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经济学人
Who are the TikTok saga’s biggest winners?
谁是抖音事件中最大的赢家？
As the race to control TikTok enters the final stretch, a White House-friendly tech giant seems to have carried the day
[1]拿下抖音，甲骨文凭什么？
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP’S demand in August that ByteDance sell TikTok to an American firm set off a race for the Chinese firm’s trophy asset.
Jockeying
for the popular short-video app’s American business, with 100m users, was fierce. Microsoft seemed ahead, and got a late fillip when Walmart joined its bid. But the software-and-grocery duo was pipped to the
post
. On September 14th Oracle, a database firm,
signalled
it had brokered a deal.
今年8月，唐纳德·特朗普总统要求字节跳动出售抖音的命令，引发了争夺中国公司的战利品的竞赛。争夺这个在美国拥有1亿用户、广受欢迎的短视频应用程序的生意，是激烈的。微软看上去是领先的，并且在当沃尔玛加入竞购后，助微软确立的领先地位。但软件超市搭档在最后关头被击败了。9月14日，数据库公司甲骨文（Oracle）表示，他们已经完成了这笔交易。
set off
出发，启程
What time will we have to set off for Grandma's house tomorrow?
我们明天得在什么时候出发去奶奶家？
Jenny set off down the road on her new bike.
珍妮骑着新自行车沿着马路出发了。
They've just set off on a round-the-world cruise.
他们刚刚出发去环球旅行。
trophy
战利品；猎获物；胜利纪念品
The animal heads on the wall were trophies of his hunting trips.
墙上的动物头是他打猎的战利品。
jockey
/ˈdʒɑː.ki/
运用各种手段谋利
Since the death of the president, opposition parties and the army have been jockeying for power.
总统死后，各反对党和军队一直在争权夺利。
As the singer came on stage, the photographers jockeyed for position at the front of the hall.
歌星一上台，摄影师就在演播厅前部争抢位置。
fillip
（起推动作用的）刺激物
The athletics win provided a much-needed fillip to/for national pride.
体育竞赛的获胜激发了人们殷切需要的民族自豪感。
The news gave the stock market a big fillip.
这条消息极大地振奋了股市。
duo
（歌手、乐手等的）二人组合，一对搭档
the comedy duo Laurel and Hardy
劳雷尔和哈迪这对喜剧搭档
pip
（以极其微弱的优势或恰巧在比赛结束时）打败，击败；险胜
I got through to the final interview, but I was pipped at the post (= in the final stage) by a candidate with better qualifications.
我一直闯到了最后一轮面试，但在最后关头被一个条件比我更好的求职者击败了。
the post
（赛马的）终点柱，终点标志；起点柱
broker
verb作为经纪人（或中间人）安排（交易、协议等）
The diplomats have failed in their attempts to broker a ceasefire.
外交官们促成停火的尝试已告失败。
Oracle’s
clinching
argument in its favour seems to have been its rapport with the White House. Larry Ellison, Oracle’s founder and chairman, hosted a
fund-raiser
for Mr Trump. The firm’s boss, Safra Catz, served on his transition team in 2016. “She
lobbied
a lot in Washington and she did a great job,” says a ByteDance investor. Oracle also enlisted the firm’s powerful American venture-capital backers, including Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic.
对甲骨文有利的获胜的理由似乎是它与白宫的融洽关系。甲骨文创始人兼董事长拉里埃里森（
Larry Ellison）为特朗普主持了一次募捐活动。该公司的老板萨夫拉·卡茨于2016年在他的过渡团队任职。一位字节跳动投资者表示，"她在华盛顿极力游说，并且做得很好"。甲骨文还获取该公司强大的美国风险投资支持者的支持，包括红杉资本和通用大西洋，。
clinch
获得；最终赢得；达成
I hear he finally clinched the deal to buy the land he wanted.
我听说他最终做成了这笔交易，买到了他想要的地。
argument
理由，论据，论点；论证，说理
Now that we've heard all the arguments for and against the proposal, let's vote on it.
既然支持和反对这项提议的所有理由我们都已经听过了，现在投票表决吧。
Her husband was not convinced by her argument that they needed a bigger house.
她提出理由说他们需要一个大些的房子，但是她的丈夫没有被说服。
I don't think that's a very strong/convincing/powerful argument.
我认为这个论点不太站得住脚／令人信服／有说服力。
The central argument (= main point) of the book is that some of the plays were not written by Shakespeare.
