经济学人外刊阅读（每日外刊精读经济学人选）
经济学人外刊阅读（每日外刊精读经济学人选）To answer that question first examine what is known in China as “ the catfish effect ” the idea that a predator makes weaker rivals swim faster. For years China led the world in production and purchase of EVS. However the cars were heavily subsidised and shoddy.At least he did—until increasing numbers of electric vehicles (EVS) started to swish past signalling even more virtue. Now his car env
Series 115
每天进步一点点
一步一步，坚持最酷
After the smartphone Silicon Valley ’s search for the next big tech platform
The Econimist（经济学人）
2022年04月09日
Schumpeter is not a car owner. He bought his last one a diesel-fuelled Volkswagen in 2015 days before the emissions-cheating scandal erupted. He was so appalled that when the car’s engine caught fire he vowed never to buy another and took to a bike instead. He has lived in emissions-free smugness ever since.
At least he did—until increasing numbers of electric vehicles (EVS) started to swish past signalling even more virtue. Now his car envy has returned—but with a dilemma . Some of the most appealing EVS in Europe are either made in China (Tesla) or by Chinese-owned firms (mg). Given concerns about the decoupling of trade into ideological blocs should that be a dieselgate -sized worry?
To answer that question first examine what is known in China as “ the catfish effect ” the idea that a predator makes weaker rivals swim faster. For years China led the world in production and purchase of EVS. However the cars were heavily subsidised and shoddy.
They were a response to the government’s desire to scrub the air and leapfrog the internal-combustion engine a technology in which China was a laggard . Delighting customers was an afterthought . No Chinese EV-maker was as world-beating as Huawei became in smartphones—before America blackballed it in 2019.
That same year Tesla set up shop in Shanghai and began rolling Model 3s off the production line. It became says Gregor Sebastian of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin the epitome of a catfish. The effect was similar to the benefit that production of Apple’s iPhone in China brought to the country’s smartphone market where local suppliers had to raise their game to meet international standards.
P-1
Schumpeter is not a car owner. He bought his last one a diesel-fuelled Volkswagen in 2015 days before the emissions-cheating scandal erupted. He was so appalled that when the car’s engine caught fire he vowed never to buy another and took to a bike instead. He has lived in emissions-free smugness ever since.
At least he did—until increasing numbers of electric vehicles (EVS) started to swish past signalling even more virtue. Now his car envy has returned—but with a dilemma . Some of the most appealing EVS in Europe are either made in China (Tesla) or by Chinese-owned firms (mg). Given concerns about the decoupling of trade into ideological blocs should that be a dieselgate -sized worry?
- diesel-fuelled
- 作形容词表示以柴油为燃料的；英文释义为: a heavy mineral oil used as fuel in diesel enginesfuel
- 作动词表示为…添加燃料；
- 英文释义为: to provide with fuel
