第一篇:2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
(四)Stories of resistance;Shades of grey
关于抵抗的故事;灰色的幽影
Beautiful Souls: Saying No, Breaking Ranks, andHeeding the Voice of Conscience in Dark Times.ByEyal Press.美丽灵魂:说不,打破等级,留心黑暗时代中道德之音。
You have a decent job and work hard.You keepyour nose clean, respect authority and have never joined a protest march.Suddenly youhave the bad luck to face a cruel and seemingly impossible choice.Your superiors tell you todo something outrageous or unacceptable.Do you obey or, at grave personal cost,refuse? In “Beautiful Souls”, a subtle and thoughtful book, Eyal Press, an Americanjournalist, tells the stories of four very ordinary people who, in widely different times, placesand circumstances, surprised themselves by saying “no”.你有份体面的工作并且做得很努力。你保持洁身自爱,尊重权威,从不加入抗议性游行中。突然你不幸的要面对残忍几乎表面来看不可能的选择:你的上级令你去做你粗暴不可接受的事。服从命令还是牺牲重大的个人代价去拒绝?在精细巧妙充满思想的”美丽灵魂”一书中,美国记者Eyal Press为您讲述一个关于四位来自不同时空不同地点不同环境的普通人在说出“不”之后得到的意想不到的结果。
This morally courageous foursome includes a Swiss police official who broke the law in 1938by giving entry permits to Jewish refugees;a Serb who, at risk to his own life, savedcaptured Croats from summary execution during the Serb-Croat war in 1991;an Israelispecial-forces soldier in the occupied territories who could no longer stomach orders toprotect Israeli settlers who were doing wrong, as he saw it, to Palestinian farmers;and amid-ranking whistle-blower in a Texas investment company accused of fraud.这个着实勇敢的四人组包括一名1938年因给犹太逃亡者放行二触犯法律的瑞士警官;一名冒生命危险在1991年救了在塞尔维亚克罗地亚战争中即将被草率处决的克罗地亚人的塞尔维亚人;一名在被占领土的以色列特种兵,就像他看到的,不能再容忍错误的针对巴勒斯坦农民而保护以色列移居者的命令;还有一名在德克萨斯投资公司被指控诈骗罪的中层内部揭发者。
At first glance, this looks like a jumble of risks and motives.The policeman had to be braveover months.The Serb had to decide in an instant.The Israeli soldier s disquiet nagged foryears before he quit.The whistle-blower was fired, whereas the Serb faced being shot.Thatlack of a pattern, though, is part of Mr Press s point.We recognise moral bravery when wesee it.Explaining it is extremely hard.乍一看,这书是危险与动机的混杂体。警察不得不在数月里保持勇敢。塞尔维亚人不得可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
不即刻做决定。以色列士兵在退役前数年的焦虑让他烦恼不已。揭发者被炒了,另一方面塞尔维亚人面临枪决。这些例子乍一看没有什么共性,但这也是Mr Press所要强调的地方。当我们看到它时会认可道德上的勇气。而要解释清楚却极端困难。
On stage and in the pulpit, moral dilemmas of this kind tend to have a black-and-whiteclarity.Working from life, Mr Press brings out the greys.All of the choices he looked at werehard, and only the Serb s involved a clear-cut decision in the moment.The good achieved byeach of these “beautiful souls” was small: the few lives the Serb and the Swiss policemansaved were a pittance when set against greater evils they could not stop.The soldier has notstopped Israel s settlement-building, and the whistle-blower did not dent the financialsystem.So why did they do it?
在舞台上也好,在讲道坛上也好,这类的道德上的是与非往往很明确,就是非黑即白。而在实际生活中,Mr Press提出还有“灰色”这种情况。他所观察到的所有抉择都极其困难,只有塞尔维亚人在那刻卷入的抉择时则是心里明镜似的。这些美丽灵魂的所作所为只是造成很小范围内的而影响:少数人让塞尔维亚人存活了下来,瑞士警察所解救的也只是沧海一粟,对其他更强大的恶势力更是无能为力。士兵没能阻止以色列的殖民建设,揭发者也没能削弱金融系统。所以为什么主人公们还要这么做呢?
Without claiming to have firm answers, Mr Press sees three factors at work.One is that thesepeople listened to their emotions.Faced with the unacceptable, their instincts rebelled.Direct confrontation was also important.The challenge to their moral sensibility was face-to-face.This was not true of the whistle-blower, but her conduct suggests to Mr Press athird element.She was not a rebel out to flout authority or change the rules.On thecontrary, she acted to protect rules that her superiors flouted.虽然Mr Press申明这些问题没有确切的回答,但他看到有这样的三个因素在起作用。一个原因就是主人公们都听从了他们的心做出选择。面对不能接受的事物,他们本能的反叛排斥。直接的抗争也很重要。这对他们道德感情的挑战是直接面对面的。这不适合揭发者,但是揭发者的行为也给Press先生带去了第三个重要的要素。她不是个试图藐视权威或改变规则的叛逆者。相反,她维护了那些她的上级没有遵守的规则。
In leading us through such thickets, Mr Press points to studies in psychology and tophilosophical work on moral dilemmas.A drier sort of book might have probed morewhether our moral emotions are always reliable and how sure naysayers must be beforeoutright disobedience is their best course.On the other hand “Beautiful Souls” gains muchfrom its storytelling approach.It is rich in personal, circumstantial details that analyticalthinkers in search of clear principles may overlook.These are modern instances of ancientpuzzles, and Mr Press is wise not to pretend to be offering new wisdom.在引导我们穿越错综复杂的进程中,Press先生表明了心理学的研究和道德两难时的哲学著作。一种更纯粹故事的书可能更能探测出我们的道德情感是否总是可靠,如何在拒绝者们完全不服从前确定那是他们最好的道路。另一方面“美丽灵魂”以它讲故事的特别方式收益很多。大量的人物塑造和环境描写可能会被善于分析的读者们在一味寻找清晰理念的过程可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
中忽略。书中表达的都是谜题的现代实例,而Press先生很明智的没有假装在提供新智慧。
二.
Doctor or decorator?
整改还是整容?
