BEC商务英语阅读材料
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BEC商务英语阅读材料：欧洲能管住互联网吗
In Paris on Tuesday, Europe’s digital economy ministers will meet to discuss the future. Their agenda should be obvious. The internet has been the bright spot in an otherwise bleak EU economy. The eurozone economy is expected to contract by 0.4 per cent in 2013. By contrast, the internet economy in the G20 countries is forecast to grow by 8 per cent each year for the next five years.
The internet has lowered barriers to entry and made it easier than ever for people to set up their own businesses and to become entrepreneurs. In Europe, we already have best-in-class tech businesses such as Swedish music streaming service Spotify, Finnish games developer Supercell, French display advertising business Criteo and British companies such as Just Eat, Mind Candy and Zoopla. The “internet economy” is also much broader than many people realise. Every business is an internet business to some extent. Many of our best-known, global companies are using digital innovation to bring better products and services to their customers.
The agenda for European governments should be clear: concentrate on policies that enable new business creation and encourage established businesses to innovate through technology. Create incentives for risk-taking to counter the worrying decline in venture capital investment. Make it quick and easy to start your own company and take the stigma out of failure by creating incentives that encourage entrepreneurs to try again. Embrace trade and fair competition and back innovation.
The French government is tabling a series of measures designed to encourage growth and innovation. Many make sense and echo efforts we are pursuing here in the UK. But if measures pertaining to new regulation and taxation are as reported, they appear to be both protectionist in nature and potentially damaging to future innovation and global trade.
For example, it sounds sensible to have US companies pay more tax in Europe. But the fact is we have a global tax system that taxes multinational companies where they create value.Indeed, the G20 and OECD are currently reviewing measures to reform the taxation of global companies.
学习指南：
1. Word of the day
entrepreneur： one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise 创业者，企业家
小编注：entrepreneur是指人，通常用来表示企业家，承包人，创业者。有一个由它派生而出的词entrepreneurship则是指创业精神，企业家精神，企业家身份。这点大家要学会区别分辨。
2. Phrase of the day
contract by：If something contracts by a certain extent, the size of it will become smaller. 收缩，变小
e.g：The Thai economy is forecast to contract by as much as four percent this year, leaving as many as two million unemployed.
例：据预测，泰国经济今年收缩的幅度可能会高达四个百分点，失业人口可能会多达两百万。
小编注：contract by是“收缩了”，而contract to是“收缩到”，两者意思有区别，注意区分。
3. Sentence of the day
But if measures pertaining to new regulation and taxation are as reported, they appear to be both protectionist in nature and potentially damaging to future innovation and global trade.
但如果有关新的监管规则以及税收制度的措施与报道一致，这些措施在本质上似乎属于贸易保护主义，并对未来的创新活动以及全球贸易有潜在破坏作用。
小编注：这句话比较长，要看懂就先要对句子的成分进行划分。首先可以看出这是一个条件状语从句，主句在逗号之后。主句从句分别划分主谓宾、定状补即可。这句话主句主语是they，指代measures。这里还有一个词要注意一下，protectionist的意思是贸易保护主义，这里是根据上下文进行的意译，原意并没有贸易之义。
4. Cultural point of the day
欧元区 欧洲联盟成员中使用欧盟的统一货币——欧元的国家区域。1999年1月1日，欧盟国家开始实行单一货币欧元和在实行欧元的国家实施统一货币政策。2002年7月，欧元成为欧元区唯一的合法货币。欧元区共有18个成员国，包括奥地利、比利时 、芬兰 、法国 、德国 、爱尔兰、意大利、卢森堡、荷兰 、葡萄牙 、西班牙 、希腊 、斯洛文尼亚、塞浦路斯、马耳他 、斯洛伐克、爱沙尼亚、拉脱维亚，人口超过3亿3千万。受欧债危机影响，欧元区自2008年以来经济陷入持续衰退。2012年10月8日，欧洲稳定机制(ESM)启动，向债务缠身的欧元区主权国家提供贷款。
5. Translation of the day
For example, it sounds sensible to have US companies pay more tax in Europe. But the fact is we have a global tax system that taxes multinational companies where they create value.
例如，提高美国企业在欧洲的税收负担听起来或许合理。但事实上我们拥有一个全球税收体系，跨国公司在哪里创造价值，就在哪里纳税。
小编注：这句话的最后部分翻译非常出彩。定语从句我们往往会翻译成形容词性的词，但是这里因为主句本身就已经很长了，因此用了翻译经常用的切分翻译法，化繁为简，变成两句非常整齐精短的句子。这样的翻译方法值得大家借鉴。
参考翻译：
In Paris on Tuesday, Europe’s digital economy ministers will meet to discuss the future. Their agenda should be obvious. The internet has been the bright spot in an otherwise bleak EU economy. The eurozone economy is expected to contract by 0.4 per cent in 2013. By contrast, the internet economy in the G20 countries is forecast to grow by 8 per cent each year for the next five years.
