经济学人精读笔记16：华为要把5G卖了？

标签（空格分隔）：经济学人

Part 1

Ren Zhengfei may sell Huawei’s 5G technology to a Western buyer

The Chinese telecoms giant’s boss considers creating a competitor for his company

In an atrium designed to evoke ancient Greece—ringed by stone columns and six towering approximations of the Caryatids—it was fitting that Ren Zhengfei, chief executive of Huawei, should extend an olive branch to the West: a piece of his company.

任正非或将把华为的5G技术卖给西方买家
这家中国电信巨头的老板考虑为他的公司创造一个竞争对手
华为首席执行官任正非在古希腊风格设计的中庭(由石柱和六种高耸的女像柱组成)拿出他公司的一部分向西方伸出橄榄枝是一件合适的事情。

giant n.a very large successful company 巨头，大公司比如美国的Facebook, Google, Netflix, 中国的BAT、华为都可以称作giant，这些公司也是外刊报道的常客，请看以下例句：

[经济学人]Some firms still thrive: China's Huawei, a telecoms giant, predicts that revenues from its consumer-devices division will rise by about 50% this year. 部分公司仍在茁壮成长，作为电信巨头的中国华为作出预测，其消费类电子设备收入将于本年增加近50%。

[纽约时报]PayPal-like wallets created by Chinese online giants Alibaba and Tencent have become the most popular ways to pay for things online. 由中国网络巨头阿里巴巴和腾讯创造出的类似PayPal的手机钱包，已经成为网络购物最受欢迎的付款方式。

【类似表达】外刊中常出现的表示“巨头”的表达还有：tycoon, behemoth, magnate 等等。

atrium n.（建筑物的）天井，中庭
evoke [i'vəuk] v. (formal) to bring a feeling, a memory or an image into your mind 引起，唤起（感情、记忆或形象）The music evoked memories of her youth.这乐曲勾起了她对青年时代的回忆。

【同源词】evocation n.[C,U]引起；（记忆、感情等的）唤起；回忆，追忆 a brilliant evocation of childhood in the 1940s 对 20 世纪 40 年代童年生活美好回忆的唤起

evocative [i’vakətiv] adj. 引起记忆的；唤起感情的 evocative smells / sounds / music 引起回忆的气味 / 声音 / 音乐
Her new book is wonderfully evocative of village life. 她的新书唤起人们对乡村生活的美好感情。

【原文理解】evoke ancient Greece 字面意思是“唤起古希腊”，一栋建筑可以唤起古希腊的形象也就是指该建筑的设计是古希腊风格

stone columns 石柱 column是名词“柱子”，还有一个常见意思是“专栏”，比如本篇文章选自经济学人的Business专栏，栏目就是“column”
towering [ˈtaʊərɪŋ] adj. 高大的；高耸的

【记忆方法】tower本身是“塔”的意思，塔是拔地而起高高耸立的，所以tower加了ing成为形容词：
①杰出的a towering performance 出色的表演
②高大的；高耸的 towering cliffs高耸的悬崖
③强烈的；激烈的 a towering rage 勃然大怒

extend an olive branch to 向…伸出橄榄枝（to show that you wish to make peace with sb）【写作推荐】
Management is holding out an olive branch to the strikers. 资方向罢工者伸出了橄榄枝。

【原文理解】a piece of his company 他公司的一部分，这里指华为公司的核心部分：5G

Part 2

The palatial edifice on Huawei’s sprawling campus in Shenzhen houses an exhibition hall proudly displaying the Chinese telecommunications giant’s “fifth-generation” (5G) technology. The ultra-swift, and ultra-coveted, mobile-phone networks will soon connect everything from cars to industrial robots.