Stéphane Richard, the new boss of France Telecom,wants to overhaul its strategy as well as itsoffices;
法国电信新任CEO Stéphane Richard 准备大举革新经营战略,办公环境也待旧貌换新颜;
When Stéphane Richard appeared recently in Paris Match, a celebrity and news magazine,lightly tanned in an open-necked shirt and leaning jauntily against the corporate logo of hisnew firm, France Telecom, he raised eyebrows in the buttoned-down world of Frenchtelecoms.Mr Richard did not attend the elite engineering school which produces almost all ofFrance’s senior telecoms executives, including his predecessor at France Telecom, DidierLombard, and the boss of Vivendi, a rival.Instead, he is a political operator who has made afortune in property.He is a friend of Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s president, and worked untilrecently as chief of staff to the finance minister.He became boss of France Telecom lastmonth with the immediate task of responding to a wave of suicides among employees whichhad prompted a political outcry.最近,Stéphane Richard的照片登上了名人新闻杂志《巴黎竞赛画报》,他穿着敞领衬衫,肤色微黑,背靠着公司的标志,看起来很时尚。他新执掌的公司法国电信相当传统,这一举动也让全公司吃了一惊。法国电信业的绝大部分高管都出身著名工程院校,包括Stéphane Richard的前任Didier Lombard,还有法国电信对头公司威望迪集团的老总。和这些人背景不同,Stéphane Richard是个政治活动家,靠房地产起家。他是萨科奇的好友,直到最近还是财政部的办公厅主任。上个月他成为法国电信的首席执行长,上任后立即着手处理公司员工自杀潮。此前,法国电信员工的连续自杀曾引发政治抗议。
Since 2008 over 30 France Telecom employees have killed themselves, some explicitlyblaming the company.Even though the firm’s suicide rate is in line with the national average,France Telecom says that it was partly to blame.Because of the group’s former status aspart of government, 66,000 or 65% of its employees are classed as civil servants, withguaranteed tenure.Unable to fire them, France Telecom instead subjected them to a systemcalled “Time to Move”, in which they were obliged to change offices and jobs abruptly everyfew years.仅2008年中,就有30名员工自杀,对其中一些自杀事件,很明显公司难辞其咎。尽管公司的自杀率和全国平均自杀率一样高,法国电信坚称只负有部分责任。法国电信集团前身属于政府部门,66000名员工划定为公务员,享有固定工作年限。由于无法解雇这批人,公司实施了名为“定时重组”的措施,每隔几年,强令安于其位的员工换办公室或调职。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
“The former management needed to change the nature of peoples’ jobs due to technologicalchange and increased competition,” says Mr Richard, “but the company underestimatedthe consequences.” For the first time in 15 years, he has promised, France Telecom willexpand its workforce.Job and office moves will become voluntary, and up to 30% of thevariable pay of the firm’s top 1,100 managers will be tied to their “social” performance.Other measures include making France Telecom’s numerous offices more pleasant: thecompany will renovate 800 of its buildings and create 270 new “conviviality spaces” foremployees.Richard说:“科技日益更新,竞争也日渐激烈,所以以前的公司管理才要求不断变动工作性质。但是管理层显然低估了这样做的后果。”他承诺公司会增加雇员,这是法国电信15 年来第一次增员。今后,员工调职和换办公室必须出于自愿,1100名高层经理30%的薪水根据社会绩效调整。其他措施包括重新装修800幢办公楼,新增 270处员工休闲场所,创造让员工身心愉快的办公环境。
Mr Richard, a former board member, joined the firm in 2009 as heir apparent to MrLombard, with the blessing of the government, which still holds a 27% stake.He was notdue to take over until next year, but the handover was accelerated in the midst of the crisis.In an unusual outburst last week, Louis-Pierre Wenes, the group’s former deputy chiefexecutive, who resigned under pressure last year, told a British website that “externalstakeholders” in France Telecom had taken advantage of the suicides to advance theiragenda.Mr Lombard was not close to the current administration, whereas Mr Richard is.2009年Richard以董事身份加入电信集团,政府指定他接任Lombard的位置,现在他仍有27%的股份。他本打算明年接手公司,不料自杀潮造成的危机促成了权力交接。去年,前任副总裁Louis-Pierre Wenes迫于压力辞职,他在上周向一家英国网站披露了不寻常的内幕:法国电信的某位股东,利用自杀事件夺取公司管理权。现在Richard所在的管理层将Lombard排除在外。
Minority shareholders are now waiting to hear in detail what Mr Richard plans for the businessbeyond improving morale.He is a talented communicator, but some foreign investorsgrumble that despite having been at the firm for over six months, he tends to turn to otherexecutives when asked for precise details on France Telecom’s financial performance.ButMr Richard clearly has lots of business nous.The grandson of a shepherd, he made hisfortune from a leveraged buy-out of a property developer, Nexity, in 2000-01.He is likelyto push France Telecom into behaving like a private firm, and further away from its past as apublic monopoly.小股东希望听到Richard有更详尽的商业规划,而不仅仅是提升士气。他处事圆熟,一些外国投资者仍然指责他:尽管执掌公司已六月有余,一旦面对公司财务状况详情的质询,就推诿给其他高管。但是毋庸置疑的是,Richard颇有商业头脑。2000年1月,这个牧羊人的孙子用杠杆收购的方法得到了一家房地产开发公司,自此起家。他想让法国电信按私有企业的方式运作,进而完全脱离国有控制。
“Stéphane Richard is far more attuned to the market than Didier Lombard,” says Xavier 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
Niel,founder of Iliad, a young telecoms firm which has upended the French broadband market.“Under his management France Telecom will become a more dangerous competitor for us.”Already, while at the finance ministry, Mr Richard demonstrated a strong belief in thebeneficial effects of competition by helping Iliad obtain a mobile licence in the face offierce resistance from the incumbents and their political allies.Xavier Niel是伊里亚特公司的创建者。这家公司成立时间不长,却逆转性地掌握了法国的宽带业务。Xavier Niel这样评价Richard:“在把握市场这方面,Didier Lombard远逊于Stéphane Richard。在他的领导下,法国电信会成长为更具威胁性的对手。”当Richard还在财政部供职时,曾协力伊里亚特公司取得3G牌照,尽管面对当局和政治同盟的重重阻力,Richard仍公开表示支持,他深信这样做有利于市场竞争。
In the past, says Mr Richard, France Telecom, having recruited most of the graduates of theX-Corps des Telecoms, the most elite stream of telecoms students, “thought there were fewskills or knowledge on telecoms outside France Telecom”.Engineers still tend to call theshots, rather than marketing types.Whereas Iliad offers just one kind of set-top box, hepoints out, the equivalent product from France Telecom appears in 140 different types andgenerations, resulting in far too much complexity for users.“We must not lose oursuperiority in technology, research and development and innovation,” he says, “but weneed to be more marketing-oriented and mindful of customers”.Richard指出,法国电信过去一直聘用名门院校的通信高材生,“认为在技术智能方面,除了法国电信,再无业界翘楚。”公司管理由技术人员而非营销人员主导。他以机顶盒举例,伊里亚特推出的产品只有一种类型,法国电信的同类产品竟有 140种类型,每种类型还有换代产品,大大增加了操作的难度。“我们必须牢牢掌控技术优势,同时需要适应市场导向,满足顾客需求。”
With its premium products and pricing in France, which provides two-thirds of its cashflow,France Telecom’s market share and profits are being eroded by newcomers such as Iliad,which will launch its new mobile service in 2012.The firm’s shares performed far worse thanthose of its European peers in 2009, says Antoine Pradayrol of Exane BNP Paribas, abrokerage.Investors want to know how Mr Richard will fend off France Telecom’s rivals aswell as how he will cheer up its staff.凭着优质的产品和有竞争力的价格,法国电信在国内的收入占到运作资金的2/3。然而,外来者正在蚕食国内市场份额和利润,比如伊里亚特就将在2012年推出新的3G服务。法巴银行证券部门的股票交易人Antoine Pradayrol 说,2009年法国电信的股票表现十分甚差,远逊于欧洲同行。投资者迫切想知道Richard如何击败竞争对手,重振公司士气。
第二篇:2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
(六)Maps on smartphones
智能手机的地图应用
Lost
敢问路在何方?
