物 With most products, lower prices increase demand; with diamonds, they could kill it.  With 在这里的意思是“在……方面”。 Render  使成为; 使变得：It contained so many errors as to render it worthless.太多的错误使之变得毫无价值。 If diamonds were to cease being a way to signal a man’s marriageability, what might take their place? Were to  这是一个虚拟，如果省略if，were要提前倒装。 A different gift, perhaps. In China skewed sex ratios mean that a prospective bridegroom must own an apartment and shower his future in-laws with cash. But a glittering stone goes to the woman, not her family. And it is more than a gift: it is a status symbol, demonstrating that even as a man approaches（着手处理） the expenses of married life, he can still splash out on a bauble. Or a man could rely on more generic forms of display, such as a fancy degree, good job or sharp suit. But these can impress one woman as easily as another, or several simultaneously. He must show commitment—a need not unique to courtship. Salvadoran gangsters get extravagant tattoos; Japanese yakuza cut off a fingertip. These visible signs of allegiance make it hard to defect, and impose heavy costs. But as marriage proposals they would fall short. Few women would feel proud to carry around their fiancé’s severed pinkie. 或许是另一种形式的礼物。中国性别比例失衡，导致男性要当新郎必须得有房，此外还需向未来的岳父母奉上大笔现金。不过一颗闪闪发光的石头是送给女人的，并不是她的娘家。而且它不仅仅是一份礼物，还是一种身份的象征，表明即便一个男人要开始养家糊口了，他仍然会为一件小玩意一掷千金。或者，男人也可以依赖更通用的炫耀形式，比如高学历、好工作或是一身考究的西装。但这些可以打动一个女人，也可以打动另一个，或是同时打动好几个。他必须有所行动，以显示自己的忠诚。这一点不仅仅在求偶时才需要，比如萨尔瓦多的黑帮成员就会刺上繁复的纹身，日本的黑社会成员则要切掉一节手指。这些一望而知的效忠记号让人很难变节，为之付出的代价也很高昂，但作为求婚信物它们都还不够。极少会有女人觉得带着未婚夫切下来的小指头是件值得骄傲的事。 Skewed 曲解; 歪曲：The arithmetic of nuclear running costs has been skewed by the fall in the cost of other fuels.对核运行费用的计算因其他燃料费用的下降而出现了偏差。 Shower with  大量给予

经济类英语文章双语

Half-way from rags to richesApr 24th 2008From The Economist print editionVietnam has made a remarkable recovery from war and penury, says Peter Collins (interviewed here). But can it change enough to join the rich world?EyevineCorrection to this articleKNEES and knuckles scraping the ground, the visitors struggle to keep up with the tour guide who is briskly leading the way through the labyrinth of claustrophobic burrows dug into the hard earth. The legendary Cu Chi tunnels, from which the Viet Cong launched waves of surprise attacks on the Americans during the Vietnam war, are now a popular tourist attraction (pictured above). Visitors from all over the world arrive daily at the site near the city that used to be called Saigon, renamed Ho Chi Minh City after the Communists took the south in the wreckage of an abandoned M41 tank another friendly guide demonstrates a dozen types of improvised booby-traps with sharp spikes that were set in and around the tunnels to maim pursuing American soldiers. The Vietnamese not only welcome the tourist dollars Cu Chi brings in, but are also rather proud of it. They feel it demonstrates their ingenuity, adaptability, perseverance and, above all, their determination to resist much stronger foreign invaders, as the country has done many times down the centuries. These days Vietnam also has plenty of other things to be proud of. In the 1980s Ho Chi Minh's successors as party leaders damaged the war-ravaged economy even more by attempting to introduce real communism, collectivising land ownership and repressing private business. This caused the country to slide to the brink of famine. The collapse soon afterwards of its cold-war sponsor, the Soviet Union, added to the country's deep isolation and cut off the flow of roubles that had kept its economy going. Neighbouring countries were inundated with desperate Vietnamese “boat people”. Since then the country has been transformed by almost two decades of rapid but equitable growth, in which Vietnam has flung open its doors to the outside world and liberalised its economy. Over the past decade annual growth has averaged . Young, prosperous and confident Vietnamese throng downtown Ho Chi Minh City's smart Dong Khoi street with its designer shops. The quality of life is high for a country that until recently was so poor, and its larger cities have retained some of their colonial charm, though choking traffic and constant construction work are beginning to take their toll. An agricultural miracle has turned a country of 85m once barely able to feed itself into one of the world's main providers of farm produce. Vietnam has also become a big exporter of clothes, shoes and furniture, soon to be joined by microchips when Intel opens its $1 billion factory outside Ho Chi Minh City. Imports of machinery are soaring. Exports plus imports equal 160% of GDP, making the economy one of the world's most open. All this has kept government revenues buoyant despite cuts in import tariffs. The recent introduction of company taxes is also helping to fill the government's coffers. Spending on public services has surged, yet public debt, at an acceptable 43% of GDP, has remained fairly stable. Having made peace with its former foes, Vietnam hosted Presidents Bush, Putin and Hu at the Asia-Pacific summit in 2006 and joined the World Trade Organisation in 2007. This year it has one of the rotating seats on the UN Security Council. Vietnam's Communists conceded economic defeat 22 years ago, in the depths of a crisis, and brought in market-based reforms called doi moi (renewal), similar to those Deng Xiaoping had introduced in China a few years earlier. As in China, it took time for the effects to show up, but over the past few years economic liberalisation has been fostering rapid, poverty-reducing World Bank's representative in Vietnam, Ajay Chhibber, calls Vietnam a “poster child” of the benefits of market-oriented reforms. Not only does it comply with the catechism of the “Washington Consensus”—free enterprise, free trade, sensible state finances and so on—but it also ticks all the boxes for the Millennium Development Goals, the UN's anti-poverty blueprint. The proportion of households with electricity has doubled since the early 1990s, to 94%. Almost all children now attend primary school and benefit from at least basic no longer really needs the multilateral organisations' aid. Multilateral and bilateral donors together have promised the country $ billion in loans and grants this year, but with so much foreign investment pouring in, Vietnam's currency reserves increased by almost double that figure last year. At least the aid donors have learned from the mid-1990s, when excessive praise discouraged Vietnam from continuing to reform, prompting an exodus of investors. Now the tone in private meetings with officials is much franker, says a diplomat who attends them. Vietnam has become the darling of foreign investors and multinationals. Firms that draw up a “China-plus-one” strategy for new factories in case things go awry in China itself often make Vietnam the plus-one. Wage costs remain well below those in southern China and productivity is growing faster, albeit from a lower base. When the UN Conference on Trade and Development asked multinationals where they planned to invest this year and next, Vietnam, at number six, was the only South-East Asian country in the top ten. The government's programme of selling stakes in publicly owned firms and exposing them to market discipline has recently gathered pace. At the same time the switch from a command economy to free competition has allowed the Vietnamese people's entrepreneurialism to flourish. Almost every household now seems to be running a micro-business on the side, and a slew of ambitious larger firms is coming to the stockmarket. Much of the praise now being showered anew on the country is deserved. The government is well on course for its target of turning Vietnam into a middle-income country by 2010. Its longer-term aim, of becoming a modern industrial nation by 2020, does not seem unrealistic. But from now on the going may get tougher. As Mr Chhibber notes, few countries escape the “middle-income trap” as they become richer. They tend to lose their reformist zeal and see their growth fizzle. A study in 2006 by the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences concluded that further reductions in poverty will require higher growth rates than in the past because the remaining poor are well below the poverty line, whereas many of those who recently crossed it did not have far to stench of corruptionThe Communist Party leadership openly admits that the Vietnamese public is fed up with the endemic corruption at all levels of public life, from lowly traffic policemen and clerks to the most senior people in ministries. In 2006, just before the party's five-yearly congress, the transport minister resigned and several officials were arrested over a scandal in which millions of dollars of foreign aid were gambled on the outcome of football matches. The leadership insists it is doing its best to clean up, but a lot remains to be as bad as the corruption is the glacial speed of legislative and bureaucratic processes. Proposed laws have to pass through all sorts of hoops before taking effect, with endless rounds of consultations to build consensus. The dividing line between the Communist Party, the government and the courts is not always clear. The justice system is rudimentary. Lawyers have no formal access to past case files, so they find it hard to use precedent in legal government is part-way through a huge project to slim the bureaucracy and streamline official procedures. It recently cut the number of ministries from 28 to 22. Yet for the moment the bureaucratic logjam is stopping the country building the roads, power stations and other public works it needs to maintain its growth rate. Nguyen Tan Dung, the prime minister, says that if growth is to continue at its current rate, the country's electricity-generating capacity needs to double by 2010. That seems a tall order, to put it mildly. Soaring car-ownership is leaving the country's underdeveloped roads increasingly gridlocked. In an admirably liberal attempt to limit price distortions as oil surged above $100 a barrel, the government slashed fuel subsidies in February. But one effect will be to stoke inflation, already worryingly high at in March. Bank lending surged by 38% last year as firms and individuals borrowed to speculate on shares and government is finding it much harder to manage an economy made up of myriad private companies, banks and investors than to issue instructions to a limited number of state institutions, especially as the public sector is currently suffering a drain of talent to private firms that are able to offer much higher pay. What could go wrongAll this leaves Vietnam's continued economic development exposed to a number of risks: • Rising inflation—which is hurting low earners in particular—and a growing shortage of affordable housing could create a new urban underclass among unskilled workers who have left the land for the cities. Combined with rising resentment at official corruption and the increasing visibility of Vietnam's new rich, this could cause social friction and bring strikes and protests, chipping away at the political stability that has underpinned Vietnam's strong growth and investment.• Trade liberalisation and increased domestic competition will benefit some firms and farmers but hurt others—especially inefficient state enterprises. These could join forces and press the government to halt or even reverse the reforms.• The slumping stockmarket or perhaps a property crash could cause a big firm or bank to fail. Given the country's weak and untested bankruptcy laws and financial regulators, the authorities may find it hard to deal with that kind of calamity.• Natural disasters, from bird flu to floods, could cause chaos.• The economy could come up against the limits of its creaking infrastructure and the shortage of people with higher skills. Jammed roads, power blackouts and the inability to fill managerial and professional jobs could all bring Vietnam's growth rate crashing has set itself such demanding standards that even if some combination of these factors did no more than push annual growth below 5%, it would be seen as a serious setback. The foreign minister, Pham Gia Khiem, notes that Vietnam's current growth of around 8-9% is lower than that in Asia's richest economies at the same stage in their development. Despite the risks ahead, Vietnam has already provided the world with an admirable model for overcoming war, division, penury and isolation and growing strongly but equitably to reach middle-income status. This model could be followed by many impoverished African states or, closer to home, perhaps by North Korea. If it can be combined with gradual political liberalisation, it might even offer something for China to think about.