在华为位于深圳的巨大园区的一栋宏伟壮丽的大楼里有着一个展厅，这家中国电信巨头在这里自豪地展示着其“第五代”（5G）技术。这种速度超快、人人渴求的移动电话网络将很快能把从汽车到工业机器人的一切设备连接起来。

palatial edifice 宏伟壮丽的大楼

palatial adj.[pəˈleɪʃl] very large and impressive, like a palace 宫殿般的；富丽堂皇的=splendid
a palatial Hollywood mansion 宫殿般的好莱坞住宅

edifice n. [ˈedifis] An edifice is a large and impressive building. 大厦；雄伟的建筑物
The American consulate was a magnificent edifice in the centre of Bordeaux. 美国领事馆是位于波尔多市中心的一座宏伟的大厦。

【类似表达】skyscraper n. ['skaɪˌskreɪ.pər] a very tall modern building, usually in a city 摩天大楼

sprawling [ˈsprɔːlɪŋ]义为“杂乱延伸的；无计划地扩展的”(spreading over a wide area in an untidy or unattractive way)，来自动词sprawl。
campus n. (大学)校园

5G技术全称：fifth-generation technology

ultra-swift adj.极快的，比quick程度深很多

ultra- （构成形容词和名词）意为“极；超过某种限度”比如：ultra-modern 超现代的 ultraviolet 紫外线

swift [swɪft] adj.moving very quickly; able to move very quickly 速度快的
proudly adv. 自豪地；高兴地；感到光荣地
coveted adj. 梦寐以求的；垂涎的

Part 3

It is this 5G technology—central to Huawei’s future revenue growth—that Mr Ren said he was ready to share, in a two-hour interview with The Economist on September 10th.

For a one-time fee, a transaction would give the buyer perpetual access to Huawei’s existing 5G patents, licences, code, technical blueprints and production know-how.

9月10日，在接受《经济学人》长达两小时的专访中，任正非表示，5G技术将是华为未来收入增长的核心，他已经做好了分享5G技术的准备。
只需一次性付费，买家便可永久使用华为现有的5G专利、许可证、代码、技术蓝图和生产专有技术。

revenue n. 收入, 收益; 财政收入, 税收
one-time fee 一次性付费
transaction n.交易；办理
【记忆方法】trans+action行动→交换行动→交易
give sb. perpetual access to sth.让某人可以永久使用某物
比如“Vic外刊精读社资料供付费学员永久使用”就可以说：Victoria’s online courses give students perpetual access to the learning materials.
perpetual [pəˈpetʃuəl] adj.不间断的；持续的；长久的=continuous
patents n. 专利权；专利
blueprint n.蓝图
The documents contain a blueprint for a nuclear device. 文件内附有一张核装置的设计蓝图。
know-how n.专门知识；技能；实际经验
We need skilled workers and technical know-how.
我们需要熟练工人和专业技术知识。

Part 4

The acquirer could modify the source code, meaning that neither Huawei nor the Chinese government would have even hypothetical control of any telecoms infrastructure built using equipment produced by the new company. Huawei would likewise be free to develop its technology in whatever direction it pleases.

买家还可以修改源代码，这就意味着，无论是华为还是中国政府，都不可能对使用这家新公司生产的设备建造的电信基础设施拥有假想的控制权。华为同样也可以随心所欲地发展自己的技术。

acquire 是动词“得到”，acquirer则是“得到的人”，得到5G的人也就是买家，相当于前文的buyer，作同义替换。
modify vt. 修改，修饰；更改
hypothetical [ˌhaɪpə'θetɪkəl]指“假设的，假定的”(based on situations or ideas which are possible and imagined rather than real and true)名词形式为hypothesis[haɪˈpɒθəsɪs]，指“假说，假设”，注意形容词和名词的重音不同。
likewise adv. 也；同样地

Part 5

Huawei has been on a charm offensive this year. It has wheeled Mr Ren out once a month since January for interview bonanzas with international media outlets.

But the idea of transferring its 5G “stack” to a competitor is by far the boldest offering to have surfaced. “It’s hard to come up with similar precedents in the history of technology,” says Dan Wang of Gavekal Dragonomics, a research firm.

