DAY1：

Vocabularies:

1.HBO:家庭影院（Home Box Office）；cable channel有线电视频道

HBO is the oldest and longest continuously operating pay television service (basic or premium) in the United States, having been in operation since November 8, 1972

eg."True Blood" has completed its second season on the cable channel HBO

2.pick almonds捡杏仁

Sergio Garcia entered the US illegally as a teenager to pick almonds with his father

3.voice-activated assistant 语音助手（voice-activated声控的）

4.circular water sprinkler 循环水喷撒器

It's like a circular water sprinkler is spiraling up through New England.

5.major/minor premise大/小前提

6.the largest shareholder 最大股东

And the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China has become the largest shareholder in Standard Bank.

此外，中国工商银行（ICBC）现在是标准银行最大的股东。

7. share price jumps by+ % 股价暴涨了...

Google's share price immediately began to fall until trading was halted

谷歌的股价很快下跌，直到交易结束。

8.S&P 500 index标准普尔500指数

It is one of the most commonly followed equity indices, and many consider it one of the best representations of the U.S. stock market, and a bellwether for the U.S. economy.

bellwether security: 领头证券

bellwether风向标

9.draw scepticism from..遭到了..的怀疑

Other aspects of open-access publishing also draw polite scepticism from incumbents.

开放存取其它方面的影响也遭到了在职人员理性的怀疑。

10.market capitalisation市值

With a market capitalisation of some $400bn, it is the fifth-most-valuable firm in the world.

11.tick off pitfalls列举困难

It is easy to tick off some of the pitfalls.

12.stand still停滞不前,坐以待毙

Rivals will not stand still.

13.revenues nudge $..收益几乎达到..美元

Walmart already has revenues nudging $500bn and is beefing up  online.

beef up=increase or improve sth.

14.fill the gap缩小差距

If anything happened to Jeff Bezos, Amazon’s founder and boss, the  gap would be exceptionally hard to fill.

exceptionally hard to do几乎不可能..

15.the social dimension of unemployment失业的社会性层面（dimension 方面，层面）

16.streaming music 流媒体音乐

17.two-hour shipping两小时（运输）送达

18.focus on the distant horizon目光放长远

In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.

（1）winge about没完没了抱怨

19.virtuous circle 良性循环

20.retain one's faith in持续信任...

So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.

21.asset valuation财产估值

20.a software developer软件开发人员

21.sustain a faith维持某种信念

Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.

22.ecnomic debacle经济崩溃(debacle =complete failure)

It has had its failures—its attempt to make a smartphone was a debacle.

23.crank out cash产生大量的利润

But the business is starting to crank out  cash.

24.a healthy cash flow（=having enough money to make payments when necessary）

cash flow资金流动

Last year cashflow was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.

quadruple 四倍的

25.breadth of activities活动范围广

If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.

26.annual filings年度财经报告

The company’s list of current and possible competitors, as described in its annual filings, includes logistics firms, search engines, social networks, food manufacturers and producers of “physical, digital and interactive media of all types”.

list of current and possible competitors现有或潜在竞争对手

logistics firms物流公司

food manufacturers食品制造商

27.conglomerate merger联合合作

A wingspan this large is more reminiscent of a conglomerate than a retailer，which makes Amazon’s share price seem even more bloated.

涉及的商业活动范围之广让人更容易将亚马逊当作一个经营多种任务的大企业，而非仅仅是零售商，这也让亚马逊的股价看起来很高，实则不然。

reminiscent of sth使人联想起...

wingspan 翼展，翼幅

bloated share price 看似很高的股价

28.drone delivery无人机送货

It is experimenting with drone deliveries to the home.

experimenting with 试验

29.let sb skip the cash register让某人绕过收银台(付款)

It is testing technology in stores to let consumers skip the cash register altogether.

30.infrastructure of commerce商业基础设施

Some think that Amazon could become a new kind of utility: one that provides the infrastructure of commerce, from computing power to payments to logistics.

utility公用事业

31.expectations surrounding Amazon人们对亚马逊的期望

And here lies the real problem with the expectations surrounding Amazon.

32.get close to fulfilling (expectations)即将实现（这些期望）

If it gets anywhere close to fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.

government regulators政府监管机构

33.trigger antitrust action引发反垄断行动

For now, Amazon is unlikely to trigger antitrust action.

