2020年经济学人 技术行业在危机中的机会(1)

Leaders

来源于《社论》版块

The technology industry

技术行业

Don’t waste a good crisis

不要在危机中浪费好机会

Big tech firms are thriving. They should seize the moment and detoxify their relations with society

大型科技公司正在蓬勃发展。应抓住时机，消除与社会的关系

The pandemic will have many losers, but it already has one clear winner: big tech. The large digital platforms, including Alphabet and Facebook, will come out of the crisis even stronger. They should use this good fortune to reset¹ their sometimes testy² relations with their users. Otherwise big government, the other beneficiary of the covid calamity³, is likely to do it for them.

这场流行病将导致许多输家，但已经有了一个明显的赢家：大型科技公司。包括Alphabet和Facebook在内的大型数字平台在渡过危机后将更加强大。他们应该充分发挥这种上升运势来重新调整与用户之间有时会出现的紧张关系。否则，“大政府”——冠状病毒灾难的另一个受益者——可能会代他们做这件事。

Demand for online services has exploded and the infrastructure⁴ behind the internet has proved to be admirably reliable. Newcomers such as Slack and Zoom⁵, which help businesses operate remotely, have become household names. And although some tech supply chains are creaking and online advertising⁶ spending has dipped, overall the big five firms are seeing surging demand.

对在线服务的需求呈爆炸式增长，互联网背后的基础设施也被证明是非常可靠的。帮助企业远程操作的Slack和Zoom等新公司已经成为家喻户晓的名字。尽管一些技术供应链正在崩溃，在线广告支出有所下降，但总体而言，五大公司的需求正在飙升。

Facebook has said that messaging activity has increased by 50% in those countries hit hard by the virus. Amazon is planning to hire 100,000 new staff to keep up with higher e-commerce orders. The big tech firms are also a bastion of financial stability: together Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft have $570bn of gross cash on their balance-sheets. Shares in these firms have outperformed the market since late January.

Facebook表示，在那些遭受病毒重创的国家，消息传递活动增加了50%。亚马逊计划招聘10万名新员工，以满足更多的电子商务订单需求。大型科技公司也是金融稳定的堡垒：Alphabet、亚马逊、苹果、Facebook和微软的资产负债表上总共有5700亿美元现金。自1月底以来，这些公司的股票表现一直优于市场均值。

Just as the big firms are standing⁷ even taller, many of the tech industry’s younger, smaller firms are being crushed in the worst slump⁸ since the dotcom crash 20 years ago. Even before the coronavirus hit, trouble was brewing⁹ in the land of unicorns¹⁰, as tech startups worth more than $1bn are called. Among many firms catering¹¹ to consumers, the strategy of growing at all costs, known as “blitzscaling”, had turned out to be flawed. Some firms, particularly those stuffed with capital by SoftBank’s $100bn Vision Fund, had already started laying off people. All this will make it easier for the big firms to hire the best talent. Collapsing¹² firms could be snapped up by the tech giants.

就在大公司站得更高的时候，许多资历更短、规模更小的科技公司却在这场自20年前互联网泡沫破裂以来最严重的经济衰退中被压垮了。早在冠状病毒爆发之前，这个“独角兽之地”就已经在酝酿着麻烦。“独角兽之地”指的是市值超过10亿美元的科技初创企业。在许多迎合消费者的公司中，不惜一切代价发展的策略，即所谓的“闪电式扩张”，被证明是有缺陷的。一些公司，尤其是软银1000亿美元愿景基金注资的那些公司，已经开始裁员。所有这些都将使大公司更容易雇佣到最优秀的人才。濒临倒闭的公司可能会被科技巨头争相收购。

1 reset   

v.重新安排，复位；n.重新放置；重放之物

参考例句：

• As soon as you arrive at your destination,step out of the aircraft and reset your wristwatch.你一到达目的地，就走出飞机并重新设置手表时间。
• He is recovering from an operation to reset his arm.他做了一个手臂复位手术，正在恢复。

2 testy   

adj.易怒的；暴躁的

参考例句：

• Ben's getting a little testy in his old age.上了年纪后本变得有点性急了。
• A doctor was called in to see a rather testy aristocrat.一个性格相当暴躁的贵族召来了一位医生为他检查。

3 calamity   

n.灾害，祸患，不幸事件

参考例句：

• Even a greater natural calamity cannot daunt us. 再大的自然灾害也压不垮我们。
• The attack on Pearl Harbor was a crushing calamity.偷袭珍珠港(对美军来说)是一场毁灭性的灾难。

4 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

5 zoom   

n.急速上升；v.突然扩大，急速上升

参考例句：

• The airplane's zoom carried it above the clouds.飞机的陡直上升使它飞到云层之上。
• I live near an airport and the zoom of passing planes can be heard night and day.我住在一个飞机场附近，昼夜都能听到飞机飞过的嗡嗡声。

6 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

7 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

8 slump   

n.暴跌，意气消沉，（土地）下沉；vi.猛然掉落，坍塌，大幅度下跌

参考例句：

• She is in a slump in her career.她处在事业的低谷。
• Economists are forecasting a slump.经济学家们预言将发生经济衰退。

9 brewing   

n. 酿造, 一次酿造的量 动词brew的现在分词形式

参考例句：

• It was obvious that a big storm was brewing up. 很显然，一场暴风雨正在酝酿中。
• She set about brewing some herb tea. 她动手泡一些药茶。

10 unicorns   

n.（传说中身体似马的）独角兽( unicorn的名词复数 )；一角鲸；独角兽标记

参考例句：

• Unicorns are legendary beasts. 独角兽是传说里的野兽。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Assemble50 Elder Druids, 30 Silver Unicorns and10 Green Dragons do defend it. 募集50个德鲁伊长老，30只银色独角兽和10条绿龙用于防御。 来自互联网

11 catering   

n. 给养

参考例句：

• Most of our work now involves catering for weddings. 我们现在的工作多半是承办婚宴。
• Who did the catering for your son's wedding? 你儿子的婚宴是由谁承办的？

12 collapsing   

压扁[平]，毁坏，断裂

参考例句：

• Rescuers used props to stop the roof of the tunnel collapsing. 救援人员用支柱防止隧道顶塌陷。
• The rocks were folded by collapsing into the center of the trough. 岩石由于坍陷进入凹槽的中心而发生褶皱。