时代周刊:砧板上的TikTok(1)

TikTok on the chopping block

砧板上的TikTok

By Charlie Campbell

文/查理·坎贝尔

First they went after Huawei.

他们先是将矛头对准了华为。

Then it was gummy bears singing Adele.

接着又对准了唱阿黛尔歌的小熊软糖。

TikTok—the social media platform where primarily Gen Z users

TikTok，这个主要是Z世代用户在分享他们的跳舞日常，

share dance routines and zany memes involving crooning fruit candies and the like—

以及跳舞的水果糖之类的搞笑表情包的社交平台，

has become the latest flash point in the escalating¹ tech war between the U.S. and China,

如今已然成为不断升级的中美科技战的最新爆点，

with President Donald Trump² threatening on July 31 to ban the app on national-security grounds.

7月31日，美国总统特朗普甚至要挟要出于对国家安全的考虑封禁这款软件。

U.S. government experts warn that TikTok—the U.S. subsidiary of Beijing-based ByteDance—

美国的政府专家警告称，TikTok——总部位于北京的字节跳动在美国的子公司——

could be used to spread misinformation and funnel³ user data to the Chinese state.

可能被某些人用来传播虚假信息，将用户数据传送给中国。

In response, ByteDance CEO Zhang Yiming insisted his firm fully⁴ respected "user data security, platform neutrality and transparency."

对此，字节跳动CEO张一鸣坚称，其公司完全尊重“用户数据安全、平台中立和透明度”原则。

But, seeing the writing on the wall, ByteDance has moved to sell TikTok to Microsoft,

不过，微软CEO萨蒂亚·纳德拉得到特朗普的收购许可后，

after the latter's CEO Satya Nadella received assurances from Trump.

感觉到大难临头的字节跳动便已开始着手向微软出售TikTok的事宜。

A deal for the estimated $50 billion app would have to be completed by Sept. 15 but has sparked a backlash in Beijing

双方需在9月15日前完成这款估值500亿美元的收购交易，然而，该交易已经引起了北京的强烈反响，

after Trump said the U.S. Treasury⁵ should receive a "substantial portion" of any agreed fee "because we're making it possible."

因特朗普表示，无论成交金额多少，美国财政部都应拿到一笔“可观的抽成”，“因为是我们促成了这笔交易。”

Hu Xijin, the outspoken⁶ editor of Chinese Communist Party (CCP) mouthpiece the Global Times, decried⁷ the prospective⁸ sale as "open robbery."

一向直言不讳的中国共产党（CCP）喉舌《环球时报》（总）编辑胡锡进谴责称，如此交易分明就是“明目张胆的抢劫”。

It's just the latest salvo between the world's two biggest economies as relations disintegrate⁹.

上述事件只不过是中美两个全世界最大的经济体关系走向破裂的最新一次交锋。

Beyond tech supremacy¹⁰, Beijing and Washington are feuding¹¹ over trade tariffs¹²,

除了科技至上地位，贸易关税，

the detention¹³ of 1 million ethnic¹⁴ Uighur Muslims in China's Xinjiang region,

（所谓的）100万维吾尔族穆斯林被拘禁在中国新疆地区，

the erosion of freedoms in semi-autonomous Hong Kong and the militarization of the South China Sea—

半自治区香港的自由受到侵蚀，南海军事化等问题上也是北京和华盛顿长期争论的话题，

not to mention the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

新冠疫情的起源就更不用说了。

1 escalating   

v.（使）逐步升级( escalate的现在分词 )；（使）逐步扩大；（使）更高；（使）更大

参考例句：

• The cost of living is escalating. 生活费用在迅速上涨。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The cost of living is escalating in the country. 这个国家的生活费用在上涨。 来自辞典例句

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 funnel   

n.漏斗；烟囱；v.汇集

参考例句：

• He poured the petrol into the car through a funnel.他用一个漏斗把汽油灌入汽车。
• I like the ship with a yellow funnel.我喜欢那条有黄烟囱的船。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 treasury   

n.宝库；国库，金库；文库

参考例句：

• The Treasury was opposed in principle to the proposals.财政部原则上反对这些提案。
• This book is a treasury of useful information.这本书是有价值的信息宝库。

6 outspoken   

adj.直言无讳的，坦率的，坦白无隐的

参考例句：

• He was outspoken in his criticism.他在批评中直言不讳。
• She is an outspoken critic of the school system in this city.她是这座城市里学校制度的坦率的批评者。

7 decried   

v.公开反对，谴责( decry的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The measures were decried as useless. 这些措施受到指责，说是不起作用。
• The old poet decried the mediocrity of today's writing. 老诗人抨击了现代文体的平庸无奇。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

8 prospective   

adj.预期的，未来的，前瞻性的

参考例句：

• The story should act as a warning to other prospective buyers.这篇报道应该对其他潜在的购买者起到警示作用。
• They have all these great activities for prospective freshmen.这会举办各种各样的活动来招待未来的新人。

9 disintegrate   

v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎

参考例句：

• The older strata gradually disintegrate.较老的岩层渐渐风化。
• The plane would probably disintegrate at that high speed.飞机以那么高速飞行也许会四分五裂。

10 supremacy   

n.至上；至高权力

参考例句：

• No one could challenge her supremacy in gymnastics.她是最优秀的体操运动员，无人能胜过她。
• Theoretically,she holds supremacy as the head of the state.从理论上说，她作为国家的最高元首拥有至高无上的权力。

11 feuding   

vi.长期不和（feud的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Riccardo and Cafiero had been feuding so openly that the whole town knew about it. 里卡多和卡菲埃罗一直公开地闹别扭，全城的人都知道此事。 来自辞典例句
• The two families have been feuding with each other for many generations. 这两个家族有好多代的世仇了。 来自互联网

12 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

13 detention   

n.滞留，停留；拘留，扣留；(教育)留下

参考例句：

• He was kept in detention by the police.他被警察扣留了。
• He was in detention in connection with the bribery affair.他因与贿赂事件有牵连而被拘留了。

14 ethnic   

adj.人种的，种族的，异教徒的

参考例句：

• This music would sound more ethnic if you played it in steel drums.如果你用钢鼓演奏，这首乐曲将更具民族特色。
• The plan is likely only to aggravate ethnic frictions.这一方案很有可能只会加剧种族冲突。