Life is but a stream

来源: http://www.economist.com/news/special-report/21716461-new-way-bringing-colour-dreary-lives-chinas-new-craze-live-streaming

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[1] LAST YEAR ZHAO XINLONG, aged 25, and his wife and baby boy moved from his parents’ farm into a mid-rise apartment in town. It has been a tough adjustment. Luan County is a rustbelt community on the polluted outskirts of the steel city of Tangshan in north-east China. Mr Zhao’s monthly income from driving a taxi has plummeted by more than half in the past couple of years, and he has not found it easy to make friends in his new abode.

adjustment [əˈdʒʌstmənt]
n. 调解，调整; 调节器; 调解，调停; （赔偿损失的） 清算;
[例句]Compensation could be made by adjustments to taxation
通过调整税收可以作出补偿。
rustbelt
[词典] 铁锈地带; 衰退地区;
[例句]The great migration from the rustbelt that helped fuel its growth has resumed.
曾经帮助这座城市实现发展的铁锈地带大迁徙又重新开始了。
outskirt ['aʊtˌskɜ:t]
n. 市郊，郊区;
[例句]One day they went to a trip out of the city, into the outskirt.
一天他们出了城，去了郊区，希望能解决问题，或至少来一次暂时的逃避。
plummet [ˈplʌmɪt]
vi. 垂直落下; 骤然跌落;
n. 铅锤; 坠子; 重压物;
[例句]In Tokyo share prices have plummeted for the sixth successive day
东京股价已连续第6天猛跌。
abode [əˈbəʊd]
n. 住所; 公寓; <古>（在某地的）暂住; 逗留;
vt. <古>预兆，预示;
v. 容忍( abide的过去式和过去分词 ); 等候; 逗留; 停留;
[例句]I went round the streets and found his new abode.
我走街串巷找到了他的新住所。

长难句：
Mr Zhao’s monthly income from driving a taxi has plummeted by more than half in the past couple of years, and he has not found it easy to make > friends in his new abode.
这个句子是一个并列句：SVO, and SVO.

先来分析第一个SVO。
Mr Zhao’s monthly income：名词放在句首作主语。
from driving a taxi：介词结构修饰前面的名词income，来表示收入的来源。
has plummeted：现在完成时态的谓语动词。
by more than half：by后面接了表示比例的对象，来表示下降的程度。
in the past couple of years：这个是时间状语，in the past／last／recent …years这样的时间状语，谓语动词一般都是使用现在完成时态。

再来分析and后并列的第二个SVO。
He：主语
has not found：谓语动词
it：it是形式宾语，真正的宾语是后面的不定式to make friends in his new abode.
easy：宾语补足语，补充说明it。

大意：而在过去两年，赵新龙靠开出租车赚到的月收入已经骤减了一半多，而要在新的住处结交朋友也并不容易。

[2] But when he gets online in the evening, he becomes a different person: Zhao Long’er, an entertainer. Using Kuaishou, a Chinese video-sharing and live-streaming app, he broadcasts to a live audience of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of fellow Chinese every night. Taken together, they add up to more than 100,000. Many of them are diaosi, people who mockingly identify themselves as losers in dead-end jobs. Online he can relate to them, telling them stories, dirty jokes, whatever is on his mind.

Entertainer [ˌentəˈteɪnə(r)]
n. 表演者，演艺人员; 款待者;
[例句]Some have called him the greatest entertainer of the twentieth century.
有人曾称他为20世纪最伟大的艺人。
broadcast [ˈbrɔ:dkɑ:st]
vt. 广播; 播放; 使广为人知; 尤指用手播（种）;
vi. 播放节目; 参加电台、电视节目的演出; 发送传递信号，传播;
n. 广播; 电台、电视节目; 播放时间; 播种;
[例句]In a broadcast on state radio the government also announced that it was willing to resume peace negotiations.
在国家电台的广播中，政府也声明愿意重新开始和平谈判。
audience [ˈɔ:diəns]
n. 观众; 听众; 读者; 接见;
[例句]The entire audience broke into loud applause
全场观众爆发出热烈的掌声。
fellow [ˈfeləʊ]
n. 同伴; 男子; （大学的） 研究员; （某些学院或大学的） 董事;
adj. 同伴的; 同事的; 同类的; 同情况的;
vt. 使…与另一个对等; 使…与另一个匹敌;
[例句]She discovered to her pleasure, a talent for making her fellow guests laugh
她高兴地发现自己具备一种能把其他客人逗笑的才能。
mockingly ['mɒkɪŋlɪ]
adv. 嘲弄地，取笑地;
[例句]'Do I shock you?'she said mockingly.
“我使你受惊了吧？”她嘲笑地说。