The criticism heaped on Apple shows the growing importance of cartography
苹果目前饱受批评,证明在智能手机市场中地图绘制愈加重要
Update: On September 28th Tim Cook, Apple s chief executive, published an open letterapologising to customers for the shortcomings of the company s maps.Mr Cook even directedusers to alternative map apps, writing that they could be downloaded from Apple s AppStore and that Google s and Nokia s maps were available as web apps.最新消息:9月28 日,苹果公司首席执行官蒂姆?库克发表了一封公开信,就该公司地图应用的缺陷向用户致歉。库克甚至引导用户去选择其他地图应用作为替代。他在信中写道,用户可以从苹果的应用商店下载这些替代性地图应用,而谷歌和诺基亚的地图可作为网络应用提供给用户。
OLD hands at The Economist have fond memories of Mokaris, a café near our office in StJames s.There was nothing fancy about the food, the prices or the service.Mokaris closed in2005, and Franco s, the smarter Italian restaurant next door, expanded to take over thepremises.But in the parallel universe of the iPhone, hungry hacks can still enjoy anomelette and chips for around a fiver.Mokaris is still on the map-at least, the map on Apple snew mobile operating system, iOS 6.在圣詹姆斯《经济学人》的办公室附近,有一家叫做 Mokaris 的咖啡馆。对于本报的老员工来说,这里有很多美好的回忆。这家咖啡馆的食物和服务算不上一流,但价位也不是太离谱。2005年,Mokaris 关门大吉,店面被隔壁那家较为高档的意大利餐馆 Franco s 盘了下来。但在 iPhone 所勾画出的平行宇宙 里,本报员工若是饿了,仍然能花五英镑左右在这里享受一份煎蛋卷和一些薯条。Mokaris 还在地图上——至少,在苹果最新移动设备操作系统 iOS 6 的地图上还能找到它。
Apple s mobile maps used to be supplied by its friend-turned-archrival, Google.But this yearApple decided to put maps of its own into iOS 6, rather than be beholden to its foe.The newmaps are built into the iPhone 5, which went on sale on September 21st, and appear whenolder devices are upgraded to iOS 6.The internet has been teeming with complaints about alack of detail and a surfeit of errors.And unlike Google s maps, Apple s lack public-transport information.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
苹果的移动设备地图应用曾经由谷歌提供。但今年,苹果不愿再受制于人,决定在 iOS 6里安装自主研发的地图应用。9月21日上市的 iPhone 5内嵌了新的地图应用;如果用户把老机型升级到 iOS 6系统,也可以使用它。但这种地图应用缺少详细信息而且漏洞百出,用户的抱怨声已经充斥整个网络。此外,和谷歌地图应用不同的是,苹果的地图应用并没有提供公共交通信息。
Maps are becoming important strategic terrain.They are more than an aid to getting fromA to B.Apps based on location-to summon a taxi, say-need maps inside them.Digital mapscan include countless layers of information, plus advertisements from which money can bemade.There are thousands of indoor maps, too, of airports, department stores and so forth.Smartphones also act as sensors, reporting their whereabouts, which can be used to improvemaps.According to comScore, a data firm, in August 95% of American iPhone owners and83% of owners of smartphones with Google s Android operating system used a mobile map.地图应用将成为智能手机行业重要的战略地带。它不仅仅是帮助用户从一地到另一地那么简单。基于定位系统的应用需要在程序里内建地图信息。数字地图能够包含无数的信息层,生产商还可以在地图里做广告从而实现盈利。成千上万的室内地图应用也覆盖了机场、百货商店等场所。智能手机还扮演了传感器的角色,可以收集位置信息,用来完善地图应用。根据数据公司 comScore 的资料,今年八月份美国有95%的 iPhone 用户使用了移动设备地图应用;在谷歌安卓系统智能手机的用户中,这个比例也有83%。
Being chucked off the iPhone is thus a blow to Google, though it may be enjoying Apple sdiscomfiture.It could return by making a new maps app, which would have to be approvedby Apple.Its chairman, Eric Schmidt, said on September 25th that it had not done anythingyet.因此,尽管谷歌可能会对苹果的窘境感到窃喜,但地图应用被 iPhone 抛弃对谷歌来说的确是一记重拳。该公司可以通过发布新的地图应用来重新回到 iPhone 市场,但这必须经过苹果的批准。9月25日,谷歌董事长艾瑞克?施密特称该公司 尚未采取任何行动。
Creating good maps demands a lot of time and money.Google has taken about eight years tobuild up its expertise: it has sent cars along the world s roads and maintains a fleet ofaeroplanes.Nokia s mappers have a longer pedigree still.Apple, which has bought three mapmakingfirms in the past three years and is supplied with data by TomTom, a Dutch company, hasplenty of money to throw at catching up on maps, but it will take time.Over two to threeyears, estimates Martin Garner of CCS Insight, a research firm, Apple can get up to goodenough.编写优秀的地图应用需要很长的时间和大量的资金。谷歌研发了八年左右才具备这方面的专长:该公司往世界各地派遣了道路勘测车辆,并且保有一批用于地图测绘的飞机。诺基亚的地图绘制历史更是源远流长。苹果在过去的三年里收购了三家地图绘制公司,还有荷兰公司 TomTom 为其提供数据。要想在地图应用方面后来居上,苹果有足够的资金;但这毕竟需要时间。研究公司 CCS Insight 的 Martin Garner 估计: 再过两到三年,苹果的地图应用就能达到一个不错的水准。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
Meanwhile, Apple seems to be relying on three things.The first is speedy improvement.The second is the embedding of useful content.Itsnew maps have spoken turn-by-turn driving directions, which Google s version for the iPhonedid not, as well as reviews from Yelp, a local-listings company that offers pretty full coverageof eateries and bars in America but much less elsewhere.同时,苹果要想取得成功似乎还将仰赖于三个条件。其一是快速提高地图应用的质量。其二是在地图应用里植入实用内容。苹果新的地图应用拥有语音智能导航系统,同时还有 Yelp 公司提供的点评功能。
The third is the loyalty of Apple s fans.More than 5m iPhone 5s were sold in the first threedays.Although some analysts had expected more, that still beat the previous version, the4S, by 1m.其三就是苹果拥趸的忠诚性。iPhone 5 发布不到三天就售出了500万台以上。尽管这个数字低于某些分析人士的预期,但仍然比前一代的 iPhone 4S 多出了100万台。
Under the late Steve Jobs Apple paid fanatical attention to detail, so it is remarkable thatits maps should have come up so short.But polishing its hardware was one thing;the strugglewith maps has been the first really obvious head-butting of the wall, says Carolina Milanesiof Gartner, another research firm.Past perfectionism over devices has won it time toimprove its maps.In a market in which brands can fall fast, that is a rare luxury.已故的史蒂夫?乔布斯执掌苹果时,该公司曾极为注重细节。因此,如今的地图应用竟然出现了这么大的缺陷不免令人吃惊。但硬件水平的提高只是一方面;在另一方面,用研究公司 Gartner 的 CarolinaMilanesi 的话来说:努力改善地图应用的苹果公司 这次真的明显是在自找苦吃。苹果对于产品的旧式完美主义为它赢得了改善地图应用的时间。在竞争激烈、淘汰迅速的市场中,时间正是极为宝贵的。
二.
An intellectual-property exchange
知识产权交易所
Marketplace of ideas
创意市场
A new financial exchange hopes to make it easier to trade patent rights
一个崭新的金融交易所希望让专利权的交易变得更容易 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
THE technology industry is at war over intellectual property.On May 7th the first round ofa three-part fight between Oracle and Google over patent and copyright claims relating tothe Java programming language ended in a decision that denied outright victory to eitherfirm.Apple, Samsung and others are fighting over smartphone patents.Facebook and Yahoo!are at loggerheads over internet patents.Accusations abound that innovation is taking aback seat to litigation.Only the lawyers are smiling.科技业界打响了知识产权保卫战。甲骨文和Google之间关于Java编程语言的专利和版权的战斗拉开了这场由三部分组成的保卫战的序幕。2012年5月7日,这第一轮战斗以双方都没有得到彻底胜利宣告结束。苹果、三星以及行业内其他企业正在争夺智能手机专利权。Facebook和雅虎在互联网专利上发生了冲突。指控比比皆是,如今在诉讼面前科技创新只能靠边站。只有律师军团正微笑着。
All of which makes this a good time to launch a new approach to trading intellectualproperty, says Gerard Pannekoek, the boss of IPXI, a new financial exchange that letscompanies buy, sell and hedge patent rights, just like any other asset.The idea is to offer apatent or group of patents as unit licence rights , which can be bought and sold likeshares.A ULR grants a one-time right to use a particular technology in a single product: anew type of airbag sensor in a car, say.If a company wants to use the technology in 100,000cars, it buys 100,000 ULRs at the market price.ULRs are also expected to be traded onsecondary markets.芝加哥国际知识产权交易所的老板杰拉德Pannekoek称,所有这些专利侵权诉讼案件制造了一个很好的时机来启动一个新的方法来交易知识产权。芝加哥知识产权交易所是一个新的金融交易所,在这里就像任何其他资产一样企业可以购买、销售、对冲专利权。这个主意就是提供一项专利或是作为一个许可权单元的专利组,这些都可以像股票一样进行购买抛售。一个URL授权在一个产品中一次性应用某项技术,就像是一辆汽车上的一种新型的安全气囊传感器。如果一个公司想在10万辆汽车上使用这项技术,那么他得要以市场价购买10万份专利许可。专利许可预计也将会在二级市场进行交易。
This is simpler, faster and cheaper than the lawyer-intensive process of negotiating bilaterallicences for intellectual property, the high cost of which discriminates against smallcompanies, leaves patents unused on the shelf and hampers innovation.IPXI s approachdoes not work for all types of intellectual property-it does not allow exclusive licensing,for example-but should make it easier for companies to make money from their inventions.It s a great form of non-dilutive funding for start-ups, suggests Mr Pannekoek.相对于知识产权双边谈判的律师们的密集过程,这是更简单、更快、更便宜的方法。而且,对于小公司而言,双边谈判所带来的高成本是不可接受的,他们只有把专利权搁置,从而阻碍了科技的创新。知识产权交易所的这个方法不是适用于所有类型的知识产权,例如它不允许独家授权,而是将使得公司更加容易地从他们的创造发明中赚取更多的利益。IPXI总裁兼首席执行官 GerardJ.Pannekoek认为,对于新创公司而言,这是个不稀释每股收益的集资好方式。
The exchange has signed up 30 members including Philips, an electronics giant, and 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
severaluniversities and research laboratories.IPXI was set up in 2008 by Ocean Tomo, a merchantbank that specialises in intellectual property, and its investors include CBOE Holdings, theparent company of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.On May 4th IPXI published therulebook that governs how the exchange will work, and it expects to open for business laterthis year.Its novel approach is ideal for the open, non-exclusive licensing of smartphone-related patents, says Ruud Peters, chief intellectual-property officer at Philips.Good newsfor innovators, perhaps, but bad news for lawyers?
