美国国家公共电台 NPR More Money, More Problems For Amazon

 

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So when it comes to shopping online, Americans have a clear favorite. It is Amazon. One of every two dollars spent online is spent there. Thursday, the company announced a phenomenal quarter. But as the online shopping giant branches out it, is rubbing some people the wrong way. Here's Lauren Silverman from member station KERA.

LAUREN SILVERMAN, BYLINE¹: Julie Veltman's life was incredibly intertwined with Amazon.

JULIE VELTMAN: So every tube of toothpaste I needed to buy, if I needed to get a gift for someone, videos, books for my Kindle², resources for my classroom - you name it, I bought it at Amazon.

SILVERMAN: Veltman, who lives in Portland, Ore., decided³ to break up with Amazon and other retailers⁵ that carried Trump⁶ products after the election. It's part of a larger #GrabYourWallet boycott⁷ that Shannon Coulter kicked off in opposition⁸ to President Trump. So far, Coulter says more than two dozen companies, like Nordstrom, have ended financial ties to the Trump family. But, she says, Amazon hasn't changed a thing.

SHANNON COULTER: A few months ago, #GrabYourWallet participants voted Amazon one of the most boycott-able (ph) companies on the list.

SILVERMAN: Not just by a minority of progressives. Check out the #BoycottAmazon hashtag on Twitter, and you'll see a strange mix of Amazon haters, among them, President Trump. He's sparred with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a number of times. Bezos, one of the world's richest men, has donated mostly to Democrats⁹ and owns The Washington Post. And we should note here that Amazon is an NPR sponsor. Trump accuses Bezos of using the newspaper as a tool to curry¹⁰ favor for Amazon. Here Trump is on Fox News in 2016.

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PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP: Let me...

SEAN HANNITY: Yeah.

TRUMP: He's using The Washington Post, which is peanuts. He's using that for political purposes to save Amazon in terms of taxes and in terms of antitrusts.

SILVERMAN: Antitrust laws are intended to stop big companies from dominating their competitors or fixing prices. It's a term that's popped up since Bezos put in a bid to buy Whole Foods for $14 billion in June. Here's conservative author Michael Walsh.

MICHAEL WALSH: Once they bought the lefties' favorite market, Whole Foods, you knew there was going to be some kind of backlash on the left.

SILVERMAN: Democratic lawmakers, such as Senator Cory Booker, have called for scrutiny¹¹ of Amazon's deal with Whole Foods. Meanwhile, the Federal Trade Commission is looking into allegations that Amazon misled customers about pricing discounts. Walsh has a different bone to pick with Amazon. He says it's killing¹² mom and pop shops and speeding up the, quote, "couch-potatoing of America."

WALSH: I've gotten a lot of heat on the right for my stance on this. Well, I've got a moral issue with putting my neighbors out of business. Go into any small town. I live in rural northwest Connecticut. Drive around here, and you'll see so many empty stores and so many little malls that are now effectively dead. And e-retailing has killed them and doesn't replace them with anything of value other than your own convenience. So do we really want to live in a world where we all wait for the postman every single day?

SILVERMAN: A majority of people seem to. Among the 100 most visible companies in the U.S., Amazon again earned the best reputation. Stacy Mitchell is co-director for a group that promotes strong local economies. It's called the Institute for Self-Reliance (ph). She says it's wrong to think of the company as just a retailer⁴.

STACY MITCHELL: They want to control the underlying¹³ infrastructure¹⁴ of the economy. They control about one third of the world's cloud-computing capacity, so they own the infrastructure that companies of all kinds, from, you know, Netflix to the CIA, rely on in order to do business. And they're rapidly moving into shipping¹⁵ and package delivery.

SILVERMAN: So much growth is bound to come with scrutiny. Amazon wouldn't comment on what effect, if any, boycotters might have on the company's reputation. Author Michael Walsh knows he's part of a small undercurrent of Amazon critics. But he likes it that the stream cuts across party lines.

Lauren Silverman, NPR News.

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1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 kindle   

v.点燃，着火

参考例句：

• This wood is too wet to kindle.这木柴太湿点不着。
• A small spark was enough to kindle Lily's imagination.一星光花足以点燃莉丽的全部想象力。

3 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

4 retailer   

n.零售商(人)

参考例句：

• What are the retailer requirements?零售商会有哪些要求呢？
• The retailer has assembled a team in Shanghai to examine the question.这家零售商在上海组建了一支团队研究这个问题。

5 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

6 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

7 boycott   

n./v.(联合)抵制，拒绝参与

参考例句：

• We put the production under a boycott.我们联合抵制该商品。
• The boycott lasts a year until the Victoria board permitsreturn.这个抗争持续了一年直到维多利亚教育局妥协为止。

8 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

9 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

11 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

12 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

13 underlying   

adj.在下面的，含蓄的，潜在的

参考例句：

• The underlying theme of the novel is very serious.小说隐含的主题是十分严肃的。
• This word has its underlying meaning.这个单词有它潜在的含义。

14 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。

15 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。