长难句：
Using Kuaishou, a Chinese video-sharing and live-streaming app, he broadcasts to a live audience of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of fellow > Chinese every night.
Using Kuaishou：这是一个doing的分词结构放在句首，句子的主语he是using动作发出者。
a Chinese video-sharing and live-streaming app：是名词作Kuaishou的同位语，解释说明快手就是一个视频分享和直播app。
He：主语
broadcasts to：动词broadcast和介词to搭配使用，broadcast to sb
a live audience：就是前面提到的sb。
of hundreds, sometimes thousands, of fellow Chinese：这个结构里of比较多，容易乱，注意中间的hundreds, sometimes thousands, of是数量词修饰fellow > Chinese强调数量。真正修饰audience的是of fellow Chinese这个介词短语。
every night：时间状语
大意：每天晚上，他都用快手，一个视频分享和直播app，来向上千有时候上万的中国同胞直播。

[3] Occasionally advertisers pay him small sums to put commercials out over his stream, including things like weight loss products and “gold” jewellery from
Vietnam. Most of his followers are also from north-east China. They chat with him online and sometimes give him digital stickers representing things like a beer that fans buy online and can be converted into cash. The individual amounts are usually small, but they add up. Live-streaming his life earns Mr Zhao about $850 a month, twice as much as his day job.

occasionally [əˈkeɪʒnəli]
adv. 偶尔; 偶然; 有时候;
[例句]We all overindulge occasionally
我们偶尔都会放纵一下自己。
jewellery [ˈdʒu:əlri]
n. 珍宝; 首饰，饰物; 等于jewelry;
[例句]The insurance company paid out for the stolen jewellery and silver
保险公司赔付了遭窃的珠宝和银器。
converted [kən'vɜ:tɪd]
adj. 更换信仰的，修改的;
v. （使） 转变( convert的过去式和过去分词 ); （使） 转化; 皈依; 改变（信仰）;
[例句]He converted to Christianity that day.
那天，他皈依了基督教。

长难句：
They chat with him online and sometimes give him digital stickers representing things like a beer that fans buy online and can be converted > into cash.
句子主干：They chat with him online and sometimes give him digital stickers这个句子中的online和sometimes都是修饰语。
representing things：分词结构作名词digital stickers的后置定语。
like a beer：介词短语修饰things。
that fans buy online and can be converted into cash：that引导的定语从句在这里是跳过representing things like a beer去修饰名词digital stickers。
大意：他们会在网上与他聊天，有时还会向他赠送一些可以兑换成现金的贴纸。

Twinkle, twinkle, little stars

[4] The internet has amplified people’s interest in the world’s biggest stars, helping their fans feel a little closer to them, thanks to social media. But it has also made it possible for anybody to become a little star in their own corner of the universe, connecting intimately with subsets of fans. In much of the rest of the world the most popular of these are teen idols on YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat. Most people over25 would struggle to name a YouTube star other than possibly Pew Die Pie, a Swedish gamer with a global following of more than 50m.

amplified ['æmplɪfaɪ]
v. 放大，扩大( amplify的过去式和过去分词 ); 增强; 详述;
[例句]'This is the police,' came the amplified voice from the helicopter.
“我们是警察，”直升机上传来扩音器中的声音。
subset [ˈsʌbset]
n. 子集;
[例句]V'is a nonempty subset of V.
v'是v的一个非空子集。
PewDiePie：（英语发音：/ˈpjuːdipaɪ/、PEW-dee-py）菲利克斯·阿尔维德·乌尔夫·谢尔贝格，1989年10月24日生，瑞典籍的youtuber，专注于Let's Play的恐怖游戏与动作游戏。他的频道是YouTube中，崛起速度最快的频道之一，在2013年，他的频道订阅人数由350万迅速爬升到1200万，于8月份PewDiePie成为在YouTube上最多人订阅的频道，虽然在2013年11及12月被YouTube官方的YouTube Spotlight频道超越，但在2014年1月份时，再次成为YouTube频道订阅数的第一名。截至2016年8月，他已经有超过4100万名订阅者。目前他已有超过5000万的订阅人数，平均每1.038秒就有一个订阅者
Swedish ['swi:dɪʃ]
adj. 瑞典的;
n. 瑞典语; （总称） 瑞典人;
[例句]Half of Swedish marriages end in divorce.
瑞典人的婚姻有一半以离婚告终。