经济学人：加拿大的住宅市场Finance and Economics; 财经；Canada's housing market; 加拿大的住宅市场；Time for a bigger needle; 该出手时就出手；The latest attempt to prick a bubble;戳破泡沫的最新举措；经济学人：Canada's reputation for financial regulation is starry. Its banksgot through the crisis unscathed. According to Moody's, a ratings agency, Royal Bank of Canadasits alongside HSBC and JPMorgan Chase in the top tier of global banks. And Canadianpolicymakers are old hands at pulling “macroprudential” levers of the sort now in vogue amongrich-world central banks.加拿大的金融监管一向广受赞誉。它的银行业在这场危机中做到了独善其身。根据评级机构穆迪的报告，加拿大皇家银行与汇丰银行以及摩根大通同列，跻身全球银行界的第一梯队。同时，加拿大的政策制定者也是运用宏观审慎政策的老手，这一政策如今也常被其他富国的央行使用。But questions still nag. Some say that Canada's banks are flattered by a huge indemnity offeredby Canada Mortgage and Housing Corp (CMHC), a public institution that insures mortgages witha loan-to-value ratio of more than 80%. CHMC's book grew to 567 billion Canadian Dollar(557 billion Dollar) in 2011, up from 345 billion Canadian Dollar four years earlier. And Canada'shousing market looks very frothy on some measures: The Economist's analysis of price-to-rentratios suggests that Canadian properties were about 75% above their long-run “fair value” in thefirst quarter of 2012 (see chart). Although less than of CHMC's mortgages are in arrears, such exuberance is a worry. The central bank recently labelled housing as “the most importantdomestic risk to financial stability in Canada”.但是，仍有问题缠身。部分人士认为，加拿大的银行被加拿大抵押和住房公司（CMHC）提供的巨额补偿金美化了，CMHC是一家为贷款估值比率超过80%的抵押贷款提供保险的公共机构。在2011年，CHMC的抵押贷款额从四年前的3450亿增长到了5670亿加元（合5570亿美元）。并且，从一些指标来看，加拿大的房地产充斥着泡沫：《经济学人》以房价租金比所做的分析显示，在2012年第一季度，加拿大的物业价格高出它们的长期公允价值75%。纵然仅有低于的CHMC抵押贷款存在拖欠的情况，但这样的繁荣仍让人忧虑。最近，央行也冠以楼市 “危及加拿大金融稳定性的最大国内隐患”。Repeated efforts by policymakers to take the heat out of housing have not had a noticeableeffect. So on June 21st Jim Flaherty, the finance minister, had another go, his fourth in fouryears. Some of the new measures were cosmetic. Buyers of homes worth more than 1m Dollarhave been able to get mortgage-default insurance from CMHC with a downpayment of only 5%. In practice, it is hard to find buyers in this bracket who do not have lots of equity in their homes. But after July 9th mortgages for homes of this value will not be eligible for CMHC coverage.政策制定者们给楼市降温的不断尝试并无明显成效。于是，在6月21日，加拿大财长吉姆·费拉逖，在四年来第四次出台了一些新举措。新措施中的一些不过是表面功夫。价值过百万美元住宅的买主能得到由CMHC担保的债务违约保险以及首付仅付5%的优惠待遇。而事实上，很少有这类购房者在购房时不以大量自有资金支付价款的。不过，在6月9日之后，这类住宅将不再适用于CMHC的保险范围。Other measures have more teeth. The maximum amortisation period for a mortgage will now be25 years, down from 30. That should hurt demand: last year about 40% of new mortgages werefor terms longer than that. Refinancing a home will be allowed only up to 80% of its value, downfrom 85%. Homebuyers will have to demonstrate their housing costs are no more than 39% oftheir gross household income. On top of Mr Flaherty's measures, the Office of theSuperintendent of Financial Institutions, Canada's banking regulator, slapped a loan-to-value limitof 65% on borrowing against home equity.其他那些则更为有力。抵押贷款最长还贷期限如今将从30年降低至25年。这势必将减少需求：去年约有40%的新贷款的期限是超过25年的。允许的房屋再融资的上限从房屋价值的85%降至只有80%。购房者还须证明他们的住房支出不超过家庭总收入的39%。费拉逖的举措中，紧随其后的是，加拿大的银行监管部门，联邦金融机构监督办公室，将贷款和自有资金间的贷款估值比率的限制猛降至65%。Craig Alexander, the chief economist for TD Financial Group, estimates all this will be theequivalent of about a 1% rise in mortgage rates for most homebuyers. He believes that willproduce a slow unwinding of the housing market. If he is right, and Mr Flaherty's variousinterventions avoid the collateral damage that would be caused by an actual interest-rate rise, Canada's admirers will have another thing to swoon over.多伦多道明银行金融集团首席经济学家，克雷格·亚历山大估计，所有这些措施对于购房者而言将等同于抵押贷款利率上升1%。他认为这将促使房产市场缓慢回归。如果他的观点正确，并且费拉逖的各种干预手段能够避免可能引发实际利率上升的附带伤害，那么如此一来，加拿大的崇拜者们又将有一个可以津津乐道的话题了。

next and the joy of the game of livin

一, 与市场,运营情况有关的形容词小结形容市场活跃, 繁荣1 dynamic 有活力的,有生机的2 prosperous 繁荣的3 brisk 兴隆的4 volatile 不稳定的, 活跃浮动的形容市场萧条,不景气5 bleak 惨淡凄凉的6 declining 下滑的,衰退的7 slump 委靡的8 sluggish 不景气,萧条的9 stagnant 停滞不前的, 萧条的二, 关于是“商品”的小结10 merchandise 商品(集合名词)(单数)11 goods 货物(复)12 commodity 商品, 期货futures 13 product 产品 14 produce 农产品 15 freight 运输的货物 ; 运费 16 cargo (船,飞机) 装载的货物 三, 和会议,集会有关的词小结17 convoke 召集18 rally 集合 19 gathering 聚会 20 function 集会，仪式event, happeningOur sports day is the most important function of the year.运动会那一天是我们一年里最盛大的活动。21 adjourn 延会,休会22 confer 商谈四, 常见犯罪小结23 mug 抢劫,(从背后袭击)24 steal 偷 25 loot 抢夺26 pickpocket 扒手27 burglary 夜盗28 smuggle 走私五, 常见支付方式小结29 by cash 现金 30 by check 支票31 by credit card 信用卡32 by money order 汇票33 by installment 分期伏款34 by mail 邮寄六, 关于性格的描述小节35 outgoing 外向活泼36 sociable 善于交际37 adaptable 适应性强38 ambitious 有野心39 hard-working 工作努力40 energetic 有活力41 enterprising 富于进取,有创业精神42 honest 诚实43 reserved 保守,稳重44 responsible 负责 45 optimistic 乐观46 independent 独立 七, 名词1 inflation 通货膨胀2 deflation 通货紧缩3 feasibility 可行性4 overhaul 彻底检查 5 custom 海关6 bruise 擦伤7 indices 是index的复数 注意读音是 / / (听力) 8 commotion 暴动,骚乱9 interest rate 利率10 disposition (1)性情气质 (2) 处理11 carat, karat 克拉12 hallmark 品质证明, 纯正之证明13 asylum 收容所, 养老院 14 orphanage 孤儿院15 morale 士气,人心16 pennant 锦旗17 vicinity 附近, 短语是 in the ~ of 18 interrogation 询问,审讯 短语是 put sb under ~19 intersection 交点20 intermission 休息时间 21 physician 内科医生22 surgeon 外科医生, 军医,船医23 breadwinner 养家糊口的人24 recipe 食谱,方法25 tender 招标,a public ~, ask for tender26 syllabus 课程纲要27 Spaniard 西班牙人28 dispassion 冷静客观29 levity 轻率30 expulsion 开除,除籍31 defamation 诽谤32 payroll 薪水册,工资表33 contraction 收缩 34 renewal 更新35 deduction 扣除(额)36 escalator 电动扶梯37 elevator 电梯,升降梯(美)38 lift 电梯(英)39 emblem 象征标志 同logo symbol 40 dereliction 玩忽职守 ~ of duty41 milk shake 奶昔42 endorsement 背书保证,找明星代言43 approbation 批准许可44 probation 试用 trial 45 deference 顺从尊重46 minor infraction 轻微违法major violation 重大47 vacate 疏散 evacuation 48 anarchy 无政府49 collusion 共谋,勾结50 downturn 下滑take a sudden downturn 51 spa 温泉52 freelance writer 自由撰稿人53 articles 用品,商品54 management 资方 union 工会55 turnover 运转,周转56 turnout (集会)出席者a large turnout 57 annuity 养老金 pension 58 extension 分机59 innovation 革新翻新, renovation装修60 dosage 剂量61 rash 疹子62 clientele 顾客,老主顾63 leave 请假 He is often absent without leave 64 partition 隔间,区分65 junk 垃圾 punk 朋克 66 menopause 更年期 67 razor 剃刀68 crop strains 作物品种 69 headphone 耳机earphone70 automated teller machine 自动提款机ATM71 civilians 听力中注意与surveillance区分72 subsidiary 子公司 73 strip mining 露天采矿74 national (某国的)国民 we employ various nationals at our local companies. 75 mortgage 抵押76 compartment 隔间 Ask the flight attendant if we can put our things in that compartment 77 helping (食物的)一分I had a second helping 78 subcontractor 转包商79 speculation 投机 ~ in real estate80 avocation 副业81 kickback 回扣82 spectator 观众 audience 听众 83 stroller (1)四轮婴儿车 (2)漫步者84 seniority 年长,资深 ~ has priority 85 toner 调色剂86 luncheon 正式午餐，下午餐会87 fa�0�4ade 建筑物正面（法）88 decoy 欺，引诱 envoy 使者，代表 alloy 合金 convoy 护送陪伴 89 interface 交互界面 (desktop 桌面) desktop video conference 桌面视频会议90 boutiques 小店精品店 banquet宴会 bouquet 花束 91 casino 俱乐部，游乐场92 complex 整套设施 (an office complex) Oedipus complex93 commencement ceremony授学位典礼 inception开始 induction 入伍94 modem 调制解调器95 fraud 96 magnate 工业巨头97 gourmet 美食家98 ordinance 法令99 cursor 光标100 liaison 交流合作 101 portfolio 公文包，文件夹 102 corrosives 易腐蚀品103 corporation 企业， (听力中注意和cooperation区分)104 minute 会议录105 recreation 娱乐，休闲 =relaxation 八, 动词1 strand 使搁浅，陷入困境2 relate 叙述3 facilitate 使便利4 excel 优出胜出 ~ in 名词 excellence 5 exceed 超过6 remit 汇款，宽恕7 highlight 强调8 inoculate 接种9 vaccinate 接种疫苗10 remedy 补救11 undermine 诋毁 12 reverse 颠倒 ~ the verdict 判决13 slam 使劲关 ~ dunk14 equip 配备15 capsize 倾覆（船）16 simmer 炖，煨17 retrench 减少，节约18 discredit 使失去权威性，破坏名誉的19 curb 阻止，控制 ~ the use of marijuana 20 process 加工21intercept 中途拦截 22 segregate 隔离，分开分离23 quarantine 隔离检疫24 seclude 隔绝，隐退，隐秘25 appeal 呼吁，恳求，上诉26 lift 解除，提起精神27 rescind 废止，取消28 audit 查帐29 condemn 非难，判罪30 condone 宽恕，容忍31 deviate 偏离，跑题 ~ from 32 disabuse 解惑，矫正 33 disavow 否认34 transfuse 输血35 mingle 交往，混合36 forfeit 没收 confiscate 37 staple 用订书器钉 ADJ 主要的重要的38 deregulate 解除对---的管制39 block 阻挡N 楼40 launch 推出新产品，实施 (an investigation into the scandal) 41 house V. 为---提供住房42 expel 开除，驱除43 reimburse 报销，伏款 = refund44 observe 遵守 ~ the smoking rule45 syndicate （在报刊，杂志联盟）多家报刊上同时发表 46 commute 通勤47 rotate 旋转，循环48 implement 实行49 liquidate 清算，清偿债务50 accrue 增长，自然增殖九, 形容词1 fragile 易碎的2 latter 后者3 latest 最新的 4 later 过一会，过后5 eligible 合格的 illegible 难懂的 6 edible 可食用的 audible 可听到的 7 duplicate 副本的，复制的8 potamic 河川的 9 faulty 有错误的 ~ transformer 变压器 10 supersonic 超音速的11 foremost 首要的 12 affluent 富足的13 explicit 明晰的 14 implicit 暗含的15 hustle-bustle 熙来攘往16 obese 肥胖的17 manifold 各样的，多种18 imprudent 轻率的19 effete 疲惫枯竭 20 ebullient 沸腾的，热情洋溢的21 enervated 无力的衰弱的22 spacious 宽敞的23 selective 精挑细选的24 precocious 早熟的，过早的 25 remiss 疏忽的26 facile 容易的，流畅的27 intangible 无形的28 illicit 不合法的 = illegal 29 diagonal 对角线的 30 methodically 有条不紊的31definitive 限定的，决定的32 plausible 似合理的33 propitious 吉祥的，有利的34 auspicious 吉祥的35 intelligible 可识别的36 inflammable 易燃的37 nonflammable 不易燃的38 quality 质量好的 ~~ product/items/materials 39 state-of-the-art 最新水平40 illegitimate 不合法的，私生的41 tailored 定制的 ~ devise programs to our needs 42 custom-made = tailor-made 特制的43mandatory 强制性的44 provisional—temporary 暂时的，临时的45luxurious 奢侈的46 bear market ”熊市”，也称空头市场，指行情普遍看淡。延续时间相对较长的大跌。47 bull market ”牛市”，也称多头市场，指市场行情普遍看涨，延续时间较长的大升。48 clean 的其他说法： 卫生的hygienic（名词hygiene）干净的 sanitary49 tricky 棘手的，复杂的（工作） 50 languishing 衰弱下去的十 词组1 a handful of people 少数的人2 adjacent to 与---临近3 put on airs 摆架子4 discharge from hospital 出院5 halt buses and subway all day 使公车地铁一天停止6 graphic design 平面设计7 3D design 三维设计8 medical insurance coverage 保险项目，范围9 default rate 拖欠债务率10 full professor 正教授11 potent antibiotics 强效抗生素12 make a rule of doing something 形成---习惯13 chanber of commerce 商会 14 leteter of credit (L/C) 信用证（支付方式的一种）15 stock dividend 股息16 devaluation of the currency 货币贬值17 sprain one’s ankle 扭伤脚踝18 holistic medicine 整体医学19insurance premium 保险费用20 his Hair receding from his fore head 从前额掉头发21 express train 快车 limited train 特快车22 probation/trial period 试用期23 take a hard line with 强权策略 24 tread mission 贸易代表团25 long term objective 长期目标26 the audit department 审纪部27 International Herald Tribune 国际先驱论坛28 top copy 复印原件29 take steps to do 着手落实Many countries have taken steps to improve airport security。 30 pertaining to 适合，合宜，关于 31 a panorama of 齐全，品种繁多 32 24 hours a day = 7 days a week 24小时营业，无休息33 dog days 三伏34 column writer 栏目作者35 staff appraisal 员工评估36 at one’s fingertips 在手头，目前37 lodge and accommodation 膳宿38 fringe benefit 福利，补贴 39 go into liquidation 倒闭40 lag behind 落后 41 phase something out 逐步废止42 write—offs 破旧的无从修理43 abide strictly by 严格恪守44 clearance sale 清仓大处理45 have/take title to 有---特权46 staff attendant 员工出勤情况47 down payment 定金，分期付款的首次款 48 know-how 专项技能，窍门49 cross-reference 互相参照50 labor-intensive industry 劳动密集型行业 一篇中国09年经济展望的论文：Chinese economic outlook for 2009From my point of view, generally speaking, china would forced to face many challenges in 2009 due to the undertaking recession issues, but in the global economic world, it would still be expected to act as one of the first countries to get recovered from the recession. There are five major issues regards to Chinese economic condition in 2009. First, China will be challenged by the influence from international economic crisis. Secondly, due to the combination impact from the home and abroad, the macroeconomic regulation in China would become more complicated; in another word, it may result in a repeating domestic inflation and deflation. Thirdly, the above situations might have side-effects on Chinese stock market and real estate market; further, the small and medium companies might face serious liquidation issues. In Addition, there is a great possibility of a dramatic decline on the employment rate. Last but not least, it would become tremendous difficulty for government to maintain a balanced financial status and also inject further confidence into Chinese economic. To sum up, from the above analysis, it is clear that the economic situation in China for 2009 is not in positive. However, with more focus on Chinese domestic market and increasing living allowances of our lower-income groups, it is possible to achieve a stabilized economic and social position even in such a serious condition.