这个交易所已经签署30成员,包括电子巨头飞利浦以及几所大学和研究实验室。专门经营知识产权的商业银行公司Ocean Tomo在2008年成立了芝加哥国际知识产权交易所,其投资者包括芝加哥期权交易所控股公司。5月4日IPXI出版发行了这个交易所将要工作的规范手册,交易所有望今年下半年进行交易。飞利浦首席知识产权官路毕德认为,IPXI这个新颖的方法对于具有开放性,非专属授权性的智能手机相关专利来说是最适合的,不切实际的。或许,这是创新者的好消息,但是对于律师团来说就是个坏消息。
第三篇:2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语优秀阅读文章赏析
(五)Businesses and cyber-security
商业活动与网络安全
A spook speaks.鬼魅之声。
Its cost may be hard to count, but cybercrime hascompanies worried.网络犯罪损失难料,公司企业忧心忡忡。
LIKE blooms on a peculiar plant, speeches by thehead of the British security service are rare;andwhen they do appear, they draw attention.On June 25th Jonathan Evans, the director-general of MI5, burst into oratorical flower for the first time in 21 months.After commentingon preparations for the Olympic Games and on counter-terrorism, Mr Evans turned to cyber-security-where the front line…is as much in business as it is in government.States as wellas criminals were up to no good, he said: in particular, a major London listed company withwhich we have worked had lost revenue of some £800m to state-sponsoredcyber-attack.The firm in question had lost intellectual property and had been put at adisadvantage in commercial negotiations.英国安全局的发言就如铁树开花一般罕见,而一旦他们发话了,便立即吸引众人目光。6月25日,军情五处的总干事Jonathan Evans在沉默了21个月后首次发表演讲。他先评价了奥运会准备工作和反恐的问题,接着便把话题转移到网络安全上—— 在前线……企业和政府的遭遇没什么区别。他说,国家和个人罪犯都不怀好意,尤其是国家给予经济支持的网络攻击,使得 部分受我们保护的主要伦敦上市企业 盈利损失近达 8亿英镑。遭受攻击的企业失去了知识产权,还会在商务谈判中处于劣势。
Examples and rumours abound of companies being burgled by cyberfrauds, cyberspooks orcyber-mischief-makers.On June 26th America s Federal Trade Commission sued WyndhamWorldwide, a hotel group, alleging that security failures at the company in 2008 and 2009had led to the export of hundreds of thousands of guests payment-card account numbers toa domain registered in Russia.The FTC says millions of dollars were lost to fraud.Wyndham says it knows of no customers who lost money and that the FTC s claims are without merit.关于公司企业遭受网络诈骗、网络幽灵或者网络恶作剧绑架的例子和传闻遍地开花。6月26日,美国联邦贸易委员会控告温德姆环球酒店公司,控诉其因安全疏忽致使08至09年客户的信用卡账号信息泄露,流入了一个在俄罗斯注册的域名。联邦贸易委员会称因受诈骗,数百万美元 的资金遭受损失,而温德姆酒店方面则没有客户受害,联邦委员会的说法 毫无根据。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
The loss of industrial secrets is perhaps even more worrying to companies than that of theircustomers credit-card data.Some think worry is overdue.Mark Anderson, the chairman ofINVNT/IP, a new organisation of technology companies, says: We are encouraged bydiscovering the number of global technology CEOs who have come to understand thisissue and its importance to their own company welfare, regardless of the incentives andprotestations offered by China, Russia and other nations known to actively steal IP.恐怕对于企业来说,更可怕的是泄露商业机密而不是顾客信用卡数据被窃取,有些人认为现在才开始担心来得太迟。INVNT/IP是一家新成立的技术公司,他的总裁Mark Anderson说: 中国、俄罗斯和其他猖狂进行IP偷窃的国家如今一味发表声明以正其身,尽管如此,我们仍然备受鼓舞,因为我们发现世界上越来越多技术公司总裁意识到网络安全的问题及其对他们公司资产的重要性。
Working out the cost of cybercrime is a devil of a job.The FTC and Wyndham are poles aparton their estimates of the effect of the credit-card thefts.Companies say they are underconstant cyber-attack in ever more ingenious forms, but they are loth to say in public howoften the raiders get through and how much damage they do—assuming that the breach isspotted.That suggests the damage is underreported.When they are speaking to thesecurity services they may be more forthcoming, but will they be accurate? Companiesmight anyway have lost some of the business written off to cybercrime.In that case, MrEvans s £800m would be on the high side.核算网络犯罪带来的成本损失让人避之若浼,联邦贸易委员会和温德姆酒店集团对信用卡盗窃的影响预估大相径庭。公司企业声称他们经常受到网络攻击,其形式更甚高明,但他们却不愿意公布,如果他们的漏洞被盯上的话,他们受入侵的次数以及受损程度会是多少,估计损失也被低估。他们可能会向安全局透露更多,但在这过程中他们会给出准确信息吗?企业的部分业务收入可能也与网络犯罪的损失勾销。在之前提到的事例中,Evan先生的8亿美金就算偏高了。
In a report by Britain s Cabinet Office last year, Detica, the software arm of BAE Systems, adefence company, put the cost of cybercrime to the country at a staggering £27 billion, or1.8% of GDP.Businesses bore £21 billion, mostly because of the theft of secrets andindustrial espionage.Lots of people doubted these numbers-including, it seems, the Ministryof Defence, which commissioned a study from a team led by Ross Anderson, a computer-security expert at Cambridge University.据英国内阁办公厅去年的报告显示,主理防卫业务的英国BAE系统公司的附属公司Detica给其提供软件助理,Detica在去年投入到英国国内的网络犯罪防范成本惊人,达到270亿英镑,占了GDP的1.8%。他们的业务收入达到210亿英镑,大部分涉及偷取商业机密和行业间谍活动。包括国防部在内的许多人都质疑这份数据,国防部还特此委任了剑桥大学计算机安全专家Ross Anderson组织团队开展研究。
The team s report, published this month, shies away from adding up totals, preferring toassess the costs of different types of crime in turn, but comes up with much lower 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
figures-partly because it discounts Detica s numbers for intellectual-property theft and espionageentirely, saying they have no obvious foundation.Most of the cost of cybercrime, itconcludes, is indirect, such as spending on antivirus software or other corporate defences.In other words, a lot goes on payments by one lot of businesses to another: the computer-security industry.该团队于本月发布了报告,报告避而不谈损失总量,却反过来评估各种网络犯罪造成的不同损失,但是其估算出来的数据远远偏低——部分原因是他们完全不重视 Detica关于知识产权窃取和商业间谍活动的数据,声称他们 没有明显基础。该报告总结,大部分针对网络犯罪的成本损失都是间接的,比如说杀毒软件或其他公司防卫手段的支出。换句话说,大部分花费支付给了另一类行业:计算机安全保障行业。
