“双十一”又来了
一年又一年，你开始买买买了吗？
🤔️小作业：
1. What has changed in Alibaba's corporate structure?
a) Alibaba has merged with Douyin.
b) Alibaba has divided into multiple business units.
c) Alibaba has acquired several smaller e-commerce platforms.
d) Alibaba has gone public in the stock market.
a) Closing their stores on Alibaba
b) Increasing prices on competing platforms
c) Launching exclusive product lines on other platforms
d) Focusing solely on Alibaba for their business
无注释原文：
Alibaba banks on aggressive Singles Day pricing to recoup sales mojo
From: Reuters
China's Alibaba is pressuring merchants to offer rock-bottom prices on its marketplaces in this year's Singles Day extravaganza, three industry sources said, as the e-commerce company seeks to boost sales and stem a drop in market share.
The sources, who help dozens of brands operate their stores on Alibaba's platforms, said they were told to offer the best price of the year on Tmall or Taobao for the blockbuster shopping event, or risk losing the traffic and support given to event participants.
While Alibaba has announced that it will offer 80 million products at their lowest prices this year during Singles Day, which began in late October and stretches till Nov. 11, the push to get merchants to toe its line is unusual for the company, they said.
Ashley Dudarenok, founder of digital consultancy Chozan, said that some brands who are selling on competing platforms might meet Alibaba's demands by giving it the best prices but simultaneously launch a special line of products on Douyin, for example.
This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. The unit encompassing the Taobao and Tmall businesses is the only one that will remain under the control of Alibaba Group after it spins off the others.
There are indications that Alibaba's push is paying off.
When pre-sales, where consumers can put down deposits on items, began last Tuesday, turnover for over 1,300 brands jumped more than 200% year-over-year in the first hour, Taobao and Tmall Group said.
Consultancy AlixPartners has put out an early estimate tipping 18% growth in total spend across all major Chinese platforms. That compared with the 2.9% growth in 2022, according to data provider Syntun.
The renewed efforts this year come as Alibaba looks to preserve its e-commerce lead in China which has shrunk as rivals have gained ground. The company's share of China's total e-commerce market has fallen to around 40% now from near 70% in 2019, according to data published in a Credit Suisse report from January.
Industry executives said that Douyin has been reshaping Chinese consumer behaviour with daily live-streams that often offer lower prices than regular online stores.
“While the Singles Day festival remains a major shopping event in China, the daily accessibility of discounts and promotions via live-streaming has diluted the exclusivity of these mega sales events to some extent,” said Melody Zhao, an e-commerce executive at Hua Gui Food Group, which sells food and beverage products across several e-commerce platforms.
This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary.
Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, “doesn't care” about Singles Day as much.
“In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need,” she said.
- ◆ -
注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考
含注释全文：
Alibaba banks on aggressive Singles Day pricing to recoup sales mojo
From: Reuters
China's Alibaba is pressuring merchants to offer rock-bottom prices on its marketplaces in this year's Singles Day extravaganza, three industry sources said, as the e-commerce company seeks to boost sales and stem a drop in market share.
三位业内消息人士称，中国电子商务公司阿里巴巴正在向商家施压，要求他们在今年“双十一”购物节中提供最低价格。这是该公司为了提升销售额、阻止市场份额进一步下滑而采取的措施。
pressure
pressure作动词，表示“强迫，对…施加压力”，英文解释为“to strongly persuade someone to do something they do not want to do”举个🌰：She was pressured into joining the club. 她被迫加入那个俱乐部。
merchant
merchant /ˈmɜːtʃənt/ 表示“商人；批发商；（尤指）进出口批发商”，英文解释为“a person who buys and sells goods in large quantities, especially one who imports and exports goods”如：builders' merchants (= who sell supplies to the building trade) 建材批发商。
rock bottom
rock bottom /ˌrɒk ˈbɒt.əm/ 1）表示“最低点；最低水平”，英文解释为“the lowest possible level”举个🌰：Prices have reached rock bottom. 物价跌到了最低点。
2）表示“（生活中的）最低点，最不愉快的时刻”，英文解释为“the most unhappy that someone has ever been in their life”举个🌰：She had just left me and I was at rock bottom. 她刚刚离我而去，我心情糟到了极点。
extravaganza
extravaganza /ɪkˌstrævəˈɡænzə/ 表示“盛大展示；盛大表演”，英文解释为“An extravaganza is a very elaborate and expensive show or performance.”如：a magnificent fireworks extravaganza 一场壮观的焰火表演，a musical/dance extravaganza 场面宏大华丽的歌曲汇演/舞蹈盛宴。
boost
可以作名词也可以作动词，表示“改善；提高；增强；推动”，英文解释为“to improve or increase something”举个🌰：The theatre managed to boost its audiences by cutting ticket prices. 剧院设法通过降低票价来增加观众数量。
📍“佩洛西有病还是先治病吧”文中提到be boosted，get boosted用来指打了加强针（疫苗），也有说booster shot/booster dose.
