Topic 1 Amazon’s Empire
1. The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
前者的图书销售额已经超过了一半的美国线上图书销售额。
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)
2015伊始，它的价格就以快前两年七倍的速度，上升到之前的百分之173（这比S&P500还要快12倍）
3. With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.
随着市值达到四百万美元，它已经成为世界上第五大最有价值的公司。
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.
从未有一所公司能够在赚这么少的钱的同时，还能长期保持有价值的状态：它百分之九十二的价值都归因于2020年之后的利润。
5. Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.
沃尔玛已经掌握五百万元的控股权，并加强了线上销售运营。
6. Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.
去年（在投资之前）的现金流转是十六万美金，这比五年前还要多四倍。
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.
如果真能如投资者所愿，赚的如此丰厚的利润，一项大概的计算揭示着，它的收入可以同25%西方零售商和传媒公司的利润总额试比高。
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.
怀疑者的立场并没有达到这一点：亚马逊为了证实它的价值，将会以比史上任何一家公司都要快的速度发展。
9. In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
在一个运营商时不时抱怨巨大短期生产总值压力的时代，亚马逊则把关注点放在长远的利益上。
10. Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.
Be zos先生强调了不断的投资可以推进两项基本商业的进程。
11. A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:
第三次道德循环，正要席卷一个声控公司的附属机构——Alexa。
12. So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
只要股东在这一模型中保持良好的心态，亚马逊的价值将会在自我实现预言中聚集。
13. Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.
他们的信念靠亚马逊的记录而维持。
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.
它已经遭受过失败了—— 它试图生产智能手机的尝试，彻彻底底地失败了。但是商业正处于好转。
15. If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.
如果亚马采用时间框架的方法是非同寻常的，那么它所组织的活动也会有异曲同工之妙。
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.
这么大的机翼比一个大的销售企业更容易让人想起，这使得亚马逊的股市份额被贴上了“企业折扣”这一特殊的标签，以示他们工作效率的低下。
17. Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.
通过这些显微镜可以看出，亚马逊的出现非常趋于原始。
18. Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.
消费者为此鼓掌，根据Harris民意测验显示，这是美国最受认可的公司。
19. If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.
如果这可以满足他们去任何地方的夙愿，那么就能吸引管理者的注意力。
20. But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.
但是随着它的增长，对它权利的担忧也会随之增大。
21. Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
投资者估量亚马逊的发展高于其利润，这使得同行业的竞争者有了更多的价格幼儿。