34.see through this lens从这个角度看

Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.

从这个角度来看，亚马逊才刚刚起步。

35.Harris Poll哈里斯民意调查

36... be a boon to...是..的福星

AWS is a boon to startups, too.

37.pose a problem造成一个问题

Even on standard antitrust grounds, that may pose a problem.

pose a threat to..对..造成威胁

38.be worth the equivalent of ..  ..的等值物

A rough calculation suggests its earnings could be worth the equivalent of 25% of the combined profits of listed Western retail and media firms.

combined profits（不同公司的）利润总和

39.stand accused of =be accused of受控

     use its clout as..利用作为..的影响力

In Europe, Google stands accused of using its clout as a search engine to extend its power to adjacent businesses.

adjacent businesses.相关业务

40.immunity from legal liability逃避法律责任

The comparative immunity from legal liability of digital platforms—for the posting of inflammatory content on Facebook, say, or  the vetting of drivers on Uber—is being chipped away.

inflammatory comment 煽动性的言论

security vetting 安全检查

chip away 削弱

41.bring A into conflict with B 使A陷入与B的冲突中

But success will bring it into conflict with an even stronger beast: government.

句型

1.as it grows, so will concern..当..发展时,人们对其的关注也随之加大

But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.

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DAY2

神句练习

1.The former bookseller accounts for more than half of every new dollar spent on line in U.S.

亚马逊，这位昔日的书商如今网络收入额占了全美新增线上交易的一半以上。

书商起家的亚马逊....

every new dollar spent on line新增线上交易

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)

现在，亚马逊的股价较2015年年初时已经增加飙升了173%，是2013和2014年的增长速度前两年的7倍，同时它的标准普尔系数增长速率是2013与2014年的12倍（为标准普尔500指数的12倍）

表上升的动词：jump, climb ,go up, rise ,up ,increase

表下降的动词：drop ,fall, down

3.With a market capitalization of some 400bn, it is the fifth most valuable firm in the world.

(1)亚马逊市值大约为5000亿美元，排名世界第五。

亚马逊以约4000亿美元的市值排名全球第五。

(2)Kiss原则：keep it simple, stupid. 后面的most valuable firm就是在讲其市值排名.翻译时候不要太拘泥于原文形式,“得意忘形”。

(3)市值（Market Capitalization，简称 Market Cap）是一种度量公司资产规模的方式，数量上等于该公司当前的股票价格乘以该公司所有的普通股数量。市值通常可以用来作为收购某公司的成本评估，市值的增长通常作为衡量该公司经营状况的一个关键指标。

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.

从来没有一个公司像亚马逊一样：虽然挣的钱与其他公司相比算不上多[啰嗦！直接写盈利有限]，但却在很短的时间内如此值钱——因为它的市值，92%都来源于2020年后的预期利润。

从未有过一家公司能在盈利如此有限的情况下，长久维持如此之高的估值：其中92%来自2020年以后的盈利预期。

making so little money盈利如此有限

5.Walmart already has revenues nudging 500bn and is beefing up online.

沃尔玛的收益已接近5000亿美元，并且它也在不断增加自己的网络线上业务。

profits利润 vs revenue收入

Nudge和beef up也很形象啊，前者原意是往前挤，后者大家可以联想一下，吃下牛肉后会不会有种元气满满的赶脚？！

6.Last year cash-flow (before investment) was $16bn, more than quadruple the level five years ago.

亚马逊去年投资前的流动资金是160亿美元，大约是5年前的四倍多。

Sales have quadrupled in the last five years. (quadruple作动词，同理，triple&double也既可作动词，又可作形容词)

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.

有人粗略计算过据初步统计，亚马逊的收益将会等价于西方零售商和媒体上市公司的联合收益利润总和的25%。前提是亚马逊的实际业绩与投资者收益真如投资商所期望的那样多[预期一致].

如果该公司实际业绩与投资者预期一致，据初步统计, 其利润将等同于所有西方零售和媒体上市公司利润总和的25%。

rough calculation suggests据初步统计

listed firms上市公司

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.