stem
stem /stem/ 表示“阻挡；阻止；遏制”，英文解释为“to stop something unwanted from spreading or increasing”举个🌰：These measures are designed to stem the rise of violent crime. 这些措施旨在遏制暴力犯罪的增加。
The sources, who help dozens of brands operate their stores on Alibaba's platforms, said they were told to offer the best price of the year on Tmall or Taobao for the blockbuster shopping event, or risk losing the traffic and support given to event participants.
这些消息人士协助数十个品牌在阿里巴巴的平台上运营店铺，他们说，阿里巴巴要求他们在天猫或淘宝上为这次大促活动提供年度最优惠价格，否则将面临失去活动参与商家流量和支持的风险。
blockbuster
表示“轰动；巨型炸弹；一鸣惊人的事物；轰动一时的书籍/电影”，英文解释为“a book or film that is very good or successful informal”，如：the latest Hollywood blockbuster 好莱坞最新大片。此前在《流浪地球》（The Wandering Earth）一文中的标题就为：The Wandering Earth is China's biggest sci-fi blockbuster.
🎬电影《创：战纪》（Tron: Legacy）中的台词提到：I would like you to meet, our next blockbuster. 我很乐意向大家呈现我们的巨作。
traffic
熟词僻义，traffic一词除了熟知的“交通”的意思，还有“流量”的含义，英文解释：the movement of messages and signals through an electronic communication system，如“数据流量”：data traffic。
此外，作为动词，还有“贩卖（人口）”的意思，to illegally buy or sell people, or make money from work they are forced to do, such as sex work. 如：人口贩卖 human trafficking.
📍注：traffic (v.) 过去式 trafficked 过去分词：trafficked 现在分词：trafficking.
📍people trafficking/human trafficking表示“贩卖人口”，英文解释为“the crime of buying and selling people, or making money from work they are forced to do, such as sex work”
While Alibaba has announced that it will offer 80 million products at their lowest prices this year during Singles Day, which began in late October and stretches till Nov. 11, the push to get merchants to toe its line is unusual for the company, they said.