经济学人杂志双语版

LARGE food companies have long been among the world’s most solid, with reassuringly consistent returns even in hard times. None would seem steadier than Nestlé, based in the Swiss town of Vevey, on a lake near snowy peaks. For its 150th anniversary in 2016 it opened a new museum filled with corporate heirlooms （传家宝，祖传遗物）: the first written notes about a new product called milk chocolate, laid out in black cursive （草书，手写体）; an old tin of Nescafé, used by soldiers as a stimulant in the second world war; and an early can of Henri Nestlé’s infant formula, which in 1867 saved the life of a premature baby.大型食品公司长期以来都属于世界上最坚实的企业之列，即使在艰难时期也有令人安心的稳定回报。似乎没有哪家企业比总部位于瑞士雪山湖畔韦威镇(Vevey)的雀巢公司更稳固了。2016年雀巢成立150周年之际，其新揭幕的博物馆展示了众多“传家宝”：有关新产品“牛奶巧克力”的首份书面记录，用黑色草体书写；一罐陈年的雀巢咖啡，在二战时士兵们曾用它来提神；还有一罐早期的亨利雀巢婴儿配方奶粉一一它在1867年挽救了一名早产儿的生命。 It has come a long way （取得很大进展） since then. It sold goods worth nearly $90bn in 189 countries in 2015. Of the 30,000 cups of coffee sipped （抿，小口喝，中文里说的“品茶”的“品”，也可以用这个动词） around the world each second, Nestlé estimates, one-fifth are cups of Nescafé. But the industry it presides over is in upheaval （剧变）. On January 1st a new chief executive, Ulf Mark Schneider (pictured), took over. He is the first outsider to get the top job since 1922, and his background—running a health-care firm, not selling chocolate bars or frozen pizza—suggests the main source of worry for the business. 自那以后，雀巢已有长足发展。2015年，该公司在189个国家的销售额近900亿美元。雀巢估计，全球每秒有三万杯咖啡被人们捧到嘴边，其中五分之一是雀巢咖啡。但是，其主导的行业正经历巨变。1月1日，雀巢新首席执行官乌尔夫·马克·施奈德（Ulf Mark Schneider，见图）上任。他是自1922年以来首位担任这一最高职位的外部人士，而他之前管理医疗保健企业（而不是卖巧克力棒或冷冻披萨）的工作背景是导致人们忧虑雀巢前景的主要原因。 More and more consumers are snubbing （冷落） packaged food’s sugar, salt and unpronounceable （难以正确发音的 ） preservatives （防腐剂）. Meanwhile, swarms of （大群） smaller firms, emboldened （使大胆） by the ease of peddling （沿街叫卖） goods online, are touting （招徕顾客） supposedly healthier options. From 2011 to 2015 big sellers of consumer-packaged goods, mainly food and drink companies, lost three percentage points of market share in America—a lot in the industry’s context—according to a study by the Boston Consulting Group, a consultancy, and IRI, a data provider. 包装食品中的糖、盐以及各种名称拗口的防腐剂正受到越来越多消费者的冷落。同时，大批小公司借助网络销售之便，推广据称更为健康的食品。据波士顿咨询公司及数据提供商IRI的一份研究，从2011年到2015年，包装消费品的销售大户（主要为食品及饮料公司）在美国的市场份额损失了三个百分点，这对该行业来说相当可观。 As super-sized companies swat （重拍，猛击，比如She swatted him over the head with a rolled-up magazine. 她用一本卷起来的杂志猛敲他的头。） at such tiny attackers, another foe is gaining ground. 3G, a Brazilian private-equity firm, likes to buy big, slow-growing food and drinks companies and slash their costs. Targets have included Kraft and Heinz, two giants which 3G helped merge into one group in 2015, as well as several of the world’s biggest brewers. Other food companies are scrambling （仓促行动） to make cuts of their own, lest they become 3G’s next meal. That has prompted a debate over whether such cuts wreck firms’ growth prospects even further, or whether, in fact, they are best off （最好做某事） wringing out （绞出，扭干） profits and accepting that robust expansion is a thing of the past. 巨头企业在大力回击这些小型袭击者之时，另一个敌人也开始抢占地盘。巴西私募股权公司3G喜欢购入增长缓慢的大型食品及饮料企业，并削减它们的经营成本。其目标包括卡夫及亨氏量大巨头（2015年，3G促成这两家企业合并为一个集团），还有几家全球最大的啤酒公司。其他食品公司正在争相自行削减成本，以免成为3G的下一个猎物。这引发了一个争论：这样的成本削减会不会进一步破坏公司的增长前景，还是说，强劲扩张已经过时，企业最好能接受这一点并挤出利润。 Nestlé is not immune to such pressures. In recent years it has often missed its goal of 5-6% sales growth. Excluding acquisitions, its numbers have not met investors’ expectations for 11 of the past 17 quarters. In the most recent quarter, the firm registered organic sales growth of . 面对这些压力，雀巢也未能幸免。近年来，该公司经常达不到销售增长5%至6%的目标。不包括收购，在过去17个季度中，该公司有11个季度的增速没有达资者预期。最近一个季度，雀巢的有机销售增长率为。 Changing consumer tastes explain some of these shortfalls. So does a shifting retail landscape. Managing a giant portfolio of brands, from KitKat and Nespresso to DiGiorno pizza and Purina dog food, has become harder. Mr Schneider will have to master online ways to market and deliver its well-known brands. The firm needs to coax （哄诱） customers to pay more for premium products as ordinary ones get commoditised, and discounted by firms such as Germany’s Lidl and Aldi. 之所以增长乏力，消费者口味改变是部分因素，零售业大环境的转变也是原因之一。要管理包含KitKat巧克力、Nespresso咖啡、DiGiorno比萨、普瑞纳狗粮在内的庞大品牌组合已变得愈加艰难。施奈德必须掌握线上手段来营销和传达公司的知名品牌。在普通产品被德国连锁超市Lidl及Aldi等公司变成日常商品又折价销售的情况下，雀巢公司需要劝诱客户为高端产品支付更高的价格。 The firm can still boast impressive staying power—its global market share across its entire range of products has remained near 20% for the past decade. François-Xavier Roger, Nestlé’s chief financial officer, points out that the group’s sales growth in the first nine months of 2016 was among the fastest of the top ten biggest food and drink companies. Yet a detailed examination of its position by Sanford C. Bernstein, a research firm, shows that when growth from acquisitions is excluded, it lost share in all but three of its top 20 product categories between 2007 and 2015. Some of its core offerings, such as bottled water and single-serve （单杯式） coffee, fared （vi. 经营） the worst. 雀巢仍能以其持久的实力为傲一一过去十年间，其全线产品的全球市场份额一直保持在接近20%。首席财务官弗朗索瓦-泽维尔·罗杰(Francois-Xavier Roger)指出，雀巢集团在2016年前九个月的销售增长是全球十大食品饮料企业中最快的。但市场研究公司盛博(Sanford C．Bernstein)对该公司的详细研究表明，除去收购带来的增长，2007年至2015年间，集团最大的20个产品品类中仅有3类的市场份额未下跌。瓶装水和单标咖啡等一些核心产品表现最差。雀巢咖啡包产品的劲敌Keurig在美国抢占了份额。 Such results are likely to attract particular censure （责难） from investors because of Nestlé’s past heavy emphasis on growth and market share which sometimes came at the expense of （以……为代价）lower profits. In 2015 its operating-profit margin was 15%, better than the 13% at Danone, a French competitor, but far below the 21% at Kraft-Heinz. Shareholders in the firm are waiting to see whether Mr Schneider will shake things up （使振作，shake up其他含义见注释）. Some want him to sell off businesses that seem most at risk of long-term decline, such as frozen food, as shoppers look for fresher fare （食物，这篇文章之前也出现了一个fare，那个是做不及物动词，表示经营）. 这种业绩很可能会惹来投资者的指责，毕竟雀巢过去强调增长和市场占有率，有时还不惜为此牺牲利润。2015年，它的营业利润率为15%，优于其法国对手达能公司的13%，但远低于卡夫亨氏的21%。雀巢的股东们正在观望施奈德能否改变现状。有人希望他卖掉业绩最有可能长期下滑的业务，例如冷冻食品，因为消费者如今偏好更新鲜的食品。 shake up 1.摇动；混合；摇匀： Shake up before drinking. 服用前摇匀[药瓶说明用语] 2.使感到震动；使震惊(或慌乱)： What you said has shaken me up! 你刚才说的话令我十分震惊! 3.改组，使重新组合： I have to shake the Sales Department up. 我得对销售部进行改组。 4.抖摇(靠垫、枕头等)使之恢复原形： She shook up the pillows, and then lay down in bed. 她把枕头抖摇膨松后，躺在了床上。 5.[口语]把…摇醒；使振作： What could shake him up? 什么才能使他振作起来呢? 6.