Notes for Amazon’s Empire
Day1 ：
单词作业
Vocabulary and Phrases
商业经贸方面及固有名词术语汇总：
Retailers 零售商
Manufacturers 制造商；生产商
Shareholders 股东 [syn] stockholder
Investors 投资者
Share price 股价
physical products 实体产品
logistics firms 物流企业
search engines 搜索引擎
social networks 社交网络
virtuous circle 良性循环
cash flow 现金流；资金流动
interactive media 交互式媒体
cash register 收银机；现金出纳机[syn] tillBrE.
antitrust action 反垄断行为
antitrust enforcers 反垄断执法机构
the Harris poll (美国)哈里斯民意测验调查所a ~一项哈里斯调查
business model 商业模式；经营模式
predatory pricing（为击垮对手的）掠夺性定价
market capitalization 市场资本化；市值
S&P (Standard & Poor's) 标准普尔，是世界权威金融分析机构
a utility for commerce 商务公用事业
1. account for
※本文中为①（比例）占，可替换为make up
①If a particular thing accounts for a part or proportion of something, that part or
proportion consists of that thing, or is used or produced by it. (数量、比例上)占
·Computers account for 5% of the country's commercial electricity consumption.
电脑占了这个国家商业用电的5%。
②If something accounts for a particular fact or situation, it causes or explains it.导致;解释
·The gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.
他们今天发现的那种基因解释不了所有的那些情况。
③If you can account for something, you can explain it or give the necessary information about it.解释
·How do you account for the company's alarmingly high staff turnover?
你怎么解释这家公司高得惊人的人员流动率？
④Ifsomeone has to account for an action or policy, they are responsible for it, and may be required to explain it to other people or be punished if it fails.对…负责
·The president and the president alone must account for his government'sreforms.
该总统并且只有总统一个人必须对他的这些政府改革负责。
⑤If a sum of money is accounted for in a budget, it has been included in that budget for a particular purpose.列入预算
·The really heavy costs have been accounted for.
这些确实巨大的花费已被列入预算。
2. almond
※本文中为①
①Almonds are pale oval nuts. They are often used in cooking.杏仁
②An almond or an almond tree is a tree on which almonds grow.杏树
3. speaker
※本文中为⑤，译为音箱
①someone who makes a formal speech to a group of people演讲者，发言者
·keynote speaker (= main or most important speaker )主讲人
·after-dinner speaker (=someone who makes a speech after a formal meal)〔宴会的〕席后演讲者
②someone who speaks a particular language讲某种语言的人
·French-speaker/Spanish-speaker etc讲法语/西班牙语等的人
③[formal] someone who says something说话者，讲话的人
④The Speaker：an official who controls discussions in a parliament〔议会的〕议长
·the Speaker of the House〔美国众议院的〕议长
⑤the part of a radio, sound system etc where the sound comes out〔收音机、音响系统等的〕扬声器
4.voice-activated
【电子学】声音起动的，声感的；声控的[syn] voice-operated
Activate：tomake an electrical system or chemical process start working
激活，使活动；使活化[opp]deactivate
5. on the premise
在…前提下
①a statement or idea that you accept as true and use as a base for developing other ideas前提
②premises
[plural] the buildings and land that a shop, restaurant, company etcuses
〔商店、餐馆、公司等使用的〕房屋及土地
·business premises企业经营场所
·The wonderful desserts are madeonthe premises.那些美味的甜点是现场制作的。
·The manager escorted himoffthe premises.经理把他送出门外
6. jump
※本文为②，jump by = increase
①to push yourself up into the air, or over or away from something etc, using your legs跳，跃
·jump clear (of sth)跳离(危险)
We managed to jump clear of the car before it hit the wall.在汽车撞上墙之前，我们设法从车里跳了出去。
②to increase or improve suddenly and by a large amount〔数量〕激增，暴涨
Do not say that an amount, level, price etc ‘jumps up’. Say that it jumps.不要说某一数量、水平、程度、价格等jump(s) up，而要说jump(s)。
·jump (from ...) to sth
Norway jumped from ninth to third place.挪威从第九位跃升至第三位
③to make a quick sudden movement because youare surprised or frightene
〔因惊讶或害怕而〕突然一跳
·Don’t shout. I nearly jumped out of my skin(= was
very shocked or frightened )!别叫。我差点吓得跳起来！
7. ground
※本文中为③
