2021年经济学人 微软史上第二大收购案出炉

Microsoft said it will buy Nuance¹, a voice-recognition technology company, in a deal worth $20bn. It is the second-largest acquisition in Microsoft’s history. It bought LinkedIn, a professionalsocial network, in 2016.

微软(Microsoft)表示，将斥资200亿美元收购语音识别技术公司Nuance。这是微软史上第二大收购案。2016年，微软收购了专业社交网络LinkedIn。

Kurumatani Nobuaki resigned as the boss of Toshiba, a Japanese conglomerate² which has been beset³ with accounting⁴ scandals and a disastrous⁵ acquisition. The company said the decision was made for personal reasons and was not linked to a recent takeover bid launched by cvc, a European private-equity firm. The bid reportedly caused a split among senior management. KKR, another private-eq uity group, and Brookfield, an asset manager, are also said to be preparing bids.

日本企业集团东芝公司因会计丑闻和灾难性的收购而陷入困境，其总裁车谷畅昭（Kurumatani Nobuaki）辞职。该公司表示，这一决定是出于个人原因，与欧洲私募股权公司cvc最近发起的收购要约无关。据报道，这次收购在高级管理层中引起了分歧。据说，另一家私募股权集团KKR和资产管理公司布鲁克菲尔德(Brookfield)也在准备竞标。

General Motors said it would temporarily shut down more factories in America, as a global shortage of semiconductors⁶ continues to bite. The move follows similar announcements by other major carmakers. Bosses say the shortfall could last several more months.

通用汽车公司表示，由于全球半导体短缺的影响，将暂时关闭更多的美国工厂。其他主要汽车制造商也宣布了类似的举措。老板们说，这种短缺情况可能还会持续几个月。

Coinbase, an exchange for digital currencies, listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange. It is the first cryptocurrency firm to go public. It closed its first day of trading down 14% with a market capitalisation of $65bn. The offering coincides with a cryptocurrency surge. The price of Bitcoin rose to a record high of over $64,000, doubling since the start of the year. The price of Ethereum, a smaller cryptocurrency, has also reached a record high.

数字货币交易所Coinbase在纳斯达克证券交易所上市。它是第一家上市的加密货币公司。该公司首日交易收盘下跌14%，市值为650亿美元。此次发行恰逢加密货币热潮。比特币的价格创下了逾6.4万美元的历史新高，是今年年初以来的两倍。规模较小的加密货币以太坊(Ethereum)的价格也创下了历史新高。

Grab, a Singapore-based digital firm,said that it will also list on the Nasdaq but that it will do so through a SPAC. The deal values the company at almost $40bn, making it the biggest SPAC listing to date. Grab started life as a taxi-hailing app but has added many services, such as food deliveries. Investors⁷ view it as a thriving “super-app”.

总部位于新加坡的数字公司Grab表示，它也将在纳斯达克上市，但将通过特殊目的收购公司进行。这笔交易对该公司的估值接近400亿美元，使其成为迄今最大的SPAC上市交易案。Grab最初是一款叫车应用，但后来添加了许多服务，比如送餐。投资者将其视为一款前途无限的“超级应用”。

Domino’s, a fast-food company, has teamed up with Nuro, a robotics firm, to trial autonomous⁸ pizza delivery. In a neighbourhood in Houston some customers can opt⁹ for their food to be delivered by a small self-driving car, called r2. Once it arrives, customers enter a code into a touchscreen, the car door swings open and dinner is served.

快餐公司达美乐已经与机器人公司Nuro合作，尝试自动送披萨。在休斯顿的一个街区，一些顾客可以选择一辆名为r2的小型自动驾驶汽车送餐。外卖送达后，顾客在触摸屏上输入一个代码，车门就会自动打开，送餐完毕。

1 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

2 conglomerate   

n.综合商社，多元化集团公司

参考例句：

• The firm has been taken over by an American conglomerate.该公司已被美国一企业集团接管。
• An American conglomerate holds a major share in the company.一家美国的大联合企业持有该公司的大部分股份。

3 beset   

v.镶嵌；困扰，包围

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• The plan was beset with difficulties from the beginning.这项计划自开始就困难重重。

4 accounting   

n.会计，会计学，借贷对照表

参考例句：

• A job fell vacant in the accounting department.财会部出现了一个空缺。
• There's an accounting error in this entry.这笔账目里有差错。

5 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

6 semiconductors   

n.半导体( semiconductor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Crystals may be insulators, semiconductors, or conductors. 晶体可以是绝缘体，半导体，或导体。 来自辞典例句
• Semiconductors containing such impurities are called p-type semiconductors. 含有这类杂质的半导体叫做P型半导体。 来自辞典例句

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

8 autonomous   

adj.自治的；独立的

参考例句：

• They proudly declared themselves part of a new autonomous province.他们自豪地宣布成为新自治省的一部分。
• This is a matter that comes within the jurisdiction of the autonomous region.这件事是属于自治区权限以内的事务。

9 opt   

vi.选择，决定做某事

参考例句：

• They opt for more holiday instead of more pay.他们选择了延长假期而不是增加工资。
• Will individual schools be given the right to opt out of the local school authority?各个学校可能有权选择退出地方教育局吗？