[常作 shake it up][口语]赶快,快点： Shake it up, we'll be late. 快点儿，咱们快晚了。 7.[废语]责备；申斥： The student was shaken up by his mother. 那个学生被他母亲申斥了一顿。 Food for life? 生命之食？ For now, Nestlé is defiant. “We started 150 years ago having a product that actually—there’s symbolism there—saved the life of a child,” says Paul Bulcke, the outgoing （即将离职的） chief executive and likely new chairman. He and his colleagues say that investment in health and related innovation will produce strong growth for years to come. Mr Schneider, who used to run Fresenius, a German firm that offers kidney-dialysis products and services, will certainly emphasise that message. Nestlé differentiates itself from 3G, with its keen focus on cuts. Mr Roger says he respects what 3G does, but that “they have a strategy which is very different from ours.” 目前来看，雀巢并不服气。“我们始创于150年前，当时的一款产品实际上救了一个孩子的命，这是有象征意义的。”即将离任的首席执行官保罗·薄凯(Paul Bulcke)说道。他和同事们表示，投资于健康及相关创新会为公司未来带来强劲增长。施奈德曾掌管提供肾透析产品及其他医疗服务的大型德国企业费森尤斯(Fresenius)，他肯定会强调这一点。雀巢将自己与专注削减成本的3G区别开来。罗杰表示，他尊重3G的做法，但“他们的战略和我们的相去甚远”。 Still, few observers would call Nestlé a health company. Many of its products are perfectly healthy, including bottled water and coffee. Many are not—milk chocolate and ice cream, to name but two. And for now, the purest forms of Nestlé’s focus on health contribute relatively little to its sales. A business unit called Nestlé Health Science, for example, sells nutritional products for medical needs, such as vitamin-packed drinks for the elderly and for cancer patients. It contributes less than 5% of revenue. 然而，少有观察者会认为雀巢是一家保健公司。它有很多非常健康的产品，包括瓶装水和咖啡。但也有许多产品并不健康，在此只举两例：比如牛奶巧克力和冰激淋。而现在，雀巢最纯粹专注健康的业务对销售额的贡献相对很少。例如，名为“雀巢健康科学”的业务部门销售面向医疗需求的营养产品，比如供老年人和癌症患者饮用的富含维生素饮料，而该部门贡献的收入还不到5%。 The firm has a research institute devoted to studying food’s role in the management and prevention of disease—for example, better understanding nutrition’s ability to promote brain health. It may deliver growth but probably only in the long term. Nestlé has also invested in young drugs firms, including one that is testing a treatment for ulcerative colitis （溃疡性结肠炎）. 雀巢设有一家研究所．专门研究食物在管理和预防疾病中的作用，例如要更好地了解营养物质如何能够促进大脑的健康。这也许会带来增长，但可能要许久才能见效。雀巢也与一些新兴制药公司合作，包括一家正在测试某种溃疡性结肠炎疗法的公司。 More immediately rewarding may be its efforts to make best-selling but unhealthy foods a bit more wholesome （有益健康的）. In November the company said it had created hollow （空心的） sugar crystals that taste sweet but contain fewer calories than the usual stuff. It will begin to put the new ingredient in its chocolate in 2018. 雀巢还努力将旗下畅销但不健康的食品改良得相对健康一些，这也许更有可能带来立竿见影的回报。去年11月，该公司表示已创制出一种空心的糖晶体，味道甜但含卡路里较常规糖晶体低。公司将在2018年采用这一新原料制作巧克力。 It is also proud of changes to the millions of frozen dinners it sells every week in America. Shoppers had been avoiding the frozen-food aisle （走廊，通道）. Nestlé first tried discounts, and then in 2015 introduced new versions of its Lean Cuisine products, stripping out （去掉） unpalatable （难吃的） ingredients and replacing them with organic ones. At Stouffer’s, another frozen brand, Nestlé decided to target men with easy, protein-packed meals that are more nutritionally valuable. It worked—its frozen-food sales in America grew faster. In November 2015, they were 6% above what they had been a year earlier. But Bernstein’s Andrew Wood points out that the revival of frozen food now looks wobbly （不稳定的） again. 雀巢另一项引以为豪的改变是冷冻快餐（在美国每周卖出数百万份）。之前，冷冻食品受到消费者冷落。雀巢先是尝试折价促销，然后又在2015年推出新版的“瘦身特餐”(Lean Cuisine)系列，以有机食材替换掉之前难吃的成分。对于旗下另一个冷冻食品品牌Stouffer，雀巢决定针对男性消费者推出富含蛋白质、更具营养价值的速食简餐。这些努力取得了成效一一其冷冻食品的销售在美国增长加快。2015年11月的销售额同比增长6%。但盛博的安德鲁·伍德(Andrew Wood)指出，冷冻食品的复兴如今似乎又变得摇摆不定。 Nor is Nestlé ignoring 3G’s strategy entirely: it is trying to trim expenses. “We are very much in an investment position, not in a cost-cutting exercise,” says Mr Roger, “but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to be cost-efficient in what we do.” One effort, which includes trimming waste at factories, is credited with （credit相关词组见注释） saving about ($) a year. Last year Nestlé announced organisational changes, such as consolidating procurement, which will save about SFr2bn each year from 2020. 雀巢也没有完全忽视3G的战略：公司正努力缩减支出。“我们的战略是投资，而非削减成本。”罗杰说，“但那不惠昧着我们不想在经营中实现成本效益。”一项包括工厂减少浪费在内的改革一年为公司节省了约15亿瑞士法郎(15亿美元)。去年，雀巢公布了一系列组织变革，如采购整合，将从2020年起每年为公司节省约20亿瑞士法郎。 1、Get the credit for sth. 因某事受到褒扬，比如： We don't mind who gets the credit so long as we don't get the blame. 只要我们不挨批评，谁受到表扬我们都不在乎。 2、A credit B with sth. A把某事归功于B，也可以说：sth. is credited to B 某事归功于B，比如： The staff are crediting him with having saved Hythe's life. 海斯能得救全体人员都归功于他。 3、Be credit to sth./sb. 给……增光，比如： He is one of the greatest players of recent times and is a credit to his profession. 他是近年来最棒的选手之一，是为他的职业增光的人。 4、Give sb. Credit for sth. 相信某人有……，比如： Bratbakk had more ability than the media gave him credit for. 布拉特巴克有比媒体所宣传的还要强的能力。 5、To one’s credit 值得赞扬，比如： She had managed to pull herself together and, to her credit, continued to look upon life as a positive experience. 她努力使自己振作起来，并且值得称赞的是，她一如既往地积极面对人生。 Whatever else Mr Schneider has on the menu for Nestlé, radical changes may be somewhat limited by the fact that so many of those who built it into what it is now are sticking around （逗留，在附近徘徊。此处意译为“留在公司内”）. Mr Bulcke is expected to become the firm’s chairman. The outgoing chairman, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, a former Nestlé chief executive, may become honorary chairman. Mr Bulcke, for one, seems sure that the company should maintain its emphasis on the long term. He taps his hand on the table, rattling （使发出嘎嘎声） some Nespresso cups, as he insists that growth is still the key. 无论施耐德还将为雀巢准备怎样的菜单，彻底变革也许多少都会受到限制，因为令雀巢发展到如今这模样的人大多还留在公司内。薄凯预计会成为集团的董事长。即将离任的董事长、雀巢前首席执行官包必达 (Peter Brabeck-Letmathe) 则可能成为名誉董事长。薄凯似乎确信雀巢应保持着力于长远发展。他手敲着桌子，震得一些Nespresso杯子当当作响，坚称增长仍是关键。

双语《经济学人》和《经济学人》的具体区别如下:《经济学人》是一份英文经济类期刊，它每周出版，主要报道国际经济新闻和趋势，以及政策分析等。《双语经济学人》是一份中英双语的经济类期刊，它每月出版，主要报道国际经济新闻和趋势，以及政策分析等，并配有中文翻译。

经济学人是一份英文期刊，主要报道全球经济和商业新闻，提供有关经济、金融、投资、政治和社会发展的分析和评论。双语经济学人是一份中英文双语期刊，主要报道中国经济和商业新闻，提供有关中国经济、金融、投资、政治和社会发展的分析和评论。两者区别是截然不同的

您好，双语经济学人和经济学人之间的区别在于，双语经济学人是指拥有双语能力的经济学人，他们能够以英语和汉语来表达自己的经济学观点。而经济学人则是指拥有经济学知识的人，他们能够以英语或汉语来表达自己的经济学观点。双语经济学人拥有双语能力，因此他们能够更好地理解两种语言的文化差异，从而更好地理解不同的经济学理论。他们还能够更好地理解不同文化背景下的经济学概念，从而更好地分析和解决经济学问题。而经济学人则只拥有经济学知识，他们可以分析和解决经济学问题，但他们不能够理解不同文化背景下的经济学概念，也不能够理解两种语言的文化差异。总之，双语经济学人拥有双语能力，他们能够更好地理解不同文化背景下的经济学概念，从而更好地分析和解决经济学问题，而经济学人则只拥有经济学知识，他们可以分析和解决经济学问题，但他们不能够理解不同文化背景下的经济学概念，也不能够理解两种语言的文化差异。