①[U]a. the surface of the earth地，地面
[U] b. the soil on and under the surface of the earth土地，土壤
②[U]a. an area of land without buildings, fences, woods etc〔无建筑物、栅栏或树木的〕空地
[C]b. an area of land or sea that is used for a particular purpose〔某种用途的〕场地
[plural]the land or gardenssurrounding a large building〔大型建筑物周围的〕场地，庭园
③agood reason for doing, believing, or saying something 充分的理由，根据
·grounds for (doing) sth作为…的理由
·on moral/legal/medical/environmental etc grounds出于道德/法律/医学/环保的理由
·on (the) grounds of sth/on the grounds that由于…的原因
④[U]a subject or area of knowledge话题；知识领域
·familiar/home ground (=a subject etc that you know something about)熟悉的话题
In his latest book, McManus returns to more familiar ground.麦克马纳斯在他最近的著作中又回到了较熟悉的话题上。
⑤[U]a general opinion or set of attitudes观点，立场
·the middle/centre ground (=opinions that are not extreme that most people would agree with)中间立场
Both parties are battling to occupy the centre ground.两党都在争取占领中间阵地。
8.fertile
①fertile land or soil is able to produce good crops肥沃的，富饶的
·800 acres of fertile cropland 800英亩的肥沃耕地
②able to produce babies, young animals, or new plants可繁殖的，能生育的；能结果的[opp] infertile
·Most men remain fertile into old age.大多数男子直到老年还有生育能力。
③afertile imagination/mind/brain
丰富的想象力/主意多[有创造性]的头脑
④[only before noun] a fertile situation is one in which something can easily develop and succeed有助于…发展的
·the fertile Philadelphia music scene费城这片音乐沃土
9.tick off
※本文中为②，可替换为take和list
①put a check mark on or near or next to在…旁打勾;在…旁作记号
①list or give examples列举
·The new record-holder for the most precise timekeeper could tick off the13.7-billion-year age of the universe to within 4 seconds.
创造新纪录的最精确时钟可以迅速列举出宇宙寿命的137亿年中，发生在4秒钟之内的事情。
②annoy使恼火
·I can't lay blame anywhere and that ticks me off.我不能把责任推卸到任何地方，这令我很恼火。
10. pitfall
①a problem or difficulty that is likely to happen in a particular job,course of action, or activity
〔可能出现的〕问题，困难；隐患；陷阱
·the pitfalls associated with the purchase of a used car购买旧车时可能遇到的圈套
·The pitfalls of working abroad are numerous.在国外工作有很多隐患。
11.nudge
※原文revenues nudging $500bn，则为⑤
①to push someone gently, usually with your elbow, in order to get theirattention
〔通常用肘〕轻推〔以引起某人的注意〕
·Jill nudged him in the ribs.吉尔用胳膊肘轻轻碰了一下他的肋部。
②[+adv./prep.]to move something or someone a short distance by gently pushing轻推移动，推开
·She nudged the glass towards me.她将杯子轻轻推向我
③[always+adv./prep.]to move forwardslowly by pushing gently〔缓慢地〕往前挤
·nudge your way to/through etc (sth)
I started to nudge my way to the front of the crowd.我慢慢地挤到人群前面。
④[always+adv./prep.]to gently persuade or encourage someone to take a particular decision or action劝说；鼓励
·nudge sb into/towards sth
We’re trying to nudge them towards a practical solution.我们正在努力劝说他们找出一种切实可行的解决方法。
④to almost reach a particular level or amount接近，靠近〔某程度或数量〕
·Outside the temperature was nudging 30 degrees Celsius.外面气温已经接近30摄氏度。
12. stand still
If movement or activity comes to or is brought to a standstill, it stops
completely.停止
※原文Rivals will not stand still可译为对手不会坐以待毙。
13. beef up
increase, strengthen, or improve=step up加强，提高
·Both sides are still beefing up their military strength.双方仍在增强各自的军事力量。
14. unprecedented
never having happened before, or never having happened so much空前的，前所未有的
·He took the unprecedented step of stating that the rumours were false.他史无前例地声明那些谣言实属子虚乌有。
15.basket-case
The term originated from WWI, indicating a soldier missing both his armsand legs, who needed to be literally carried around in a litter or"basket." Today it indicates a state of helplessness similar to the metaphoricremoval of the appendages, most frequently in the context of mental health oraptitude.