他们说，虽然阿里巴巴宣布将在今年10月底至11月11日的“双十一”大促期间以最低价格提供8000万种产品，但对该公司来说，强硬要求商家遵守其规定的做法并不常见。
stretch
stretch /stretʃ/ 作名词，表示“（连续的）一段时间”，英文解释为“a continuous period of time”举个🌰：The elderly generally need far less rest than the young, and tend to sleep in several short stretches. 年长者一般需要的休息时间比年轻人要少得多，而且往往会分成几个小段时间睡觉。
作动词，1）表示“到…的限度；超过…的限度；竭尽”，英文解释为“to go as far as or past the usual limit of something”举个🌰：Many families' budgets are already stretched to breaking point. 许多家庭的预算已经撑到了极限。
2）表示“伸出；伸长；拉伸”，英文解释为“to cause something to reach, often as far as possible, in a particular direction”举个🌰：She stretched out her hand and helped him from his chair. 她伸手将他从椅子上扶起来。
3）表示“展开，铺开；延伸”，英文解释为“to spread over a large area or distance”举个🌰：A huge cloud of dense smoke stretched across the horizon. 一大团浓烟在地平线上蔓延开来。
4）表示“延续”，英文解释为“to spread over a long period of time”举个🌰：The dispute stretches back over many years. 这场争论可追溯到许多年以前。
toe the line
toe the line表示“服从；听从”，英文解释为“to do what you are ordered or expected to do”，意思是遵守规则、指示或期望，不偏离既定的标准或准则。这个短语通常用来描述个人或组织的行为，特别是在他们需要遵循某种特定的行为准则或道德标准时。
📍toe /təʊ/ 作名词，表示“脚趾”，英文解释为“any of the five separate parts at the end of the foot”如：your big toe (= your largest toe) 你的大脚趾。
关于toe the line的由来，有几种不同的解释和理论：
📍军事起源：一种说法是这个短语起源于军事训练，其中士兵需要用脚尖触碰一条线以确保整齐的排列。
📍运动会起源：另一种说法是这个短语来自赛跑或其他运动比赛，其中选手需要用脚尖触碰起跑线，以确保比赛的公平性。
📍政治或议会起源：在一些历史文献中，这个短语也被用来描述议会或其他政治集会中的行为，其中参与者需要站在一个特定的线或区域内以表示他们的政治立场或忠诚。
无论其确切的起源是什么，toe the line现在广泛用于各种情境，以描述遵守规则或标准的行为。
Ashley Dudarenok, founder of digital consultancy Chozan, said that some brands who are selling on competing platforms might meet Alibaba's demands by giving it the best prices but simultaneously launch a special line of products on Douyin, for example.
阿什丽·杜达雷诺克（Ashley Dudarenok），数字咨询公司Chozan的创始人表示，例如，一些也在其他平台销售商品的品牌可能会同时满足阿里巴巴和抖音的要求，即在阿里巴巴平台上给出最低价，同时在抖音上推出一系列专属产品。
simultaneously
simultaneously /ˌsɪm.əlˈteɪ.ni.əs.li/ 表示“同时地”，英文解释为“in a way that is simultaneous (= happening or being done at exactly the same time)”举个🌰：Two children answered the teacher's question simultaneously. 两个孩子同时回答了老师的问题。
This year's Singles Day event is also the first since Alibaba Group split into six business units. The unit encompassing the Taobao and Tmall businesses is the only one that will remain under the control of Alibaba Group after it spins off the others.
今年的“双十一”是阿里巴巴集团分拆为六大业务部门后的首次。涵盖淘宝和天猫业务在内的事业部是阿里巴巴集团分拆其他事业部后唯一仍由阿里巴巴集团控制的事业部。
encompass
表示“包含，包括（尤指很多不同事物）”，英文解释为“to include different types of things”举个🌰：The festival is to encompass everything from music, theatre, and ballet to literature, cinema, and the visual arts. 本届文化节将涵盖从音乐、戏剧、芭蕾到文学、电影、视觉艺术等各种艺术形式。
spin sth off
1）表示“派生出，衍生出”，英文解释为“to produce a useful and unexpected result in addition to the intended result”举个🌰：The American space program has spun off new commercial technologies. 美国的太空计划衍生出了新的商业技术。
2）表示“将…分离出来（组建新公司）”，英文解释为“to form a separate company from part of an existing company”举个🌰：The company is trying to spin off part of its business. 这家公司正力图将一部分业务分离出来。
There are indications that Alibaba's push is paying off.
有迹象表明，阿里巴巴的这一策略已见成效。
pay off
表示“取得成功，得到好结果”，英文解释为“If something you have done pays off, it is successful.”举个🌰：All her hard work paid off in the end, and she finally passed the exam. 她的所有努力最终得到了回报，她终于通过了考试。
When pre-sales, where consumers can put down deposits on items, began last Tuesday, turnover for over 1,300 brands jumped more than 200% year-over-year in the first hour, Taobao and Tmall Group said.