这是人们怀疑亚马逊能力的最充分的一个理由：如果要证明外界估值和自身的价值相匹配，它的成长速度就必须比超过近代历史以来的任何一个大公司的都要快。

最强有力的质疑根据是：亚马逊的增长速度必须超过近代史上几乎任意一家大公司才能支撑其估值。

justify its valuation. 证明其估值正确=支撑

The Prime Minister has been asked to justify the decision to Parliament.

justify“证明正确”。

将justify变为active vocabulary.

9.In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.

在这个时代，公司主管都习惯性地常常抱怨急于获得短期收益实现短期目标所承受压力之大，而亚马逊却毅然决然的放长线，钓大鱼。

当今时代，主管们常常抱怨实现短期目标压力太大，而亚马逊则坚定不移的聚焦长远目标。

routinely whinge about常常抱怨

produce short-term results实现短期目标

resolutely focused on the distant horizon坚定不移的聚焦长远目标

10.Mr. Bezos emphasizes continual investment to propel its two principal businesses.

贝佐斯强调，推动亚马逊的两大核心业务的发展需要连续不断的[持续的]投资。

贝索斯先生重视两大核心业务的持续投资以促进发展。

Propel (principle)business 促进(核心)业务发展

11.A third virtuous circle is starting to whirl around Alexa, the firm’s voice-activated assistant:

第三个良性循环就将围绕着Alexa——亚马逊的声控助手开展。

第三个良性循环是围绕Alexa的，即该公司声控助手。

常见搭配： circle搭配whirl

12.So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.

只要股东能一直信任这个模型，那么人们对亚马逊的估值之高就不是天方夜谭，因为能通过其自身的努力而实现。那么亚马逊的超高估值就真有可能合理。

只要股东对这一模式保持信念，那么亚马逊的超高估值就类似于自我实现预言。

(1)heady valuation 超高估值

Be careful!信念影响行为，行为导致结果，于是结果与信念呈现一致，看上去就像是预言实现了一样。

13.Their faith is sustained by Amazon’s record.

他们的信心来源于亚马逊的销售额。

sustain ..faith

14.If Amazon’s approach to time-frames is unusual, so too is the sheer breadth of its activities.

如果说亚马逊专注于长期利益的态度不同寻常，那么它涉及商业活动广度也是如此。

[亚马逊的长远眼光非同寻常，其经营范围同样令人咋舌.]

搭配： approach to ; breadth of activities经营范围

15.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.

涉及的商业活动范围之广让人更容易将亚马逊当作一个经营多种业务的大企业，而非仅仅是零售商，这也让亚马逊的股价看起来很高，实则不然：因股市中通常会用“企业折价率”“集团化折扣”反映其效益低下。

16.Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.

从这个角度上来看，亚马逊还稍显稚嫩似乎并无过失。

17.Consumers applaud it; it is the most well-regarded company in America, according to a Harris poll.

根据哈里斯民意调查，顾客对亚马逊很满意，同时它还是美国最受关注的公司。

扩展：Most well-regarded company/ Most admired company/Most highly-regarded company/Best Perceived Brand

18.If it gets anywhere close to[几乎实现] fulfilling them, it will attract the attention of regulators.

一旦亚马逊即将实现它所有目标中的任意一个，监管者都会加强对其的监督。

19.But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.

然而，亚马逊在成长的同时，监管者对其影响力的关注也在随之增加。

20.Investors value Amazon’s growth over pro-fits; that makes predatory pricingmore tempting.

相比亚马逊带来的利益，投资者更重视亚马逊的成长——那使得掠夺性定价更诱人。

Value A over B 更看重A而非B; Choose A over B选择A而非B

逻辑导图

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DAY3

Summary

  Though I'm not good at writing in English(and Chinese) , I'm still trying to express myself after 3 days experience of exerting my efforts in reading Amazon's Empire. Never before had I worked my butt of reading an article in this manner, roughly over half of my time was spent reading it as carefully as I can. The biggest mistake I made when reading the passage is I have totally misconstrued the main idea that the author wants to convey, which  I thought as sarcasm. I'm fortunate to know it in the end. I'm enlightened by Amazon's manner in addressing various problems: focusing on distant horizon and making itself better everyday. As an individual, it's not unusual for us to automatically enjoy the leisure  and emphasize too much on instant payback. However, Amazon ,as a business with fast growth in both scale and reputation, tells as it's better to value long-term results over ephemerality. And the most important is ,we do have to propel us to get progress, and daily think about how to better ourselves