第二步：精读重点段落

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

Digital devices are challenging the nature of ownership. It’s time to fight back

[1] OWNERSHIP used to be about as straightforward as writing a cheque. If you bought something, you owned it. If it broke, you fixed it. If you no longer wanted it, you sold it or chucked it away. Some firms found tricks to muscle in on the aftermarket, using warranties, authorised repair shops, and strategies such as selling cheap printers and expensive ink. But these ways of squeezing out more profit did not challenge the nature of what it means to be an owner.

• cheque [tʃɛk]  n. <英>支票 “check”的变体
• muscle in [ˈmʌsəl ɪn]  <俚>硬挤进;侵入;干涉;强夺

[2] In the digital age ownership has become more slippery. Just ask Tesla drivers, who have learned that Elon Musk forbids them from using their electric vehicles to work for ride-hailing firms, such as Uber.

• slippery [ˈslɪpəri]  adj.滑溜的;狡猾的;不可靠的
• ride-hailing firms 网约车公司

[5] Privacy is also at risk. Users were appalled when it emerged that iRobot, a robotic vacuum cleaner, not only cleans the floor but creates a digital map of the home’s interior that can then be sold on to advertisers.

• appalled[əˈpɔ:ld]  v.<美>使惊骇，使充满恐惧 adj.惊骇的;丧胆的

[6] Such intrusions should remind people how jealously they ought to protect their property rights. They should fight for the right to tinker with their own property, modify it if they wish and control who uses the data that it hoovers up. In America this idea has already taken root in the “right to repair” movement

• jealously ['dʒeləslɪ]  adv. 妒忌地，猜疑地
• tinker[ˈtɪŋkə(r)]  vi. &vt.做焊锅匠;焊补;胡乱修补;笨手笨脚地做某事
• hoover [ˈhuːvər]  v.用吸尘器扫除 n.胡佛（城市名）;胡佛真空吸尘器

[7] Ownership is not about to go away, but its meaning is changing.

（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）

Take Back Control

Digital devices are challenging the nature of ownership. It’s time to fight back

[1] OWNERSHIP used to be about as straightforward as writing a cheque. If you bought something, you owned it. If it broke, you fixed it. If you no longer wanted it, you sold it or chucked it away. Some firms found tricks to muscle in on the aftermarket, using warranties, authorised repair shops, and strategies such as selling cheap printers and expensive ink. But these ways of squeezing out more profit did not challenge the nature of what it means to be an owner.

• cheque [tʃɛk]  n. <英>支票 “check”的变体
• muscle in [ˈmʌsəl ɪn]  <俚>硬挤进;侵入;干涉;强夺

[2] In the digital age ownership has become more slippery. Just ask Tesla drivers, who have learned that Elon Musk forbids them from using their electric vehicles to work for ride-hailing firms, such as Uber. Or owners of John Deere tractors, who are“recommended” not to tinker with the software that controls them (备注：在本期经济学人的57页，有一篇文章正好是针对这种情况写的，文章的tag是Tinkering in the digital age, 主标题叫做 If it’s broken, you can’t fix it，副标题是Software is making things harder to mend. Some are calling for a “right to repair”). Since the advent of smartphones, consumers have been forced to accept that they do not control the software in their devices; they are only licensed to use it. But as a digital leash is wrapped ever more tightly around more devices, such as cars, thermostats and even sex toys, who owns and who controls which objects is becoming a problem. Buyers should be aware that some of their most basic property rights are under threat.

• slippery [ˈslɪpəri]  adj.滑溜的;狡猾的;不可靠的
• ride-hailing firms 网约车公司
• advent [ˈædvent]  n.出现;到来;基督降临节（圣诞节前的四个星期）
• leash [li:ʃ]  n.拴猎狗的皮带 vt.用皮带系住
• thermostat [ˈθɜ:məstæt]  n.恒温（调节）器

Lost property

[3] The trend is not always malign. Manufacturers seeking to restrict what owners do with increasingly complex technology have good reasons to protect their copyright, ensure that their machines do not malfunction, uphold environmental standards and prevent hacking. Sometimes companies use their control over a product’s software for the owners’ benefit. When Hurricane Irma hit Florida this month, Tesla remotely upgraded the software controlling the batteries of some models to give owners more range to escape the storm.

• malign [məˈlaɪn]  vt.污蔑，诽谤;中伤，说坏话 adj.有害的;恶性的，恶意的
• hurricane [ˈhʌrɪkən]  n.飓风，十二级风;飓风般猛烈的东西;（感情等的）爆发

[4] But the more digital strings are attached to goods, the more the balance of control tilts towards producers and away from owners. That can be inconvenient. Picking a car is hard enough, but harder still if you have to unearth the specs that tell you how use is limited and what data you must surrender. If it leads to more built-in obsolescence, it can also be expensive. Already, items from smartphones to washing machines have become exceedingly hard to fix, meaning that they are thrown away instead of being repaired.

• string [strɪŋ] n.串;绳子，带子;线丝，植物纤维;[计算机科学]字符串
• spec [spek] n.投机;说明书  adj.（尤指地产开发中）投机性建房的

[5] Privacy is also at risk. Users were appalled when it emerged that iRobot, a robotic vacuum cleaner, not only cleans the floor but creates a digital map of the home’s interior that can then be sold on to advertisers. Standard Innovation, a maker of a connected vibrator called We-Vibe, was recently ordered to pay customers $10,000 each after hackers discovered that the device was recording highly personal information about its owners. And farmers complain that, if crisis strikes at the wrong time, John Deere’s requirement that they use only authorized software, which funnels them to repair shops that may be miles away, can be commercially devastating. Some are sidestepping the curbs with hacked software from Eastern Europe.

• appalled[əˈpɔ:ld]  v.<美>使惊骇，使充满恐惧 adj.惊骇的;丧胆的
• vibrator [vaɪˈbreɪtə(r)] n.振动器，振荡器，（按摩）颤震器
• funnel [ˈfʌnl]  n.漏斗  vt.& vi.把…灌进漏斗;使成漏斗状;成漏斗形;使汇集

[6] Such intrusions should remind people how jealously they ought to protect their property rights. They should fight for the right to tinker with their own property, modify it if they wish and control who uses the data that it hoovers up. In America this idea has already taken root in the “right to repair” movement; legislatures in a dozen states are considering enshrining this in law. The European Parliament wants manufacturers to make goods, such as washing machines, more fixable. In France appliance-makers must tell buyers how long a device is likely to last—a sign of how repairable it is. Regulators should foster competition by, for instance, insisting that independent repair shops have the same access to product information, spare parts and repair tools as manufacturer-owned ones— rules that are already standard in the car industry.

• jealously ['dʒeləslɪ]  adv. 妒忌地，猜疑地
• tinker[ˈtɪŋkə(r)]  vi. &vt.做焊锅匠;焊补;胡乱修补;笨手笨脚地做某事
• hoover [ˈhuːvər]  v.用吸尘器扫除 n.胡佛（城市名）;胡佛真空吸尘器
• enshrine [ɪnˈʃraɪn]  vt. 珍藏，铭记;把…奉为神圣;秘藏;把…置于神龛内

[7] Ownership is not about to go away, but its meaning is changing. This requires careful scrutiny. Gadgets, by and large, are sold on the basis that they empower people to do what they want. To the extent they are controlled by somebody else, that freedom is compromised.

• scrutiny [ˈskrutni]  n. 监督;细看，细阅;仔细的观察
• gadget [ˈɡædʒɪt]  n. 小玩意;小配件;小装置