Basket的意思就是"篮子"。比如说，要是一个人在一次事故中失去了四肢，他就变得毫无能力来料理自己的生活，只能让人家把他放在一只篮子里抬来抬去。这种毫无能力和希望的情景就是basket case的意思。Basket case经常被用来形容那些很穷的国家，它们的人民饥寒交迫，毫无希望。有的时候，basket case也是指那些老是亏钱，即将倒闭的企业。我们来举个例子吧：I'm really worried - our company is losing somuch money these days that if things don't get better in the next two months we'll be a basket case and have to go out of business.这个人说：我真是非常担心，我们公司这些日子亏损了那么多钱，要是在今后两个月里情况没有好转的话，我们就彻底没有希望，只好倒闭了。
在目前的英语口语中，a basket case还可以用来表示“陷于绝境”、“心神错乱”或“无可挽回的事情”。
16. dimension
①a part of a situation or a quality involved in it〔形势或品质的〕方面，部分
[syn]aspect
·You can have a spiritual dimension to your life without being religious.即使你不信宗教，也可以在生命中拥有精神层面的内容。
·add a new/an extra/another etc dimension (to sth)
His coaching has added another dimension to my game.他的指导使我的技巧更进了一层。
②[usually plural]the length, height, width, depth, or diameter of something大小，尺寸
·a rectangle with the dimensions 5cm×2cm长五厘米、宽两厘米的长方形
③a direction in space that is at an angle of 90 degrees to two otherdirections〔空间的〕维度
④dimensions
[plural] how great or serious a problem is〔问题的〕规模；严重程度
·a catastrophe of enormous dimensions巨大的灾难
17. whinge
to keep complaining in an annoying way唠叨；嘀咕
[+ about]
Stop whinging about the situation and accept it.别再嘟嘟囔囔抱怨自己的处境了，接受吧。
[n.]His tale is one long whinge about his own suffering.他的故事是对自己遭遇的长篇诉说。
18. propel
①to move, drive, or push something forward推动；推进；驱动
·propel yourself along/through etc
She used the sticks to propel herself along.她拄着棍子往前走。
②to move someone into a new situation or make them do something 使处于…的境况；驱使，迫使
·propel sb to/into sth
The film propelled her to stardom.那部电影让她成了明星。
Company directors were propelled into action.公司的董事们被迫采取行动。
19.lure
①to persuade someone to do something, especially something wrong or dangerous, by making it seem attractive or exciting引诱；诱惑
·lure sb into (doing) sth
People may be lured into buying tickets by clever advertising.人们可能会受巧妙广告的诱惑去买票。
·lure sb away•
Computer games are luring youngsters away from their lessons.电脑游戏诱惑着青少年，分散了他们的学习注意力。
②to attract customers, workers, money etc from another company or place 吸引〔其他公司或地方的顾客、工人、资金等〕
·lure sb back/away
The bank launched an advertising campaign to lure back its traditional customers.银行展开了一场广告宣传活动，要把传统客户吸引回去。
20. entice（见19）
①to persuade someone to do something or go somewhere, usually by offeringthem something that they want
诱惑；诱使
·entice sb/sth to do sth
Our special offers are intended to entice people to buy.我们的特价优惠是为了吸引人们购买。
21. whirl
①to turn or spin around very quickly, or to make someone or something dothis(使)急转；(使)迅速旋转
[+ about/around/toward etc]
She whirled around and her look shook him.她猛地转身，脸上的表情让他震惊。
②if your head is whirling, or if thoughts are whirling in your head, your mind is full of thoughts and ideas, and you feel very confused or excited〔思绪〕混乱
22.a self-fulfilling prophecy
自我应验预言
A self-fulfilling prophecy is a prediction that directly or indirectlycauses itself to become true, by the very terms of the prophecy itself, due topositive feedback between belief and behavior.