这本书的中心论点是，有几个剧本并非出自莎士比亚之手。
in one’s favour
When something is in your favour, it gives you an advantage.
对…有利，使…处于有利的位置
This candidate has a lot in her favour, especially her experience of teaching.
这位求职者有很多优势，尤其是她执教的经历。
rapport
融洽；和谐；和睦的关系
We'd worked together for years and developed a close/good rapport.
我们在一起工作多年，关系非常亲密／友好。
She has an excellent rapport with her staff.
她和手下员工关系十分融洽。
serve
（为…）工作；（为…）服务；尽职责
He served in the army for 22 years.
他服了22年兵役。
She has served on the committee for the last 15 years.
15年来，她一直在该委员会任职。
He served under Ronald Reagan as Secretary of State.
他在罗纳德‧里根手下担任国务卿。
lobby
游说，试图说服（政客、政府或官方团体）
Small businesses have lobbied hard for/against changes in the tax laws.
小公司极力游说支持／反对修改税法。
Local residents lobbied to have the factory shut down.
当地居民极力要求关闭该工厂。
They have been lobbying Congress to change the legislation concerning guns.
他们一直在游说国会修改涉枪法律。
enlist
争取，谋取（帮助或支持）
We enlisted some people to help prepare the food.
我们请了一些人来帮忙做饭。
The organization has enlisted the support of many famous people in raising money to help homeless children.
这个组织筹款帮助无家可归的儿童的活动已经得到了很多名人的支持。
[2]
抖音最终结局与最初行政命令完全不一致
Details of the planned transaction are still being ironed out. But it looks like a U-turn for Mr Trump, who for months seemed
hellbent
ona full sale of TikTok by ByteDance—which the Oracle deal is not. His stated reasons concerned national security: the risk of TikTok handing Americans’ data over to China, and of
running
disinformation
campaigns on behalf of China. (TikTok insisted it would never hand users’ data to China and that it has no propaganda role.)
计划交易的细节仍在处理中。但对特朗普来说，这看起来是一个180度的转变，几个月来，他似乎下定决心要将字节跳动的抖音产品全面出售，但甲骨文的交易并不是这样。他陈述的理由涉及国家安全：TikTok将美国人的数据交给中国，代表中国开展虚假信息宣传活动的风险。（TikTok坚称，它绝不会将用户数据交给中国，也没有宣传作用。）
iron out
消除；解决
We're still trying to iron out some problems with the computer system.
我们仍在试图解决计算机系统中的一些问题。
We hope they can iron out their differences and get on with working together.
我们希望他们能消除分歧，继续共事。
be hell-bent on sth
下定决心，不顾一切（做…）
He was hell-bent on revenge.
他铁了心要报仇。
hand sth over
把…交给，把…送交
We were ordered to hand over our passports.
有人命令我们交出护照。
disinformation
假信息，假情报
They claimed there was an official disinformation campaign by the government.
他们声称政府发起了一场散发虚假情报的运动。
campaign
（尤指政治、商业或军事的）专项活动，运动
The protests were part of their campaign against the proposed building development in the area.
他们反对在该地区进行房地产开发，抗议其反对运动的一部分。
The endless public appearances are an inevitable part of an election campaign.
没完没了的公开露面是竞选活动不可避免的组成部分。
The government have just launched (= begun) their annual Christmas campaign to stop drunken driving.
政府刚刚展开其一年一度的制止酒后驾车的圣诞专项活动。
a controversial new advertising campaign
备受争议的一则新广告的宣传活动
propaganda
宣传；鼓吹
political/wartime propaganda
政治／战时宣传
One official dismissed the ceasefire as a mere propaganda exercise.
一名官员将停火斥为赤裸裸的宣传伎俩。
The deal leaves both the president’s supporters and
critics
of his
strong-arming
of TikTok scratching their heads. Josh Hawley, a Republican senator from Missouri, called the deal “
flatly
inconsistent” with Mr Trump’s original
executive
order, which promised to ban the app unless its ownership changed by September 20th.
这个交易让总统的支持者和批评他强抢抖音那些人感到困惑。来自密苏里州的共和党参议员乔希•霍利（JoshHawley）称，这笔交易与特朗普最初的行政命令"完全不一致"，该行政命令承诺，除非在9月20日之前改变其所有权，否则将禁止使用该应用程序。
scratch your head
冥思苦想,感到困惑
A lot of people must be scratching their heads about which way to vote.
