经济学人精读笔记11：你还会逛实体书店吗？

经济学人精读笔记11：你还会逛实体书店吗？

标签（空格分隔）： 经济学人

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Part 1

New ways of selling books clash with France’s old pricing rules

Can a “one book, one price” principle survive e-commerce?

A book is so much more than mere ink and paper. So insist French booksellers, who for nearly four decades have successfully lobbied to keep the forces of the free market at bay.

在法国，新的书籍销售模式与旧的定价规则相冲突
“一书一价”原则能否在电子商务的洪流中继续生存
说起书籍，它不仅仅是墨水和纸张。法国书商一直是这样认为的，近40年来，他们的游说成功地遏制了自由市场的发展。

• clash [klæʃ] n. [C] an argument between two people or groups because they have very different beliefs or opinions 争论；交锋；矛盾

The plans put oil companies in a head-on clash with environmentalists. 这些计划使石油公司和环境保护主义者发生了正面冲突。

• survive v.幸存；幸免于难；艰难度过

The company managed to survive the crisis.公司设法渡过了危机。

【古诗文鉴赏】顺天者存，逆天者亡。Those who follow the Heaven’s law will survive; those who go against it will perish.

• lobby [ˈlɑbi] v.to try to influence a politician or the government and, for example, persuade them to support or oppose a change in the law 游说（从政者或政府）
  【熟词僻义】lobby的名词意思我们很熟悉是“大厅”

lobby against sth try to persuade people in power not to approve (sth such as a law)游说当权者不要通过(某项法案等);通过政治活动、写信等防止(某事)

The cotton farmers from the South lobbied against a law to allow importing cotton from Egypt.南方的棉农对议员进行游说,反对通过一项准许从埃及进口棉花的法律。

lobby for sth try to persuade people in power to approve (sth such as a law) or take (action); try to obtain (sth) by political action, writing letter, etc.疏通,游说当权者批准(某处法案)或采取(某种活动);试图通过游说或疏通活动获得(某物) They are lobbying for a reduction in defence spending.他们正在为减少国防开支而游说议员。

【近义词辨析】lobby/dissuade/ persuade这组词都可以表示“使某人相信或同意”。其区别是：

*lobby 特指游说议员而使议案得以通过;

*persuade 的意思是“说服”,指通过情感、意愿等办法说服某人从而去做所希望的事。We're trying to persuade manufacturers to sell them here.我们正在努力劝说制造商在这里销售。

*dissuade 的意思是“劝阻”,意指通过劝说让某人别干某件冒险、不明智或预计产生不良后果的事。I tried to dissuade him from giving up his job.我劝过他，让他不要放弃自己的工作。

• hold/keep sb/sth at bay 不让（敌人）接近；防止（问题恶化）= ward off

I'm trying to keep my creditors at bay.我在竭力避开债主。

Charlotte bit her lip to hold the tears at bay.夏洛特咬住嘴唇不让眼泪流出来。

• forces n. 力量；武力；魄力；军队
  vt. 强迫；强加；促使，推动

Part 2

A law passed in 1981 bans the sale of any book at anything other than the price decreed by its publisher. Authorities are cracking down on those trying to flog the latest Thomas Piketty or J.K. Rowling at a discount.

1981年，法国通过了一项法律，要求任何书籍必须以出版商规定的价格来出售。法国当局正在打击那些试图打折出售托马斯·皮凯蒂或J·K·罗琳最新作品的人。

• decree v.|dɪˈkri:|(decreeing, decreed, decreed)to decide, judge or order sth officially 裁定；判决；颁布

The government decreed a state of emergency.政府下令进入紧急状态。

• crackdown on sth / sb 指“严厉的打击；镇压”

The government has cracked down on informal sources of financing from which much vc funding has flowed, for example. 比如，政府打击了非正式融资来源，而大量风投资金正是从这些渠道而来。[经济学人：Unicorns in winter]

【类似表达】clamp down on sth

Last year regulators focused on the financial system, clamping down, for instance, on borrowing to buy bonds. 去年，监管机构专注于治理金融体系，例如限制借钱买债券。[经济学人：Life After Digging]

• crackdown连起来作名词：严厉的打击；镇压

a military crackdown on student protesters 对抗议的学生实行的军事镇压

【近义词辨析】 break / burst / crack / crush / fracture / shatter / smash这些动词均可以表示“打破、弄碎”

*break :常用词，含义广泛，多指猛然用力将坚硬物打破或损坏。All the windows broke with the force of the blast.爆炸的力量震碎了所有的窗户。

*burst :指某物因内部外部压力过大而出现严重破裂、爆开或账破。That balloon will burst if you blow it up any more.你再给气球充气，它就要爆了。