10月1日，欧洲负责管理数字经济的部长们将齐聚巴黎商讨未来。他们的议题应当非常明确。在整体黯淡的欧盟(EU)经济中，互联网一直是个亮点。预计2013年欧元区经济将收缩0.4%。与之形成对比的是，未来五年中二十国集团(G20)互联网经济的年均增幅预计将达到8%。
The internet has lowered barriers to entry and made it easier than ever for people to set up their own businesses and to become entrepreneurs. In Europe, we already have best-in-class tech businesses such as Swedish music streaming service Spotify, Finnish games developer Supercell, French display advertising business Criteo and British companies such as Just Eat, Mind Candy and Zoopla. The “internet economy” is also much broader than many people realise. Every business is an internet business to some extent. Many of our best-known, global companies are using digital innovation to bring better products and services to their customers.
互联网降低了市场准入的门槛，并使人们创建自己的公司以及成为企业家比以往任何时候都要容易。欧洲已经拥有了一批业内领先的技术公司，比如瑞典的流媒体音乐服务公司Spotify、芬兰游戏开发商Supercell，法国展示广告公司Criteo以及Just Eat、Mind Candy和Zoopla等英国公司。“互联网经济”的范畴也比很多人所意识到的更为宽泛。在某种程度上，每家企业都是互联网公司。我们所熟知的很多全球化企业都在通过数字化创新来为客户提供更好的产品和服务。
The agenda for European governments should be clear: concentrate on policies that enable new business creation and encourage established businesses to innovate through technology. Create incentives for risk-taking to counter the worrying decline in venture capital investment. Make it quick and easy to start your own company and take the stigma out of failure by creating incentives that encourage entrepreneurs to try again. Embrace trade and fair competition and back innovation.
欧洲政府的目标应该是明确的：重点关注能推动新企业诞生以及鼓励现有企业通过技术实现创新的政策措施。制定激励机制鼓励人们勇担风险，以对抗风险资本投资规模令人担忧的下降趋势;使个人能够方便快捷地创建自己的公司;制定鼓励企业家再次尝试的激励措施，使创业失败不再是“污点”;促进贸易和公平竞争，支持创新活动。
The French government is tabling a series of measures designed to encourage growth and innovation. Many make sense and echo efforts we are pursuing here in the UK. But if measures pertaining to new regulation and taxation are as reported, they appear to be both protectionist in nature and potentially damaging to future innovation and global trade.
法国政府正在出台一系列措施，旨在推动经济增长和创新活动。其中的很多举措都很合理，并与英国正在推行的举措异曲同工。但如果有关新的监管规则以及税收制度的措施与报道一致，这些措施在本质上似乎属于贸易保护主义，并对未来的创新活动以及全球贸易有潜在破坏作用。
For example, it sounds sensible to have US companies pay more tax in Europe. But the fact is we have a global tax system that taxes multinational companies where they create value. Indeed, the G20 and OECD are currently reviewing measures to reform the taxation of global companies.
例如，提高美国企业在欧洲的税收负担听起来或许合理。但事实上我们拥有一个全球税收体系，跨国公司在哪里创造价值，就在哪里纳税。二十国集团和经合组织(OECD)目前正在审核改革跨国公司税收制度的具体举措。
BEC阅读：伦敦城年龄歧视突出
Age discrimination is now seen as a more widespread problem in the City than sex discrimination, a survey of more than 1,600 finance sector workers has found.
While more than one-third of City employees said their employer was “very committed” to gender diversity, less than a quarter felt the company was similarly committed to fighting age discrimination.
The research also confirmed that problems over discrimination and lack of commitment to diversity were most likely to arise in areas such as trading and sales rather than within the middle or back-office functions.
“The City is getting far better at supporting and developing female staff,” said Mark Cameron, chief operating officer at Astbury Marsden, a financial services recruiter, which carried out the survey.
He added: “The huge effort that London’s financial services sector has made to broaden its workforce is clearly reflected in positive feedback we have had from employees.”
But while sex discrimination was on the decrease, negative attitudes towards co-workers on the basis of age and a lack of commitment to age diversity was seen as wider problem.
“We aren’t saying that the negative consequences of age discrimination are bigger than other forms of discrimination, just that employees see it as more prevalent. They also see age diversity as something employers are not particularly focused on,” said Mr Cameron.