淘宝和天猫集团表示，上周二开始预售（消费者可以对预售商品支付定金）后，1小时内，成交额同比增长超200%的品牌达1300多个。
put sth down
此处表示“付（定金）”，英文解释为“to pay part of the cost and promise to pay the rest later”举个🌰：I've put a deposit down on a new car. 我已经为新车支付了定金。
deposit
deposit /dɪˈpɒz.ɪt/ 作动词，1）表示“（在银行或保险柜中）存放，存储（尤指钱款）”，英文解释为“to put something valuable, especially money, in a bank or safe (= strong box or cupboard with locks)”举个🌰：There's a night safe outside the bank, so you can deposit money whenever you wish. 银行外面有夜间保险箱，你可以随时把钱存进去。
2）表示“留下；存放”，英文解释为“to leave something somewhere”举个🌰：The flood waters fell, depositing mud over the whole area. 洪水退去后留下的淤泥覆盖了整个区域。
作名词，表示“（尤指银行账户的）存款”，英文解释为“a payment, especially into a bank account”或者表示“预付款，定金”，英文解释为“an amount of money that you pay as the first part of the total payment for something”举个🌰：The shop assistant says if I leave ￥10 as a deposit, they'll keep the dress for me. 店员说如果我交10元定金，他们就会把那件裙子给我留着。
turnover
turnover /ˈtɜːnˌəʊ.vər/ 表示“（一定时期内的）营业额，成交量”，英文解释为“the amount of business that a company does in a period of time”举个🌰：Large supermarkets have high turnovers (= their goods sell very quickly). 大型超市的货品销售量很大。
Consultancy AlixPartners has put out an early estimate tipping 18% growth in total spend across all major Chinese platforms. That compared with the 2.9% growth in 2022, according to data provider Syntun.
咨询公司AlixPartners初步估计，消费者在包括阿里巴巴在内的所有主要中国电商平台上的总支出将增长18%，而根据数据提供商Syntun的数据，2022年的增长率仅为2.9%。
tip
作名词表示「小费」大家比较熟悉，也可以表示“（尤指细长物体的）末梢，末端，尖；（尤指细长物体的）顶端附加物”，英文解释为“the usually pointed end of something, especially something that is long and thin”举个🌰：We had asparagus tips for dinner. 我们晚饭吃了芦笋尖。
tip在花滑将禁止17岁以下选手参赛文中出现：Valieva, who had been tipped for a gold medal, finished fourth. 曾被看好获得金牌的瓦里耶娃获得了第四名。这里作动词，也是熟词僻义，表示“称…有可能成功”，英文解释为“to say that someone is likely to be successful or achieve something”举个🌰：He is being tipped as the next prime minister. 据称，他有可能成为下一任首相。
The renewed efforts this year come as Alibaba looks to preserve its e-commerce lead in China which has shrunk as rivals have gained ground. The company's share of China's total e-commerce market has fallen to around 40% now from near 70% in 2019, according to data published in a Credit Suisse report from January.
今年，在竞争对手的崛起之下，阿里巴巴再次发力，希望保持其在中国电子商务领域略有缩小的领先地位。根据瑞士信贷（Credit Suisse）1月份发布的一份报告中的数据，阿里巴巴在中国整个电商市场的份额已从2019年的接近70%降至目前的40%左右。
preserve
preserve /prɪˈzɜːv/ 表示“保护，维护；保留；保养”，英文解释为“to keep something as it is, especially in order to prevent it from decaying or being damaged or destroyed”如：to preserve the environment 保护环境。
shrink
作动词，表示“（使）缩小，（使）变小”，英文解释为“to become smaller, or to make something smaller”举个🌰：The market for their products is shrinking. 市场对他们产品的需求在减少。
gain ground
表示“变得更受欢迎；取得进展；得到肯定”，英文解释为“If a political party or an idea or belief gains ground, it becomes more popular or accepted.”举个🌰：They are gaining ground in the southern states. 他们在南部诸州越来越得人心。
Industry executives said that Douyin has been reshaping Chinese consumer behaviour with daily live-streams that often offer lower prices than regular online stores.
