北京分校

考试资讯

       考研英语阅读理解中的文章，很多来自一些外刊杂志方面的题材。接下来，北京文都考研网为扩宽2020考研学子的知识面，整理了考研英语经济学人:从阿里巴巴看中美关系，供考生参考。

2020考研英语经济学人:从阿里巴巴看中美关系

If you want to understand how cooling relations between America and China are changing global business, a good place to look is Alibaba, an internet giant. It is China’s most admired and valuable firm, worth a cool $400bn.

如果你想了解中美关系的降温是如何改变全球商业的，你应该去看看互联网巨头阿里巴巴。市值高达4000亿美元的阿里巴巴是中国最受敬仰和最有价值的公司。

For the past five years it has also been a hybrid that straddles the superpowers, because its shares are listed only in America. Now it is considering a $20bn flotation in Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg.

在过去的五年里，阿里巴巴一直是一家横跨两个超级大国的混合型企业，因为其股票仅在美国上市。据彭博社报道称，阿里巴巴或将赴香港上市，计划筹资200亿美元。

The backdrop is a rising risk of American moves against Chinese interests and the growing clout of Hong Kong’s capital markets. A listing there would be a sign that Chinese firms are taking out insurance to lower their dependence on Western finance.

在目前美国采取不利于中国利益的行动的风险越来越大的背景下，香港资本市场的影响力正在日益增强。阿里巴巴赴香港上市的行动表明，中国企业正在给自己上保险，以降低对西方金融的依赖。

The world looked very different back in 2014, when Alibaba first went public. Although based in Hangzhou and with 91% of its sales in mainland China, it chose to list its shares in New York, home to the world’s deepest capital markets, which also permitted its complex voting structure.

阿里巴巴于2014年首次上市，当时的世界与今天大为不同。虽然阿里巴巴的总部位于杭州，其销售额的91%来自中国大陆，但它还是选择在纽约上市，纽约是全球最资深的资本市场，因而才能容纳其复杂的股权结构。

Wall Street banks underwrote the offering. Alibaba’s boss, Jack Ma, already a star in China, was toasted in Manhattan high society as the kind of freewheeling capitalist Americans could do business with.

华尔街银行承销了那次发行。已经成为中国明星人物的马云(阿里巴巴的老板)在曼哈顿的上流社会也受到了热烈的欢迎，因为美国人可以和这位随心所欲的资本家做生意。

He was not alone: 174 other Chinese firms have their main listing in America today, with a total market value of $394bn, including tech stars like Baidu and JD.com. A recent notable arrival is Luckin Coffee, a Starbucks wannabe, which floated for $4bn in May.

马云并不孤单：如今已有其他174家中国公司在美国上市了，这些公司的总市值达3940亿美元，其中包括百度和京东等明星科技公司。最近一个引人注目的赴美上市的中国公司是今年5月以40亿美元市值上市的瑞幸咖啡，它是星巴克的追随者。

As Alibaba has found, however, America has become less hospitable. The firm’s profits have soared and investors have made hay. But in January 2018 Ant Financial, its payments affiliate, was blocked from acquiring MoneyGram, an American rival, on national-security grounds.

然而，正如阿里巴巴看到的那样，美国已不再那么友好了。阿里巴巴的利润仍在飞涨，投资者也赚了大钱。但就在2018年1月，美国以国家安全为由阻止了阿里巴巴支付行业的子公司蚂蚁金服对美国竞争对手速汇金的收购。

In November Mr Ma’s halo in America slipped when it was revealed he was a Communist Party member, like many Chinese tycoons (he is due to retire from Alibaba this year). Silicon Valley’s chiefs whisper that Alibaba’s global cloud business is a threat to American interests.

同年11月，马云在美国的光环也被击碎，因为有人披露，马云和许多中国大亨一样，也是一名CPM，他将于今年从阿里巴巴退任。硅谷的高管们私下里说，阿里巴巴的全球云业务对美国的利益遭成了威胁。

If Alibaba invests in startups it could fall foul of a new law, known as FIRRMA, that requires foreign purchases of “critical technology” to be vetted. The firm is not yet under attack, unlike its compatriot, Huawei, but the mood is tense.

如今，阿里巴巴如果想要投资一家美国初创企业，很有可能会违反一项名为FIRRMA(外国投资风险评估现代化法案) 的新法律，这项法律要求对外国购买“关键技术”进行审查。与其同胞华为不同的是，阿里巴巴还未遭受攻击，但气氛已然紧张。

With a Hong Kong listing, Alibaba would have another place to raise capital. It is still expanding fast—sales grew by 51% last year. New York will continue to thrive as a financial centre, even if Chinese firms start to shy away.

随着阿里巴巴赴香港上市，它将拥有另一个融资之地。阿里巴巴仍在快速扩张，其去年的销售额增长了51%。即使中国企业开始回避，作为全球金融中心的纽约仍将继续蓬勃发展。

But the bigger message is that, as the trade war rumbles on, the immensely complex global network of financial and commercial ties is adjusting. Big hardware firms are tweaking their supply chains. Retailers are shifting their sourcing so that goods sold in America are not made in China.

但更重要的是，随着贸易战的持续升温，极其复杂的全球金融和商业关系网络正在调整。大型硬件公司正在调整他们的供应链。零售商正在寻找新的货源，以便在美国销售非中国制造的商品。

Banks are cutting their exposure to counterparties that could face American sanctions. And even the world’s most successful firms, such as Alibaba, feel they need a backup plan. It is a very different vision from the one Mr Ma stood for when he rang a ceremonial bell at the New York Stock Exchange back in 2014.

银行正在减少可能面临美国制裁的交易对手的风险敞口。即便是世界上最成功的公司(比如阿里巴巴)也认为，他们需要一个后备计划。这与马云2014年在纽约证券交易所敲响仪式钟声时的愿景大为不同了。

 

【重难点词汇】

straddle ['strædl] vi. 跨坐;两腿叉开坐 vt. 叉开(腿);骑，跨;跨立于;跨越 n. 跨坐

clout [klaʊt] n. 破布;敲打;影响力;势力 vt. 给…打补钉;猛击

freewheeling [,fri'wilɪŋ] adj. 随心所欲的;惯性滑行的

tycoon [taɪ'kun] n. 企业界大亨，巨头;巨富

immensely [ɪ'menslɪ] adv. 极其地，非常地

tweak [twik] v. 扭;用力拉;焦急 n. 扭;轻微调整

ceremonial [,sɛrɪ'monɪəl] adj. 仪式的;正式的，礼仪的 n. 仪式，礼节

       以上是北京文都考研网给出的“2020考研英语经济学人:从阿里巴巴看中美关系”，希望对备考2020考研英语的考生有所帮助!祝2020考研顺利!

推荐阅读：

2020考研英语经济学人外刊选集总结(6月)

2020考研英语时事阅读总结(6月)

2020考研英语同源外刊6月文章汇总