Day 1-2 Amazon's Empire
Background
1.Amazon.com, Inc. is an American electronic commerce and cloud computing company that was founded on July 5, 1994 by Jeff Bezos and is based in Seattle, Washington. The tech giant is the largest Internet-based retailer in the world by total sales and market capitalization.
2.The Standard & Poor's 500, often abbreviated as the S&P 500, or just "the S&P", is an American stock market index based on the market capitalizations of 500 large companies having common stock listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ. 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.
3.Amazon Web Services (AWS) describes both a technology and a company. The company AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon.com and provides on-demand cloud computing platforms to individuals, companies and governments.
4.Alexa Internet, Inc. is a California-based company that provides commercial web traffic data and analytics. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Amazon.com.
Frame
P1:Amazon is an extraordinary company.
P2:Yet Amazon’s shareholders are working on the premise that it is just getting started.
P3:That is because investors anticipate both an extraordinary rise in revenue and a jump in profits.
(Jason's interpretation: The author is trying to analyze Amazon’s success and its future from the perspective of shareholders of the company)
P4:Amazon's rivals are also developing rapidly and it is uncertain whether this giant company can achieve the unprecedented goals.
(Jason's interpretation: Some negative sides of Amazon may be enumerated in this paragraph.)
P5:This is largely due to the firm’s unusual approach to two dimensions of corporate life.
P6:In e-commerce, the more shoppers Amazon lures, the more retailers and manufacturers want to sell their goods on Amazon.
P7:So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
P8:Amazon's sheer breadth of its activities is quite unusual.
P9:Many of these services support Amazon’s own expansion and that of other companies.
(Jason's interpretation: The author provides more details of the strategy and model of Amazon.)
P10:The real problem is that if Amazon gets anywhere close to fulfilling the expectations, it will attract the attention of regulators.
P11:But as it grows, so will concerns about its power.
(Jason's interpretation: When a company grows way too big, government would step in. Microsoft, for example, was sued and told to divide the company into two parts. Amazon may face the same threat due to its conspicuous growth.)
P12:As Amazon becoming more and more succesful. it will attract the government's regulation.
(Jason's interpretation: The author is trying to tell us some lessons could be learned from the business model of Amazon.)
Mindmap
Words&Phrases
1.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.
fertile ground for sth: a situation or place that produces good results or a lot of ideas
e.g.The classroom provides fertile ground for collaborative learning.
2.It is easy to tick off some of the pitfalls.
tick off:to name items in a list
e.g.She ticked off six reasons for saying no.
pitfall:a likely mistake or problem in a situation
3.Rivals will not stand still. Microsoft has cloud-computing ambitions; Walmart already has revenues nudging $500bn and is beefing up online.
nudging: getting close to/nearly
nudge:to move slowly and almost reach a higher point or level
e.g.Oil prices continue to nudge higher.
beef up: If you beef up something, you increase, strengthen, or improve it
e.g. Your report on the new car park is fine, but why don't you beef it up with some figures?
4. In an era when executives routinely whinge about pressure to produce short-term results, Amazon is resolutely focused on the distant horizon.
whinge about:to complain, especially about something that does not seem important
e.g. She's always whingeing about her boss.
resolute:determined in character, action, or ideas
e.g. Their resolute opposition to new working methods was difficult to overcome.
5.So long as shareholders retain their faith in this model, Amazon’s heady valuation resembles a self-fulfilling prophecy.
retain: to keep someone or something
e.g.We’re trying to recruit and retain skilled staff.
Self-fulfilling prophecy: If a statement or belief about what will happen in the future is self-fulfilling, it becomes true because you expect it to be true and so behave in a way that will make it happen.
6.It has had its failures—its attempt to make a smartphone was a debacle. But the business is starting to crank out cash.
debacle:a complete failure, especially because of bad planning and organization
e.g. The collapse of the company was described as the greatest financial debacle in US history.
crank out:to produce something with no special care or effort
e.g. Like clockwork, he cranks out a new book every year.
7.A wingspan this large is more reminiscent of a conglomerate than a retailer, which makes Amazon’s share price seem even more bloated.
wingspan:the distance from the end of one wing to the end of the other
e.g. a bird with a wingspan of over six feet
reminiscent (of) :making you remember a particular person, event, or thing
e.g. That song is so reminiscent of my adolescence.
conglomerate:a company that owns several smaller businesses whose products or services are usually very different
bloated:larger or richer than necessary
8.Seen through this lens, Amazon appears pristine.
through the lens:
The phrase borrows from a fact of photography - a different lens with a different focus gives you a different view. We each have our own ‘lens’ - cultural, experiential - that has us see things / events / ideas differently.