经济学人杂志双语电子版资源

《经济学人》（英文名：The Economist，中文名又叫：经济学家）于1843年在英国伦敦建刊，以独立和全球化的视角著称。《经济学人》每周四晚上在世界六个地方同步印刷，每周六全球同步出版，同时于当天晚些时候在网上更新最新一期的内容，4-5期/月。《经济学人》是一本完全国际化期刊，其中80%的发行量来自英国之外。 自建刊以来，《经济学人》一直秉承其创建者James Wilson的办刊原则。在创刊计划书中James Wilson写到：“我们真诚的相信，自由贸易和自由交往在全世界传播文明和道德的作用是其他任何现有的媒介无法比拟的” 。但杂志的第三任主编Walter Bagehot才是使《经济学人》杂志发扬光大的人。他使杂志的触角向政治问题延伸。现在，《经济学人》的文章不仅涉及时势、商业、金融和经济，还涉及到科学、技术和艺术。无论主题是什么，《经济学人》的独立、坦率、简练和尊重事实的品质使其与众不同。 《The Economist》字体底色鲜红，客观公正是《经济学家》杂志的的生命所在。公司的构成禁止任何组织或个人获得杂志半数以上的持股权。该杂志所有的文章都不署名，皆由集体创作，就象它的主编们认为的那样：写出什么样的东西，比出自谁的手笔更重要。 《经济学人》文章除了一些我们不熟悉的题材外，其中的大多数文章写得机智、幽默、有力度。这些优点是任何一家英文主流报刊所不能比拟的。只要你有4000左右的词汇量，读起来都不会有太多的不适应感。官方网址为：。另外，最重要的是历年考研英语阅读真题很多文章来自《经济学人》杂志，这点对要参加考研词友而言太关键了。点击下载：2007年07月21日《经济学人》The Economist原版英文杂志下载注意： 1、以上内容每周一定时更新，更多内容请到这里去下载。 2、以上文件都是PDF格式，需要Adobe Reader 以上版本才能打开，如果打不开说明你的版本太低，点击这里下载Adobe Reader 最新版本！

THIS WAS supposed to be the quarter that Kraft Heinz showed America's huge, struggling food companies a new model for success. A merger in 2015 had joined two of the world's most iconic food makers. Backed by 3G Capital, a private-equity firm, the new group slashed costs at a pace that made rivals shudder and investors swoon. After a failed bid in 2017 for Unilever, an Anglo-Dutch giant, Kraft Heinz set out to prove it could not just cut fat but boost sales on its own. Bernardo Hees, the company's boss, pointed cheerfully to new products, including Heinz Mayochup and something called Just Crack an Egg. The company was on the path to "sustainable, profitable growth", he declared in November. Unfortunately, it wasn't.  On February 21st Kraft Heinz announced a staggering $15bn impairment, a dividend cut of more than 3o% and an inquiry into its procurement by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Earnings calls are often sleepy affairs. This one was a nightmare. Some of 3G's long-time critics are now clucking with satisfaction. Others fear 3G is tarnishing American treasures such as Kraft Macaroni and Cheese and Warren Buffett, who partnered with 3G to combine Heinz and Kraft and last year lost nearly $3bn on the deal. Yet dramatic as Kraft Heinz's decline may seem, 3G's impact and the food industry's problems extend far beyond it.  While its founders are Brazilian, 3G's buyout business is based in Manhattan.(Its most famous founder, Jorge Paulo Lemann, lives in Switzerland.) Unlike many big private-equity firms, 3G's main investors are not pension funds but family offices and individuals, including its partners. It does not have a wide portfolio, but backs just two companies: Kraft Heinz and Restaurant Brands International (RBI). Blackstone, a private-equity firm based a few blocks away, has nearly 2,5oo 's New York office has fewer than two dozen. Yet 3G's leaders have rocked the consumer industry like few investors in history.  All buyout firms are thirsty for deals, but 3G is uniquely parched. Before starting 3G, the firm's founders went on a beer-buying spree that culminated in 2o16 with Anheuser-Busch InBev's purchase of SAB Miller for more than $100bn. AB InBev, in which 3G's partners have a large stake, now brews more than one in four of the world's beers. Kraft Heinz counts Kraft cheese, Heinz Ketchup, Jell-0, Philadelphia Cream Cheese and Oscar Mayer among its holdings. RBI includes Burger King, Popeyes, a fried-chicken restaurant, and Tim Hortons, a popular Canadian chain. The way 3G runs companies is as notable as its appetite for buying them. In a practice called zero-based budgeting, managers must justify their expenses anew each year. The idea is to expand margins continuously. Overseeing this are managers chosen for their talent and work ethic, rather than mere experience. Daniel Schwartz, a 3G partner, became the chief executive of Burger King at 32. Mr Hees, a 3G partner who spent more than a decade working for a Latin American railroad, became Kraft Heinz's boss at 45. David Knopf, its chief financial officer, assumed his position in 2017 at 29.  To 3G's detractors, this all seems a bit mad. The company's strategy can be caricatured as follows: buy a big business, cut costs, repeat. This is not entirely fair. RBI has invested in marketing Burger King, winning prizes for its ads. AB InBev is working to boost its sales, for instance by pushing  higher-priced beers and deploying best practices across its vast geography.  But buying big companies and slashing costs remain 3G's speciality. The risks of that strategy have become clear. RBI struggled to integrate franchisees at Tim Hortons. AB InBev last year said it would slash its dividend by half.  Nowhere has 3G's approach played out more tumultuously than at Kraft Heinz. America's food industry seemed the perfect target, with flabby companies and powerful brands. Rare is the American who has not slurped Kool-Aid or downed an Oscar Mayer hot dog smothered in Heinz reckoned the brands were strong enough to withstand large cuts. As it turns out, they were not.  This was not the same for AB InBev, which despite abysmal results in America, has little beer competition from in-store brands, is rarely sold online and faces ample growth abroad. Kraft Heinz's business, by comparison, is concentrated in America, where the food industry is being turned on its head. Its brands may be familiar, but that does not make them popular. Small firms are offering healthier options, taking advantage of cheap digital marketing and nimble contract manufacturers. The smallest 20,000 packaged goods players account for about half the industry's growth, according to Nielsen, a research firm.  Meanwhile, the rise of e-commerce and European discount grocers has put pressure on food retailers, which are in turn squeezing food companies. Stores led by Walmart are using extensive data to launch their own, increasingly sophisticated, low-cost private label goods, all the while pushing companies to lower their prices.  Things started well for Kraft Heinz. Its operating profit margin surged from 15% in 2014 to 24% in 2017. The first big setback came that year when Paul Polman, then Unilever's boss, rebuffed the company's $143bn courtship.(Unilever, wisely, has devoted growing attention not to food but to beauty and household products.) Without his megadeal, Mr Hees turned to the basic work of lifting sales by pouring more money into advertising, product innovation and Kraft Heinz's sales force, but that ate into profits.  Equally striking is the company's new $15bn impairment, a recognition that the value of giant brands has shrivelled. Mr Buffett says that he misjudged the worth of Kraft's stable of products. "The management team entered into this merger with the assumption they could cut the spending needed to maintain brands, let alone help them grow," says Robert Moskow of Credit Suisse, a bank. "The world changed on them-retailers changed and consumers changed." Flawed though 3G's approach may seem, few food companies offer a successful alternative. Companies have tried to evolve by buying smaller firms, often at lofty prices and with mixed results. For instance Campbell Soup bought Bolthouse Farms, a maker of fruity drinks, in 2o12, but is now trying to sell it. Last year it bought Snyder's-Lance, a pretzel and popcorn company, to boost its snacks business. Its debt level has risen accordingly. Indeed, shopping sprees at Campbell, ConAgra and General Mills have made those companies more levered than Kraft Heinz, according to Sanford C Bernstein, a research firm.  Kraft Heinz now wants to shrink to grow: it plans divestments over the next 18 months to improve its balance sheet so it can make other, big deals. But the SEC's subpoena suggests that some internal processes might be unravelling as managers struggle to meet bold goals. The notion that big deals will save American food firms looks increasingly dubious. In 2014, before Heinz bought Kraft, the combined gross operating profits of the companies were about $. Now, due in part to some problems beyond its control, Kraft Heinz expects its 2019 profits to be about the same.卡夫亨氏《Kraft Heinz）本应在这个季度向美国规模巨大但陷入困境的食品公司展示一种通往成功的新模式。2015年，两家全球最具标志性的食品制造商合二为一。在私募股权公司G资本的支持下，新集团以令竞争对手战栗、令投资者狂喜的速度削减成本。2017年收购英荷巨头联合利华失败后，卡夫亨氏开始想办法证明自己不但会减肥，还能凭自身提高销焦额。公司老板贝尔纳多·希斯（Bernardo Hees）兴高采烈地搬出新产品作例证，包括亨氏的蛋黄番茄酱（Mayochup）和一种叫“打个蛋”（just Crack an Egg）的食品。去年11月他查布公司正走在遇往可持续、有盈利的增长“的道路上。遗憾的是，并没有。 上月21日，卡夫亨氏披露了150亿美元的巨额减记、削减超过30%的股息，以及美国证券交易委员会（SEC）调查其采购部门的事宜。财报电话会议通常让人昏昏欲题，这一次却是一场露梦。一些长期批评3G资本的人现在难掩得意之情。另一些人则担心，3G资本正在玷污像卡夫亨氏通心粉和巴菲特这样的美国瑰宝。之前正是巴非特与3G资本联手促成了亨氏和卡夫的合井，去年他因这笔交易亏损近30亿美元。不过，尽管卡夫亨氏的业绩下滑看起来很惊人，3G资本的影响和食品行业的问题却远不止于此。 3G资本的几位创始人都是巴西人，但收购业务的总部设在曼哈顿。（公司最知名的创始人豪尔赫·保罗·雷曼[Jorge Paulo Lemann]住在瑞士。）与许多大型私募股权公司不同，3G资本的主要投资者不是养老基金，而是家族办公空和个人，包括它的合伙人。它的投资组合并不广泛，只支持两家公司：卡夫亨氏和国际餐饮品牌公司（Restaurant Brands International，RBJ）。私募股权公司需石（Blackstone）的总卸离3G资本只有几个街区，有近2500名员工，而3G资本纽约办事处的员工还不到24人。不过，3G贸本的领导者却震憾了整个消费行业，极少有投资者曾做到这一点。 所有的投资收购公司都渴望达成交易，但3G资本在这方面的热望独一无二。在成立3G资本之前，该公司的创始人掀起了一场啤酒业收购狂湖，在2016年百威英博（Anheuser-Busch InBev）以逾1000亿美元收购SAB米勒（SAB Miller）时达到顶峰。如今，由G资本的合伙人大量持股的百威英博酿造了超过全球四分之一的啤酒。卡夫亨氏的产品包括卡夫奶酪、亨氏番茄、Jell-O果冻、菲力奶油奶酪和Oscar Mayer肉制品。RBI旗下有汉堡王、炸鸡店Popeyes和颇受欢迎的加拿大连锁店Tim Hortons。 3G资本运营所持有公司的方式和收购它们的劲头一样引人注目。它采用一种“零基预算法”的做法，经理们每年都要重新证明他们的支出是合理的。此举是为了持续扩大利润率。而监督这一操作的管理层是因他们的才能和职业道德而不仅仅是经验被选定的。3G资本的合伙人之一丹尼尔·施瓦茨（Daniel Schwartz）出任汉堡王的首席执行官时才32岁。另一位合伙人希斯在一家拉美铁路公司工作了十多年，45岁时成为卡夫亨氏的老板。首席财务官戴维·克诺夫（David Knopf）2017年上任时才29岁。 对于3G资本的抨击者来说，这一切似乎有点疯狂。夸张一点说，该公司的战略就是：收购一家大企业，削减成本，然后再重复。但这么说并不完全公平。RBI在汉堡王的营销上投资，赢得了广告大奖。百威英博正努力提振销售，比如推销价格更高的啤酒，并在公司广阔的版图上应用最佳实践。 但收购大公司和削减成本仍是3G资本的专长。这种策略的风险已经变得很明显。整合Tim Hortons的加盟商让RBI不堪重负。百威英博去年表示将把股息削减一半。 3G资本的这套做法用在卡夫亨氏上时表现得最为混乱。美国的食品产业看起来是个完美的目标，因为该行业里企业臃肿但品牌强大。很少有美国人没喝过速溶饮料Kool-Aid，或是没吃过涂满亨氏番茄酱的Oscar Mayer热狗。3G资本认为这些品牌足够强大，能承受大幅成本削减。事实证明它们并不能。 百威英博的情况就不一样了。尽管在美国的业绩糟糕透顶，但百威英博几乎没有遇到过来自商店自有品牌啤酒的竞争，很少在网上销售，而且海外增长强劲。相比之下，卡夫亨氏的业务集中在美国，而美国的食品行业正在发生翻天覆地的变化。它的各个品牌可能为人熟知，但这并不能让它们大卖。小公司正利用便宜的数字营销和灵活的承包生产商带来的优势，提供给消费者更健康的选择。根据研究公司尼尔森的数据，规模最小的两万家包装食品公司占了整个行业增长的一半左右。 与此同时，电子商务和欧洲折扣杂货商的崛起给食品零售商带来了压力，它们继而又向食品公司施压。以沃尔玛为首的商店正在利用大量数据推出越来越精致且价格低廉的自有品牌商品，并始终在促使食品公司降价。 卡夫亨氏的开局不错。营业利润率从2014年的15%飙升至2017年的24%。2017年，卡夫亨氏遭遇了第一次重大挫折，时任联合利华老板的保罗.波尔曼（Paul Polman）拒绝了该公司1430亿美元的求购。（联合利华明智地将注意力越来越多地放在美容和家用品而非食品上。）巨额收购计划落空，希斯转而专注于提高销售额这项基础工作，将更多资金投在广告、产品创新和卡夫亨氏的销售队伍上，但这侵蚀了利润。 同样惹人注目的是该公司150亿美元的新一轮减记，这等于承认公司各大品牌价值缩水。巴菲特表示他错误地判断了卡夫众多产品的价值。“管理团队设想的是，合并之后他们可以削减品牌维护所必需的开支，更不用说帮助品牌成长了，”瑞信银行的罗伯特·莫斯可（Robert Moskow）说道，“世界在他们那里发生了变化——零售商变了，消费者也变了。” 3G资本的方法似乎存在缺陷，但极少有食品公司能拿出一个成功的替代方案。各大公司尝试通过收购规模较小的公司来自我进化，这些收购交易的价格往往很高，而收效不一。例如，金宝汤（Campbell Soup）于2012年收购了果汁饮料生产商Bolthouse Farms，但现在又想把它卖掉。去年它收购了一家椒盐脆饼和爆米花公司Snyder's-Lance，以扩大零食业务。它的债务水平也相应上升。研究公司盛博称，实际上，金宝汤、康尼格拉（ConAgra）和通用磨坊（General Mills）的疯狂收购使得这些公司的杠杆率比卡夫亨氏还高。 卡夫亨氏现在希望通过收缩规模来实现增长：它计划在未来18个月剥离资产以改善资产负债表，以便能实现其他大规模交易。但美国证交会的传票显示，由于管理层难以达到大胆的目标，一些内部流程可能正在瓦解。大型交易能拯救美国食品公司的想法看起来越来越不可靠了。2014年在亨氏收购卡夫之前，两家公司的总营业利润约为65亿美元。现在，一定程度上由于公司自身无法控制的一些问题，卡夫亨氏预计2019年的利润将与合并前大致相同。

