外刊逐句精读｜《经济学人》：拉美「淘宝」的成功宝典｜CATTI一级译员外刊精读｜
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Why MercadoLibre keeps soaring as other e-emporiums sink
A combination of local knowledge and focus explain the firm’s success
重点词汇：
MercdoLibre : 美客多
Soar : v.高涨，腾飞
E-emporium :n.电子商城 e- 电子的 e-book e-commerce
Sink : v.下降，没落
A combination of : ...的结合
P1：
In March Amazon announced it would fire 9000 workers-bringing to 27000 the total number it has laid off this year. The e-commerce giant’s share price is down by a third since 2021. Other online-shopping darlings ,from Shopify in Canada to Coupang in South Korea and Grab in South-East Asia,have suffered a similar fate(see chart).With one exception. At $64bn ,the market value of MercadoLibre ,an Argentine firm listed in New York with operations across Latin America ,has been rising lately and is back roughly to where it was at the start of 2022- and twice that before covid-19. In April , as the world’s tech firms were sacking workers en masse ,it said it would hire 13000 , mainly in Brazil and Mexico ,raising its workforce by a third.
重点词汇：
Fire : v.解雇
Lay off :（因工作岗位不足）裁员
Share price :股价
Darling : n.宠儿，备受喜欢的人
Suffer ： v.遭遇，经历
List : v.把证券列入上市证劵表
Operation ： n.经营，业务
Sack ： v.（非正式）解雇，开除
En masse : adv.全体
The management team resigned en masse.
Workforce : n.职工总数，全体员工
Fate :n. the things that will happen to someone,especially unpleasant events命中注定的事，命运的安排，天数，命运，结局，结果
v.命定，注定
短语搭配： tempt fate , a fate worse than death , as sure as fate , seal something’s fate
段落大意：全球同类在线商城，科技公司经营状况下滑，而美客多市值上升，增聘员工，经营态势向好。
难句解析：
Bringing to 27000 the total number (that) it has laid off this year
现在分词做结果状语
At $64bn ,the market value of MercadoLibre ,an Argentine firm listed in New York with operations across Latin America ,has been rising lately and is back roughly to // where it was // at the start of 2022- and twice that before covid-19.
紫色部分是名词性短语做同位语解释MercadoLibre
listed in 是过去分词做后置定语
// where it was //引导的名词性从句在介宾结构中充当宾语
这个句子的主体结构为：
the market value has been rising and is back to...and twice...
P 2：
MercadoLibre needs more workers.On May 3rd it reported that revenues grew by 35% in the first quarter of 2023, to $3bn. Last year goods worth $35bn changed hands on its platform, helping generate $1bn in pre-tax profits .How is it flourishing as similar firms elsewhere struggle ?
重点词汇：
Revenue : n.收益，收入
Worth : adj.价值...（用法同介词）
Change hands ：转手，交易成功
Pre-tax profit :税前利润
Flourish : v.繁荣，兴旺
Stuggle : v.挣扎
段落大意：美客多经营状态大好，它是如何在同类公司经营下行时保持增长的呢？
P 3 :
Its success is a mix of good management and good fortune.Early on it expanded from connecting buyers and sellers into payments,initially to allay users’ fear of fraud . Its payments system, MercadoPago, is now widely trusted and used beyond its platform ; more than $100bn flowed through it in 2022 . The company has also built its own logistics network to deliver packages quickly in a region where infrastructure can be patchy. In ten years it has gone from not touching parcels , all of which were handled by third-party shippers ,to having a hand in ferrying 93% of its e-commerce packages .More recently it added a fast-growing advertising business .Unlike Amazon ,which regularly receives complaints about working conditions , employees rank MercadoLibre among the best Latin American firms to work for.
重点词汇：
Fortune :n.好运，运气
Initially : adj.起初，最初，开始 = at first
Eg: Initially , she had some success battling her illness , but it’s come back full force the last several months.
Allay :v. diminish or put at rest (fear, suspicion ,or worry)消除（恐惧，遗憾）
Relieve or alleviate(pain or hunger)解除，减轻（痛苦，饥饿）some stale figs partly allayed our hunger
短语搭配： allay suspicion 打消顾虑 allay anxiety 减轻焦虑
Fraud ： n.诈骗，欺诈
Beyond ：prep.远于，在...之外
Flow ： v.流动
Logistics : n.物流
Deliver ： v.投递，递送
Patchy ： adj.时好时坏的
Parcel : n.a thing or collection of things wrapped in paper in order to be carried or set by post,包裹; a quantity or amount of something ,especially as dealt with in one commercial transaction一批东西，尤其指商业交易一次涉及的量，一块土地
v.make(something)into a parcel by wrapping it把...包起来，Nautical wrap(rope)with strips of tarred canvas ,before binding it with yarn as part of a traditional technique to reduce chafing用涂油帆布条缠包，(parcel something out) divide into portions and then distribute分配
短语搭配： parcel out ,parcel up, parcel post ,
Pass the parcel : a children’s game in which a parcel is passed around to the accompaniment of music ,the child holding the parcel when the music stops being allowed to unwrap a layer传包裹（儿童游戏，听音乐传包裹，音乐停止时拿到包裹的儿童可打开一层包裹皮）
词源：late Middle English(chiefly in the sense ‘small portion’) :from Old French parcelle,from Latin particula ‘ small part’
Ferry : n. a boat or ship for conveying for conveying passengers and goods,especially over relatively short distance and as a regular service渡船，
A service for conveying passengers or goods in this way摆渡，
The place where such a service operates from渡口，
A similar service using another mode or transport,especially aircraft(尤其飞机）渡运
V.convey in a boat,especially across a short stretch of water（尤其指短距离）渡运，
Transport (someone or something)from one place to another ,especially as a regular service（尤其指定期）运送（人，物品）
Third-party shipper 第三方托运人
Third-party ：adj.第三方的
Shipper : n.托运人，航运商
Have a hand in sth./doing 参与，干预
Working condition工作条件
Rank ： v.给...排名
段落大意：美客多的成功离不开良好的经营，目前已经发展出完善的支付系统，物流体系，广告业务，雇主满意度也很高。
难句解析：
Early on it expanded from connecting buyers and sellers into payments ,initially to allay users’ fear of fraud.