华为今年一直在采取魅力攻势。自从今年1月以来，任正非每月都会现身接受国际媒体的采访。
但是将5G“技术栈”出售给竞争对手的想法是目前为止任正非提出的最大胆的提议。研究公司龙洲经讯的王丹表示：“在科技史上很难找到类似的先例。”

offensive n. 进攻, 攻势
wheel sth out (to show or use sth to help you do sth, even when it has often been seen or heard before) 故伎重演

They wheeled out the same old arguments we'd heard so many times before.他们又弹起了我们听过多次的老调。

transferring n. 印字;中转;转移
bonanza财运；鸿运；好运( You can refer to a sudden great increase in wealth, success, or luck as a bonanza .)
The expected sales bonanza hadn't materialised. 期望中的旺销并没有发生。
bold adj.大胆的；勇敢的；无畏的
Amrita becomes a bold, daring rebel... 阿姆里塔成了一个勇敢无畏的叛逆者。
surface n.表面 v.出现

【词根词缀】sur-表示“超过，在上面”
surface n.表面（sur+face→脸面）
surpass v.超过（sur+pass通过→在上面通过→超越）
surrealism n.超现实主义（sur+realism现实主义）
surmount v.登上，超越（sur+mount山→在山上→登上）
surcharge n.附加费（sur+charge收费→额外的收费→附费）
surveillance n.临视；看守（sur+veil看＋lance→在上面看）
surplus adj.多余的（sur+plus多余；加→多出很多）

It’s hard to come up with similar precedents in … … 很难找到类似的先例/史无前例
precedent n.
1.传统；常规；常例=tradition to break with precedent 打破常规
2.[C,U]实例；范例 The trial could set an important precedent for dealing with large numbers of similar cases... 这次审判能为处理大量类似案例开创重要的先例。
3.先例；前例 historical precedents 历史前例 Such protests are without precedent in recent history.这类抗议事件在近代史上没有发生过。
unprecedented adj.前所未有的；空前的；没有先例的

Part 6

Mr Ren’s stated aim is to create a rival that could compete in 5G with Huawei (which would keep its existing contracts and continue to sell its own 5G kit).

To his mind, this would help level the playing field at a time when many in the West have grown alarmed at the prospect of a Chinese company supplying the gear for most of the world’s new mobile-phone networks. “A balanced distribution of interests is conducive to Huawei’s survival,” Mr Ren says.

任正非的既定目标是创造一个可与华为在5G领域争锋的竞争对手（华为将保留其已签订的合同，并继续出售其5G组件）。
在他看来，在许多西方人对一家中国公司为全球大部分新的移动电话网络提供设备感到担忧之际，这将有助于营造一个公平的竞争环境。任正非说：“平衡利益分配将有利于华为的生存。”

contracts n. 合同
kit 配套元件
to ones mind 在某人看来，比如：to my mind相当于in my opinion 依我看；以我之见
It was a ridiculous thing to do, to my mind. 依我看，这样做是很荒唐的。
playing field本义是“运动场，操场”，引申为“竞争的环境”，最常见的搭配为a level playing field，指“公平竞争、机会均等的环境”。level也可作动词，level the playing field创造公平竞争的环境。
gear [gɪər] n. [U] a set of equipment or tools you need for a particular activity（用于某种活动的）一套设备（工具） He's crazy about photography – he's got all the gear. 他对摄影很着迷——所有的器材他都有。We'll need some camping gear. 我们将需要带些宿营器具。

【相关拓展】gear sth to/towards sth（常被动）使与...相适应；使适合于Taking time out later in life to pursue a formal qualification is an option, but it costs money and most colleges are geared towards youngsters. 在年纪较大的时候抽出时间获得一个正规的资质是一种选择，但要投入成本，而且大多数院校是针对年轻人开设的。[经济学人：Lifelong learning]

conducive adj. 导致…的, 有助于…的