? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? Topic 1 ?Amazon’s Empire
1. The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
每當(dāng)又有一美元花費(fèi)在網(wǎng)上購物時瞪醋，一多半都會到這位圖書帝國的荷包里己沛。
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年初以來崭捍，亞馬遜的股價猛漲了173%末购，是前兩年增長速度的七倍多黎比。
3. With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.
憑借著將近4000億美元的市值昙衅，亞馬遜成為了世界上第五大最值錢的公司纵东。
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.
從來沒有一個公司在此之前能夠維持這么高的市值這么長時間，但卻只賺了很少的錢处嫌。這是因?yàn)槠?2%的市值都來自于對其2020后的預(yù)估利潤。
5. Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.
沃爾瑪已經(jīng)達(dá)到將近5000億美元的收入斟湃，而且將進(jìn)一步擴(kuò)大其網(wǎng)上業(yè)務(wù)熏迹。
6. Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.
去年在投資之前的現(xiàn)金流有160億美元，比五年前的四倍還多凝赛。
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.
如果亞馬遜能賺到投資者希望的那么多錢注暗，粗略估計大概是相當(dāng)于西方上市的零售和媒體公司利潤總和的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.
對這個期待的質(zhì)疑最充分的理由是：如果其要證明其高漲的預(yù)期利潤墓猎，亞馬遜必須比現(xiàn)代歷史上幾乎所有的大型公司都要發(fā)展得更快捆昏。
9. In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
當(dāng)其他人還在抱怨創(chuàng)造短期績效帶來的壓力時，亞馬遜一直都堅定地著眼于長遠(yuǎn)的未來毙沾。
10.Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.
貝佐斯重視通過持續(xù)的投資來推動其主要兩大業(yè)務(wù)的發(fā)展骗卜。
11. A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:
第三個良性循環(huán)是圍繞著公司的聲控助手Alexa展開的。
12. So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
只要股東們?nèi)匀粚@種商業(yè)模式保持著信心，那么亞馬遜的市值就會如同一個自我實(shí)現(xiàn)的預(yù)言不斷地上漲寇仓。
13. Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.
亞馬遜的業(yè)績是維持他們信心的根據(jù)举户。
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.
他們也經(jīng)歷過失敗，比如制造智能手機(jī)的嘗試就是一場災(zāi)難遍烦。但是他們的業(yè)務(wù)正在賺取大量的現(xiàn)金俭嘁。
15. If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.
如果說亞馬遜的長遠(yuǎn)的投資眼光是不同尋常的，那他們廣泛的經(jīng)營范圍也是如此服猪。
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.
如此廣泛的經(jīng)營范圍更能讓人聯(lián)想起一個多元化的集團(tuán)企業(yè)而不是一個零售商供填，這使亞馬遜的股價似乎更加膨脹，因?yàn)楣墒幸话銜捎闷髽I(yè)集團(tuán)折扣來反映他們經(jīng)營嗯低效罢猪。
17. Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.
從這個角度看近她，亞馬遜似乎還很純樸。
18.Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.
亞馬遜深受消費(fèi)者歡迎坡脐，根據(jù)哈里斯民調(diào)泄私，亞馬遜是美國最受推崇的公司。
19. If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.
如果亞馬遜漸漸接近其預(yù)期利潤备闲，那么它將會引起監(jiān)管機(jī)構(gòu)的注意了晌端。
20. But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.
但是，隨著其漸漸發(fā)展恬砂，其帶來的問題也會顯現(xiàn)咧纠。
21. Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
投資者是根據(jù)利潤來對亞馬遜的發(fā)展進(jìn)行預(yù)期估值的，這使得掠奪性定價更加具有吸引力泻骤。
