《经济学人》常被视作英语学习的范本，文章中常见的优秀文章也是英文学习者进阶的重要工具。为此我们青藤语培开通了「经济学人Day」栏目每周不定时推送《经济学人》文章及其详解，包括官方精选例句、重难点单词释义、写作积累等。每日坚持早日分托！
国外版抖音——TikTok在过去12个月内下载量超过Facebook及其姊妹软件Instagram和WhatsApp的总下载量，其火爆程度有目共睹。然而，它却面临着众多问题，如数据地缘政治、互联网运营商、来自强大竞争对手Facebook的挑战等。（文章选自经济学人20191109期Business版块）
TikTok time-bomb抖音，一颗定时炸弹 TikTok’s silly clips raise some serious questions抖音的搞笑视频带来了一些严肃的问题 If this article were a TikTok video, it would already be almost over—and you would be smiling. TikTok’s 15-second clips are all the rage among teenage netizens.
如果这篇文章是一段抖音短视频的话，那么到这会应该就快结束了，而此时的你应该在哈哈大笑。抖音的15秒短视频在青少年网民中风靡一时。 The app was downloaded more than 750m times in the past 12 months, more than Facebook plus its sister services, Instagram and WhatsApp, combined. Fun aside, TikTok raises serious questions—about data geopolitics, the power of internet incumbents and who sees what online.
这款应用在过去的一年的下载量高达7.5亿次，超过了 Facebook 及其姊妹应用 Instagram 和 WhatsApp 的总和。除了给人们带来欢乐外，抖音也带来了一些严肃的问题，例如数据地缘政治、互联网公司的力量以及用户能看到什么内容。
be all the rage风靡一时 Big data, the idea that the world is replete with more information than ever, is now all the rage. 当前，"大数据"概念风靡一时。这种思想认为，世界到处都是数据，而数据中所包含的信息也远远超过了以往。
incumbent [in'kʌmbənt] n. a person who has an official position 在职者；现任者
① [only before noun] having an official position adj.在职的；现任的
the incumbent president / priest / government etc 现任总统/现任牧师/本届政府
②~ upon / on sb (formal) necessary as part of sb's duties 有责任；必须履行 It was incumbent on them to attend. 他们必须出席。
TikTok is YouTube onsteroids. It bombards users with self-repeating clips. It forms a genre of quick-hit entertainment: a prank, a dare, a teenager looking pretty. Most are produced by adolescents, with easy-to-use editing tools. The app makes money from adverts and commissions on digital tips.
抖音要比 YouTube 更强劲。它利用自动循环播放的短视频对用户进行轰炸，由此形成了一种迅速流行开来的娱乐模式：一场恶作剧、一次挑战、一位面容姣好的少年。这些视频大都是由青少年利用简单易用的编辑工具制作的。抖音靠着广告和打赏抽成来赚钱。
steroid ['stɪrɔɪd] 类固醇，因为类固醇能够增强体能，所以有些运动员会（违规）服用——on steroids 则表示服用类固醇。后来 on steroids 引申为兴奋版的各种东西。
bombard sb/sth with sth 大量提问；大肆抨击；提供过多信息 We have been bombarded with letters of complaint. 我们接二连三收到了大批的投诉信件。
genre n.['ʒɒ̃rə]（文学、绘画、音乐、电影等艺术作品的）体裁，类型 A genre is a particular type of literature, painting, music, film, or other art form which people consider as a class because it has special characteristics.
...his love of films and novels in the horror genre. 他对恐怖电影和恐怖小说的热衷
prank n.玩笑 恶作剧
a childish prank 幼稚的恶作剧
editing tools 剪辑工具 editing App剪辑软件
It may one day generate revenue from e-commerce, like its Chinese sister app, Dou yin. Both are owned by ByteDance, a Beijing firm valued at $75bn, more than any other private start up. 或许有一天，它也能像其姊妹应用抖音（中国版）那样通过电子商务来赚钱。这两个应用都归属于北京的字节跳动公司，其750亿美元的估值比任何一家私营初创公司都要高。
The China connection has Washington in a tizzy. On November 1st it emerged that America’s government has opened a national-security review of ByteDance’stake over in 2017 of Musical.ly, an app developed in China, which later became TikTok. On November 5th congressmen lambasted ByteDance for not showing up to a hearing.
抖音与中国的联系让华盛顿紧张不安。11月1日，有消息称，美国政府已经就字节跳动在2017年收购 Musical.ly 一事展开了国家安全调查。Musical.ly 是一款在中国开发的应用，后来便成为了抖音（国际版）。11月5日，国会议员对字节跳动未能出席听证会表示谴责。
Have someone a tizzy：使某人开始慌张，慌乱，have someone+状态，这种小词的灵活使用，通常很地道。
造句：The final exam is looming，which has me in a tizzy.