That may be inevitable.Cyber-attacks are happening more often and are becoming moreprecisely targeted.Greg Day, the chief technology officer for security in the Europeanbusiness of Symantec, a computer-security firm, says that for years cybercrime was moreor less random , as crooks looked for any holes they could find anywhere.In the pastcouple of years, however, they have chosen their corporate targets more precisely.Symantec observed virtually no targeted attacks before Stuxnet, a worm that attackedindustrial-control systems, appeared in 2010.Last December it spotted an average of 154 aday.这是不可避免的,网络攻击越来越频繁,目标越来越精确。计算机安全公司赛门铁克的欧洲分公司技术总监Greg Day说,过去的网络犯罪多多少少有点 随机性,不法分子只是在到处找寻他们可以突破的漏洞而已。然而,在最近几年,他们更加有的放矢。据赛门铁克观察发现,2010年之前,没有任何网络受到过针对性攻击,后来,旨在攻击企业控制系统的蠕虫病毒Stuxnet出现了,这种情况就改变了,去年12月,每天就有154个系统受到这种病毒的攻击。
The bad guys are increasingly using social media to try to find a way in, either by gatheringintelligence or by befriending employees who may be tricked into opening an e-mail withnasty code within.People, a security-industry adage runs, are the weakest link.Trainingthem to be careful may still be the best defence.越来越多坏蛋利用社交媒体进行黑客攻击活动,他们要么成群结队地展开活动,要么找易上当的雇员下手,欺骗他们打开含有恶意代码的电子邮件。正如安保行业的格言所说,人们是最脆弱的环节。因此,训练人们警惕小心可能仍是最好的防卫手段。
二.
A shiny new telescope is crowding out NASA s other science missions
一个引人瞩目的望远镜把其他科研项目挤出NASA的预算
THE Hubble space telescope, an orbiting observatory launched in 1990 by NASA, America 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
sspace agency, has been one of that agency s most successful missions since the Apollo moonshots in the 1960s and 1970s.It has produced a string of scientific achievements: confirmingthat most galaxies have a black hole in the middle;providing a front-row seat for thecollision, in 1994, of a comet with the planet Jupiter;and helping to uncover the strangefact that the expansion of the universe seems to be accelerating.But beyond the science,it has also been a public-relations hit.Its beautiful images have introduced a generation tothe wonders of astronomy.哈勃望远镜是于1990年由美国航空航天局发射的一个轨道运行天文台。它已成为美国航空局自20世纪6、70年代阿波罗号发射后最重大的成就之一。它也产生了一系列科学成果:证实了大多数星系中间都有一个黑洞;为1994年彗星和木星碰撞的观测提供最清晰的视角;有助于发现宇宙趋于加速膨胀的奇特现象。在科学领域之外,它也同样是一个公众讨论的热点。哈勃望远镜所提供的美妙图片已经将一代又一代人引入天文学奇观中去。
So in 2002, when the agency considered plans for a successor that would study the universein infra-red, rather than visible light, would be ready to fly in 2010 and would cost just $2.5billion, saying yes was easy.Nine years later, NASA is regretting that decision.The JamesWebb space telescope , as the new machine is called, is still in the workshop, and itslaunch date has been set back repeatedly.Its cost hasgone up to $8.8 billion, a figure that, if history is any guide, could rise still further.Whichwould be embarrassing at the best of times, but with public-spending cuts looming andNASA s budget flat for the foreseeable future, it is causing real strains.所以在2002年,代理机构考虑一个将用红外线代替可见光研究宇宙的继任者的计划。这个继任者计划在2010年起飞,而且只花25亿美元,因此当时很容易就通过了。但是9年以后,NASA真的很后悔当初的决定。这台名为JWST的新机器仍然还在工作间,并且它的发射日期一再被推演,按照以往的经验推测,这笔预算还会继续增加。在这最佳时期将会是尴尬的。但是随着公共花费削减正隐隐约约呈现并且对NASA未来的预期并不景气,它正造成真的担忧。
In July, irritated by the JWST s rising costs, the House of Representatives tried to cut $1.9billion from NASA s budget for next year, in an attempt to have the project cancelled.OnNovember 1st, after lobbying from the telescope s defenders , the Senate passed a bill that restored the telescope s funding.7月,受到JWST不断上升的花费的影响,美国众议院试图从NASA下半年的预算中减少19亿美元,让这个项目取消。在9月1日,在望远镜保护人的游说下,众议院通过了恢复望远镜基金的议案。
But it is not just politicians that are restive.Astronomers have long worried that theballooning costs of the telescope would affect NASA s other science projects.Officially, thespace agency will say only that other missions will be delayed, but there are fears that somecould be cut completely.One potential sacrifice is WFIRST, an infra-red space telescopeintended for launch in 2020.This is designed to probe the nature of dark energy , which 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
isthought to be responsible for the quickening expansion of the universe that Hubble helpedbring to the world s attention.A string of other, smaller projects could suffer as well.但是焦躁不安的不仅仅是政治家,天文学家也一直担心不断增加德望远镜开支会影响美国航空航天局其他科研项目。尽管航天局发布消息说其他项目将仅仅被推迟,但是仍然存在一些项目被完全终止的可怕结果。其中最有可能被牺牲的项目是计划在2020年推出的红外线太红望远镜。该望远镜为了探究宇宙 暗能量 的本质而设计,而 暗能量 被认为是加快宇宙膨胀的主要原因。哈勃望远镜在探究 暗能量 中的作用引起了世界的关注。接下来一系列的其他小项目也将遇到相同的困境。
The telescope s advocates say junking it now would be a false economy.Most of the hardwarehas already been built, so cancelling it, they argue, would mean throwing all that away.Andthey play on fears that America is in danger of losing its pre-eminence in high-budget bigscience , following the closure earlier this year of the Illinois-based Tevatron, the second-most-powerful particle accelerator in the world.望远镜的拥护者认为现在放弃它也是假省钱。大多数的硬件已经开发完成,因此,他们认为取消他它将意味着前功尽弃。随着今年早些时候,世界上第二给力的粒子加速器,伊利诺斯州的一万亿电子伏加速器的关闭,他们担忧美国正面临着失去它在以高预算为支撑的尖端科技领域领先地位的威胁。
The JWST, if it does eventually fly, would surely do some spectacular science.The size ofits mirror-25 square metres, as against Hubble s 4.5—and the location of its orbit far from thereflected light of Earth will allow it to study some of the earliest events in the universe, including the formation of the first galaxies.It will also help with thesearch for extrasolar planets.如果JWST最后可以升空的话,将要成为科学界的壮举。它的反射镜有25平米——远远超过了哈勃4.5平米的面积——而且它的运行轨道离地球的反射光更远,可以让人们看清早期宇宙发生的事情,包括第一个星系的形成。它也能对寻找太阳系外的行星提供帮助。
