Topic 1 Amazon’s Empire
1. The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
每当又有一美元花费在网上购物时，一多半都会到这位图书帝国的荷包里。
2. Since the 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年初以来，亚马逊的股价猛涨了173%，是前两年增长速度的七倍多。
3. With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.
凭借着将近4000亿美元的市值，亚马逊成为了世界上第五大最值钱的公司。
4. Never before has a company been worth so much for so long while making so little money: 92% of its value is due to profits expected after 2020.
从来没有一个公司在此之前能够维持这么高的市值这么长时间，但却只赚了很少的钱。这是因为其92%的市值都来自于对其2020后的预估利润。
5. Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.
沃尔玛已经达到将近5000亿美元的收入，而且将进一步扩大其网上业务。
6. Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.
去年在投资之前的现金流有160亿美元，比五年前的四倍还多。
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.
如果亚马逊能赚到投资者希望的那么多钱，粗略估计大概是相当于西方上市的零售和媒体公司利润总和的25%。
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.
对这个期待的质疑最充分的理由是：如果其要证明其高涨的预期利润，亚马逊必须比现代历史上几乎所有的大型公司都要发展得更快。
9. In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
当其他人还在抱怨创造短期绩效带来的压力时，亚马逊一直都坚定地着眼于长远的未来。
10.Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.
贝佐斯重视通过持续的投资来推动其主要两大业务的发展。
11. A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:
第三个良性循环是围绕着公司的声控助手Alexa展开的。
12. So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
只要股东们仍然对这种商业模式保持着信心，那么亚马逊的市值就会如同一个自我实现的预言不断地上涨。
13. Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.
亚马逊的业绩是维持他们信心的根据。
14. It has had its failures—its attempt to make a smart-phone was a debacle. But the business is starting to crank out cash.
他们也经历过失败，比如制造智能手机的尝试就是一场灾难。但是他们的业务正在赚取大量的现金。
15. If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.
如果说亚马逊的长远的投资眼光是不同寻常的，那他们广泛的经营范围也是如此。
16. A wingspan this large is more reminiscent of a conglomerate than a retailer, which makes Amazon’s share price seem even more bloated: stock markets typically apply a “conglomerate discount” to reflect their in- efficiencies.
如此广泛的经营范围更能让人联想起一个多元化的集团企业而不是一个零售商，这使亚马逊的股价似乎更加膨胀，因为股市一般会采用企业集团折扣来反映他们经营嗯低效。
17. Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.
从这个角度看，亚马逊似乎还很纯朴。
18.Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.
亚马逊深受消费者欢迎，根据哈里斯民调，亚马逊是美国最受推崇的公司。
19. If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.
如果亚马逊渐渐接近其预期利润，那么它将会引起监管机构的注意了。
20. But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.
但是，随着其渐渐发展，其带来的问题也会显现。
21. Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
投资者是根据利润来对亚马逊的发展进行预期估值的，这使得掠夺性定价更加具有吸引力。
