What do Donald Trump and Jack Ma have in common?
来源：
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38565947
http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/10/technology/jack-ma-trump-us-jobs-claim/index.html
Another week, and yet another Asian business leader finds himself in bear-like embrace of the US President-elect Donald Trump.
This time it is China's Jack Ma - the founder of Alibaba.
On the face of it they're an unlikely pairing.
One's been raised in the lap of luxury /'lʌɡʒəri/, the other had humble/ˈhʌmbəl/ beginnings. One has taken advantage of the free market capitalism of the West, the other grew up in the Chinese Communist system.
humble/ˈhʌmbəl/
But there are a few things they have in common.
They both think huge
It is possibly Donald Trump's favourite word: Huge. And whatever you might think of him, the President-elect certainly has had grand plans. Taking over his father's real estate /ɪ'stet/ business and turning it an empire /'ɛmpaɪr/. Expanding it into an entertainment business. Running for, and winning, the highest office in the land. There's no lack of ambition. He's now thought to be worth almost $4bn (although consistently /kən'sɪstəntli/ claims he's worth more than double that).
Taking over 掌握
estate /ɪ’stet/
* n. 房地产；财产；身份
* empire /'ɛmpaɪr/
* n. 帝国；帝王统治，君权
* n. (Empire)人名；(法)昂皮尔
* consistently /kən’sɪstəntli/
* adv. 一贯地；一致地；坚实地
When it comes to wealth, China's Jack Ma isn't far behind. He is China's third richest man and Forbes names him amongst the most powerful people on the planet. But he started his professional life teaching English to students in a university in a small Chinese town, reportedly making about US$12 a month. To get better at English, he would court foreign tourists, charming /'tʃɑrmɪŋ/ them into having conversations at local hotels. He started the e-commerce giant/'dʒaɪənt/ Alibaba in his flat /flæt/, and hasn't looked back.
charming /'tʃɑrmɪŋ/
* adj. 迷人的；可爱的
* v. 使陶醉（charm的现在分词）
giant/'dʒaɪənt/
* n. 巨人；伟人；[动] 巨大的动物
* adj. 巨大的；巨人般的
* flat /flæt/
* n. 平地；公寓；平面
Mr Ma also has a grand vision which has driven the company from the start: to create ten million profitable businesses and 100 million jobs in the next 20 years.
They aren't afraid to take risks
Both men are known risk-takers, or as some would say, gamblers /'ɡæmblə/.
gamblers /'ɡæmblə/
* n. 赌徒；投机者（gambler的复数）
And perhaps Mr Trump's biggest gamble was running for president. He was initially seen as the weakest contender during the campaign for the Republican nomination. But a decision to take a risk and be outrageous /aʊt'redʒəs/ helped him, in part at least, to get his name on the ballot/'bælət/ paper and ultimately to win the presidency /'prɛzɪdənsi/.
outrageous /aʊt'redʒəs/
* adj. 粗暴的；可恶的；令人吃惊的
in part at least 至少部分
ballot/'bælət/
* n. 投票；投票用纸；投票总数
* vi. 投票；抽签决定
* vt. 使投票表决；拉选票
* n. (Ballot)人名；(英)巴洛特；(法)巴洛
* presidency /'prɛzɪdənsi/
* n. 总统（或董事长、会长、大学校长等）的职位（任期）；管辖；支配
Jack Ma is similarly unafraid to take risks. One of his early internet ventures, China Pages, ended badly when he ended up having to form a joint venture with China Telecom and lost control of the company. He also burned through a lot of cash in his early days, and at one point had to lay off all of his international staff. But Mr Ma, who was once rejected from a managerial /ˌmænə'dʒɪrɪəl/ role at a Kentucky Fried Chicken in Hangzhou, says he wouldn't be where he is today without having to learn to deal with failure.
managerial /ˌmænə'dʒɪrɪəl/
* adj. [管理] 管理的；经理的
They embrace their inner crazy
Mr Trump is known as one of America's most colourful and famous billionaires. He rose to fame as the boss in the hit television show "The Apprentice/ə'prɛntɪs/" and his trademark "You're Fired" became a catchphrase. But eccentric /ɪk'sɛntrɪk/, and many would say outrageous, comments on the campaign trail have also led to him being called crazy by his critics, for all the wrong reasons. Remember when he said he would impose a total "shutdown" of Muslims entering the United States? Or how about the the pledge to build a wall on the border with Mexico, and get the US's neighbour to pay for it? The list goes on.
rose to fame
* 成名，名声大振
* frame /frem/
* n. 框架；结构；[电影] 画面
* vt. 设计；建造；陷害；使…适合
* vi. 有成功希望
* adj. 有木架的；有构架的
* n. (Frame)人名；(英)弗雷姆
* Apprentice/ə'prɛntɪs/
* n. 学徒；生手
* vt. 使…当学徒
* vi. 当学徒
* eccentric /ɪk'sɛntrɪk/
* adj. 古怪的，反常的
* n. 古怪的人
Mr Ma is often called "Crazy Jack" (though that craziness isn't seen as offensive.).