Hubble, of course, was also late-and around $2 billion over budget.It was lampooned afterits launch when a wonky mirror meant that its images were blurred almost to the point ofuselessness, and a mission by the Space Shuttle to fix the problem cost hundreds of millionsof dollars.Given its subsequent record, few now begrudge the cost.With all that in mind,NASA will press on with the JWST, at least for now.All that remains for America sastronomers to do is pray that their favourite mission is not one of those delayed, or evencancelled, to keep the new telescope on track.当然,哈勃望远镜也是出现较晚的,并且超出预算达20亿美元。在它发射之后因为一个镜片晃动造成像模糊而被讽刺是毫无用处的,并且一个用航天飞机来完成这样一个修理任务要花费上亿美元,但是据它随后传回的数据来看,很少有人会吝啬这笔钱。鉴于这一切,就目前而言,美国航空航天局会对JWST的研发施压。对于美国航天员来说,他们所能做的就是祈祷他们热衷的任务没有被拖延或者取消将来让望远镜走上正轨。
第四篇:2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选
(九)The view from the top, and bottom
老板与员工的意见分歧
Bosses think their firms are caring.Their minions disagree.老板们认为公司对员工关怀备至,但其下属却不以为然。
AS WALMART grew into the world s largest retailer, its staff were subjected to a long list ofdos and don ts covering every aspect of their work.随着沃尔玛发展成为全球最大零售商,其员工在工作的各方各面都受到了一大堆规则的限制。
Now the firm has decided that its rules-based culture is too inflexible to cope with thechallenges of globalisation and technological change,如今,沃尔玛已经认识到其以规则为基础的公司文化过于死板,无法应对全球化和科技变革所带来的挑战。
and is trying to instil a values-based culture, in which employees can be trusted to do theright thing because they know what the firm stands for.所以,沃尔玛正尝试逐渐培养一种以价值观为基础的公司文化,在这种文化中,员工了解公司的主张,所以能够得到公司的信任,去做他们认为正确的事情。
Values is the latest hot topic in management thinking.价值观念 是管理学思维最新的热门话题。
PepsiCo has started preaching a creed of performance with purpose.百事可乐公司已开始宣扬一个信条: 目的性绩效。
Chevron, an oil firm, brands itself as a purveyor of human energy , though presumably itdoes not really want you to travel by rickshaw.石油公司雪佛龙在自己的商标上印上 ‘人类体能 的供应商 的字样,尽管它大概并非真的希望你用人力车代步。
Nearly every big firm claims to be building a more caring and ethical culture.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
几乎每一家大型企业都宣称自身正在发展更为关怀体贴、合乎道德的企业文化。
A new study suggests there is less to this than it says on the label.一项新的研究显示,实际情况与商家们所标榜的有差距。
Commissioned by Dov Seidman, boss of LRN, a firm that advises on corporate culture, andauthor of How ,LRN的老板、同时也是《怎么做到的?》
a book arguing that the way firms do business matters as much as what they do, andconducted by the Boston Research Group, the National Governance, Culture and LeadershipAssessment is based on a survey of thousands of American employees, from every rung ofthe corporate ladder.的作者多弗?塞德曼委托波士顿研究集团进行这项 国家治理、文化和领导能力评估 的研究,该研究是以对来自公司各个级别的数千位美国雇员的调查为基础的。
It found that 43% of those surveyed described their company s culture as based oncommand-and-control, top-down management or leadership by coercion—what MrSeidman calls blind obedience.研究发现,有43%的调查对象对其公司的文化有以下描述:以命令和指挥为基础、自上而下的管理模式或强制式的领导——塞德曼先生称之为 盲目服从型。
The largest category, 54%, saw their employer s culture as top-down, but with skilledleadership, lots of rules and a mix of carrots and sticks, which Mr Seidman calls informedacquiescence.所占百分比最多的调查对象,即有54%的人认为其公司文化自上而下型的,但公司的领导也有技巧可言,只是规则繁多并存在软硬兼施的手段,塞德曼先生称这种为 知情服从型。
Only 3% fell into the category of self-governance , in which everyone is guided by a set ofcore principles and values that inspire everyone to align around a company s mission.只有3%的调查对象属于 自我管理型,即每个员工都被一套 核心原则和价值 所引导,这套原则和价值激励每个员工以公司的宗旨为中心进行工作。
The study found evidence that such differences matter.研究也发现一些证据,证明这些公司文化之间的差异事关重大。
Nearly half of those in blind-obedience companies said they had observed 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
unethicalbehaviour in the previous year, compared with around a quarter in the other sorts of firm.在盲目服从型企业中,几乎有过半数员工都称在前一年目睹过有违职业道德的行为,而在其他类型的企业中只有四分之一的员工有此经历。
Yet only a quarter of those in the blind-obedience firms said they were likely to blow thewhistle, compared with over 90% in self-governing firms.但是,在盲目服从型企业中只有约四分之一的员工说他们可能会揭发这种行为,而在自我管理型企业中却有90%的员工会进行揭发。
Lack of trust may inhibit innovation, too.同样,上下级之间缺乏信任会抑制员工创新。
More than 90% of employees in self-governing firms, and two-thirds in the informed-acquiescence category, agreed that good ideas are readily adopted by my company.自我管理型公司中超过90%的员工承认 绝妙的想法很容易会被公司采纳,选择性顺从型公司中也有三分之二的员工这样认为。
At blind-obedience firms, fewer than one in five did.而在盲目服从型公司中,持这种想法的人少于五分之一。
Tragicomically, the study found that bosses often believe their own guff, even if theirunderlings do not.令人哭笑不得的是,研究还发现老板们时常对自己瞎掰的那一套信以为真,即便员工们不以为然。
Bosses are eight times more likely than the average to believe that their organisation is self-governing.老板们相信其公司是自我管理型公司的程度比普通员工高八倍。
Some 27% of bosses believe their employees are inspired by their firm.大约27%的老板认为自己公司的员工能够被公司所激励。
Alas, only 4% of employees agree.奈何,只有4%的员工同意此说。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
Likewise, 41% of bosses say their firm rewards performance based on values rather thanmerely on financial results.同样,41%的老板称其公司对绩效的奖励是建基于价值观之上的,而不仅是业绩。
Only 14% of employees swallow this.然而只有14%的员工接受此说。
二.