23.debacle
an event or situation that is a complete failure大败，崩溃
·the debacle of the 1994 elections 1994年大选的惨败
24. crank out
produce things quickly, in the same way, and are usually implying that the things are not original or are of poor quality.粗制滥造
25.quadruple
quad（周围有建筑物的）四方院子尤见于学校→a quadruplet四胞胎之一
①[v.]to increase and become four times as big or as high, or to make something increase in this way(使)成四倍，(使)翻两番
·Food prices quadrupled during the war.战争期间食品价格翻了两番。
②[adj.]four times as big or as many四倍的
·The subjects were given quadruple the normal dosage of the drug.让实验对象服用了四倍于正常剂量的药物。
③[adj.]involving four things of the same kind涉及四个的
·a quadruple murder四人遇害的凶杀案
26.time-frames
①时间范围，大体时间
②(尤指与某一计划或行动有关的)一段时间，时期；(特定局面或事件的)期限，时限
27. sheer
①the sheer weight/size etc
used to emphasize that something is very heavy, large etc
〔某物〕之重/之大等〔用于强调〕
·The sheer size of the country makes communications difficult.该国幅员辽阔，造成了通信的困难。
②sheer luck/happiness/stupidity etc
luck, happiness etc with no other feeling or quality mixed with it
纯粹的运气/快乐/愚蠢等
·sheer hypocrisy十足的虚伪
③a sheer drop, cliff, slope etc is very steep and almost vertical〔悬崖、斜坡等〕陡峭的，近乎垂直的
④sheer nylon , silk etc is very thin and fine, so that it is almosttransparent
〔尼龙、丝绸等〕很薄的，几乎透明的
·sheer stockings透明的女式长筒袜
28.breadth
①the distance from one side of something to the other宽度，阔度
[syn]width
·The boat measured 15 feet in length and 4 feet in breadth.这条船长15英尺，宽4英尺。
②[U] the quality of including a lot of different people, things, or ideas广泛性，广度
·We need to provide more breadth in the college curriculum.我们需要扩大学院课程的范围。
29.filing
①[U]the work of arranging documents in the correct files存档，归档
②[plural]small sharp bits that come off when a piece of metal is cut or filed锉屑
·iron filings铁锉屑
③[C]a document,
report etc that is officially recorded存档档案
·a bankruptcy filing破产档案
30. reminiscent
①reminiscent of sth：reminding
you of something使人想起某事物的
·a style strongly reminiscent of Virginia Woolf’s novels一种酷似弗吉尼娅·吴尔夫小说的风格
②[literary]thinking about the past 回忆往事的，怀旧的
`Her face wore a reminiscent smile.她面带微笑，沉浸在往事之中。
31.conglomorate
①a large business organization consisting of several different companies that have joined together大型联合企业，企业集团
·industrial/financial/media etc conglomerate工业/金融/媒体等集团
②[technical]a rock consistingof different sizes of stones held together by clay 砾岩
③[formal]a group of things gathered together聚集物
32. air-freight hub
空运中心
freight：goods that are carried by ship, train, or
aircraft, and the system of moving these goods〔船、火车或飞机运载的〕货物；货运
hub：the central and most important part of an
area, system, activity etc, which all the other parts are connected to〔地域、系统、活动等的〕中心，枢纽
33. drone deliveries
无人机送货
drone:①雄峰②嗡嗡声③（不劳而获的）寄生虫④无人机
34. presumably→（presume）
used to say that you think something is probably true可能，大概，据推测
35.utility
①a service such as gas or electricity provided for people to use 公用事业〔如煤气、电力等〕
·Does your rent include utilities?你的房租包括公用事业费吗？
②a piece of computer software that has a particular use〔计算机〕应用程序，实用程序
③[U]the quality of being useful, or the degree to which something is useful有用，实用性
36.trigger
①to make something happen very quickly, especially a series of events 引发，激发〔尤指一系列事件〕
·trigger a memory (=make you suddenly remember something)触发回忆
②to make something such as a bomb or electrical system start to operate 使爆炸；启动，引发
[syn] set off
·The burglars fled after triggering the alarm .入室窃贼触动警报器后就逃跑了。
37.pristine
①extremely fresh or clean极其新鲜的；洁净的
·a pristine white shirt非常干净的白衬衫
②something that is pristine is in the same condition as when it was firstmade 崭新的，簇新的
③not spoiled or damaged in any way未受损害的；处于原始状态的
·pristine African rainforest非洲原始雨林
38. well-regarded
considered to be good morally, professionally, etc; esteemed受好评的;受尊敬的；信誉良好的
·a well-regarded local MP
39.boon
①something that is very useful and makes your life a lot easier or better 裨益；为生活带来方便的东西；有用之物
·It is for this reason that television proves such a boon to so manypeople.