业内高管表示，抖音通过日常的直播促销，往往能提供比常规网店更优惠的价格，从而正在改变中国消费者的购物习惯。
live-stream
livestream/live-stream 表示“互联网直播，线上直播，流直播”，英文解释为“to broadcast video and sound of an event over the internet as it happens, or to be broadcast in this way”。
“While the Singles Day festival remains a major shopping event in China, the daily accessibility of discounts and promotions via live-streaming has diluted the exclusivity of these mega sales events to some extent,” said Melody Zhao, an e-commerce executive at Hua Gui Food Group, which sells food and beverage products across several e-commerce platforms.
华贵食品集团（Hua Gui Food Group）电商高管Melody Zhao指出：“‘双十一’虽然依然是中国的主要购物节，但由于现在直播优惠活动层出不穷，一定程度上这种大促活动的独特性被削弱了。”华贵食品集团在多个电商平台上销售食品和饮料。
dilute
dilute /daɪˈluːt; daɪˈljuːt/ 1）表示“稀释；冲淡”，英文解释为“to make a liquid weaker by adding water or another liquid to it”举个🌰：The paint can be diluted with water to make a lighter shade. 这颜料可用水稀释以使色度淡一些。
2）表示“减缓，减轻，缓冲”，英文解释为“to reduce the strength of a feeling, action, etc.”举个🌰：These measures are designed to dilute public fears about the product's safety. 采取这些措施是为了减轻公众对该产品安全性的恐慌。
exclusivity
exclusivity /ˌek.skluːˈsɪv.ə.ti/ 表示“排他性；专有权；独特性”，英文解释为“the quality of being exclusive”举个🌰：The resort still preserves a feeling of exclusivity. 这个度假胜地仍然保持着极少部分人专享的情调。
mega
mega /ˈme.ɡə/ 表示“非常好的；巨大的”，英文解释为“very good or very big”举个🌰：She's got a mega voice. 她的嗓音非常动听。
📍mega- 前缀，表示“非常多的；巨大的”，英文解释为“large in amount or size”如：mega-rich 非常富有，也常用来表示“兆，百万倍”，英文解释为“1,000,000 times the stated unit”如：a megawatt 兆瓦，a megabyte 兆字节。
beverage
表示“饮料”，英文解释为“Beverages are drinks.”如：alcoholic beverages 含酒精的饮料。
This view is supported by recent polls on social media where the majority of respondents said Singles Day was no longer necessary.
这一观点得到了最近社交媒体民意调查的支持，大多数受访者表示不再需要“双十一”。
poll
1）作名词，表示“民意测验；民意调查”，英文解释为“A poll is a survey in which people are asked their opinions about something, usually in order to find out how popular something is or what people intend to do in the future.”
复数形式polls可以特指“选举投票；计票”（the process of voting at an election; the process of counting the votes），举个🌰：Polls show that the European treaty has gained support in Denmark. 民意测验显示，欧洲条约已经在丹麦获得支持。
2）作动词，表示“对…进行民意调查”，英文解释为“If you are polled on something, you are asked what you think about it as part of a survey.”举个🌰：More than 2,000 people were polled. 2000多人接受了民意调查。
3）作动词，表示“获得…选票”，英文解释为“If a political party or a candidate polls a particular number or percentage of votes, they get that number or percentage of votes in an election.”举个🌰：The result showed he had polled enough votes to force a second ballot. 结果显示他获得了足够的选票来促使第二轮选举。
respondent
表示“回答者；答复者；应答者”，英文解释为“a person who answers a request for information”举个🌰：In a recent opinion poll, a majority of respondents were against nuclear weapons. 在最近的一次民意调查中，大多数调查对象表示反对发展核武器。
Meara He, a 21-year-old student from Wenzhou, says she often shops using Douyin live-streams and this year, “doesn't care” about Singles Day as much.
21岁来自温州的学生何美儿（Meara He）表示，她现在更多地是通过抖音直播来购物，而对于“双十一”，她今年并不怎么关心了。
“In the past I would wait for Double 11 (Singles Day) and do some shopping, but this time I just plan to buy products that I need,” she said.
“以往我会特意等到‘双十一’来购物，但今年我只打算买那些真正需要的产品。”她说。
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