一定有很多人在冥思苦想应该把票投给哪一方。
strong-arm
高压手段，暴力手段
flatly
（表示否认、拒绝、不赞同时）斩钉截铁地；直截了当地
I flatly refused to attend their reception.
我断然拒绝参加他们的招待会
Perhaps to help make up for the absence of a clean sale, ByteDance is giving Oracle sway over all of TikTok globally rather than just America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
Microsoft and Oracle were offering around $25bn-30bn to acquire these four markets
. The revised plan is for ByteDance to place global TikTok into a separate company with headquarters in America. ByteDance would remain the majority shareholder. Its American VC investors are expected to come in as minority shareholders alongside Oracle—an arrangement that suits them better than TikTok’s sale to Microsoft, which would have deprived them of meaningful influence over the world’s hottest social-media property.
也许是为了弥补没有彻底出售，字节跳动将抖音海外的掌控交给了甲骨文，而不仅仅是对美国，加拿大，澳大利亚和新西兰的市场的掌控。微软和甲骨文曾出价250亿至300亿美元收购这四个市场。修改后的方案是让字节跳动将TikTok海外版分离为一家总部位于美国的公司。字节跳动将维持其大股东身份。预计其美国风险投资公司与甲骨文（Oracle）一起成为少数股东，这一安排比把抖音出售给微软更适合投资者，出售给微软将让他们失去对于全球最热门的社交媒体的有力影响。
make up for
补偿，弥补
No amount of money can make up for the death of a child.
无论多少钱都无法补偿孩子的死亡。
This year's good harvest will make up for last year's bad one.
今年的丰收将弥补去年的歉收。
He bought me dinner to make up for being so late the day before.
他请我吃晚饭，作为对前一天迟到的补偿。
clean
彻底的，完全的
It's better for both of us if we make a clean break (of it) (= end our relationship completely).
要是我们一刀两断，对双方都好。
Sara says she needs a clean break with the past.
萨拉说自己需要和过去彻底决裂。
The new prime minister is expected to make a clean sweep (= a complete change) of the government.
人们期望新首相对政府进行大换班。
sway
控制，统治；影响
In the 1980s, the organization came under the sway of (= became strongly influenced by) Christian fundamentalism.
在20世纪80年代，这个组织深受基督教原教旨主义的影响。
Her parents no longer seem to have much sway over her.
她的父母似乎再也管不了她了。
The party could hold sway (= have an important influence) on some crucial votes.
该党可对一些关键选票施加重要影响。
deprive
夺走，抢去，剥夺
He claimed that he had been deprived of his freedom/rights.
他声称自己被剥夺了自由／权利。
You can't function properly when you're deprived of sleep.
如果被剥夺了睡眠，人体就无法正常工作。
[3]微软怎么看抖音的结局
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a federal
oversight
body which has been examining TikTok for months, will assess the transaction by September 20th. It then falls to Mr Trump to give it the formal go-ahead. People close to ByteDance worry that China hawks around him could still derail it.
美国外国投资委员会（CFIUS），一个联邦监督机构，已经审查了抖音好几个月，将在9月20日之前评估这笔交易。然后，由特朗普正式批准。与字节跳动相关的人担心，他身边的对华鹰派人物仍然会破坏交易进行。
鹰派：强硬维护国家利益的人物
oversight
监督；监察；监管
Who has oversight of genetic testing?
谁对基因测试有监管责任？
body
群体，团体，机构
a governing body
管理机构
There is a large body of people who are unaware of their basic rights.
有很大一部分人没有意识到自己的基本权利。
Chatsworth High School’s student body raised $5,000 for the charity.
查茨沃斯中学的学生团体为该慈善机构筹集了5千英镑。
it falls to sb
应该由…做…；…落在…头上
It falls to me to thank you for all you have done for the association.
我应该感谢你为这个组织所做的一切。
go-ahead
（有关当局）认可，许可
The government has given the go-ahead for a multi-billion pound road-building project.
政府已经批准了一个投资数十亿英镑的道路修建工程。
We're ready to start but we're still waiting to get the go-ahead from our head office.
我们一切准备就绪，但仍在等着得到总部的许可。
derail
阻挠
Renewed fighting threatens to derail the peace talks.
重燃的战火对和谈构成了威胁。
Chinese majority ownership still
rankles
. Oracle and ByteDance also have no clear answer to worries about disinformation. And though Oracle will host and process all American data in its computing cloud, and possibly that of TikTok users globally, the deal does not
sever
TikTok’s links with its Chinese parent. ByteDance will keep supplying, running and updating the algorithm that powers TikTok’s “for you” page.