原文出处： The Economist, Business, New York, Apr. 20th 2017. Recreational Vehicles:On the road 房车：在路上 An all-American product finds new takers. 美国产品找到新买家。 Early spring is the main selling season for recreational vehicles (RVs) and the phone on Tom Troiano's desk has been ringing incessantly. The owner of Continental RV, a dealership in Farmingdale, a village on Long Island, Mr Troiano is on track to sell more RVs this year than in any other since the early 2000s. Buoyed by cheap financing, rising wages and inexpensive gas, travellers are once again splurging on big-ticket camper vans. 早春是房车销售的黄金季，Tom Troiano桌上的电话一直响个不停。Tom Troiano是长岛法明代尔村房车经销店大陆房车(Continental RV)的老板，该店销售状况很好，预计今年销售额将达到2000年初以来的最高水平。贷款利率低，工资上涨，油价低廉，驴友们再次疯狂了，不惜撒上大把钞票购买房车。 RVs are a quintessentially American invention: more than two-thirds are made in the United States. Nationally, sales surged to 430,000 units last year, a 40-year high. At the inexpensive end they sell for as little as $5,000 for a caravan; deluxe versions cost up to $1m and are typically equipped with a bedroom, kitchen and bathroom that are bigger than in many European flats. The share prices of Thor Industries, the biggest RV-manufacturer in America, and Winnebago, the third-largest, have risen by 43% and 17%, respectively, in the past year. 房车是典型的美国发明：世界上三分之二以上的房车都产在美国。去年全美销量飙升至43万辆，达到40年来最高水平。低端产品如旅行拖车，售价只在5000美元；豪华车型价格高达100万，一般有一个卧室、一个厨房、一个卫生间，比欧洲许多公寓房还大。去年，美国最大房车生产商霍尔工业和第三大生产商温内巴戈股价分别上涨43%和17%。 That is a big  the 2008-09 recession, notes Mr Troiano, RV dealerships everywhere closed down, leaving his shop among the very few left serving the New York metropolitan area. The current rebound is mostly owing to the economy's recovery, but it also springs from the fact that new types of customer are embracing the lifestyle. 真是形势剧变。Troiano指出，08-09年经济衰退，各处房车经销商纷纷倒闭，像他这样仍坚持在纽约大都市区经营的经销商没有几家。眼下销售回暖主要是经济复苏的结果，同时，有新的客户群开始崇尚这种生活方式，也是销售反弹的一个原因。 A decade ago the average age of an RV-owner was 49, and over 90% were white, says Kevin Broom of the Recreational Vehicle Industry Association (RVIA), an industry body. That didn't bode well for the future. But stereotypes are being dented. Anecdotal reports suggest that ethnic minorities now make up around asixth of all new customers, says Mr Broom. The fastest-growing customer demographic is 35- to 44-year-olds. Another boost comes from affluent immigrants, who are keen to experience long, self-planned road trips in America. Mr Troiano's most recent big sale was to a rich Asian family. 房车行业协会（RVIA）的Kevin Broom表示：十年前，房车车主平均年龄在49岁，白人占90%以上。这样的结构对于未来而言不是好事，不过人们眼中过去的情况正在逐渐发生改观。Broom先生说，一些非正式报告显示：少数族裔已经占到新客户总数的六分之一左右。增长最快的客户群体是35-44岁之间的人士。另一个迅速增长的群体是经济状况良好的移民，这些人非常渴望亲身体验美国的长途自由行。Troiano先生最近的一大单就来自于一个富裕的亚裔家庭。 The industry hopes that its poor record with foreign sales—last year less than 1% of RVs produced domestically were shipped to foreign markets (excluding Canada)—may improve, 's government, for example, has pledged to build 2,000 campgrounds by 2020, up from an estimated 300 today, in a bid to promote domestic tourism, particularly to remote rural regions. Chinese firms such as Yutong Bus make RVs, but not of the quality that many Chinese want. The country imported 1,000 vehicles last year, over half of them American. 去年，国产房车出口海外市场（不包括加拿大）的比例还不到1%，面对海外销售的惨淡经营，业内希望今年出口销量也能有所增加。例如，中国政府承诺到2020年将建成2000个露营地，而目前这一数字估计只有300左右。此举旨在促进国内旅游业的发展，尤其是偏远农村地区的发展。宇通客车等中国企业也生产房车，但质量达不到许多中国人的要求。去年中国进口房车1000辆，一半以上为美国制造。 RV manufacturers are also marketing the notion that their motor homes can be commercial as well as leisure can allow travelling salesmen, businessmen and university-admissions officers to save onfood and hotel costs, for example, when they hit the road trying to recruit prospective new clients and students. The office, as well as home, can be wherever you park it. 房车制造商同时也在推销一种理念，即房车既可用于商业用途，也可用作休闲车辆。比如说，销售人员和商务人士出差寻找潜在客户，大学招生负责人外出招生，这时使用房车就能省下食宿费用。只消停下车来，处处办公处处家。