- His comments are bound to add fuel to the debate.他的话必将为争论推波助澜。
- Soot particles in exhaust gas from diesel-fuelled vehicles have caused a serious environmental pollution thus promoting the establishment of more emission standards. 柴油车尾气排放的碳烟颗粒已引起严重的环境污染问题，柴油车排气标准也在不断提高。
- appalled
- 作形容词表示感到惊骇的；英文释义为: affected by strong feelings of shock and dismay
- She's made it obvious that she's appalled by me. 她坦言被我吓着了。
- take to
- 开始从事；形成…的习惯；
- I love the way they're scattered around in the long grass beside the lake looking as if they're just about to take to their wings. 我喜欢它们散落在湖边长草中的样子，看起来就像要展翅飞翔一样。
- smugness
- 作名词表示沾沾自喜，自鸣得意；英文释义为: highly self-satisfied
- Smugness and evasion over history are widespread in Europe. 沾沾自喜和对历史逃避在欧洲国家广泛存在。
- swish
- 作动词表示嗖嗖地快速移动；英文释义为: to move pass swing or whirl with the sound of a swish
- We could hear the swish and gurgle of water against the hull. 我们能听到水拍打船体时的哗哗声。
- envy
- 作名词表示羡慕；忌妒；英文释义为: painful or resentful awareness of an advantage enjoyed by another joined with a desire to possess the same advantage
- Unconscious envy manifests itself very often as this kind of arrogance. 潜意识里的嫉妒常表现为这种傲慢自大。
- dilemma
- 作名词表示左右为难，两难境地；英文释义为: a usually undesirable or unpleasant choice
- Public policy on the family presents liberals with a dilemma. 有关家庭的公共政策使自由主义者陷入了进退两难的境地。
- appealing
- 作形容词表示有吸引力的；有感染力的；令人感兴趣的；
- 英文释义为: having appeal : PLEASING
- He is the least appealing character to me at any rate. 他是其中最没有吸引力的角色，至少对我来说是这样。
- given
- 作介词表示考虑到，鉴于；英文释义为: in view of : CONSIDERING
- Given her interest in children teaching seems the right job for her. 虑到她对孩子的兴趣，教书似乎是适合她的工作。
- decoupling 作名词表示分离，隔断；
- 作动词表示（使两事物）分离，隔断；英文释义为: to eliminate the interrelationship of : SEPARATE
- But now many talk of a decoupling of the two economies. 如今，许多人都在谈论要拆散两个经济体。
- ideological bloc 意识形态集团；
- ideological
- 作形容词表示思想的；意识形态的；英文释义为: of relating to or based on ideology
- The ideological divisions between the parties aren't always obvious. 政党之间的意识形态界线并不总是泾渭分明的。
- dieselgate “柴油门”（丑闻）；<非正式>大众集团汽车舞弊事件；2015年9月18日，美国环境保护署指控德国大众汽车集团在所产车内安装非法软件、故意规避美国汽车尾气排放规定，而部分车辆的实际污染物排放量最高可至法定标准的40倍，违反了美国《清洁空气法》。大众随后承认造假，其蓄意欺骗美国政府的空气污染检测多年，其违规行为可能导致多达180亿美元的罚款。这一丑闻曝光之后迅速向全球蔓延。德国大众汽车公司9月22日发表声明说，该公司涉嫌违规排放事件所涉及的柴油汽车数量可能达到1100万辆，公司将向公众通报调查进展，并已拨款65亿欧元应对此次违规排放事件。
- 参考译文
熊彼特自己没有车。他在2015年大众排放作弊丑闻爆发的前几天，买了他的最后一辆车，一辆以柴油为燃料的大众汽车。在他买完这辆车之后，当他听到这车的发动机起火时，他非常震惊，发誓再也不买汽车了，转而买了一辆自行车。此后，他一直生活在无排放的自鸣得意之中。至少他是这样做的，直到越来越多的电动车从他身边呼啸而过，他对电动车的向往又回来了。但他却陷入了两难境地。欧洲最吸引人的一些电动汽车要么是中国制造（特斯拉），要么是由中资企业制造（名爵）。考虑到人们对贸易与意识形态集团脱钩的担忧，这应该是一个“柴油门”级别的担忧吗?
P-2
To answer that question first examine what is known in China as “ the catfish effect ” the idea that a predator makes weaker rivals swim faster. For years China led the world in production and purchase of EVS. However the cars were heavily subsidised and shoddy.
They were a response to the government’s desire to scrub the air and leapfrog the internal-combustion engine a technology in which China was a laggard . Delighting customers was an afterthought . No Chinese EV-maker was as world-beating as Huawei became in smartphones—before America blackballed it in 2019.