期末考试快要来临了，我顿时慌了
take over既可以指接管公司，也可以指接管国家、政党，比如 Since she has taken over the company, productivity and profits have soared. 自从她接管了公司，生产效率和盈利都大幅提高。
与take over对应的名词为takeover，指“收购；接管”
lambaste v. [læm'beɪst]（尤指公开地）猛烈抨击，狠狠批评
【类似表达】backlash n.[singular]（对社会变动等）强烈抵制，集体反对
the backlash against sth. 指“对…的强烈反对”，尤指对政治或社会事件的强烈反应、反对，是外刊中的常客。如一篇谈论脸书危机的文章中就提到：Facebook is not about to be banned or put out of business, but the chances of a regulatorybacklash are growing. Facebook尚不会被禁止或关闭，但监管部门强烈反弹的可能性在加大。
Hawks argue that TikTok gives the government in Beijing access to data on millions of Americans and that it censors content the regime does not like. If America’s sanctions on Huawei, a maker of telecoms gear, are aboutdisentangling electronics supply chains, its assault on ByteDance is an attempt to keep the data flows of America and China separate.
美国鹰派人士认为，北京方面能够从抖音这里获取美国数百万用户的数据，并且还会对其不乐见的内容进行筛查。如果说美国对电信设备制造商华为的制裁是为了切断电子产品的供应链，那么其对字节跳动的出手则是为了切断中美两国的数据流。
censor ['sensər]n.v.a person whose job is to examine books, films/movies, etc. and remove parts which are considered to be offensive, immoral or a political threat（书籍、电影等的）审查员，审查官
The report was cleared by the American military censors. 那篇报道得到美国军方审查官的批准。
telecoms gear 电信设备；通讯设备
gear [gɪər] n.[U]a set of equipment or tools you need for a particular activity（用于某种活动的）一套设备（工具）
【地道表达】gear (sb) up for sth / to do sth，而特指“为（困难或坏事）做好思想准备”可用psych sb / yourself up for sth互相替换(if you psych yourself up or if someone psychs you up, you get mentally prepared before doing something so that you feel confident)，比如After work, it is hard to psych yourself up for an hour at the gym.下班后，很难打起精神再去健身房锻炼一个小时。[写作推荐]
disentangle v. [ˌdɪsɪnˈtæŋgl]~ sth (from sth) to separate different arguments, ideas, etc. that have become confused 理顺，分清，清理出（混乱的论据、想法等）
ByteDance rejects these accusations, saying that non-Chinese user data sit on non-Chinese servers, and that decisions about what not to show American users are made in America. 字节跳动对这些指控予以了否认，并表示，非中国用户的数据并没有储存在中国的服务器上，而关于不向美国用户展示哪些内容的决定也是在美国做出的。 For his part, Mark Zuckerberg is less worried about data sovereignty and more about competition from TikTok, China’s first runaway web success in America. Facebook is pulling out the big guns it deploys against fast-growing upstarts. In late 2018 it launched Lasso, a TikTok clone.
对于马克·扎克伯格来说，他更担心的是来自抖音的竞争（这是中国公司首次在美国互联网取得的成功），而非数据主权的问题。Facebook 正在部署重武器以对抗快速增长的抖音。2018年底，Facebook 推出了一款山寨抖音的应用 Lasso。
Runaway success：快速轻易的成功，通常指第一次
fast-growing upstarts：fast-growing：快速崛起的，发展迅速的，upstarts来源于startup，表示新兴企业，刚刚露头的，也可以表示新贵，像科技新贵：tech upstarts
An independent developer recently unearthed a feature hidden in Instagram’s code that apes TikTok’s editing tools. It is cold comfort to Mr Zuckerberg that should his defences fail, Big Tech’s critics will have to concede that digital monopolies are not that invincible after all.
最近，一位独立开发者也在 Instagram 的代码中发现了一个模仿抖音编辑工具的功能。如果对抖音的抵御最终以失败告终，那么这家科技巨头的批评者将不得不承认，数字垄断也不是那么牢不可破的，但这对于扎克伯格来说不过是一种冷冰冰的安慰了。
Cold comfort：于事无补的安慰
invincible [ɪnˈvɪnsəbl] adj. 无敌的；不能征服的
(色标注词为重难点词汇)
小编说
抖音国际版（TikTok）一经推出便风靡美国，尤其受到了美国广大青少年的欢迎。抖音的大火不仅撼动了扎克伯格的社交帝国，使其被迫发起了反击，同时也引发了美国政府对于国家安全的担忧。
本文重难点词汇：geopolitics [ˌdʒiːoʊˈpɑːlətɪks] n. 地缘政治学；地理政治论incumbent [ɪnˈkʌmbənt] adj. 现任的；依靠的；负有职责的 n. 在职者；现任者commission [kəˈmɪʃn] n. 委员会；佣金；服务费；犯；委任 vt. 委任；使服役lambast [læm'best] v. 狠打；猛烈抨击invincible [ɪnˈvɪnsəbl] adj. 无敌的；不能征服的
本文词组积累15秒短视频 15-second clip青少年网民teenage netizen数据/流量地缘政治data geopolitics互联网运营商Internet incumbent断绝电子产品供应链disentangle electronics supply chains否认这些指控reject these accusation数据主权；资料主权 data sovereignty数字寡头公司digital monopoly人工智能artificial intelligence昙花一现；一时流行的风尚 a passing fad
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