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经济学人文章翻译

这篇文章有几个非常有意思的句子和表达，我贴出来，大家一起赏析一下： 佳句篇：   Sentence 1. He helped popularise the idea that some diseases not previously thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which ruffled many scientific feathers when it was first suggested. 解析： Ruffle弄皱的意思 Ruffle one’s feathers惹怒（想想逆毛流撸猫） The idea that ...用的是同位语从句，不太多，常用搭配是the evidence that，the concept that 等。That后从句解释idea, concept或evidence等。 Which的指代问题。Which指代的不是上文任何一个出现的单词或词组，而是Dr. Cochran的这波操作。Sentence 2. Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. disproportionately不成比例地 主干and复合句+非谓语动词scoring+as引导的从句（插入后置定语） 每个部分都不难，集合到一起就对理解产生障碍了。Sentence 3. But in the Middle Ages, success in Christian society tended to be violently aristocratic (warfare and land), rather than peacefully meritocratic (banking and trade). 这个句子不难，为什么拿出来是因为这个violently的用法。简单来讲，这一个单词乍一看是作aristocratic的副词，实则在翻译（以及理解）当中，我们必须单独翻译成一个实意的成分，而且作副词处理。 Aristocratic贵族统治 Meritocratic德治Sentence 4. That small, reproductively isolated groups of people are susceptible to genetic disease is well known. 主语从句，注意 5. Most of the dozen or so disease genes that are common in them belong to one of two types: they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair. 典型长句，如何解析？ Most of the dozen or so  disease genes that are common in them  belong to one of two types: Or so大约 斜体作的是disease genes they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair. either or后面是两个in... 第一个in后面的which form part of the insulating outer sheaths解释的是Sphingolipids that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals解释的是sheaths。 也就是说，（非限制性）定语从句后面紧接另一个定语从句。 第二个in后面很简单，但！！！文章最后一段有解释，对于 文章结构 至关重要。Sentence 6&7. Thus, the theory goes, the pressure  to keep the sickle-cell gene in the population because of its malaria-protective effects balances the pressure  to drive it out because of its anaemia-causing effects. It therefore persists without becoming ubiquitous. 两句话放一起。 主干已加黑。很有意思的句子，工整、对仗，而又解释非常清楚。 下一句，persist和ubiquitous用词极其精准，整句话像外科手术般，精准简练。作者还是怕读者一下子没读懂，用简单而又高效的句子总结下。写作手法很老练高超，字字玑珠，像极了宝马M3。Sentence 8. Genes that promote intelligence in an individual when present as a single copy create disease when present as a double copy. 乍一看没什么稀奇，再一看，把一个comparison分别放在了主语和谓语的修饰成分中，可谓老辣。 作何解？ That promote intelligence对genes做了一个限定，指的是genes的其中一种特征，然后用when说明了适用情况。 Create谓语的主语也是genes，但这时候是没有限定的genes。Create disease做的是限定，其实对应的是promote intelligence。后面同样用一个when来说明范围。 简单来讲，genes的含义做了一个缩小和限定，又在create的时候恢复了genes的双重功能含义。 Promote intelligence和create diseases一个对应，尽管成分差别很大。 两个when的对比。 可谓神句。Sentence 9. An Israeli clinic devoted to treating people with Gaucher's has vastly more engineers, scientists, accountants and lawyers on its books than would be expected by chance. Than (what) would be expected by chance. 省略了what。。。你能理解吗？ 还有这个books，这个同语境关联强烈。好的表达： 1. ruffle one’s feather 2. Tremble at the thought 3. Affirm作不及物动词（Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. ） 4. aristocratic . meritocratic 5. Exact a price类似用法 exert influence附原文及翻译： Natural genius? 天生我才？ The high intelligence of Ashkenazi Jews may be a result of their persecuted past 德系犹太人的高智商或许是因为曾经遭受迫害的后果 THE idea that some ethnic groups may, on average, be more intelligent than others is one of those hypotheses that dare not speak its name. But Gregory Cochran, a noted scientific iconoclast, is prepared to say it anyway. He is that rare bird, a scientist who works independently of any institution. He helped popularise the idea that some diseases not previously thought to have a bacterial cause were actually infections, which ruffled many scientific feathers when it was first suggested. And more controversially still, he has suggested that homosexuality is caused by an infection. 某些少数民族的平均智商高于其他民族这一说法，是很多不敢公开的假设之一。不过著名的科学狂人Gregory Cochran 决意要做第一个吃螃蟹的人。他很特别，总是独立工作而不属于任何机构。某些曾被诊断并非病菌引起的疾病，其实病源来自传染病。这一观点因他的推动受到了关注。此观点一经提出，就受到了许多科学家的反对。这还不算，更具争议的是，他认为同性恋也是由传染病引起的。 Even he, however, might tremble at the thought of what he is about to do. Together with Jason Hardy and Henry Harpending, of the University of Utah, he is publishing, in a forthcoming edition of the Journal of Biosocial Science, a paper which not only suggests that one group of humanity is more intelligent than the others, but explains the process that has brought this about. The group in question are Ashkenazi Jews. The process is natural selection. 然而就算是Cochran，也为自己接下来要做的事捏了一把汗。他准备同Utah大学的Jason Hardy与Henry Harpending一同，在最新一期的《生物社会科学杂志》发表一篇论文，文中不仅提出了某一少数民族比其他民族更聪明这一观点，还解释了这一结果产生的过程。文中两大主角就是德系犹太人和自然选择。 History before science 不管是否科学，先来看看历史 Ashkenazim generally do well in IQ tests, scoring 12-15 points above the mean value of 100, and have contributed disproportionately to the intellectual and cultural life of the West, as the careers of Freud, Einstein and Mahler, pictured above, affirm. They also suffer more often than most people from a number of nasty genetic diseases, such as Tay-Sachs and breast cancer. These facts, however, have previously been thought unrelated. The former has been put down to social effects, such as a strong tradition of valuing education. The latter was seen as a consequence of genetic isolation. Even now, Ashkenazim tend to marry among themselves. In the past they did so almost exclusively. 德系犹太人不仅在IQ测试上表现不俗，正常人一般在100分左右，而他们大多都能得个112-115分，而且虽然人数不多，但他们在欧洲知识、文化生活中的地位却举足轻重。想想弗洛伊德、爱因斯坦、马勒，我们就会点头称是了。但同时，他们中患有如泰-萨克斯病、乳腺癌这类严重的遗传疾病的比率明显高于其他种族。这些事实，最初被人们认为是毫无联系的。前者被说成是社会原因引起的，如浓烈的价值观教育的传统；后者则被说成是基因隔离的结果，不过即使是现在，德系犹太人还是愿意同本族人结婚，在过去，就更是如此了。 Dr Cochran, however, suspects that the intelligence and the diseases are intimately linked. His argument is that the unusual history of the Ashkenazim has subjected them to unique evolutionary pressures that have resulted in this paradoxical state of affairs. 但Cochran博士对以上两点表示质疑，并认为德系犹太人的天赋异禀与痛病缠身联系密切。他认为正是异常的历史环境强加给了德系犹太人独有的进化压力，才导致了这些看似奇怪的现象。 Ashkenazi history begins with the Jewish rebellion against Roman rule in the first century AD. When this was crushed, Jewish refugees fled in all directions. The descendants of those who fled to Europe became known as Ashkenazim. 德系犹太人的历史源于公元1世纪。犹太人在反对罗马人的统治失败后，犹太难民四散而逃，逃亡欧洲的犹太后裔就是如今的德系犹太人。 In the Middle Ages, European Jews were subjected to legal discrimination, one effect of which was to drive them into money-related professions such as banking and tax farming which were often disdained by, or forbidden to, Christians. This, along with the low level of intermarriage with their gentile neighbours (which modern genetic analysis confirms was the case), is Dr Cochran's starting point. 在中世纪，欧洲的犹太人在法律上地位很不平等，结果之一就是他们不得不从事与金钱相关的职业，如被人看不起或不准基督徒涉足的银行或征税工作，此外，他们只能与邻居中社会地位较低的非犹太人通婚（这种状况通过现代基因学分析得到了证实）。上述就是Cochran 博士论文的起点。 He argues that the professions occupied by European Jews were all ones that put a premium on intelligence. Of course, it is hard to prove that this intelligence premium existed in the Middle Ages, but it is certainly true that it exists in the modern versions of those occupations. Several studies have shown that intelligence, as measured by IQ tests, is highly correlated with income in jobs such as banking. 他认为欧洲犹太人从事的职业都是些需要一定智商的职业，虽不能证明这些职业在中世纪时就是这样了，但在当代它们确实如此。一些研究表明，智力水平（按智力测试的标准来算）与工资水平（如那些从事银行工作的人）联系密切。 What can, however, be shown from the historical records is that European Jews at the top of their professions in the Middle Ages raised more children to adulthood than those at the bottom. Of course, that was true of successful gentiles as well. But in the Middle Ages, success in Christian society tended to be violently aristocratic (warfare and land), rather than peacefully meritocratic (banking and trade). 这些历史记录证明了，那些在欧洲工作地位较高的犹太家庭子女存活率要高于那些地位较低的犹太家庭。情况对于那些其他种族的也是一样的。但在中世纪，基督教社会中所谓的成功多是贵族通过战争与土地强争豪取，而非通过量才而用（如从事银行或贸易工作）和平地获得。 Put these two things together—a correlation of intelligence and success, and a correlation of success and fecundity—and you have circumstances that favour the spread of genes that enhance intelligence. The questions are, do such genes exist, and what are they if they do? Dr Cochran thinks they do exist, and that they are exactly the genes that cause the inherited diseases which afflict Ashkenazi society. 把智力与成功的关联以及成功与生殖力的关系合二为一，你就具备了有利于智商提高的基因传播的条件。问题是这种智商基因确实存在吗？假如它果真存在的话，那究竟是什么呢？科克伦博士认为它们的确存在，而且正是那种引起折磨德系犹太人遗传疾病的基因。 That small, reproductively isolated groups of people are susceptible to genetic disease is well known. Constant mating with even distant relatives reduces genetic diversity, and some disease genes will thus, randomly, become more common. But the very randomness of this process means there should be no discernible pattern about which disease genes increase in frequency. In the case of Ashkenazim, Dr Cochran argues, this is not the case. Most of the dozen or so disease genes that are common in them belong to one of two types: they are involved either in the storage in nerve cells of special fats called sphingolipids, which form part of the insulating outer sheaths that allow nerve cells to transmit electrical signals, or in DNA repair. The former genes cause neurological diseases, such as Tay- Sachs, Gaucher's and Niemann-Pick. The latter cause cancer. 众所周知，越是人口稀少并且生育范围狭小的种族就越易患遗传疾病。总是于同族人通婚，就算不是近亲，也会较少遗传的多样性，同时也会使某些致病基因没有规律地在该种族内部泛滥起来。而这种无规律性意味着人们不知道何类致病基因会被大量传播。但对德系犹太人来说，Cochran 医生指出，情况却并非如此。他们当中最常见的十几种疾病基因基本上可以归结于两类：一类参与神经细胞中鞘脂类特殊脂肪）的储存。鞘脂组成一部分绝缘外层鞘，允许神经细胞发射电子信号。另一类参与DNA 的修复。前者基因会引发神经性疾病，如泰萨二氏病、脑苷脂沉积病和神经鞘磷脂沉积病；而后者会导致癌症。 That does not look random. And what is even less random is that in several cases the genes for particular diseases come in different varieties, each the result of an independent original mutation. This really does suggest the mutated genes are being preserved by natural selection. But it does not answer the question of how evolution can favour genetic diseases. However, in certain circumstances, evolution can. 上述看起来并非毫无规律。而且更趋于规律的表现就是，在一些病例中，特殊疾病的致病基因来自于不同的变体，而每个变体都是独立的原基因变异的结果。这就印证了变异基因是自然选择保留下来的结果，可它却不能回答自然选择为什么会成了遗传疾病的帮凶，但在一些特殊的条件下，进化能够产生这样的结果。 West Africans, and people of West African descent, are susceptible to a disease called sickle-cell anaemia that is virtually unknown elsewhere. The anaemia develops in those whose red blood cells contain a particular type of haemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen. But the disease occurs only in those who have two copies of the gene for the disease-causing haemoglobin (one copy from each parent). Those who have only one copy have no symptoms. They are, however, protected against malaria, one of the biggest killers in that part of the world. Thus, the theory goes, the pressure to keep the sickle-cell gene in the population because of its malaria-protective effects balances the pressure to drive it out because of its anaemia-causing effects. It therefore persists without becoming ubiquitous. 如西非人以及他们的后代易患一种叫做镰状细胞性贫血的疾病，这种病在西非之外几乎都没人听说过。贫血症发于那些红血球中含有一种特殊的血红蛋白，其蛋白质中含有氧气的人。但这种镰状细胞性贫血症只会发生在同时有两组这种致病的血红蛋白（父母都有这种血红蛋白）的人身上。而那些只有一组的人不但不会患这种贫血症，也不会患疟疾，该病被称为非洲的头号杀手。因此，我们可以这样说，抵御疟疾的特性使得镰状细胞在得以人体中存活下来，同时这种细胞导致贫血症的特性也会被人体排斥，只有在为保持这两种状态而产生的压力达到平衡时，才不会有任何一个特性占据上风。 Dr Cochran argues that something similar happened to the Ashkenazim. Genes that promote intelligence in an individual when present as a single copy create disease when present as a double copy. His thesis is not as strong as the sickle-cell/malaria theory, because he has not proved that any of his disease genes do actually affect intelligence. But the area of operation of some of them suggests that they might. Cochran博士认为，德系犹太人也面临着同样的情况，他们的某些基因如果以单组出现就可以提高智力，一旦以双组出现就会引起疾病。显然，该理论并不如他的镰状细胞/疟疾理论那样具有说服力，因为他尚未证明任何一种致病基因确实能够影响智力，但是某些基因的活动区域显示它们或许真能影响智力。 The sphingolipid-storage diseases, Tay-Sachs, Gaucher's and Niemann-Pick, all involve extra growth and branching of the protuberances that connect nerve cells together. Too much of this (as caused in those with double copies) is clearly pathological. But it may be that those with single copies experience a more limited, but still enhanced, protuberance growth. That would yield better linkage between brain cells, and might thus lead to increased intelligence. Indeed, in the case of Gaucher's disease, the only one of the three in which people routinely live to adulthood, there is evidence that those with full symptoms are more intelligent than the average. An Israeli clinic devoted to treating people with Gaucher's has vastly more engineers, scientists, accountants and lawyers on its books than would be expected by chance. 鞘脂储存类疾病，如泰萨二氏病、脑苷脂沉积病和神经鞘磷脂沉积病，都涉及到连接神经细胞的凸起的多余生长和分叉。显然，这种生长和分叉太多的话就会引起疾病。但是，也有可能，仅有单份致病基因的人会出现比较有限的、但仍然加强了的凸起生长。这将有助于加强脑细胞之间的连接，或许因此导致智力提高。实际上，在脑苷脂沉积病的例子中，在三分之一能够活到成年的患者中，确实有证据表明完全发病的人拥有高于平均值的智商。根据一家专门治疗脑苷脂沉积病的以色列诊所的医疗记录，患者中的工程师、科学家、会计和律师的比例多于常人。 Why a failure of the DNA-repair system should boost intelligence is unclear—and is, perhaps, the weakest part of the thesis, although evidence is emerging that one of the genes in question is involved in regulating the early growth of the brain. But the thesis also has a strong point: it makes a clear and testable prediction. This is that people with a single copy of the gene for Tay-Sachs, or that for Gaucher's, or that for Niemann-Pick should be more intelligent than average. Dr Cochran and his colleagues predict they will be so by about five IQ points. If that turns out to be the case, it will strengthen the idea that, albeit unwillingly, Ashkenazi Jews have been part of an accidental experiment in eugenics. It has brought them some advantages. But, like the deliberate eugenics experiments of the 20th century, it has also exacted a terrible price. 为什么基因修复系统失灵会提高智力，现在还不清楚原因何在。虽然，陆续有证据表明产生问题的基因之一参与了调节大脑的早期发育，但是这仍是该论题最薄弱的环节。不过，该理论也有令人信服的地方：它对于拥有单份泰萨二氏病或脑苷脂沉积病或神经鞘磷脂沉积病基因的人会比普通人更聪明做出了明确而可检验的预测。Cochran 博士和他的同事认为，这些人的智商因此会比平均水平高出5 个点。尽管有人不愿接受，假如确实如此的话，它将有力地证明，德系犹太人在不经意间经历了优生实验，而这为他们带来了智商上的优势。但是，如同发生在20 世纪的人为的优生实验一样，它同样让他们付出了可怕的代价。