正是这个原因电视机成为这么多人的一大福音。
40. pose
①to exist in a way that may cause a problem, danger, difficulty etc
造成，引起，产生〔问题、危险、困难等〕
pose a threat/danger/risk
·Officials claim the chemical poses no real threat.官员们称这种化学物质不会构成实际的威胁。
pose sth to/for sb/sth
·The events pose a challenge to the church’s leadership.这些事件对教会的领导地位构成了威胁。
②pose a question：to ask a question, especially one that needs to be carefully thought about提出问题〔尤指需要仔细考虑的问题〕
·In her book she poses the question‘How much do we need to be happy?’她在书里提出了这样一个问题﹕“我们要拥有多少才能快乐？”
③pose as sb：topretend to be someone else, in order to deceive people 冒充某人
·Bryce was caught posing as a lawyer. 布赖斯冒充律师被人识破。
41.the equivalent of
①[adj.]having the same value, purpose, job etc as a person or thing of a different kind等同的；等值的；相当的
·a qualification which is equivalent to a degree相当于学位的资历
②[n.]something that has the same value, purpose, job etc as something else等同物；等价物；对应物
[+ of]
·He had drunk the equivalent of 15 whiskies.他相当于喝了15杯威士忌酒。
42.standsaccused of
被控告
43.clout
①[informal]power or the authority to influence other people’s decisions
〔影响他人决定的〕力量；权势
·political/economic etc clout
people with financial clout有经济实力的人
·the clout to do sth
Few companies have the clout to handle such large deals.没有几家公司有实力做这么大的买卖。
②[informal] a hard blow given with the hand（可作V.）〔用手的〕猛击
·He gave him a clout round the ear.他打了他一记大耳光。
44.adjacent
①a room, building, piece of land etc that is adjacent to something isnext to it 邻近的，毗连的
[+ to]
·the building adjacent to the library紧挨着图书馆的建筑
45. immunity
①the state or right of being protected from particular laws or from unpleasant things免除；豁免
[+ from]
·They were granted immunity from prosecution.他们获准免受起诉。
②the state of being immune to a disease免疫力
[+ to]
·immunity to infection对传染病的免疫力
[+ from]
·immunity from smallpox对天花的免疫力
46. legal liability
法律责任
liability:
①[U]
legal responsibility for something, especially for paying money that is owed, or for damage or injury〔尤指法律上对还款、赔偿等的〕责任，义务
[+ for]
·Tenants have legal liability for any damage they cause.承租人造成任何损坏都要负法律责任。
[+ to]
·your liability to capital gains tax缴付资本利得税的义务
·liability to do sth
The court ruled there was no liability to pay any refund.法院判定无需退款。
②liabilities：[plural] technical the amount of debt that
must be paid负债，债务
[opp] assets
47.inflammatory
①an inflammatory speech, piece of writing etc is likely to make peoplefeel angry
〔讲话、文章等〕使人激愤的，煽动性的
·inflammatory remarks煽动性言论
②[medical] an inflammatory disease or medical condition causesinflammation
引发炎症的
·inflammatory bowel disease炎症性肠病
48. vetting
①investigation审查
·The government is to make major changes to the procedure for carryingout security vetting.该政府将对执行安全审查的程序作出重大调整。
49. chip away
①to gradually make something weaker, smaller, or less effective.削弱
·The company’s dominance of the market is gradually being chipped away.
②to remove small pieces from something hard by hitting it with a tool.凿开
·Use a hammer to chip away the edge.