‘I look at world events though the lens of American self-interest.’ knowing your lens helps you understand both what you see and what you do not see, or cannot percieve.
pristine:new or almost new, and in very good condition
e.g. Washing machine for sale - only two months old and in pristine condition.
9.In Europe, Google stands accused of using its clout as a search engine to extend its power to adjacent businesses. 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.
clout:Influence or power, especially in politics or business.
e.g.She used her political clout to have another school built.
immunity:a situation in which you are protected against disease or from legal action
e.g.He was granted immunity from prosecution because he confessed the names of the other spies.
inflammatory:intended or likely to cause anger or hate
e.g.The men were making inflammatory remarks about the other team's supporters.
vet:to examine something or someone carefully to make certain that they are acceptable or suitable
e.g.The bank carefully vets everyone who applies for an account.
chip away:to gradually make something weaker, smaller, or less effective
e.g.The company’s dominance of the market is gradually being chipped away.
chip away at: Her comments were beginning to chip away at his self-confidence.
It could happen
(Source：The Economist August 5th-11th)
Day 3-4 Background&Frame
Background
1.An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a guided ballistic missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometers (3,400 mi) primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). 洲际弹道导弹
2.Kim Jong-il 金正日(Korean: 김정일, Korean pronunciation: [kim.dzʌŋ.il] or [kim.tsʌŋ.il]; 16 February 1941/1942 – 17 December 2011) was the supreme leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), commonly referred to as North Korea, from 1994 to 2011.
Frame
P1. It is odd that North Korea causes so much trouble.
(My interpretation: The author may elaborate on the troubles that North Korea has made in the past decades.)
(Jason's interpretation: The author may open the passage by analyzing the reason why North Korea, an impoverished country, could attract so much attention.)
2. Yet the most serious danger is not that one side will suddenly try to devastate the other. It is that both sides will miscalculate, and that a spiral of escalation will lead to a catastrophe that no one wants.
(My interpretation: The author wants to show us that the tension between North Korea and America is accelerating and each side refuses to have a peaceful talk.)
(Jason's interpretation: The author explicitly points out the real danger behind the duel between USA and North Korea: a series of incessant escalation that may undermine global economy and horrify the public. Just like the nuclear threat during the Cold War.)
3. President Donald Trump has vowed to stop North Korea from perfecting a nuclear warhead that could threaten the American mainland, tweeting that “it won’t happen!”
4. Yet it is just this sort of military action that risks a ruinous escalation.
(My interpretation: The author explains the hidden information behind this sort of military action.)
5. Can Mr Kim be cajoled or bribed into giving up his nuclear ambitions?
(My interpretation: The author analyse the possibility of Mr. Kim giving up his nuclear ambitions.)
6. If military action is reckless and diplomacy insufficient, the only remaining option is to deter and contain Mr Kim. Mr Trump should make clear—in a scripted speech, not a tweet or via his secretary of state—that America is not about to start a war, nuclear or conventional.
(My interpretation: The author thinks that Mr Trump should make a clear announcement on containing Mr. Kim.)
7. To contain Mr Kim, America and its allies should apply pressure that cannot be misconstrued as a declaration of war.
(My interpretation: Actions should be taken but should not turn into a war.)
(Jason's interpretation: The author lists several possible solutions. 1.Direct military action; 2.Bribe Kim; 3.Deter and contain Kim. The third option is carefully concerned and discussed.)
8. All the options for dealing with the North are bad.
(Jason's interpretation: Apparently, the author considers the future of this stalemate will not be rosy since all the possible solutions at hand for the time being can not eradicate the bane.)
9. It is worth recalling that America has been here before.
(My interpretation: It is possible to turn North Korea into a democratic country in the future. However, at present, keeping calm is the utmost important.)
Mindmap
Day5-6 Word&Phrases
1.But blundering into war would be the worst.
blunder into: to find yourself in a difficult or unpleasant situation by accident
e.g. She realized that she had blundered into a trap.