中国多数股权仍然让人耿耿于怀。甲骨文和字节跳动对虚假信息的担忧也没有明确的答案。尽管甲骨文将托管并在其计算云中处理所有美国数据，也可能是全球抖音用户的数据，但这笔交易并没有切断抖音与母公司的联系。字节跳动将继续提供、运行和更新支持抖音"推荐"页面算法。
rankle
使人耿耿于怀；令人怀恨；使人怨愤不已
The unkind way in which his girlfriend left him still rankled with him long after.
他女朋友如此不义地抛弃他，长久以来一直让他愤恨不已。
It still rankles that she got promoted, and I didn't.
她升职了，而我却没有，这事一直让我耿耿于怀。
serve
The US severed diplomatic relations with Cuba in 1961.
美国于1961年断绝了与古巴的外交关系。
The company has severed its connection/links/relationship/ties with its previous partners.
公司断绝了与前合作伙伴之间的联系／关系。
parent
母公司，总公司
The subsidiary has issued shares that are guaranteed by its parent.
子公司发行的股票由母公司担保。
The parent company is expected to spend $50 million in advertising this year.
母公司预计今年会投入5千万美元用于广告。
power
为…提供动力，驱动
Buses and trucks are usually powered by diesel engines.
公共汽车和卡车通常是由柴油机驱动的。
Electricity costs less than petrol, so powering an electric vehicle is cheaper.
电比汽油的成本低，所以电动力车会比较省钱。
Microsoft argues it would have made a better TikTok
steward
, for example by continually
vetting
the algorithm. In an
acerbic
concession note, the software giant said it will monitor TikTok’s future progress in the areas of “security, privacy, online safety and combating disinformation”.
微软认为，它本可以成为一个更好的抖音操控者，例如通过不断审查算法。在一份尖刻的让步说明中，这家软件巨头表示，它将监控抖音在"安全、隐私、在线安全和打击虚假信息"方面的未来发展。
steward
（特定活动的）组织者，操办者；服务员；管家；管理员
Stewards will be inspecting the race track at 9.00.
组织者将在9点钟检查跑道。
If you need help at any time during the conference, one of the stewards will be pleased to help you.
会议期间您任何时候需要帮助，服务人员都会很乐意为您效劳。
vet
审查，检查
During the war, the government vetted all news reports before they were published.
战争期间，所有新闻报道在发表之前要接受政府的审查。
The bank carefully vets everyone who applies for an account.
银行对每个申请开通账户的人都进行仔细的审核。
acerbic
尖刻的；辛辣的
The letters show the acerbic wit for which Parker was both admired and feared.
信的字里行间流露着帕克的辛辣谐趣，这一点让人们对他既欣赏又惧怕。
concession
（常指为结束争端而作出的）认可，让与，让步，妥协
Both sides involved in the conflict made some concessions in yesterday's talks.
在昨天的谈判中，冲突双方都作了些让步。
He stated firmly that no concessions will be made to the terrorists.
他强硬地宣称不会对恐怖分子作出任何让步。
combat
与…战斗；与…作斗争；打击；制止
to combat crime/terrorism/inflation/disease
打击犯罪／打击恐怖主义／抑制通货膨胀／与疾病作斗争
The government is spending millions of dollars in its attempt to combat drug abuse.
政府正斥资数百万美元打击滥用毒品的行为。
I have to combat this constant desire to eat chocolate.
我不得不克制自己老想吃巧克力的欲望。
[4]谁是最大赢家？
The fudge may suit Mr Trump fine. Risks associated with banning TikTok have risen. On August 28th China’s commerce ministry
invoked
its own national-security
concerns
to block the sale of ByteDance’s algorithm to foreigners. It seemed to dare the president to go for a ban, the legal basis for which has always looked
shaky
. According to an American diplomat, the executive orders on TikTok were drafted by Peter Navarro, the president’s China-
bashing
economic adviser. They did not go through the usual vetting process by lawyers and bureaucrats and could contain holes; ByteDance has already filed a lawsuit. Mr Trump’s other advisers also cautioned against a ban that could irk millions of TikTokers in
battleground
states like Texas and Florida.