A big, bad business
点肥成金不现实
Medical firms struggle to profit from weight-loss treatments
制药公司试图从减肥治疗中获利
OBESITY is an epidemic to some and an opportunity to others.肥胖症对某些人来说是传染病,对别的一些人来说则是机遇。
More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight.超过三分之二的美国人已经超重。
Find a way to battle the bulge and a huge profit might be made.找个办法和肥胖对抗,说必定就此大赚一笔。
On February 22nd one pharmaceutical firm, Vivus, took a small step towards this goal.找个办法和肥胖对抗,说必定就此大赚一笔。
A committee advising America s Food and Drug Administration recommended that itapprove Vivus s diet drug, Qnexa.2月22日,Vivus制药公司朝着这个目标前进了一步。给美国食品药物管理局做咨询的一家委员会推荐,Vivus公司的减肥药Qnexa。
However, the pill s long-awaited final approval may not come until April, if at all.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
但是,如果获得批准,该药品的漫长的最终肯定直到四月份才会到来。
The announcement mostly served as a reminder of what a struggle it is to turn fat intogold.公告主要是提醒人们,这是一场点肥成金的抗争。
Pharmaceutical and medical-device companies are quite good at treating the conditions thatcome with obesity.制药和医疗器械公司非常善于解决肥胖带来的问题。
However, they are dismal at helping consumers lose weight.但是他们无法帮助消费者战胜肥胖本身,减少体重。
This is not for lack of trying.这不是因为缺乏尝试。
Take the curious case of the gastric band.以古怪的胃部束带为例。
Bariatric surgery can lead to weight loss in the long term.Hospitals can make money fromall bariatric procedures, including gastric bypasses , but the gastric band is a rareexample of an opportunity for device-makers to profit from weight loss.肥胖治疗手术可以帮助患者在较长的时间内减少体重。医院就是从这些减肥疗程中赚钱,包括胃绕道手术,但是胃部束带却是一个罕见的例子,被当成一个器械制造商用来从减肥中赚钱的法子。
Allergan, best known for selling Botox, has tried to use its Lap-Band to tap the obesitymarket.Allergan公司以销售肉毒杆菌而出名,尝试用产品Lap-Band打入减肥市场。
It is an inflatable loop which the surgeon fits near the top of the stomach, which helps thepatient feel sated earlier.Lap-Band是一圈松紧带,外科医生可以用它绕住患者胃的上部,这样患者会提前有腹饱感。
Allergan has captured about 70% of the worldwide market for gastric bands and balloons, 可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
butsales are now shrinking.Allergan公司在全球胃部束带和充气袋市场占有率达70%,但是如今销量却有所下降。
The recession has sapped consumers desire for expensive surgery.经济不景气让消费者忍住做昂贵的手术的欲望。
Some patients have had bands removed because they slipped or proved ineffective.有些病人甚至连束带也不用了,因为束带打滑或者没有效果。
Last year the FDA approved the Lap-Band s use in patients who are only slightly overweight,but insurers have refused to pay.去年,美国食品药物管理局同意,微超重病人使用 Lap-Band,但是保险公司却拒绝付款。
In January David Pyott, Allergan s chief executive, said he would scrap an effort to marketthe band for teenagers.一月份,Allergan公司首席执行官David Pyott说,他将放弃在年轻人束带市场的努力。
He is now trying to convince insurers of Lap-Band s merits, arguing that the $20,000surgery is recouped in saved medical costs within four years.他目前试图让保险公司也看到Lap-Band的优点,他认为两万美元手术费可以在四年之内通过减少医疗支出收回。
There is some scepticism about his chances of success: The fact that banding is not as goodas bypass has been known by everybody except the PR firms for the band, says LeeKaplan, director of the Weight Centre at Massachusetts General Hospital.至今仍有人怀疑他是否能成功:“事实上使用束带不必胃绕道手术好,所有人都知道,除了束带的公关公司,”马萨诸塞州中心医院体重中心主任Lee Kaplan如是说。
Drug companies have had even more trouble than device-makers.制药公司的麻烦甚至比医疗器械公司的还要多。
It has been 13 years since the FDA approved a prescription diet pill.从美国食品药物管理局批准减肥药为处方药到如今已经过了十三年。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
That drug, Roche s Xenical, has notorious gastrointestinal side-effects.瑞士罗氏制药公司的Xenical臭名昭著,该药会引发胃肠功能的副作用。
The FDA rejected Vivus s Qnexa in 2010 over concerns for the safety of pregnant women andthe quickening of patients heart rates.美国食品药物管理局于2010年拒绝批准Vivus公司的Qnexa,因为担心该药对孕妇的安全造成伤害,担心该药会加快患者的心率。
Vivus s new data apparently satisfied the FDA s advisory committee.Vivus公司新的数据显然让管理局的咨询委员会满意。
However, the agency may yet reject the drug.但是该局还是可能拒绝批准该药。
Even if Qnexa is approved, it is unclear that patients will buy it.就算Qnexa获得批准,患者会不会买账仍不明了。
Qnexa combines two treatments that are already on the market.Qnexa结合了两种市面上上有的疗效。
Both medicines are generic, which means that doctors may prescribe the existing drugsrather than Qnexa s more expensive version.这两种药物都是非专利药,这说明医生可能会给患者开已有的药而不选择Qnexa,后者更贵。
For now, it is more profitable to treat fat patients than to try to make them slim.到目前为止,治疗肥胖患者还是要比让他们减肥更有利可图。
第五篇:2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选
可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
2018年可锐考研英语阅读文章精选
(三)Facebook and privacy Sorry, friends
脸谱和用户隐私 对不起,朋友
The giant social network is castigated for serious privacy failings
社交网巨头因严重隐私缺陷而遭受公众谴责
FACEBOOK has been playing with fire and has got its fingers burned, again.脸谱一直在玩火,这次它又烧伤了自己的指头。
On November 29th America s Federal Trade Commission announced that it hadreached a draft settlement with the giant social network over allegations that it hadmisled people about its use of their personal data.11月29日美国联邦贸易委员会声明已和该社交网巨头关于公众对它欺骗用户、滥用用户个人信息的控诉初步达成解决方案。
The details of the settlement make clear that Facebook, which boasts over 800m users,betrayed its users trust.这份解决方案的细目明确说明,脸谱网背叛了它所声称的八亿用户的信任。
It is also notable because it appears to be part of a broader attempt by the FTC to craft anew privacy framework to deal with the swift rise of social networks in America.FTC有个更大的计划,那就是创建一个新的隐私框架以应对美国快速攀升的社交网用户。而这份方案似乎是这个计划中的一部分,这也是它受到广泛关注的另一个原因。
The regulator s findings come at a sensitive time for Facebook, which is said to be preparingfor an initial public offering next year that could value it at around $100 billion.调解员的调查对这个时候的脸谱网来说很敏感。据说它正在准备明年的首次招股,这将使它的价值达到一千亿。
To clear the way for its blockbuster flotation, the firm first needs to resolve its privacytussles with regulators in America and Europe.为了给这次非同一般的上市计划扫清障碍,脸谱网必须首先解决与美国和欧洲协调员关于用户隐私的争端,因此这周它公开了商谈意向。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
Hence its willingness to negotiate the settlement unveiled this week, which should befinalised at the end of December after a period for public comment.经过征询公共意见后,商谈结果将在十二月底最终敲定。
Announcing the agreement, the FTC said it had found a number of cases where Facebook hadmade claims that were unfair and deceptive, and violated federal law.宣布协议时,FTC说发现有好几回脸谱的声明都是 不公平,虚假并触犯联邦法 的,For instance, it passed on personally identifiable information to advertisers, even though itsaid it would not do so.比如,它把用户身份信息透露给广告商,但是嘴上却声称不会做此类事情。
And it failed to keep a promise to make photos and videos on deactivated and deletedaccounts inaccessible.还有,账户不再活动或取消后,上面的相片和视频却仍然可以被搜索到,这完全与它的承诺不相符。
The settlement does not constitute an admission by Facebook that it has broken the law.脸谱没有在这份协议中承认自己触犯法律。
But the regulator s findings are deeply embarrassing for the company nonetheless.但是,协调员的调查结果已经让这个公司陷入极为尴尬的境地。
In a blog post published the same day, Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook s boss, tried to play downthe impact of the deal.同一天,脸谱老板Mark Zuckerberg在一篇博文上极力淡化这份协议的影响。
First he claimed that a small number of high-profile mistakes were overshadowing thesocial network s good history on privacy.在这篇博文中他首先声明 一小部分被高调炒作的错误 正在掩盖脸谱网关于用户隐私的 良好记录。
Then he confessed that it could still do better and said he had hired two new chief privacyofficers.接着,他承认确实有一些地方需要改进,并说明他已经雇用了两名新的 首席隐私官。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
The FTC is not relying on Facebook to police itself.FTC不指望脸谱自我监督。
Among other things, the company will now have to seek consumers approval before itchanges the way it shares their data.And it has agreed to an independent privacy auditevery two years for the next 20 years.此外,在改变用户信息共享方式前,它还必须征询用户的同意,并且它也同意在未来二十年里每两年进行一次独立的隐私审核。
Jeff Chester of the Centre for Digital Democracy reckons this will make it somewhat easier forprivacy activists to hold the social network to account.数字民主中心的Jeff Chester认为,这从某种程度上让隐私主义者更容易相信脸谱会为自己的行为负责。
There is a clear pattern here.这里有个很清晰的模式。
In separate cases over the past couple of years the FTC has insisted that Twitter and Googleaccept regular external audits, too, after each firm was accused of violating its customers privacy.从过去几年里Twitter和Google各自的案例来看,在这两家公司分别被指控触犯用户隐私后,FTC也坚持要求两家公司接受定期的外部审核,The intent seems to be to create a regulatory regime that is tighter than the status quo,but one that still gives social networks plenty of room to innovate.目的似乎就是为了给此类社交网络创造一个比现状严格却又有足够空间革新的管理制度。
The audits can be used to tweak the framework in the light of new developments.从发展的角度讲,这些审核有助于打破原本框架。
Some observers reckon web firms have agreed to all this in the hope that it will deflect apush for more onerous privacy legislation in America.一些观测者认为,这些网络公司全盘接受这些审核,希望借此摆脱美国更为繁琐的隐私保护法。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
But outrage over Facebook s behaviour could spur Congress into action anyway.And it willcertainly not be lost on regulators in Europe who are scrutinising the social network sprivacy record too.但是公众对脸谱行为的不满终将刺激国会做出反应,而正在审阅该社交网隐私记录的欧洲协调员们也必然会给予这些不满的呼声以相应的重视。
Mr Zuckerberg s latest mea culpa is unlikely to be his last.看来Zuckerberg先生最近的这次检讨不会是最后一次。
二.