2.Yet Kim Jong Un's backward little dictatorship has grabbed the attention of the whole world, and even of America's president, with its nuclear brinkmanship.
grab/catch the attention/appeal to sb.
brinkmanship: the technique or practice of maneuvering a dangerous situation to the limits of tolerance or safety in order to secure the greatest advantage, especially by creating diplomatic crises. 边缘政策
3.In charge of this terrifying arsenal is a man who was brought up as a demigod and cares nothing for human life—witness the innocents beaten with hammars with gigantic gulag.
demigod: a being who is partly human and partly a god 被神化的人
e.g. Some football players become like demigods to their fans.
gigantic:enomorous, extremely large
gulag/ˈɡuː.læɡ/: severe work prisons for people found guilty of crimes against their country
4.Last week his foreign ministry vowed that if the regime's “supreme dignity” is threatened, it will “pre-emptively annihilate” the countries that threaten it.
pre-emptively annihilate 先发制人消灭......
pre-emptive: If something is pre-emptive, it is done before other people can act, especially to prevent them from doing something else
e.g. The Treasury has decided to raise interest rates as a pre-emptive measure against inflation.
annihilate /əˈnaɪ.ə.leɪt/: to destroy something completely so that nothing is left
e.g. a city annihilated by an atomic bomb
5.For America, the possibility of a nuclear attack on one of its garrisons in East Asia, or even on an American city.
garrison: a group of soldiers living in or defending a town or building, or the buildings that the soldiers live in
e.g. The 100-strong garrison had received no supplies for a week.
6.Some pundits suggest shooting down future test missiles on the launch pad or, improbably, in the air.
pundit: a person who knows a lot about a particular subject and is therefore often asked to give an opinion about it
e.g. a political/foreign-policy/sports pundit
7. ...neutralize the North Korean nuclear threat before Mr Kim has a chance to retaliate.
neutralize:to stop something from having an effect
retaliate: to hurt someone or do something harmful to someone because they have done or said something harmful to you 报复，以牙还牙
e.g.If someone insults you, don't retaliate as it only makes the situation worse.
8.Can Mr Kim be cajoled or bribed into giving up his nuclear ambitions?
cajoled/kəˈdʒoʊl/: to persuade someone to do something they might not want to do, by pleasant talk and (sometimes false) promises
e.g. He really knows how to cajole people into doing what he wants.
9.If military action is reckless and diplomacy insufficient, the only remaining option is to deter and contain Mr Kim.
reckless: doing something dangerous and not worrying about the risks and the possible results
e.g. He was found guilty of reckless driving.
deter: to prevent someone from doing something or to make someone less enthusiastic about doing something by making it difficult for that person to do it or by threatening bad results if they do it
e.g. High prices are deterring many young people from buying houses.
contain:control,to keep something harmful within limits and not allow it to spread
e.g Farms in the area have been closed off in an attempt to contain the disease.
10.Kim Jung Un enjoys the life of a dissolute deity with the power to kill or bed any of his subjects. If he were to unleash a nuclear weapon, he would lose...
dissolute:(of a person) living in a way that other people strongly disapprove of:
e.g. He led a dissolute life, drinking, and womanizing till his death.
deity/ˈdiː.ə.t̬i/: a god or goddess
bed: to put something firmly into a substance or into the ground
e.g. The posts should be firmly bedded in concrete
unleash:to suddenly release a violent force that cannot be controlled
e.g. At worst, nuclear war could be unleashed.
11.To contain Mr Kim, America and its allies should apply pressure that cannot be misconstrued as a declaration of war.
misconstrue: to form a false understanding of the meaning or intention of something that someone does or says
e.g.Their caution was misconstrued as cowardice.
12.Mr Kim may gamble that his nukes give him the freedom to behave more provocatively.
nuke: to bomb somewhere with nuclear weapons
e.g. The two countries were threatening to nuke each other.
provocative: causing an angry reaction, usually intentionally
e.g. In a deliberately provocative speech, she criticized the whole system of government.
Summary
North Korea, an extremely impoverished country has grabbed people's attention after testing an intercontinental ballistic missile. Escalated tension between America and North Korea may lead to a nuclear war. Military methods are provided by pundits but the chance of success is quite narrow. Besides, any military actions may be miscontruced as a declaration of the war, resulting in annihilation of millions of people and devastation of the whole world. Therefore, the only possible way is to bind countries together and contain Mr. Kim from reckless behavior.