His trademark speeches captivate /'kæptɪvet/and inspire employees. He is a showman who regularly entertains /ˌɛntɚ'ten/ Alibaba staff with performances that would make Justin Timberlake proud. He's a familiar smiling face on the televised galas launching Alibaba's Singles Day sales, and is also known to preside/prɪ'zaɪd/ over mass marriages at the firm.
captivate /'kæptɪvet/
* vt. 迷住，迷惑
* entertains /ˌɛntɚ’ten/
* vt. 娱乐；招待；怀抱；容纳
* vi. 款待
* preside/prɪ'zaɪd/
* vi. 主持，担任会议主席
* vt. 管理
The Buddy economy
Almost every time a billionaire goes through the doors of Trump Towers, the President-elect comes out with a pledge to create jobs in the US. It is starting to be seen as a fast-pass route to getting business done - as I wrote about when Japan's Masayoshi Son met with Mr Trump late last year.
His meeting with Jack Ma was no different.
And while the practice of business leaders visiting publicly-elected officials might have many scratching their heads in Western nations, the relationship between business and politics is much closer in many parts of Asia - including China. So this is a way of doing business that Mr Ma will know and understand well.
China-US relations may well deteriorate after January 20, when Mr Trump has promised to call China out as a currency manipulator, Mr Ma is making sure that his personal relationship with the new president isn't affected - which can only be good for his business
deteriorate/dɪ’tɪrɪəret/
* vi. 恶化，变坏
* vt. 恶化
*
Alibaba's 1 million American jobs promise isn't realistic
Alibaba founder Jack Ma met with Donald Trump Monday and pledged to create one million jobs in the U.S. over the next five years through the company's e-commerce platform.
That is a vague /veɡ/ and misleading /ˌmɪs'lidɪŋ/ promise. /'prɑmɪs/
vague/veɡ/
* adj. 模糊的；含糊的；不明确的；暧昧的
* n. (Vague)人名；(法)瓦格；(英)韦格
* misleading /ˌmɪs'lidɪŋ/
* adj. 令人误解的；引入歧途的
Ma is not going to build factories. He is not planning to set up Alibaba operations centers that would employ tech savvy/'sævi/ Americans. And he is not touting /taut/ a big investment in the U.S.
touting /taut/
* v. 兜售；[贸易] 招徕顾客（tout的现在分词形式）
In other words, Ma isn't promising what most experts and economists would define as job creation. He's talking about stimulating/'stɪmjuletɪŋ/ trade by helping one million small businesses sell American goods to consumers in China and Asia.
stimulating/'stɪmjuletɪŋ/
* adj. 刺激的；有刺激性的
* v. 刺激；激励；促进（stimulate的ing形式）
To create one million jobs would require each of those businesses to hire one new worker. So far so good. But U.S. trade on Alibaba's Taobao and Tmall shopping sites is relatively small at the moment. More than 7,000 U.S. brands sold $15 billion worth of goods to Chinese consumers last year, according to Alibaba spokesperson Rico Ngai. (Alibaba did $17.8 billion in sales in 24 hours during its online shopping bonanza /bə'nænzə/ in November.)
Ma has been pushing since 2015 to increase U.S. sales to China on Alibaba. But getting one million American brands onto its platforms would require a 142-fold increase in business.
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[sentences]
On the face of it they're an unlikely pairing.
But there are a few things they have in common.
They both think huge
It is possibly Donald Trump's favourite word: Huge.
He's now thought to be worth almost $4bn
When it comes to wealth, China's Jack Ma isn't far behind.
But he started his professional life teaching English to students in a university in a small Chinese town
They aren't afraid to take risks
And perhaps Mr Trump's biggest gamble was running for president.
Jack Ma is similarly unafraid to take risks.
says he wouldn't be where he is today without having to learn to deal with failure.
They embrace their inner crazy
Alibaba's 1 million American jobs promise isn't realistic
That is a vague /veɡ/ and misleading /ˌmɪs'lidɪŋ/ promise. /'prɑmɪs/