- the catfish effect 鲶鱼效应；原是指鲶鱼在搅动小鱼生存环境的同时，也激活了小鱼的求生能力。后来，鲶鱼效应是采取一种手段或措施，刺激一些企业活跃起来投入到市场中积极参与竞争，从而激活市场中的同行业企业。
- predator
- 作名词表示捕食者；掠夺者；英文释义为: an organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of other organisms : an organism that lives by predation
- The arrival of this South American predator
- threatened the survival of native species. 这种南美肉食动物的到来威胁到了当地物种的生存。
- heavily subsidised 大量补贴；
- Since 1990 Chinese grain production has been roughly stable but the use of fertiliser-which is heavily subsidised - has risen by about 40%.
- 自1990年以来，中国的粮食产量已经基本上稳定了，但是化肥的使用——主要是通过农业补贴的形式——却增加了40%。
- subsidise
- 作动词表示给予…津贴（或补贴）；资助；
- Some cities also planned to subsidise access for poor residents. 某些城市还计划为低收入居民提供上网补助。
- shoddy
- 作形容词表示粗制滥造的，劣质的；英文释义为: a reclaimed wool from materials that are not felted that is of better quality and longer staple than mungo
- We rap the manufacturers on their knuckles if the toy is shoddy. 如果玩具质量低劣，我们会痛斥制造商。
- scrub
- 作动词表示擦洗；刷洗；英文释义为: to clean with hard rubbing : SCOUR
- I got paint on my hands and it won't scrub off. 我手上沾上了油漆 擦不掉。
- leapfrog 作动词表示越级提升；
- But Chinese upstarts could leapfrog them in one area: business models. 但是中国的后起之秀可能在一个方面超越它们：那就是商业模式。
- laggard
- 作形容词表示落后者；技不如人者；英文释义为: lagging or tending to lag : slow especially compared to others of the same kind
- The company has developed a reputation as a technological laggard in the personal-computer arena. 该公司在个人电脑领域因技术落后遭人诟病。
- delight
- 作动词表示使高兴；使满足；英文释义为: to take great pleasure
- The British team did not disguise their delight at their success. 英国队毫不掩饰他们获胜的喜悦。
- afterthought
- 作名词表示事后想法；事后添加的事物；英文释义为: something (such as a part or feature) not thought of originally : something secondary
- Almost as an afterthought he added that he missed her. 他又几乎不假思索地补充说他想念她。
- world-beating
- 作形容词表示世界一流的；
- These are indeed fabulously innovative companies with world-beating business models. 这些传奇一样的公司经营模式都是世界上独一无二的。
- blackball
- 作动词表示投票反对…加入；英文释义为: to vote against，especially : to exclude from membership by casting a negative vote
- Members can blackball candidates in secret ballots. 成员可以通过无记名投票反对候选人加入。
- 参考译文
要回答这个问题，首先要研究一下在中国被称为 "鲶鱼效应 "的观点，即捕食者会让弱小的对手游得更快。多年来，中国在电动汽车的生产和购买方面处于世界领先地位。然而，这些汽车得到了大量的补贴，并且质量较差。它们是对政府净化空气和超越内燃机的愿望的回应，中国在这一技术上是落后的。让客户满意是一个事后的想法。在2019年被美国拒绝之前，中国没有一家电动汽车制造商像华为在智能手机领域那样举世瞩目。
P-3
That same year Tesla set up shop in Shanghai and began rolling Model 3s off the production line. It became says Gregor Sebastian of the Mercator Institute for China Studies in Berlin the epitome of a catfish. The effect was similar to the benefit that production of Apple’s iPhone in China brought to the country’s smartphone market where local suppliers had to raise their game to meet international standards.
- epitome
- 作名词表示典型；典范；英文释义为: a typical or ideal example : EMBODIMENT
- He is the epitome of a modern young man. 他是现代青年男子的典范。
- 参考译文
同年，特斯拉在上海开店，开始将Model 3下线到市场进行销售。柏林墨卡托中国研究所的格里高尔·塞巴斯蒂安说，它成了鲶鱼的缩影。这种效果类似于苹果公司在中国生产iPhone给中国智能手机市场带来的好处，当地供应商不得不提高自己的水平，以达到国际标准。
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