为投资滴滴造势 苹果CEO高调访华

 US technology executives seeking to ingratiate themselves with China’s leadership are known for making big entrances, and Tim Cook set the bar high yesterday after he arrived in Beijing to fanfare¹ over Apple’s $1bn investment in the Didi Chuxing ridehailing app.

很多人知道，寻求讨好中国领导层的美国科技业高管会高规格地访问中国。蒂姆?库克(Tim Cook)昨日在这方面进一步抬高了标杆，他到达北京，大张旗鼓地为苹果10亿美元投资打车软件滴滴出行(Didi Chuxing)造势。

He took a Didi car to his first destination, an Apple store in Beijing’s Wang-fujing shopping district, accompanied by Jean Liu, the Chinese company’s president. 

在滴滴总裁柳青(Jean Liu)的陪同下，他乘坐一辆滴滴汽车前往第一个目的地，位于北京王府井购物区的一家苹果商店。

为投资滴滴造势 苹果CEO高调访华

“We are very proud of that investment,” Mr Cook told journalists as he posed with a host of local internet entrepreneurs.

“我们很自豪做出了这笔投资，”库克一边与许多中国互联网企业家合影，一边告诉记者。

“Didi has 14m drivers, 300m users — actually 300m and one now, because Jean and I took a Didi ride here this morning,” he said. 

“滴滴拥有1400万司机和3亿用户——现在实际上有3亿加1个用户，因为柳青和我今早是乘坐滴滴车辆来到这里的，”他说。

Beijing is a favoured destination for US tech chiefs whose companies are in dispute with China’s leadership. And high-profile shows of goodwill² tend to be made in as public a way as possible.

对于那些与中国领导层存在纠纷的美国科技公司，北京是它们的掌舵人喜欢访问之处。他们往往会尽可能公开地高调示好。

In March Mark Zuckerberg, the founder³ of Facebook — which remains⁴ blocked to China’s 700m internet users — was derided⁵ online as a “Zuck-up” when he jogged through Tiananmen Square in a haze⁶ of choking pollution. 

今年3月，Facebook的创始人马克?扎克伯格(Mark Zuckerberg)——中国的7亿互联网用户仍无法访问Facebook网站——在雾霾污染中跑步经过天安门广场，由此在网上被嘲笑为“Zuck-up”。

He also had a meeting with Liu Yunshan, the country’s propaganda chief.

他还会晤了中国最高宣传官员刘云山。

After Microsoft’s offices were raided by Chinese government investigators⁷ as part of a tax probe, a visit by Satya Nadella followed, after little more than the standard visa waiting period, in September 2014.

2014年9月，作为税务调查的一部分，微软(Microsoft)办公室遭到中国调查人员的突击检查。在标准的签证等待期过后，微软首席执行官萨蒂亚?纳德拉(Satya Nadella)便访问了北京。

Senior executives of Qualcomm have made Beijing a regular destination since the US semiconductor⁸ company was targeted in a 2014 antitrust investigation⁹ that resulted in a $1bn fine the following year. 

自从高通(Qualcomm)在2014年的反垄断调查中成为目标以来，这家美国半导体公司的高管频频访问北京。次年高通被罚款10亿美元。

In Mr Cook’s case, the question is how much of Apple’s investment in Didi is motivated by business sense, and how much of it is an effort to smooth things over with the leadership in China, where the iPhone maker¹⁰ has faced a series of setbacks this year. In April the group’s iTunes video services became unavailable in China and in May Apple lost an intellectual property court case against a little-known leather accessories manufacturer that uses “IPHONE” as a trademark¹¹ on its purses and wallets.

就库克而言，问题在于苹果投资滴滴在多大程度上是出于商业考量，在多大程度上是一种旨在缓和与中国领导层关系的努力。今年，iPhone已遭到了一系列挫折。4月，苹果的iTunes视频服务在中国无法使用，5月，苹果在一起知识产权纠纷案中输给了一家不知名的皮具配饰制造商，该公司把“IPHONE”商标用在皮夹和钱包类商品上。

In contrast Facebook won a trademark case days later against a Chinese company using the brand name “face book”, in a sign that official attitudes could be softening¹² towards the world’s largest social network.

与此形成对照的是，Facebook在几天后的商标案中告赢了一家使用“face book”品牌的中国企业，表明中国官方对这家世界最大社交网络公司的态度可能在软化。

Apple is also grappling with declining iPhone sales, which fell by a sharp 26 per cent in China last quarter, compared with a 16 per cent overall fall.

苹果也在努力应对iPhone销量下降的局面。上一季度，苹果在华销量大减26%，总体销量则减少16%。

Jia Jinghua, who covers the domestic technology industry for the Sina Tech news agency, said: “Cook is clearly keen to curry¹³ favour with Chinese authorities and with Chinese markets.

为新浪科技(Sina Tech)报道中国国内科技行业的贾敬华说：“库克非常急切地讨好中国当局和中国市场。”

“He will take advantage of the latest investments into Didi to pay visits to key ministries¹⁴.”

“他将利用最近投资滴滴的机会，拜访中国的关键部委。”

Apple declined to comment on Mr Cook’s China itinerary¹⁵.

苹果拒绝就库克的中国之行置评。

The visit is his eighth to China since taking over as Apple chief, and is unlikely to be his last.

这是库克接任苹果首席执行官以来第8次访问中国，也不太可能是他最后一次来中国。

As one user of Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, commented: “Cook, how many Didi rides does it take to make back $1bn?”

正如中国版Twitter新浪微博的一名用户所评论：“库克，滴滴汽车载客多少次才能赚回10亿美元？”

1 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

2 goodwill   

n.善意，亲善，信誉，声誉

参考例句：

• His heart is full of goodwill to all men.他心里对所有人都充满着爱心。
• We paid ￡10,000 for the shop,and ￡2000 for its goodwill.我们用一万英镑买下了这家商店，两千英镑买下了它的信誉。

3 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 derided   

v.取笑，嘲笑( deride的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• His views were derided as old-fashioned. 他的观点被当作旧思想受到嘲弄。
• Gazing up to the darkness I saw myself as a creature driven and derided by vanity. 我抬头疑视着黑暗，感到自己是一个被虚荣心驱使和拨弄的可怜虫。 来自辞典例句

6 haze   

n.霾，烟雾；懵懂，迷糊；vi.(over)变模糊

参考例句：

• I couldn't see her through the haze of smoke.在烟雾弥漫中，我看不见她。
• He often lives in a haze of whisky.他常常是在威士忌的懵懂醉意中度过的。

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

11 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

12 softening   

变软，软化

参考例句：

• Her eyes, softening, caressed his face. 她的眼光变得很温柔了。它们不住地爱抚他的脸。 来自汉英文学 - 家（1-26） - 家（1-26）
• He might think my brain was softening or something of the kind. 他也许会觉得我婆婆妈妈的，已经成了个软心肠的人了。

13 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。

14 ministries   

（政府的）部( ministry的名词复数 )； 神职； 牧师职位； 神职任期

参考例句：

• Local authorities must refer everything to the central ministries. 地方管理机构应请示中央主管部门。
• The number of Ministries has been pared down by a third. 部委的数量已经减少了1/3。

15 itinerary   

n.行程表，旅行路线；旅行计划

参考例句：

• The two sides have agreed on the itinerary of the visit.双方商定了访问日程。
• The next place on our itinerary was Silistra.我们行程的下一站是锡利斯特拉。