翻译之路道阻且长，必经百般磨砺。每周精修一篇《经济学人》中译文，主要目的是琢磨语言，一方面学习英文表达，另一方面深入思考中文表达。尽量避免“翻译腔”，就算是没有白费功夫了。【这里是我的精修】Low-Earth-orbit satellites Round and round they go The launch of thousands of new satellites will boost the space economy 近地轨道卫星 转圈圈 【转呀转呀转呀转】 将有数千颗新卫星升空，推动太空经济发展 【数千颗新卫星即将升空，太空经济将迅猛发展】Space is becoming more crowded. On December 3rda Falcon 9 rocket made by SpaceX thundered into the sky. On board were 64 small satellites, more than any American company had launched before in one go. They have an array of uses, from space-based radar to the monitoring of radio-frequency emissions. One, designed by Trevor Paglen, an artist, will soon unfurl a 30-metre reflective structure that will shine down on Earth like an artificial star, visible to the naked eye. 太空正变得越来越拥挤。12月3日，SpaceX制造的一枚猎鹰九号火箭轰隆升空。它上面装载了64颗小型卫星，超过之前任何一家美国公司单次发射卫星的数量。从天基雷达到无线电发射监测，这些卫星的用途多种多样。其中一颗由艺术家Trevor Paglen设计，内嵌的30米场反射器不久将会打开，变成一颗肉眼可见的人造星星，在地球的上空闪光。 【太空越来越拥挤了。12月3日，SpaceX发射了一枚猎鹰9号火箭，这一次共有64颗小型卫星随之升空，创下了美国公司单次发射卫星数量的新纪录。这些卫星用途多样，从天基雷达到无线电监测等十分广泛。其中还包括一颗由艺术家特雷弗·裴格伦（Trevor Paglen）设计的艺术卫星，它将在太空中释放约30米长的反射器，变身为肉眼即可观赏到的人造卫星。】These objects are part of the latest breed of low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites, which are designed to whizz around the planet only a few hundred kilometers above its surface. This month’s launch is just a taste of what is planned. SpaceX and OneWeb, a communications firm, plan to launch satellites in their thousands, not hundreds (see briefing). The pair are set to double the total number of satellites in orbit by 2027. 这些都属于最新型的近地轨道卫星，在距地表仅几百公里的轨道上绕行。本月发射的只是计划中的以下部分。SpaceX和卫星通信公司OneWeb计划发射几千而不是几百颗卫星。两家公司的目标是让轨道卫星的综述到2027年增加一倍。 【此次发射的卫星都属于最新型近地轨道卫星（LEO），运行轨道距离地面不过几百公里。此次发射活动也只是更宏大计划的牛刀小试。SpaceX和通信公司OneWeb打算发射数以千计的卫星，几百个尚不足为道，到2027年，它们要把在轨卫星的数量增加一倍。】That promises to change things dramatically on Earth. LEO satellites can bring internet connectivity to places where it is still unavailable or unaffordable. This will also be an enduring source of new demand for the space economy. Morgan Stanley, a bank, projects that the space industry will grow from $350bn in 2016 to more than $ by 2040. New internet satellites will account for a half this increase. 这会给地球带来巨大改变。近地轨道卫星可以为目前还未接入互联网或者联网成本过高的地区提供网络连接。而这也将是太空经济新需求的持久源泉。摩根士丹利预测，航天业的规模将从2016年的3500亿美元增长至2040年的超过万亿美元。其中一半的增长将源自新兴互联网卫星。 【这将给人类社会带来巨大改变。有了近地轨道卫星，目前没有网络或者网络太贵的地区就能联网了。太空经济也将因此获得源源不断的新需求。摩根士丹利预测，到2040年，太空行业规模将从2016年的3,500亿美元增长到超过万亿美元，其中一半将来自互联网卫星。】For that to happen, however, three worries must be overcome. Debris is the most familiar concern. As long ago as 1978, Donald Kessler, a scientist at NASA, proposed a scenario in which, when enough satellites were packed into low-Earth orbits, any collision could cause a chain reaction which would eventually destroy all space craft in its orbital plane. The syndrome which bears Mr. Kessler’s name weighs heavily on the minds of executives at the new satellite firms. Debris could conceivably render entire tracts of space unusable for decades. (Collisions have already happened. In 2009 an American satellite and a Russian one crashed into each other above Siberia, sending over a tonne of metal fragments swirling around the planet at thousands of kilometers per hour.) 然而，要实现这一点必须解决三大忧患。其中最为人熟知的一个是空间碎片。早在1978年，美国国家航空航天局的科学家DO哪来的Kessler就提出，当足够多的卫星进入近地轨道时，任何碰撞都可能引起连锁反应，最终破坏所在轨道平面内的所有航天器。这一被命名为“凯斯勒综合症”的理论是压在新型卫星公司高管心头的一块大石。碎片可能导致整个太空轨道在几十年内都无法使用。（碰撞事件已有发生。2009年一颗美国卫星和一颗俄罗斯卫星在西伯利亚上空相撞，产生的一吨多金属碎片以每小时数千公里的速度在地球上空旋转。） 【然而，要实现这一愿景，尚需解决三大问题。太空垃圾首当其冲。1978年，美国国家航空航天局的科学家唐纳德·凯斯勒（Donald Kessler）就曾提出，当近地轨道卫星达到一定的密集程度，一旦发生碰撞，连锁反应将摧毁该轨道平面上的所有航天器。这种情景被命名为“凯斯勒综合症”，给新兴卫星公司高管的心头投下了一片阴影。一旦太空轨道上挤满了碎片，或许数十年都不能再发射航天器了。（太空碰撞已经不再是设想。2009年，一颗美国卫星和一颗俄罗斯卫星在西伯利亚上空相撞，留下了一吨多金属碎片以每小时数千公里的速度在地球上空飞速旋转。）】Solutions exist. One is to grab malfunctioning satellites and pull them down into Earth’s atmosphere. Another is to monitor space more intensively for debris; a US Air Force programme called Space Fence is due to start in 2019. But technology is only part of the answer. Rules are needed to govern the safe disposal of old satellites from low-Earth orbit. The United States’ Federal Communications Commission is revising its regulations with this in mind. Other countries should follow suit. 解决办法是有的。一个方案是“捉住”故障卫星，将其下拉至地球大气层中。另一个方案是更严密地检测太空中的碎片，美国空军一项名为“太空篱笆”（Space Fence）的相关计划将于2019年启动。但技术只是解决方案的一部分，还需要制定规则来管理近地轨道就卫星的安全处置问题。为此美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）正在修订相关规定。其他国家也应效仿。 【解决办法还是有的。首先，可以将发生故障的卫星抓住并拖入地球大气层中。其次，更严密地监控太空碎片；美国空军就将在2019年启动Space Fence（太空篱笆）计划。但是科技只是一个方面。要安全清除近地轨道上的旧卫星，还需要相关政策加持。美国联邦通信委员会（FCC）正在沿着这个思路修订相关规定。其他国家也应如此。】Cyber-security is a second, long-standing worry. Hackers could take control of a satellite and seal intellectual property, redirect data flows or cause a collision. The satellite industry has been slow to respond to such concerns. But as more of the world’s population comes to rely on the infrastructure of space for access to the internet, the need for action intensifies. 第二个担忧存在已久——网络安全。黑客可能劫持卫星，窃取知识产权，重新定向数据流，或者让卫星相撞。卫星行业对这类问题反应迟缓。但随着世界上越来越多人口依赖太空基础设施接入互联网，就此类风险采取行动变得愈加迫切。 【其次，网络安全隐患存在已久。黑客可能劫持卫星，窃取知识产权，重新定向数据流，甚至让卫星相撞。对于这些问题，卫星行业的反应一直很缓慢。但是，越来越多的人口需要依赖太空基础设施才能连接互联网，因此，采取行动已变得十分紧迫。】The third issue follows from the first two. If a simple mistake or a cyber-attack can cause a chain reaction which wipes out hundreds of billions of dollars of investment, who is liable? Underwriters are studying the plans of firms that wish to operate large numbers of satellites. But there is a long way to go before the risks are well understood, let alone priced. 第三个问题因前两者而生。如果一个简单错误或一次网络攻击就可能导致连锁反应，令数千亿美元的投资化为乌有，那么谁该为此负责？保险公司正在研究那些想要运营大量卫星的企业提出的计划。但要充分了解其中的风险尚需时日，更别说要为这些风险定价了。 【问题之三与前两者联系密切。如果一个小小的错误或者一次网络攻击就能引发连锁反应，足以让数百亿美元投资化为乌有，那么这笔账该找谁来算呢？保险公司正在帮助有意运营大量卫星的公司研究保险计划，但是充分了解其中风险尚需时日，要给风险定价岂不是难上加难。】As space becomes more commercialized, mind-bending prospects open up: packages shuttled across the planet in minutes by rocket rather than by plane, mining equipment sent to asteroids, a stream of paying passengers launched to orbit and beyond. All that and more may come, one day. But such activities would raise the same questions as LEO satellites do. They must be answered before the space economy can truly blossom. 随着太空空间变得更商业化，让人脑洞大开的前景渐现：通过火箭而不是飞机在几分钟之内横跨地球递送包裹；把采矿设备发射到小行星上；把付费乘客“发射”到地球轨道或更远的地方。某一天，这些乃至更多的想法也许都会一一实现。但这些活动会和近地轨道卫星引发同样的问题。必须首先回答这些问题，太空经济才能真正开花结果。 【太空的商业化程度越来越高，千奇百怪的想法也纷纷涌现：用火箭代替飞机送快递，几分钟就能穿越地球；把采矿设备发送到小行星上去；花钱买票就能去地球轨道甚至更远的地方。未来某天，或许再光怪陆离的想法也能成真。但是那时，人们还是要面对近地轨道卫星今天面对的问题。只有尽快找到解决办法，太空经济才能真正百花齐放。】