滬江小編:對于商界精英們來說,閱讀《金融時報》(Financial Times)幾乎成了每天的必修課。FT文章以分析為主,邏輯嚴(yán)密,經(jīng)常被各類考試用作考題。非常適合學(xué)習(xí)BEC、TOEIC、GRE、GMAT的考生來閱讀、練習(xí)。滬江小編精選FT上的雙語文章,配上獨(dú)家的學(xué)習(xí)指南,從詞匯、短語、句式、文化、翻譯等多方面來解讀,長期堅(jiān)持,相信會對英語學(xué)習(xí)有所幫助。

原文閱讀:馬云:未來5年中國30%零售網(wǎng)上完成

Jack Ma, the Chinese e-commerce tycoon, has predicted that almost a third of China’s retail will be online in five years, suggesting an unprecedented transformation of consumption in the world’s most populous country.

“People always ask me what is the difference between ecommerce in the US and ecommerce in China,” Mr Ma said at an investor conference held by Credit Suisse in Hong Kong.

?“In the US, ecommerce is just a dessert – it is supplementary. The infrastructure of commerce is already so good. In China, ecommerce is the main course. We are building China’s infrastructure,” said Mr Ma, who will step down as chief executive of Alibaba Group in May but will stay on as its executive chairman.

Online retail sales now account for slightly less than 6 per cent of China’s total retail sales, according to McKinsey, the consultants. In the US, ecommerce sales accounted for 5.2 per cent of total retail sales last year, according to the US department of commerce.

A much larger role for online commerce could help raise the role of private consumption in the Chinese economy but force foreign companies to adapt their strategies for penetrating this market.

“Today, Alibaba is 5 per cent of the whole retail market in China?.?.?.?I think 30 per cent of all retail in China will be online in five years,” said Mr Ma.

But the industry has been growing at an average 120 per cent a year for the past decade and there are indications that online retail websites have triggered new consumption, giving Mr Ma’s prediction credibility.

Online retail in China “is not just a replacement channel for purchases that would otherwise have taken place offline – it actually spurs incremental consumption”, McKinsey says in a new report to be published on Thursday.?

Richard Dobbs, a director of the McKinsey Global Institute, the consultancy’s research arm, said data from 266 Chinese cities suggest that only about 60 per cent of online consumption is replacing sales in brick-and-mortar stores.

學(xué)習(xí)指南:

1.Word of the day

tycoon: A tycoon is a person who is successful in business and so has become rich and powerful.大亨;巨頭;大實(shí)業(yè)家。

ex:a self-made Irish property tycoon
例句:白手起家的以色列房地產(chǎn)巨頭

小編注:這個詞來自日語,意思是“大君”。最早日本人使用這個詞是為了讓幕府將軍,日本軍隊(duì)的總指揮官給美國人留下深刻的印象(他的官方頭銜shogun的意思僅僅為將軍)。事實(shí)上,幕府將軍是當(dāng)時日本真正的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人,而天皇并沒有實(shí)權(quán)。1854年馬修·C·佩里迫使日本向西方開放時,他以為幕府將軍就是天皇。將軍的頭銜是taikun,當(dāng)佩里回到美國時,把這個稱呼也帶回了美國。亞伯拉罕·林肯把tycoon用作了總統(tǒng)的充滿感情的稱號。這個詞也很快被用于工商界的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人?;蛟S人們覺得他們的權(quán)利也能像幕府將軍和林肯總統(tǒng)一樣給人留下深刻的印象吧。
推薦閱讀:寡頭英文怎么說>>

2.Phrase of the day

brick and mortar: You can use brick and mortar to refer to houses and other buildings, especially when they are considered as an investment. (尤指視為投資的)房產(chǎn)

ex:Paying rent simply helps to line the pockets of landlords. It's far better to put your money into bricks and mortar of your own.
例句:租房子只會鼓了房東的腰包,自己投資買房合算得多。

小編注:在這里brick-and-mortar stores解釋為實(shí)體店。

3.Sentence of the day

But the industry has been growing at an average 120 per cent a year for the past decade and there are indications that online retail websites have triggered new consumption, giving Mr Ma’s prediction credibility.
但在過去10年里,這個領(lǐng)域平均每年以120%的速度在增長。有跡象顯示,網(wǎng)絡(luò)零售網(wǎng)站引導(dǎo)了新的消費(fèi),這使得馬云的預(yù)期具有可信度。

小編注:trigger最初的意思是扳機(jī),從此引申出了“引發(fā)”這個意思。

4.Cultural point of the day

電子商務(wù)。電子商務(wù)(e-commerce)是近幾年隨著網(wǎng)絡(luò)的發(fā)展而壯大起來的新購物方式。電子商務(wù)的全稱是electronic commerce,一般簡稱為e-commerce。電商的主要形式有B2C(如京東)、B2B(如阿里巴巴)和C2C(如淘寶)(B for business, C for costomer)。這里尤為要提醒的是B2C的讀法為B-to-C,千萬別學(xué)央視主播那樣讀成B二C,這可就真的“二”了啊。

5.Translation of the day

“In the US, ecommerce is just a dessert – it is supplementary. The infrastructure of commerce is already so good. In China, ecommerce is the main course. We are building China’s infrastructure,” said Mr Ma, who will step down as chief executive of Alibaba Group in May but will stay on as its executive chairman.
“在美國,電商只是一個飯后甜點(diǎn),是補(bǔ)充。美國的商業(yè)基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施已經(jīng)非常完善。而在中國,電商則是主菜。我們正在建造中國的基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施。”馬云將于5月份卸任阿里巴巴集團(tuán)(Alibaba Group)CEO職位,但仍將擔(dān)任董事局執(zhí)行主席。

小編注:這里說說西餐的常識,以便理解馬云所說的“甜點(diǎn)”和“主菜”的地位差別。一般西餐的步驟:starter,開胃菜,也叫appetizer,常見品種有魚子醬(caviar)、鵝肝醬(foie gras)、奶油雞酥盒(Creamy Chicken in Puff Pastry)等;接著是soup;再然后就是主菜(main course)了,肉的話分為全熟(well done)、五分熟(medium)和三分熟(rare);最后就是dessert和drink了,要注意的是“紅茶”的說法是“black tea”,千萬不要想當(dāng)然地說成“red tea”哦。

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