50. tempting
①something that is tempting seems very good and you would like to have itor do it 诱人的，吸引人的
be tempting to do sth
·It’s tempting to believe her story.真想相信她的故事。
Sentence structure
1. But the striking thing about the company is how much of a chance of achieving such precendented goals.
a chance of doing sth.做某事的机会 how much of 修饰chance有多少。
2. If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.
close to fulfilling them 是 anywhere 的定语，译文：一旦真的接近这些目标，它就会招来监管部门的注意。
3.If Amazon does become a utility for commerce, the calls will grow for it to be regulated as
one.
one表示前面的“a utility for commerce”，译文：如果亚马逊真的成为一个商务公用事业，将其作为这样一种事物来进行监管的呼声就会加强。
Day2：
思维导图+神句练习
神句练习
Topic 1Amazon’s Empire
1.The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
在美国，在线消费每增加一美元，一半多都给了亚马逊这家曾经的图书销售公司。
美国新增线上交易中,书商起家的亚马逊占到一半以上份额。
2.Sincethe beginning of 2015, its share price has jumped by 173%,seven times quicker than in the two previous years.(and 12 times faster than the S&P 500 Index)
自2015初以来，亚马逊的股价就上涨了173%，比之前的两年快了7倍（比标准普尔500指数快了12倍）。
表示上升的动词大家可以好好总结积累，除了jump(更动感更有力),还有climb, increase, go up, rise等等。下降有descend; drop; fall; decrease ; decline。
3.With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in theworld.
它的市值达到了约4000亿美元，在全世界上最有价值的公司中位列第五。
亚马逊以约4000亿美元的市值排名全球第五。
Kiss原则：keep it simple, stupid.后面的mostvaluable firm就是在讲其市值排名，所以翻译时候不要太拘泥于原文形式哦, “得意忘形”。
市值（Market Capitalization，简称Market Cap）是一种度量公司资产规模的方式，数量上等于该公司当前的股票价格乘以该公司所有的普通股数量。市值通常可以用来作为收购某公司的成本评估，市值的增长通常作为衡量该公司经营状况的一个关键指标。
4.Never before has a company been worth so much for so long while making so little money: 92% of its valueis due to profits expected after 2020.
以前还没有哪个公司维持这么高的市值这么久却挣很少的钱：92%的市值来自于2020年以后的预期盈利。
5.Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.
沃尔玛的营业总收入已经接近5000亿美元，并且正在加强在线业务。
提醒大家注意revenue和profit的区别，一个是收入一个是利润，不要混淆哈。Nudge和beef up也很形象啊，前者原意是往前挤，后者大家可以联想一下，吃下牛肉后会不会有种元气满满的赶脚？！
6.Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn,more than quadruple the level five years ago.
去年的现金流（投资前）为160亿美元，是五年前的四倍还多。
在群里发现有同学认为quadruple是形容词，此处确实是形容词，后面the
level 5 years ago是一个整体，也是quadruple形容的对象。但它也可以用作动词：例如Sales
have quadrupled in the last five years. Triple和double也是同样如此。
7.If it makes as much money as investors hope, a rough calculation suggests its earnings could be worth the equivalent of 25% of the combined profits of listed Western retail and media firms.
如果亚马逊如投资者希望的一样挣那么多钱，那么粗略计算，它的盈利可能相当于西方所能列举的所有零售公司和媒体公司的总盈利的25%。
如果该公司实际业绩与投资者预期一致，据初步统计,其利润将等同于所有西方零售和媒体上市公司利润总和的25%。
Earnings=Profits Earnings per share每股收益；Export Earnings出口利润
Listed companies上市公司
8.Ground for skepticism does not come much more fertile than this: Amazon will have to grow faster than almost any big company in modern history to justify its valuation.
最充分的质疑理由莫过于：亚马逊要证明它的市值的合理，就必须发展得比现代历史上几乎所有大型公司都要快。
最强有力的质疑根据是：亚马逊的增长速度必须超过近代史上几乎任意一家大公司才能支撑其估值。
第一句确实很绕口，建议大家作为passive储备。但遇到这样的句式至少要能快速反应过来，土壤不能更肥沃，也就是到顶了，Ground衍生为根据，理由。这是一个比喻，大家想象一下土壤很肥沃，是不是有一种很有底气的赶脚呢？英文中有很多这样的比喻，需要大家结合上下文和背景知识去衍生理解。神句17也是如此。经典的I can not agree with you more.僵硬的翻译就是不能同意更多，一样是到顶了。于是正解就是：完全同意。
9.In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
在现在这个时代，高管们一贯都会抱怨创造短期业绩的压力，而亚马逊却毅然专注于长远的未来。
当今时代，主管们常常抱怨实现短期目标压力太大，而亚马逊则坚定不移的聚焦长远目标。
10.Mr.Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.