含糊其辞可能会适合特朗普先生。禁止抖音的相关风险已经增加。8月28日，中国商务部援引自己的国家安全顾虑，阻止将字节跳动的算法出售给外国人。这似乎是在向总统选择禁令进行挑战，其法律依据一直显得站不住脚。据一位美国外交官说，关于抖音的行政命令是由抨击中国的总统的经济顾问彼得·纳瓦罗起草的。他们没有经过律师和官僚通常的审查程序，而且可能含有漏洞;字节跳动已经提起诉讼。特朗普的其他顾问也提醒说，像德克萨斯州和佛罗里达州这些争议十分激烈的州，这项禁令可能会激怒其数百万抖音用户。
fudge
含糊其辞（避免作出明确确定或给出明确答案）
She suspects that this compromise deal will be nothing more than a fudge.
她怀疑这种折中的协议只不过是在敷衍而已。
It's a bit of a fudge but we could put the cost through on next year's budget.
虽然有点儿蒙混嫌疑，我们还是可以把花销转入明年的预算中。
invoke
援引，借助（法律）
Police can invoke the law to regulate access to these places.
警方可以借助有关法律来约束人们进入这些地方。
dare
向…挑战；问…有没有胆量（做）；（用激将法）激
Wear the low-cut blouse with your pink shorts - go on, I dare you!
穿上那件低胸衬衫，再配上粉色短裤——就照这样打扮，你有胆量就穿上试试！
[ + to infinitive ] I dare you to ask him to dance.
我谅你也不敢请他跳舞。
go for
选择
Instead of butter, I always go for margarine or a low-fat bread.
我总是选择人造黄油或低脂肪的面包酱以代替黄油。
shaky
不稳定的；不坚固的；不结实的
The building's foundations are rather shaky, and it could collapse at any time.
这座建筑的地基很不稳固，随时可能会倒塌。
We are taking these steps to try to improve the country's shaky economy.
我们正在采取这些措施，试图改善国家经济不稳定的局面。
Their marriage looks pretty shaky to me.
在我看来，他们的婚姻关系岌岌可危。
I think you're on very shaky ground with that argument.
我觉得你那个论点相当站不住脚。
-bashing
后缀
针对…的严厉批评，针对…的猛烈抨击
union-bashing
对工会的强烈批评
vet
审查，检查
During the war, the government vetted all news reports before they were published.
战争期间，所有新闻报道在发表之前要接受政府的审查。
The bank carefully vets everyone who applies for an account.
银行对每个申请开通账户的人都进行仔细的审核。
hole
缺点，漏洞，破绽
The new proposal has several holes in it.
那项新提案有几处漏洞。
file
（尤指在法庭）提起（诉讼）
The police filed charges against the two suspects.
警方对两名嫌疑犯提起了诉讼。
caution
告诫；提醒
The newspaper cautioned its readers against buying shares without getting good advice first.
报纸告诫读者事先没有获得好的建议，不要购买股票。
irk
使厌烦，使恼火
The negative reply to my complaint really irked me.
对我的投诉的否定回复着实令我气恼。
The most obvious winner from the farrago is China’s government. Its bureaucrats played the political chess game to perfection, notes a ByteDance investor. The Chinese firm gets to keep some of its prize asset rather than sell it on the cheap. Oracle will benefit, especially if it manages to
wrest
TikTok’s cloud contract from Google—though the internet giant may challenge such a move in court. Microsoft, which also has a big cloud platform, looks the loser. But given the chaos and uncertainty of dealing with Mr Trump, the runner-up might in time come out ahead.
这场混战最明显的赢家是中国政府。一位字节跳动投资者指出，它的官僚们把政治棋局玩得完美无缺。这家中国公司可以保留部分重要资产，而不是低价出售。甲骨文将从中受益，特别是如果它设法从谷歌手中夺取了抖音的云服务合同——尽管这家互联网巨头可能会在法庭上对此举提出挑战。微软，也有一个云平台，看起来是输家。但考虑到与特朗普打交道的混乱和不确定性，第二名可能会及时提前到来。
farrago
大杂烩；混杂物
He told us a farrago of lies.
他给我们讲了一大堆谎话。
to perfection
完美地，完善地
The fish was cooked to perfection.
这条鱼烧得极好。
on the cheap
便宜地，廉价地
prize
（指某物）极好的；极重要的
prize assets
重要资产
Some prize idiot (= extremely foolish person) forgot to lock the door.
有个大傻瓜忘了锁门。
wrest
夺取；攫取
He wrested the letter from my grasp.
他从我手中夺走了那封信。
runner-up
亚军，第二名
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