In ten years it has gone from not touching parcels , all of which were handled by third-party shippers ,to having a hand in ferrying 93% of its e-commerce packages
P 4:
MercadoLibre also benefits from a deep understanding of local shopping habits ,notes Ricardo Tapia of the University of Anahuac in Mexico City.For instance ,by accumulating points for purchases, its shoppers can gain benefits such as free delivery .What may seem gimmicky to Western shoppers ,for whom a big benefit of buying online is that it saves time,is a big draw for game-loving Latin Americans.
重点词汇：
University of Anahuac :安纳瓦克大学
Accumulating points :积累积分
Gimmicky : adj.做噱头的
Gimmick :n.花招，噱头
Draw ：n.有吸引力的人或者物
Game-loving : adj.喜欢游戏的
段落大意：美客多对拉美地区顾客的消费习惯有深刻了解，助长销售。
难句解析：
what may seem gimmicky to Western shoppers ,for whom a big benefit of buying online is that it saves time, is a big draw for game-loving Latin Americans.
For whom是定语从句的标志，it是指buying online
讨论对象：point（购物积分）
西方消费者（更看重省时）：噱头
拉美消费者（喜欢游戏）：吸引人
it would hire 13000 , mainly in Brazil and Mexico ,raising its workforce by a third.
P 5：
The resulting strength has allowed the firm to take advantage of fortuitous circumstances .As everywhere in the world , the pandemic accelerated the growth of e-commerce in its region.In Mexico .MercadoLibre’s third-biggest market after Brazil and Argentina , 63m people bought something online in 2022,up from 37m in 2018.In contrast to more mature markets such as Britain ,the number of Latin Americans buying online did not drop back down after an initial boom in 2020.
重点词汇：
Circumstance: n.（一般作circumstances）a fact or condition connected with or relevant to an event or action情况，条件，环境
An event or fact that causes or helps to cause something to happen ,typically something undesirable事件，事实（引发或促使某事发生，尤其指负面事件）
One’s state of financial or material welfare经济状况，物质条件
短语：circumstance alter cases： proverb one’s opinion or treatment or someone or something may vary according to the prevailing circumstance<谚语>因地制宜，能屈能伸
Under/in the circumstance:given the difficult nature of the situation 情况既然如此
Under/in no circumstance : never ,whatever the situation is or might be决不，无论如何也不
Take advantage of :利用
Fortuitous : adj偶然的，幸运的 = fortunate 幸运的
In contrast to :...与...相比
Boom : n.激增
段落大意：美客多抓住了疫情期间拉美地区电商崛起的机遇。
难句解析：
In Mexico ，MercadoLibre’s third-biggest market after Brazil and Argentina , 63m people bought something online in 2022,up from 37m in 2018.
P 6：
The region’s brick-and-mortar retailers which are rapidly improving their own digital offerings ,and online giants such as Amazon have cottoned on to this trend. To keep growing ,MercadoLibre may need to boost penetration in less online countries such as Colombia , where Amazon is weaker ,and perhaps move into new segments ,such as groceries . But it does at least enjoy another advantage over foreign rivals ,for which Latin America is a foreign rivals ,for which Latin America is a peripheral market-focus .Failure in its home region is simply not an option ,says Agustin Gutierrez of McKinsey , a consultancy .Nothing concentrates the mind like survival.
重点词汇：
Brick-and-mortar :adj.实体的
Offering :n.供出售的产品
Cotton on to :开始领悟，意识到
Penetration :n.市场渗透率，占有率
Segment :n.细分市场
Groceries :n.食物杂货
Advantage over : ...胜过，....的优势
Peripheral : adj.次要的，外围的
Home : adj.本国的
Mckinsey :麦肯锡
Consultancy :n.咨询公司
段落大意：美客多面临着当地实体零售商和网络巨头的威胁，需要采取对策：提高电商欠发达的市场的渗透率，进入新的细分市场，注重本土市场。
难句解析：
To keep growing , MercadoLibre may need to boost penetration in less online countries such as Colombia , where Amazon is weaker ,and perhaps move into new segments ,such as groceries .
But it does at least enjoy another advantage over foreign rivals ,for which Latin America is a foreign rivals ,for which Latin America is a peripheral market-focus .
Nothing concentrates the mind like survival.