[5] China’s craze for personal live-streaming runs far deeper, into third-tier cities and remote rural areas where the internet is the one and only fun and cheap place to hang out. These personal broadcasts are not simply videos that fans watch, but more interactive experiences. The fans make requests, chat with their idols and give them virtual gifts. Many of those watching are small-time live-streamers themselves. They are turning each other into mass entertainment.

request [rɪˈkwest]
n. 要求; 需要; 所请求的事物; 申请书;
vt. （下级对上级的） 请求; 请求得到; 索取; 邀请[常接不定式或从句];
[例句]Mr Dennis said he had requested access to a telephone
丹尼斯先生说他已经请求使用电话。
virtual [ˈvɜ:tʃuəl]
adj. 实质上的，事实上的; （计算机） 虚拟的; <物>有效的，虚像的; （粒子） 实际存在的;
[例句]Argentina came to a virtual standstill while the game was being played
在比赛进行的时候，阿根廷全国几乎陷入了停顿状态。

长难句：
China’s craze for personal live-streaming runs far deeper, into third-tier cities and remote rural areas where the internet is the one and > only fun and cheap place to hang out.
China’s craze: 名词放在句首作主语。
for personal live-streaming：介词短语修饰名词craze。
runs far deeper：谓语动词是runs，far deeper表明run的程度更深。
into third-tier cities and remote rural areas：这个表示地点的介词短语。
where the internet is the one and only fun and cheap place to hang out：定语从句修饰third-tier cities and remote rural areas。
大意：中国对个人直播狂热更深入，已经下沉到三线城市，甚至偏远的农村地区，在这些地方，互联网是唯一一个既便宜，又好玩，还可以四处闲逛的地方。

[6] It is a big and growing business. China’s live-streaming industry more than doubled in size last year, with revenues of around $3bn, according to Credit Suisse, a bank. More than 100 companies now offer the service, providing the platform for performers in exchange for a hefty cut of their earnings (one, YY, is publicly listed on NASDAQ, with $269m in gross revenues from live-streaming in the third quarter of last year, a year-on-year rise of more than
50%). That compares with box-office receipts for the Chinese film business, the world’s second-largest, of $7bn last year. Of the 710m people with internet connections in China, nearly half have used livestreaming apps.

Credit Suisse
[词典] 瑞士信贷集团公司总部所在地：瑞士主要业务：银行;
[例句]Both Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank declined to comment.
瑞士信贷和德意志银行均拒绝对此置评。
hefty [ˈhefti]
adj. 重的; 健壮的; 异常大的;
n. 健壮的人;
[例句]She was quite a hefty woman
她是个身材高大的女子。
NASDAQ 英[ˈnæzdæk]
[词典] <美>全国证券交易商自动报价系统协会;
[例句]NASDAQ has also been popular among hi-tech and Internet companies.
在中国的高科技和互联网公司中，纳斯达克（nasdaq）也很受欢迎。
receipts [rɪ'si:ts]
n. 收据; 收入; （企业、银行等） 收到的款，进款; 收到( receipt的名词复数 ); 收条;
[例句]At this point, the accountant did a runner — with all my bank statements, expenses and receipts.
这个时候，会计溜了——带走了我所有的银行结算单、资金和收据。

长难句：
More than 100 companies now offer the service, providing the platform for performers in exchange for a hefty cut of their earnings (one, YY, > is publicly listed on NASDAQ, with $269m in gross revenues from live-streaming in the third quarter of last year, a year-on-year rise of more than 50%).

More than 100 companies：名词放在句首作主语。
Offer：off是谓语动词。
the service：名词作动词offer的宾语。
providing the platform：这里providing是伴随状语，动作发出者是句子的主语more than 100 companies。
for performers：介词短语来说明provide的对象，其实合起来就是provide sth for sb结构搭配。
in exchange for a hefty cut of their earnings：in exchange for交换… a hefty cut of their earnings他们收入的一部分，其实就是分成。
括号中列举了其中一家公司：yy
is publicly listed on NASDAQ：纳斯达克上市
with $269m in gross revenues from live-streaming：介词短语来描述直播带给yy的总营收。
in the third quarter of last year：时间状语，描述这个营收的时间段。
a year-on-year rise of more than 50%：最后这个强调的是年增长率超过50%。
大意：目前有100多家公司提供这项服务，为主播提供平台，而主播需要给平台自己收入的分成。(身为其中的一家，在纳斯达克上市的欢聚时代去年第三财季通过直播赚取2.69亿美元毛营收，同比增幅超过50%)。

