Topic 1 Amazon’s Empire
1. The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
Account for: 占（数量，比例） 美国在线消费每增加一元，这家曾经的图书销售商就占其中的一半多。
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年起，亚马逊的股票价格快速上升了173%，比前两年快了七倍（是同期大盘标准普尔500指数的12倍）
3. With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.
亚马逊是市值约达4000亿美元的世界第五大公司
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.从未有过哪家公司收入如此少却能有这么高的市值：92%的市值是因为2020年后的预期盈利
5. Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.沃尔玛的营业额已经约达5000亿美元并加强在线服务
6. Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.去年现金流量（在投资前）是160亿美元，比五年前的四倍还多
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.如果它像投资者期望的那样赚许多盈利，大略估算它的盈利数目相当于西方零售公司和媒体公司总盈利的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.对这一怀疑最有说服力的依据是：为了证明它的价值，亚马逊的增长速度必须超过几乎所有现代历史上的大公司
9. In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.在这一时代，高层管理者们都抱怨创造短期盈利的压力太大，而亚马逊却坚决致力着眼于长远的发展
10. Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.Bezos先生着重于不停地进行投资以推进亚马逊的两个重要的业务发展
11. A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:第三种良性循环是关于一个语音系统的开发
12. So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.只有股东们保持对亚马逊经营模式的信心，亚马逊令人兴奋的高估值就会像自我实现的预言似的
13. Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.他们的信心因亚马逊的业绩而维持
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.亚马逊也曾失败过，它制造智能手机的尝试崩溃了，但这一业务现在也开始盈利了
15. If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.如果说亚马逊长期投资的时间期限的战略是不寻常的，那他的业务扩张也是如此
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.业务范围如此之广是亚马逊更像是一个企业集团而不是一个零售商，这让亚马逊的股票价格看起来虚高，股市通常会通过“企业集团折扣”来反映他们的低效（业务太广导致通常各方面的效率效果偏低）
17. Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.从这一角度看，亚马逊看起来还是很质朴的
18. Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.消费者喜爱它，一份Harris民意调查表明，亚马逊是美国声誉最好的公司
19. If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.如果它一旦接近实现那些预期目标，它会招来监管部门的注意
20. But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.但随着它的发展，它的影响力也会随之增加
21. Investors value Amazon’s growth over profits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
股东们看着亚马逊的发展超过盈利，这也使掠夺成性的定价更有吸引力
