（注：原文粗体为值得内化的表达；译文斜体为存疑。）
1.The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.
在美国，每发生1美元的线上交易，其中一半以上都来自亚马逊这位前售书商。
2.Since the beginning of 2015, its share price has jumped by 173%, seven times quicker than in the two previous years.(and 12 times faster than the S&P 500 Index)
自2015年开年以来，它的股价激增了173%，是前两年的速度的7倍。（并且比标准普尔500指数快了12倍。）
3.With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.
它的市值约为4千亿，现在是世界上第五大最具价值的公司。
4.Never before has a company been worth so much for so long while making so little money: 92% of its value is due to profits expected after 2020.
从未有一家公司可以像亚马逊这样，在收入状况不佳之时，仍能长期保持如此高的公司估值。且其估值的92%都来自于它2020年后的预期收益。
5.Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.
沃尔玛的收入已经缓缓逼近5千亿，而且它的线上销售也在逐渐增强。
6.Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.
去年（投资前）的现金流量是一百六十亿，比5年前的4倍还要多。
7.If it makes as much money as investors hope, a rough calculation suggests its earnings could be worth the equivalent of 25% of the combined profits of listed Western retail and media firms.
如果其收益水平真如投资者所期望的那样，那么只需粗略计算我们就可以得出这样的结论：其收益可占到所列出的西方零售商及媒体企业的利润之和的四分之一。
8.Ground for skepticism does not come much more fertile than this: Amazon will have to grow faster than almost any big company in modern history to justify its valuation.
人们从未像怀疑过：亚马逊只有比现代历史上的任一家公司发展都快才能证明它的价值。
（补充在群内讨论看到奇慧老师的翻译）
人们有充足的理由保持怀疑的态度。
9.In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
在大多数的主管人员都在抱怨眼下要做出业绩有多大压力的时候，亚马逊十分坚定地放眼长远。
10.Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.
贝索斯先生强调要持续对公司的两大主要业务进行投资。
11.A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:
第三个良性循环则是关于该公司的声音激活助手，Alexa的：
12.So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
只要股东对这样的模式抱有信心，亚马逊令人振奋的估值就会像一个自我实现的预言一样。
13.Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.
亚马逊的出色业绩更加坚定了他们的信心。
（sustain想不到合适的说法，就做了改动，不知道合不合适。）
14.It has had its failures—its attempt to make a smart-phone was a debacle. But the business is starting to crank out cash.
它的确也失败过——亚马逊试图去做智能手机就是一大败笔。但这笔生意也开始挣钱了。
（这里不确定the business指代的是智能手机的生意还是全公司的总体情况。）
15.If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.
亚马逊不仅在时间架构的着眼点上非同寻常，它的业务范围也很宽广。
16.A wingspan this large is more reminiscent of a conglomerate than a retailer, which makes Amazon’s share price seem even more bloated: stock markets typically apply a “conglomerate discount” to reflect their in- efficiencies.
像这样大的经营规模更让人觉得它是个企业集团而非零售商。这点也让亚马逊的股价虚高的可能性更高：因为股市通常会因为大型企业的效率问题而对其估值打折扣。
（不知道逻辑有没有意会错。第二句的“seem even more”觉得不是很确切。）
17.Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.
从这点上看的话，亚马逊就没有什么大问题（引起反垄断机构的调查）了。
18.Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.
消费者都为它喝彩；根据哈里斯民意测验，它是美国名声最好的公司了。
（它在消费者中呼声很高？）
19.If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.
如果亚马逊向这样的目标靠近，它势必会引起监管者的注意。
20.But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.
但随着它的发展，关于它影响力是否过大的担忧也将伴之而来。
21.Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricing more tempting.
投资者根据亚马逊的利润对其进行估值；这使得掠夺性定价更具诱惑力。
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