In tech race with China, US universities may lose a vital edge.

The U.S. is still out in front of global rivals when it comes innovation, but American universities -where new ideas often percolate -have reason to look over their shoulders.

That's especially true for technologies like 5G phone networks and artificial intelligence. They're exactly the fields where President Donald Trump recently insisted the U.S. has to lead-and also the ones where Asia, especially China, has caught up.

Universities from China get more patents than their U.S. peers in wireless communications, according to research firm GreyB Services. In AI, 17 of the top 20 universities and public research organizations are in China, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences topping the list , says the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.

There's a special place for universities in the ecosystem of research. Universities groom future scientists and can be incubators for the pie-in-the-shy ideas-some of which turn out to be game-changers. The list ranges from Google's engine to DNA technology that's behind a whole industry of gene-manipulating treatments.

However, government grants to universities have been stagnant for more than a decade, meaning they've declined in real terms and as a share of the economy.

"If you look at the federal dollars, they've not really changed substantially," says Stephen Susalka, head of AUTM, a technology transfer association whose members include 800 universities. "Other counries are catching up. We can't sit on our laurels."

生词：

1、rival : /ˈraɪvl/  n. 对手；竞争者  vt. 与…竞争；比得上某人  vi. 竞争  adj. 竞争的

    eg. This latest design has no rivals

2、percolate : /'pɜːrkəleɪt/  vi. 过滤；渗出；浸透  vt. 使渗出；使过滤  n. 滤过液；渗出液

    eg. The idea soon percolated into Christian Church.

3、groom : /gruːm/  vt. 整饰；推荐；喂马；刷洗（马等） vi. 打扮 n. 新郎；马夫；男仆

    eg. You must be prepare to spend time grooming your dog.

4、incubator :/'ɪŋkjʊbeɪtə/  n. [禽] 孵卵器；[儿科] 保温箱；早产儿保育器；细菌培养器

    eg. baby incubator

5、grant : /grɑːnt/  vt. 授予；允许；承认 vi. 同意 n. 拨款；[法] 授予物

    eg. My request was granted.

6、stagnant : /'stægnənt/  adj. 停滞的；不景气的；污浊的；迟钝的

    eg. market stagnant

7、substantially :/səb'stænʃ(ə)lɪ/  adv. 实质上；大体上；充分地

    eg. The costs have increased substantially

8、laurels :/'lɒr(ə)l/  n. 桂冠，殊荣；月桂树 vt. 授予荣誉，使戴桂冠

      eg.

            A、rest/sit on your laurels： to be satisfied with what you have achieved and therefore stop trying to achieve anything new  满足于既得成就，不求上进

          B、look to your laurels：to work hard in order not to lose the success that you have achieved

尽力保住已获得的成功。

9、game-changer : 可以打破格局

      eg. If all of that can be done, any one of these technologies could be a game-changer.

10、edge : /edʒ/  n. 边缘；优势；刀刃；锋利 vt. 使锐利；将…开刃；给…加上边 vi. 缓缓移动；侧着移动

    eg. They have the edge on us.

短语：

1、come to : v. 想起；共计

    eg. When he came to and raised his head, he saw Barney.

2、out in front  : 在...前面，遥遥领先

    eg. Once plenty of rubber went down the others cam back at Ferrari, but by then whey were out in front with the race under control.

3、look over one's shoulder(s) :焦虑不安

    eg. He may have escaped the police for now, but he'll spend every walking hour looking over his shoulder.

4、catch up : 赶上，达到同样质量或水平

    eg.  John began the season better than me but I have fought to catch up.

5、artificial intelligence : 人工智能，简称 AI

6、top the list : 名列前茅

    eg. No surprise that Brazilians top the list of downloaders.

7、pie-in-the-sky :希望渺茫的

    eg. "It's a very realistic target based on technology that already exists – it's not a pie-in-the-sky prediction, " he said.

8、turn out to be : 结果是

    eg. They might turn out to be right.

9、range from A to B : 从 ... 到 ... 范围

    eg. The players have the right to request that their 'B' sample be tested, while the penalties they potentially face range from a warning to a two-year ban.

球员有权要求对他们的“B”样本进行检测，而他们可能面临的处罚从警告到两年禁赛不等。

长句分析：

1、 American universities -where new ideas often percolate -have reason to look over their shoulders.

定语从句：where new ideas often percolate 修饰 American universities，

2、They're exactly the fields where President Donald Trump recently insisted the U.S. has to lead-and also the ones where Asia, especially China, has caught up.

主干：They're exactly the fields and also the ones.

定语从句：where President Donald Trump recently insisted the U.S. has to lead 修饰 fields 。

                where Asia, especially China, has caught up 修饰 the ones。

（个人学习笔记，用于自我监督，若被你不小心发现了我的错误，请指正，感激感激！！！）