*crack：多指因长期使用或经受压力，物体表现呈现裂纹、裂口或破裂、裂开，但一般没成碎片。

The ice cracked as I stepped onto it.我一踩冰就裂了。

*crush: 指用力把东西压破或变形。

The car was completely crushed under the truck.小轿车被卡车压得完全变形了。

*fracture: 比crack的破裂程度更深更严重，常指断裂，医学上指骨折。

His leg fractured in two places.他的一条腿有两处骨折。

*shatter : 指破裂为许多支离破碎的碎片，多用指易碎事物。He dropped the vase and it shattered into pieces on the floor.他失手把花瓶掉到地板上摔碎了。

*smash :（哗啦一声）打碎，打破，破碎指突然而猛烈地重击某物，使之破碎或完全变形。

Several windows had been smashed.几扇窗户劈里啪啦打碎了。

• flog v.出售 By the mid-1960s similar gizmos were being flogged by door-to-door salesmen. 到了60 年代中期，推销员开始上门兜售类似的小玩意。

flog 作动词也有“鞭打”的意思，拓展一个写作

推荐使用的地道表达：flog a dead horse字面意义是“鞭打一匹已经死掉的马”；引申义“做徒劳无益的事” You're beating /flogging a dead horse by trying to persuade Simon to go to Spain with us. 你劝西蒙跟我们一起去西班牙是在白费功夫。【写作推荐】

【类似表达】be a wasted effort 白费力气

in vain 枉费心机；徒劳无益；白费力气

• at a discount 打折出售

discount n.折扣 它通常用在表示某个具体的折扣，比如：They're offering a 10% discount on all sofas this month.本月他们给沙发售价统统打九折。

【类似表达】

*cut-rate adj.costing less than standard price打折扣的

cut-rate goods打折商品

*cut-price adj.打折扣的 cut-price supermarkets 折价超市

*on sale 打折
They were all on sale, so we saved some money! 它们都在打折，所以我们省了些钱。（for sale强调待售，on sale是促销，on sale更常用的口语含义就是"大减价"。）

I got something on sale. 我趁打折的时候买了一点东西。这里也可以用bought（buy）表示“买”，但got更加地道和口语化。

一定要注意打折是on sale而不是on sales。sales通常用在：sales assistant售货员 /sales department 销售部

*“数字%+ off”也是“打折”的意思，比如：30% off 打七折, 20% off 打八折 They're offering a 10% discount on all sofas this month. 本月他们给沙发售价统统打九折。

Part 3

The fixed-price rule is meant to keep customers loyal to their local bookshop and out of the clutches of supermarkets and hypercapitaliste American corporations.

But the advent of e-commerce and e-readers has prompted questions worthy of their own tomes. Can you fix the price of a book if it is part of an all-you-can-read subscription service? Are audiobooks books at all? And what of authors who self-publish?

固定价格的规定是为了让顾客忠于当地的书店，并免受超级市场和美国超级资本主义公司的诱惑。
但电子商务和电子书的出现引发了一些值得我们探讨的问题。作为“随你读”订阅服务中的一本书，你能确定它的价格吗？有声书算是书吗？还有那些由作家自己出版的书籍呢？

• fixed adj.固定的fixed prices固定价格 people living on fixed incomes靠固定收入生活的人们

• set adj.固定的Mornings in our house always follow a set pattern.在我们家，每天上午的生活总是遵循一种固定的模式。

• the advent of the coming of an important event, person, invention, etc.（重要事件、人物、发明等的）出现，到来

The advent of AI technology changes our life beyond recognition. 人工智能技术的出现大大改变了我们的生活。【写作推荐】

• tome n.|təʊm |(formal) a large heavy book, especially one dealing with a serious topic （尤指理论性的）大部头书，巨著

• subscription 指“订阅，订购”，an annual subscription 订购一年的费用。

如果想表达“订购、订阅某物”需要用到介词to：a subscription to sth

比如订阅经济学人，可以说take out a subscription to The Economist或者直接用动词subscribe：subscribe to The Economist

• clutches n. 控制；手；离合器；紧急关头

• hypercapitaliste 超级资本主义

• advent n. 出现, 到来

Part 4

Tweaks have been made to preserve the principle of one book, one price. In 2011 the rule began to apply to digital tomes.Free delivery by online sellers was prohibited on the grounds it implied a subsidy on the delivered books (prompting websites to charge all of 0.01 for postage). But a new challenge to the policy is proving thornier.

为了维持一书一价的原则，法国当局已经做出了一些调整。2011年，线上销售的大部分书籍开始适用这一规定了。规定禁止线上卖家对书籍包邮，因为包邮就意味着对书籍的配送给予了补贴（线上卖家只得收取0.01欧元的邮费）。但事实证明，这项政策面临着更加棘手的挑战。

• tweak 作动词意为“拧，扭，扯”，后引申为“轻微调整、改进”，相当于slight changes/fine tuning既可以作名词，也可以做动词.