The default retirement age (DFA), under which employers could force workers to retire at 65, was phased out in 2011. But Mr Cameron said that, as with racial and gender diversity, it often took years for attitudes to change, and this seemed to be the case with age discrimination.
学习指南：
1.Word of the day
discrimination: Treatment or consideration based on class or category rather than individual merit; partiality or prejudice:歧视，差别待遇：根据阶级而不是根据个人的优点来加以对待和考虑的;偏心或偏见：
小编注：discrimination有“区别”的意思，但更多地表示判断、见识方面的差别，也表示待遇上的差别，因此通常用discrimination表示“歧视”。同样有“区别”意思的distinction侧重于细节上的区别而difference则更普通，可以指几乎任何区别。
2.Phrase of the day
phase out : If something is phased out, people gradually stop using it. 逐步停止;逐步撤去;逐步淘汰。
ex:Will that country phase out its oil exports?
例句：那个国家会逐步停止输出石油吗?
小编注：phase out的反义词是phase in，解释为逐步使用。
3.Sentence of the day
But Mr Cameron said that, as with racial and gender diversity, it often took years for attitudes to change, and this seemed to be the case with age discrimination.
但卡梅伦表示，就像种族和性别多样性一样，这通常需要数年时间来改变人们的态度，年龄歧视似乎也是如此。
小编注：as with解释为正如，比如：
As with the birds,it's time for the youths to leave home.
正如小鸟一样,到了年青人离开家的时候了。
写作时如果需要打比方，可以使用这个词。
4.Cultural point of the day
年龄歧视 随着人类社会的发展，人们的平均寿命越来越长，退休年龄则越来越晚。原本规定的65岁法定退休年龄在欧美许多国家被取消。然而这一决定却引发了诸多社会问题。虽然取消退休年龄后使得很多高龄职工得以继续工作发挥余热，但长期职工的高额薪水也令雇主们难以负担，同时更低的退休率也带来了更高的失业率。大量青年毕业生的就业机会被这些本该退休的老职工所挤压。对于退休年龄和年龄歧视，你又有什么看法呢?
5.Translation of the day
But while sex discrimination was on the decrease, negative attitudes towards co-workers on the basis of age and a lack of commitment to age diversity was seen as wider problem.
然而，尽管性别歧视问题在减轻，但对同事的年龄歧视以及对年龄多样性重视不够被视为一个更普遍的问题。
BEC商务英语阅读材料：中国反垄断令美不安
US regulators and businesses have spoken out against an antitrust enforcement pushed by Chinese authorities as the issue emerges as a potential new friction point in relations between the world’s two largest economies.
Foreign investors in China are increasingly concerned that they are being targeted in official investigations of pricing practices, such as one aimed at baby formula manufacturers earlier this year.
“China is wielding its antitrust law in a discriminatory manner targeting foreign companies,” said Jeremie Waterman, executive director for China policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business lobby group.
In an unusually direct speech in Beijing last month, which raised hopes that US policy makers were giving the issue greater attention, Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, said that “political decisions” should have no place in antitrust reviews. The FTC conducts antitrust reviews in the US alongside the justice department.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Ohlhausen said there needed to be greater transparency over China’s decisions. “If the Chinese make a decision to impose a remedy or block a deal it can be hard for outsiders to know what was the main motivating factor in that,” she said.
Despite Ms Ohlhausen’s intervention last month, US officials have generally been reluctant to confront China over antitrust rules, despite being sympathetic to complaints that deals were being unfairly blocked or approved with tough conditions. The matter has not been raised in bilateral economic and trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
Chinese companies and officials have also questioned whether their investments in the US are welcome. US lawmakers used a congressional hearing to raise concerns about Shuanghui’s proposed $4.7bn purchase of Smithfield pork, the largest Chinese takeover of a US company, which is still in the balance.
学习指南：
1.Word of the day
antitrust: preventing companies or groups of companies from controlling prices unfairly 反托拉斯的;反垄断的
小编注：托拉斯(Trust)直译为“商业信托”，是指在一个行业(商品领域)中，通过生产企业间的收购、合并以及托管等等形式，由一家公司兼并、包容、控股大量同行业企业来达到企业一体化目的的垄断形式。通过这种形式，托拉斯企业可以对该行业市场实现垄断，并且通过制定企业内部统一价格等等手段来使企业在市场中居于主导地位，实现利润的最大化。
2.Phrase of the day
motivating factor ： 激发因素
e.g:The UN's troubled Kyoto treaty on climate change may also be a motivating factor.