[7] Many in the audience are diaosi looking for free entertainment and sometimes a substitute for romance. Women outnumber men as live-streamers, but most of the audiences are male. The government has imposed guidelines aimed mostly at the seamier side of the business, like the erotic eating of bananas (now banned). The most successful live-streamers tend to be attractive young singers of either sex, who can sometimes muster millions of fans. The most popular of them earn more than $1m a year, almost all of it from virtual gifts, but most of them are lucky to see a few hundred dollars a month, broadcasting anything from eating meals to visual pranks to warbling tunes requested by fans. Mr Zhao laments that to boost his earnings, he has to tell more dirty jokes.

erotic [ɪˈrɒtɪk]
adj. （引起） 性欲的，色情的;
adv. 引起性欲地;
n. 好色之徒;
[例句]It might sound like some kind of wild fantasy, but it wasn't an erotic experience at all.
这听起来可能像是异想天开，但是绝对不是什么性体验。
muster 英[ˈmʌstə(r)]
n. 集合; 集合的人群; 检阅; 花名册;
vt. 集合; 召集; 集结（尤指部队）;
vt. 聚集; （自他人处） 搜集某事物; 激发; 激起（支持、勇气等）;
[例句]He travelled around West Africa trying to muster support for his movement
他在西非四处奔走，为自己的运动争取支持。
warbler [ˈwɔ:blə(r)]
n. 鸣鸟，用颤音歌唱的人;
[例句]Black-and-white North American wood warbler having an orange-and-black head and throat.
黑白相间的北美洲林莺，头部和喉部为橙色和黑色相间。
lament [ləˈment]
vt. 悲叹; 悔恨; 痛惜; （为…） 哀悼;
n. 哀歌，挽歌; 悲恸，恸哭; 悲痛之情; 悼词;
[例句]Ken began to lament the death of his only son
肯开始对独子的死悲痛不已。

[8] Live-streaming emerged in China after the financial crisis of 2007-08, as internet companies with questionable business models looked fora way to survive. Six Rooms, or6.cn, may have been the first to offer live-streaming as a service for a mass audience. It was one of numerous YouTube-like video-sharing businesses (YouTube itself is blocked in China) burning money in 2008 and failed to secure a new round of funding. In desperation its CEO and co-founder, Liu Yan, turned to live-streaming.

numerous [ˈnju:mərəs]
adj. 数不清的; 很多的，许多的; 数量庞大的数量庞大的;
[例句]Sex crimes were just as numerous as they are today
当时性犯罪和现在一样多。

[9] In 2007 Mercedes-Benz, a carmaker, had paid 300,000 yuan ($39,000) to his site to live-stream an event, and his company had developed an inexpensive way to provide such a service on a wider scale to allow people to chat with each other and exchange virtual gifts. That helped make personal broadcasting a social game which could be monetised in a way not replicated on major social platforms of the West. In China, as well as in South Korea and Japan, where live-streaming has also caught on, virtual items have long had an underlying monetary value.

Monetise：货币化;
replicate [ˈreplɪkeɪt]
vt. 复制，复写; 重复，反复; 折转; [生] 复制;
adj. 复制的; 折叠的; [植] 折转的;
n. 复制品; 八音阶间隔的反覆音;
[例句]He invited her to his laboratory to see if she could replicate the experiment.
他邀请她到他的实验室看她能否复制该实验。
monetary [ˈmʌnɪtri]
adj. 货币的，金钱的; 钱的（尤指一国的金融）; 金融的; 财政的，财政（上）的;
[例句]Some countries tighten monetary policy to avoid inflation
一些国家实行紧缩银根的货币政策，以避免通货膨胀。

[10] Now that the business model has been proven, all the Chinese internet giants have entered the live-streaming business. Pioneers like YY and Six Rooms must compete with bigger social platforms like Tencent. Six Rooms was acquired by a Chinese entertainment conglomerate for close to $400m in 2015, but Mr Liu, 44, remains the CEO. He has been using machine learning to work out what kinds of live-streamers inspire the most devotion from fans and get the most virtual gifts, down to preferences for facial features, tone of voice and regional provenance. He plans to unveil an even more ambitious effort soon: hired performers whose traits are determined, and perhaps enhanced, by machine learning. At this rate, life on the long tail of entertainment may start getting more difficult for rustbelt dreamers.

Conglomerate [kənˈglɒmərət]
n. 砾岩; 联合大企业; 合成物; 组合物;
adj. 成团的; 砾岩性的;
vt. 使聚结; 使成团;
[例句]Fiat is Italy's largest industrial conglomerate.
菲亚特是意大利最大的产业集团。

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