[经济学人.Epic Fall] Facebook seems to think it only needs to tweak its approach. Facebook似乎认为自己只需微调方式方法

• free delivery 包邮，另一种说法是“postage included ”

make deliveries 送货，送快递

home delivery service 送货上门

pick up post 取快递

• ground 除了“地面”还有“充分的理由；根据”的意思
  on the grounds that 以…为由
  The case was dismissed on the grounds that there was not enough evidence. 此案以缺乏足够的证据为由被驳回。

on …grounds 以…为由,因为
He retired from the job on health grounds .他因健康原因退职。

no grounds for sth. 没理由…
You have no grounds for complaint.你没有理由抱怨。

【相关表达】其他有关ground的地道表达：

be thin on the ground意思是“不是随处可见，少有的”

与之相反，be thick on the ground 表示“随处可见，到处都是”比如Cheap houses aren't as thick on the ground as they used to be.廉价房不再像从前那样随处可见了。

sth has become fertile ground for sth.
fertile ground本义是“肥沃的土壤”，该句型可理解为“成为…的温床，成为…的沃土”，比如谈到社交媒体的影响，我们可以说：Social network has become fertile ground for stalking, harassment and cyber bullies. 【写作推荐】

prepare the ground (for sth) = pave the way (for sb/sth) v.（为…）铺平道路，创造条件，（为…）准备条件，铺路.

The mushroom development of technology will pave the way for improving our economy. 科学技术的迅猛发展将为我们改善经济状况铺平道路.

• postage n.|ˈpəʊstɪdʒ| the cost of sending a letter, etc. by post 运费，邮费和上文的delivery作同义替换

All prices include postage and packing .所有的价格都包括邮资和包装费。

• thornier是形容词thorny的比较级

thorny ['θɔ:ni] 来源于名词thorn。thorn指“植物茎上的刺”，其对应的形容词thorny义为“多刺的；带刺的”，引申义为“棘手的；麻烦的；引起争议的”(causing difficulty or disagreement)，是一个很形象的小词。

《经济学人》在报道马云卸任以及刘强东事件时也用到了这个词：The two events have concentrated minds on a thorny, long-standing problem in Chinese corporate governance: “key-man risk”. 这两起事件突显了中国企业管理中存在的一个棘手的、长期存在的问题：“关键人风险”。

与之相近的还有一个词knotty，其本义是“盘根错节的”，引申为“难以解决的，棘手的”。

• prohibited vt. 阻止，禁止

Part 5

Used books are exempt from the pricing rule. Third-party sellers on Amazon are accused of using this as a way to apply forbidden discounts: selling brand-new books as “second-hand” to make them cheaper.

So fans of bleak fiction can purchase a copy of the latest Michel Houellebecq novel, “Sérotonine”, for 11.71 ($13.21) on Amazon, roughly half its mandated price. Its seller claims it is in “perfectly new” condition.

二手书籍是不受定价规则限制的。有人指控，亚马逊上的第三方卖家利用这种方式避开了打折禁令：将新书当作“二手书”以更便宜的价格出售。
因此，致郁系小说迷可以在亚马逊上以11.71欧元（约合13.21美元，大约是其法定价格的一半）的价格购买米歇尔·维勒贝克最新的小说《血清素》。卖家则声称书是“全新的”。

• exempt sb / sth from sth
  to give someone permission not to do or pay something 免除，豁免

Charities are exempted from paying the tax. 慈善团体免付这项税款。 His bad eyesight exempted him from military service. 他因视力不好而免服兵役。

• brand-new adj.全新的，崭新的=fire-new

• mandate [ˈmændeɪt] v. to tell someone that they must do a particular thing 命令，指示；强制规定

Justice mandates that we should treat all candidates equally. 公平原则要求我们应该平等地对待所有的候选人。

• bleak adj. 荒凉的，无遮蔽的；阴冷的；黯淡的，无希望的；冷酷的；单调的

Part 6

Amazon claims its practices are legal. But booksellers are fuming, and their political allies with them. “This is a major preoccupation,” complained Franck Riester, the culture minister, at a booksellers’ shindig this week. He says new legislation may be needed.

亚马逊声称其行为是合法的。但书商和他们的政治盟友则感到愤怒。法国文化部长弗兰克·里斯特本周在一次书商座谈会中抱怨称：“现在的当务之急是解决这一问题。”他表示，想要解决这一问题可能需要新的立法。

• fume 一般做名词“烟，烟雾”，也作动词“（对…）大为生气，十分恼火”非常形象，可以想象一下“气到冒烟”常用搭配~ (at/over/about sb/sth) to be very angry about sth （对…）大为生气，十分恼火

She sat in the car, silently fuming at the traffic jam. 她坐在汽车里，心中对交通堵塞感到十分恼火。

• a big/major/chief preoccupation 当务之急

By now this had become a major preoccupation for him. 现在这已成为他的当务之急.

Their chief preoccupation was how to feed their families. 他们关注的首要事情是如何养家糊口.

【类似表达】priority n. [praɪ`ɔrətɪ] 优先事项；最重要的事；当务之急
The government's priority is to build more power plants. 政府的首要任务是建造更多的发电站。

• allies n. 同盟国；同盟者；助手；伙伴

• shindig n. 狂欢会,舞会,吵闹,骚动