例句：让联合国苦恼不已的京都气候变化条约也有可能会成为激发因素之一。
3.Sentence of the day
US officials have generally been reluctant to confront China over antitrust rules, despite being sympathetic to complaints that deals were being unfairly blocked or approved with tough conditions.
美国官员通常不愿在反垄断裁决上与中国对抗，尽管他们对不公平地被阻止或以苛刻条件获得批准的交易的投诉持同情态度。
小编注：sympathetic和compassionate都有“同情”之意，但在表达“同情”的含义时，compassionate主要表示同情心，而sympathetic则多用作表示理解，赞成。
4.Cultural point of the day
为什么婴儿奶粉叫baby formula：本文第一段中出现了baby formula这个词，不常看英语新闻的读者可能会误解，formula这个单词我们都很熟悉，解释为“方程、公式”，但很多人都不知道它还有一种含义，就是特指a special nutritive mixture, esp. of milk, sugar, and water, in prescribed proportions for feeding a baby(为婴幼儿配制的特殊营养物质)。
5.Translation of the day
Foreign investors in China are increasingly concerned that they are being targeted in official investigations of pricing practices.
在华外国投资者越来越担心，他们会像今年早些时候的婴儿配方奶粉生产商一样，成为官方对定价行为的调查目标。
小编注：或许是因为和中文的结构相似，很多人写作的时候喜欢用“more and more……”这个词来表示“越来越……”的意思，但如果你能用“increasingly”来代替这个看起来相当口语化的词，相信你的文章会显得更专业。
US regulators and businesses have spoken out against an antitrust enforcement push by Chinese authorities as the issue emerges as a potential new friction point in relations between the world’s two largest economies.
美国监管机构和企业对中国有关部门的反垄断执法行动公开表达不满，这一问题正在成为全球最大两个经济体之间关系新的潜在摩擦点。
Foreign investors in China are increasingly concerned that they are being targeted in official investigations of pricing practices, such as one aimed at baby formula manufacturers earlier this year.
在华外国投资者越来越担心，他们会像今年早些时候的婴儿配方奶粉生产商一样，成为官方对定价行为的调查目标。对于中国反垄断当局对外国投资者并购内地企业的裁决，他们也表示担忧。
“China is wielding its antitrust law in a discriminatory manner targeting foreign companies,” said Jeremie Waterman, executive director for China policy at the US Chamber of Commerce, the largest US business lobby group.
美国最大的商业游说组织美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)中国政策研究部门的执行主任王杰(Jeremie Waterman)表示：“中国正在针对外国企业歧视性地挥舞反垄断法。”
In an unusually direct speech in Beijing last month, which raised hopes that US policy makers were giving the issue greater attention, Maureen Ohlhausen, a Republican commissioner at the Federal Trade Commission, said that “political decisions” should have no place in antitrust reviews. The FTC conducts antitrust reviews in the US alongside the justice department.
他的介入源于美国联邦贸易委员会(FTC)共和党专员莫琳-奥尔豪森(Maureen Ohlhausen)上个月在北京发表的一场格外直接的演说，这激起了人们对美国政策制定者更加关注这一问题的希望。奥尔豪森警告称，“政治决策”不应出现在反垄断审核中。在美国，FTC与美国司法部一道开展反垄断审查。
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ms Ohlhausen said there needed to be greater transparency over China’s decisions. “If the Chinese make a decision to impose a remedy or block a deal it can be hard for outsiders to know what was the main motivating factor in that,” she said.
奥尔豪森在接受英国《金融时报》采访时表示，中国的决策必须更加透明。她说：“如果中国决定实施法律补救措施，或者阻止一项交易，外人很难知道主要的动因是什么。”
Despite Ms Ohlhausen’s intervention last month, US officials have generally been reluctant to confront China over antitrust rules, despite being sympathetic to complaints that deals were being unfairly blocked or approved with tough conditions. The matter has not been raised in bilateral economic and trade talks between Beijing and Washington.
美国官员通常不愿在反垄断裁决上与中国对抗，尽管他们对不公平地被阻止或以苛刻条件获得批准的交易的投诉持同情态度。中美双边经贸对话中没有提及这一问题。
Chinese companies and officials have also questioned whether their investments in the US are welcome. US lawmakers used a congressional hearing to raise concerns about Shuanghui’s proposed $4.7bn purchase of Smithfield pork, the largest Chinese takeover of a US company, which is still in the balance.
中国企业和官员也质疑中方在美国的投资是否受欢迎。美国立法者利用国会听证，提出了对双汇(Shuanghui)47亿美元收购美国猪肉生产企业史密斯菲尔德(Smithfield)计划的担心。这是迄今最大的一笔中国人收购美国企业的交易，但目前仍然悬而未决。
BEC商务英语阅读材料
