经济学人:欧盟VS谷歌:并不如意(1)

 　　Bussiness 商业

　　Europe v Google: Not so Froogle 欧盟VS谷歌：并不如意

　　The European Commission levies¹ a huge fine on Google for abusing its dominance on online search. 欧盟委员会对谷歌滥用搜索引擎巨头地位征收巨额罚款。

　　SHE was born to Lutheran ministers known to be both tough and principled. 她出生于以强硬和原则著称的路德教部长家。

　　As a child, she thought it unfair that pupils were not allowed to sell fruit and milk in school and successfully lobbied for change. 小时候，她认为学生不允许在学校里卖水果和牛奶这个规定是不公平，并且成功地游说改变了这个规定。

　　In her office in Brussels she keeps a statue of a raised middle finger, a gift from a trade union when she was deputy prime minister of Denmark,  在她在布鲁塞尔的办公室里放着一尊举起的中指雕塑，这是她当上丹麦的副总理从工会那里得到的礼物，

　　as a reminder² that there will always be critics. 这个礼物提醒着她无论做什么都总会有批评。

　　It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Margrethe Vestager, the European Union's competition commissioner³, took a tough line against Google this week. 不难预料，身为欧盟竞争委员的玛格丽特·韦斯塔格会对谷歌采取强硬的措施。

　　The size of the fine the tech giant will have to pay for abusing its monopoly in online search, 2.4bn euro ($2.7bn), sets a record for European antitrust penalties. 规模庞大的科技巨头将不得不为它滥用在线搜索的巨头地位付出代价，而24亿欧元（27亿美元）创下欧洲反垄断处罚纪录。

　　Yet more important than the amount is that she provided a rough guide to how the European Commission plans to deal with online firms which not only dominate a market,  然而更重要的是她对于欧洲委员会计划如何处理线上公司提供了一个简略的方向，

　　but essentially⁴ are the market. 线上公司不仅支配市场本质上它们就是市场。

　　In the 2000s Microsoft got into trouble because it had expanded its Windows monopoly by bundling it with its web browser⁵. 在2000年左右，微软因为它通过将其捆绑在网页浏览器上进一步扩大了Windows垄断而陷入了困境。

　　By comparison, Google's infraction⁶ seems minor⁷. 相比之下，谷歌的违规行为似乎微不足道。

　　In 2002 it launched a price-comparison service called Froogle, later renamed Google Shopping. 在2002年它发动了价格比较服务叫做购物搜索，后来改名为谷歌购物。

　　In 2008 it changed how this service works. 到了2008年，它改变了这项服务的运作方式。

　　According to the commission, the new version systematically⁸ favoured Google's own comparison-shopping results by giving them prominent placement at the top of its generic⁹ search results  根据证监会的调查，新的系统会有意偏心谷歌自己的比较购物搜索服务，因为它在常规搜索结果里把其服务放到显眼的高位，

　　and demoting links to rival offerings to pages further down in its results, where users hardly venture. 而将竞争对手的产品页面链接进一步下降到用户几乎不会浏览到的位置。

1 levies   

（部队）征兵( levy的名词复数 )； 募捐； 被征募的军队

参考例句：

• At that time, taxes and levies were as many as the hairs on an ox. 那时，苛捐杂税多如牛毛。
• Variable levies can insulate farmers and consumers from world markets. 差价进口税可以把农民和消费者与世界市场隔离开来。

2 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。

3 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

4 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

5 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

6 infraction   

n.违反；违法

参考例句：

• He was criticized for his infraction of the discipline.他因违反纪律而受到了批评。
• Parking at the bus stop is illegal,Motorists committing this infraction are heavily fined.在公交站停车是违法的，触犯此条的司机将受重罚。

7 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

8 systematically   

adv.有系统地

参考例句：

• This government has systematically run down public services since it took office.这一屆政府自上台以来系统地削减了公共服务。
• The rainforest is being systematically destroyed.雨林正被系统地毀灭。

9 generic   

adj.一般的，普通的，共有的

参考例句：

• I usually buy generic clothes instead of name brands.我通常买普通的衣服，不买名牌。
• The generic woman appears to have an extraordinary faculty for swallowing the individual.一般妇女在婚后似乎有特别突出的抑制个性的能力。