Bezos重视持续性投资以推动两大主要业务。
贝索斯先生重视两大核心业务的持续投资以促进发展。
11.A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:
第三个良性循环围绕着公司的语音助手Alexa展开。
第三个良性循环是围绕Alexa的，即该公司声控助手。
12.So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
只要股东们保持对这一模式的信心，亚马逊令人兴奋的估值就会像一个自我应验的预言。
只要股东对这一模式保持信念，那么亚马逊的超高估值就类似于自我实现预言。
提醒大家注意搭配：heady valuation
13.Their faith is sustained by Amazon's record.
他们信心的持续来自于亚马逊的业绩。
此处尤其提醒大家常见搭配：faith搭配sustain
14.It has had its failures—its attempt to make a smart-phone was a debacle.But the businessis starting to crank out cash.
它曾经也失败过——研发智能手机的尝试就是个灾难。不过公司正在开始大量产生现金。
Debacle多么高大上的表达，比什么disaster啥的高级多了，希望大家记住它。
另外，提醒大家business用作可数名词的时候，有公司，企业的意思，to have/start/run a business拥有/开办/经营企业。以后不要老company company的啦~用词多样化~~比如文中左下部分，描述良性循环的那块，吸引客户这个吸引二字，作者用了三个不同的单词：lure,entice, attract.
15.If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.
如果亚马逊对于时间期限的要求不寻常，那么它对公司业务的广度也是如此。
此处也是提醒大家各种常见搭配：approach搭配 to, breadth of activities经营范围
16.A wingspan this large is more reminiscent of a conglomerate than a retailer, which makes Amazon’s share price seem even more bloated: stockmarkets typically apply a“conglomerate discount”to reflect their in-efficiencies.
它经营的范围如此之广，让人不禁觉得像一个大型企业而非一个零售商，而这样反而让亚马逊的股价显得虚高——股票市场一般会打一个“多元化企业折扣”来现实它们的低效。
亮红的词组大家自己体会，我要强调的是conglomerate discount集团化折价(或多元化折价)，因为这个概念还蛮有意思的：集团化折价是指，集团化企业的市场价值，低于所估计出来的各个子公司的市场价值之和。多元化经营主要优势之一应该是分散风险，可几十年前很多公司就发现，投资者不喜欢这种模式。比起投资一家旗下业务众多的综合性大企业，投资者更愿意自己在各行业配置多元投资组合，因为综合性大企业往往有着信息不对称，效率低下，结构臃肿等诸多弊病。这就是众所周知的“集团化折价” 。
17.Seen through this lens, Amazon appears prinstine.
这样看来，亚马逊显得十分质朴。
好喜欢这个比喻，透过这面棱镜，好似洁白无瑕。衍生的意思就是：从这方面来看，似乎亚马逊并无过失。可以和神句8联系起来体会。
18.Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America,according to a Harris poll.
消费者会为此叫好；根据哈里斯的一项民意调查显示，亚马逊是声誉最好的公司。
扩展：Most well-regarded company/ Most admired company/Most highly-regarded company/Best Perceived Brand
19.If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them（expectations）, it will attract the attention of regulators.
只要它即将实现这些期望，它就会引起监管部门的注意。
指的是几乎实现。
20.But as it grows,so will concerns about its power.