Drugmakers Cliffhanger
制药企业 悬念
Big Pharma struggles to protect its blockbusters as they lose patent protection
大型制药企业艰难保护着专利失效的 重磅炸弹 药物
FOR some years the big drugmakers have been dreading an approaching patent cliff —aslump in sales as the patents on their most popular pills expire or are struck down by legalchallenges, with few new potential blockbusters to take their place.多年来,大型制药企业一直担心 专利悬崖 出现——最畅销药品的专利到期或专利因诉讼而中止,而市场上鲜有新的 重磅炸弹 药物,这时企业的销售额将会锐减。
This week the patent on the best-selling drug in history expired—Lipitor, an anti-cholesterolpill which earned Pfizer nearly $11 billion in revenues last year.本周,史上最畅销的药物 立普妥 专利到期,这种降胆固醇药去年就为辉瑞公司赚了近110亿美元。
In all, blockbusters with a combined $170 billion in annual sales will go off-patent by 2015.到了2015年,多种 重磅炸弹 药物的专利都将失效。
What is supposed to happen now is that lots of copycat firms rush in with generic versions of Lipitor at perhaps one-fifth of its price.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
很多仿制药公司现在大概正忙着推出与立普妥的非专利药,价格仅为立普妥的1/5。
Patients and health-care payers should reap the benefit.病人和医疗费用支付方会收益,而辉瑞的收入会缩水。
Pfizer s revenues should suffer.The same story will be repeated many times, as otherbest-selling drugs march over the patent cliff.同样的事件将反复上演,因为其他畅销药也要临近专利悬崖。
But generics makers may face delays getting their cheaper versions to market.然而,非专利制药企业却发现仿制药上市一拖再拖。
Ranbaxy, a Japanese-owned drugmaker, struggled to get regulators approval for itsgeneric version of Lipitor, and only won it on the day the patent expired.兰伯西这家日本制药企业历尽艰辛,获得了立普妥非专利药的生产许可,但该许可要到专利失效那天才生效。
More important, research-based drug firms are using a variety of tactics to make the patentcliff slope more gently.更重要的是,以研发为基础的制药公司正使用各种方法缓冲 专利悬崖 效应。
Jon Leibowitz, chairman of America s Federal Trade Commission , is concerned bydrugmakers filing frivolous additional patents on their products to put off the day whentheir protection expires.美国联邦贸易委员会主席Jon Leibowitz注意到,制药商们千方百计地为产品增加后续专利,以延缓保护的失效,但其实那些专利没什么价值。
Another tactic is pay-for-delay , in which a drugmaker facing a legal challenge to itspatent pays its would-be competitor to put off introducing its cheaper copy.另一种战术是 有偿延迟 协议,也就是说在专利诉讼时,制药企业会付给未来竞争对手一笔钱,以延迟价钱更低的仿制药进入市场。
In the year to October the FTC identified what it believes to be 28 such settlements.截止到10月,FTC就发现了28起类似事件。
American and European regulators are looking into these deals.可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
美国和欧洲的监管部门也开始调查这些协议。
However, legal challenges against them have faltered, and a bill to ban them is stuck inCongress.然而,反对这些协议的诉讼一再搁浅,而美国国会也未能通过禁止此类事件的一项法案。
To encourage generics makers to challenge patents on drugs, and introduce cheapercopies,为了鼓励非专利制药企业挑战药品专利、生产价钱更低的仿制药,an American law passed in 1984 says that the first one to do so will get a 180-day exclusivityperiod,美国于1984年通过一项法案,其中提到 第一个挑战成功的仿制药企能获得180天市场独占期,in which no other generics maker can sell versions of the drug in question, as Ranbaxysupposedly won with Lipitor.在此期间其他仿制药企不能贩售同一专利药的其他仿制药,就像兰伯西获得立普妥仿制药的生产权一样。
However, Pfizer is exploiting a loophole in the 1984 law, which lets it appoint a second,authorised copycat—in this case, Watson, another American firm.然而,辉瑞钻了这个法案的空子,它让第二家授权仿制药企业——华生制药公司来仿制。
According to BernsteinResearch, under the deal between the two drugmakers Pfizer willreceive about 70% of Watson s revenues from its approved copy of Lipitor.根据BernsteinResearch的分析,在此交易期间,华生公司获得立普妥的仿制权,辉瑞将获得华生公司年收入的70%。
More unusual, Pfizer has cut the price of its original version, and will keep marketing itvigorously.更为不同的是,辉瑞将降低立普妥专利药的价格,并对其采取积极的营销策略。
So Ranbaxy faces not one, but two competitors.所以说,兰伯西的对手是两个,而非一个。可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
This strategy has precedent, says David Risinger of Morgan Stanley, but the scale andstructure of Pfizer s scheme is unmatched.摩根士丹利的David Risinger认为,这项策略虽有先例,但就规模和结构而言绝对不能与辉瑞的计划相比。
Patients with a special discount card from Pfizer will make co-payments of just $4 for a month s worth of the originalLipitor, compared with about $10 for many generic medicines.辉瑞的患者,若使用一种特殊打折卡,通过共同支付方式,只花4美元就可以获得一个月用量的立普妥专利药,而其他仿制品需要花费约10美元。
Pfizer is also offering Lipitor for a generic price to big firms such as Medco, which managehealth schemes prescription costs.辉瑞还以仿制药价格向美可保健等大型公司提供立普妥。
All this may raise Pfizer s sales by nearly $500m in the first half of 2012 compared with whatthey would otherwise have been, says Tim Anderson of BernsteinResearch, with revenuesthen falling after the 180 days are over.BernsteinResearch的Tim Anderson认为,所有这些举措将使得辉瑞2012年上半年的销售额比不采取措施时增加近5亿美元,总收入在180天市场独占期后会下降。
Medco argues that Pfizer s scheme will save money for all parties, and ensure a steadysupply of the drug.美可保健公司辩解说,辉瑞的项目是为各方省钱,并保证稳定供货。
Others fear that Pfizer s tactics may drive up costs for the employers who sponsor healthplans, thanks to the complexities of co-payment schemes, and confuse patients lectured foryears about the merits of generics.也有人担心,由于共同支付计划很复杂,辉瑞的战术会增加雇主门支付健康计划的成本,也让患者们在数年内都不明白仿制药的重要意义。
Express Scripts is advising the health plans it works for to reject Pfizer s deals for Lipitor.快捷药方公司正建议其所属的健康计划反对辉瑞的立普妥交易。
The biggest worry is that Pfizer s strategy, if copied, will make the 180-day exclusivityperiod worth far less, and thus discourage generics firms from challenging patents in thefirst place.他们最担心,如若辉瑞的做法被仿制,那么180天专有期的价值会缩水,而仿制药公司可锐教育官网http://www.xiexiebang.com
挑战专利的动力也会在初期被抑制。