但是只要亚马逊不断发展，它影响力的担忧也会随之增多。
As…., so…随着….也就…
21.Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
比起亚马逊的收益，投资者更看重亚马逊的发展，这会让掠夺性定价更具有诱惑力。
Value A over B更看重A而非B; Choose A over B选择A而非B
掠夺性定价又称劫掠性定价、掠夺价、有时亦称掠夺性定价歧视，是指一个厂商将价格定在牺牲短期利润以消除竞争对手并在长期获得高利润的行为。
掠夺性定价是一种不公平的低价行为，实施该行为的企业占有一定的市场支配地位，他们具有资产雄厚、生产规模大、分散经营能力强等竞争优势，所以有能力承担暂时故意压低价格的利益损失，而一般的中小企业势单力薄，无力承担这种牺牲。
其次，掠夺性定价是以排挤竞争对手为目的的故意行为，实施该行为的企业以低于成本价销售，会造成短期的利益损失，但是这样做的目的是吸引消费者，以此为代价挤走竞争对手，行为人在一定时间达到目的后，会提高销售价格，独占市场。
Day3：
总结反思
一. 文章概述
首先，作者开门见山表明了态度，阐明了毫无疑问亚马逊是一个伟大的公司的观点，奠定了整篇文章的基调，能反映出作者对亚马逊的欣赏。其次，从文章梳理来看，采取了先扬后抑再扬的手法，先叙述了亚马逊在各个领域的不斐成就，从最初的书商到后来的电子、服装、语音助手等多元化经营都做得有声有色。即使也曾有过智能手机的失败也没能阻挡住股东和投资者对它的坚定信心，甚至在微软及沃尔玛这样强劲的对手亚马逊毫不懈怠，这一切都来自于亚马逊吸引人的发展潜力以及创新能力。正是由于亚马逊如此强大的实力让人不禁觉得它就像一个商务公用事业一般为广大群众服务，也就有了可能会引起执法部门的注意甚至触发反垄断诉讼（如谷歌在欧盟的境遇一样）。而在触发垄断诉讼这一方面似乎并不太可能，因为消费者暂时没有任何怨言，并且据调查亚马逊还被评为信誉最好的公司。最后，随着亚马逊的不断发展，影响力不断增加，投资者对其的兴趣也越来越浓，被因此而有机会实行掠夺性定价的能力吸引，亚马逊的担忧也随之增加，于是这样的成功极大地可能使亚马逊陷入与政府的冲突当中。
虽然作者在文末说明了亚马逊的忧患，但不难看出这实则是对亚马逊的赞赏，毕竟要强大到何种地步才会有此等担忧啊。文章在前几遍浏览时总是感觉作者在左一言右一语似乎没什么关联，但其实逻辑性确是很强，知识点也很多，涉及了许多内容。
补充：
1.谷歌在欧洲强大到“没朋友” tech.qq.com/a/20141201/052041.htm
2.谷歌四面楚歌，何以与全世界为敌？www.donews.com/idonews/article/7023.shtm
二.总结反思
这是我第一次加入外刊精读班，也是第一次做这样的精读笔记，不得不说，收获很多。首先第一次做思维导图，第一次用Xmind的情况下因为对各种技巧不熟有点崩溃好费时间之外，参考了June老师的思维导图示范学习了不少，理清了文章的脉络和学习了思维发散，使我对文章内容更加明晰。其次，积累单词和词组的过程中，也是明白了很多，一个单词不仅有词典本身的意思，更是有引申的含义，特别是basket-case，从最初的形容国家的人民饥寒交迫到形容企业吃不开锅面临倒闭，以及最后June解释的颠覆，让我深刻地理解了翻译的含义。有很多词组和神句实在让人受益匪浅，翻译不能拘泥于形式，要做到形神兼备实在是不容易，神句的结构解析也需要语法功底和对背景知识的了解。最后，今天June老师也提供了关于亚马逊的背景阅读，这样的扩展让对Amazon's empire的理解也更加深入。在精读过程中，我还有很多需要学习的地方，在分配时间上，在理解文章上，以及发现问题的能力上都需要提高。只有真正吸收了文章内容才能更好地进行翻译，因此，我需要把更多的时间用在梳理文章理解文章上。
就在这第一次加入的精读班中第一次完完整整地完成一个Topic，必须要感谢June老师的耐心的问题解答和细心的语音讲解，老师声音真的很好听呢~我个人需要进步提高的地方还有很多，要利用空余时间多多与群里小伙伴交流沟通，积极搜索相关背景知识，丰富大脑知识储备。
First Topic, DONE!
