- 注释版
- 纯净版
导读
伦敦交通管理局（TFL）日前决定取消Uber在伦敦的运营权限，消息一出，众人一片哗然。然而仔细分析，便知道大家反对之声不妥。乱接客，乱要价，只会造成城市混乱。免费和自由可能会带来更糟糕的局面。正如我们需要医生接受多大16年的训练才能上岗，药剂师也必须获得认证才能开设药店。飞行员、金融师等等，都在此列。社会各领域相互嵌套，我们对于每个行业的从业者都要有标准要求和监管。实际上，社会体系是市场经济的根本，监管服务质量，也是促进经济发展的第一步。因此，TFL裁决，Uber未能充分调查其驾驶员遭到的投诉反映了该公司不适合在伦敦经营。当然，根据目前的证据来看，这个裁决是否正当还有争执。人们可以怀疑TFL对于伦敦当地的传统出租车司机的抗议采取了妥协态度，人们也可以通过生产者的既得利益来讨论管理层的获益状况（传统出租出公司是否会回报政府有关部门）。可我们还是要从现实出发，明确现代复杂的经济状况下，类似于Uber这样的新型科技和业务形态并不能改变出租出服务市场跟社会各领域有密切关联的事实。
第一步：解决高频单词
revoke [rɪ'vəʊk]
vt. 撤回，取消
scrap [skræp]
vt. 放弃，取消，终止（一项措施）
proposal [prə'pəʊzl]
n. 提议
cruise [kruːz]
vi. 巡航
inebriated [ɪ'niːbrieɪtɪd]
adj. 喝醉了的
aviation [ˌeɪvi'eɪʃn]
n. 航空
liable ['laɪəbl]
adj. 易遭受…的
capitulate [kə'pɪtʃuleɪt]
vi. 停止反抗，投降
in thrall to
受……管制/影响
advent ['ædvent]
n. 出现，到来
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）
第一段：
Why licence taxi cabs at all? It’s a question we might well ask, in the wake of the stunning decision by Transport for London to revoke Uber’s right to operate in the capital.
- licence 许可……经营
- stunning 令人震惊的
- revoke 撤回，取消
第五段：
So why not simply scrap licensing and instantly make customers financially better off? Why not redistribute from producers to consumers? Whose side are you on?
- scrap 放弃，取消，终止（一项措施）
- redistribute 重新分配
第七段：
Imagine if pretty much anyone was allowed to drive a car to the airport and pick up disoriented tourists, charging whatever they could get away with. Imagine if we permitted anyone with a vehicle to cruise around city centres on a Saturday night, offering to drive the inebriated home for cash.
- disoriented 分不清方向的
- charge 收费
- cruise 巡航
- inebriated 喝醉了的
第九段：
The fear of the nasty consequences of such a free-for-all is why we require doctors to train for up to 16 years before we allow them to treat people in hospitals. It’s why we require pharmacists to attain certain qualifications before we allow them to run a chemist.
第十段：
It’s why pilots have to pass recognised exams and have a certain number of flight hours under their belt before they can work in the aviation industry. It’s why those who want to look after other people’s savings have to be vetted by the financial regulator.
- recognised 被认证的
- aviation 航空
- vet 审查
第三步：攻克必学语法
关于before引导从句的两个重要知识：
一、连接词before引导时间状语从句，表示“在……之前”
1. They will look into the matter before they arrive at the conclusion. 他们在做结论之前将对这件事进行调查研究。
2. I had read the warning before I took the medicine. 我在服药前就已经看了这个注意事项。
也可以写成I read the warning before I took the medicine.
二、before的转译法： 当主句从句各有一个情态动词的时候，翻译上可以将原文的主句给翻译成条件从句，前面呢是加上只有，而把从句翻译成主句，这叫转移法。
1. We must study hard before we can effectively serve the people.
只有（我们）努力学习，我们才能有效地为人民服务。
2. A great effort must still be made before the ideals can be turned into reality.
只有经过巨大努力，理想才能变为现实。
加分任务：精读全文
在之前的三步后，你已经完全具备了精读全文的能力。再多花半个小时，让你的学习效果达到120%！
下载音频
（Tips: 双击文中单词可以查释义并加入你的生词本哦）
Here's why the taxi industry should be regulated, even if it means no more Uber and more expensive rides
第一段：
Why licence taxi cabs at all? It’s a question we might well ask, in the wake of the stunning decision by Transport for London to revoke Uber’s right to operate in the capital.
- licence 许可……经营
- stunning 令人震惊的
- revoke 撤回，取消
第二段：
Licensing cabs diminishes competition because not every prospective provider of taxi services gets one. This is even more true where local authorities (although this doesn't happen in London) deliberately ration the total number of licences issued.
- prospective 未来的，预期的
- ration 管制，限量供应
第三段：
This regulation makes travelling by taxi more expensive for the public than it otherwise would be.
第四段：
The excess profit flows into the pockets of the taxi drivers (or taxi companies) with licences.
第五段：
So why not simply scrap licensing and instantly make customers financially better off? Why not redistribute from producers to consumers? Whose side are you on?
- scrap 放弃，取消，终止（一项措施）
- redistribute 重新分配
第六段：
This is the kind of economic argument one hears from libertarians, and technological “disruptors” of existing industries such as Uber’s founders. Yet it does not take too much thought to see the problem with this kind of deregulatory proposal.
- libertarian 自由意志主义支持者
- disruptor 干扰者
- deregulatory 解除管制
- proposal 提议
第七段：
Imagine if pretty much anyone was allowed to drive a car to the airport and pick up disoriented tourists, charging whatever they could get away with. Imagine if we permitted anyone with a vehicle to cruise around city centres on a Saturday night, offering to drive the inebriated home for cash.
- disoriented 分不清方向的
- charge 收费
- cruise 巡航
- inebriated 喝醉了的
第八段：
The libertarians are quite right that state licensing creates higher profits for providers of these services than would otherwise exist. Yet this is a cost we, as a society, are willing to bear. Why? Because it’s clear to most of us that the alternative of a free-for-all would be worse.
第九段：
The fear of the nasty consequences of such a free-for-all is why we require doctors to train for up to 16 years before we allow them to treat people in hospitals. It’s why we require pharmacists to attain certain qualifications before we allow them to run a chemist.
第十段：
It’s why pilots have to pass recognised exams and have a certain number of flight hours under their belt before they can work in the aviation industry. It’s why those who want to look after other people’s savings have to be vetted by the financial regulator.
- recognised 被认证的
- aviation 航空
- vet 审查
第十一段：
Those who call for the deregulation of professions fail to understand that all markets are socially embedded. We allow them to function only in a wider regulatory framework that guarantees certain standards and oversight of practitioners.
- embed 使嵌入
- oversight 监管
第十二段：
Those who argue that the framework is unnecessary, fail to grasp the fact that without the framework there might be no market at all. Trading in a totally unregulated market is liable to be thin and outcomes unsatisfactory. The signal of quality conveyed to the user of a service by regulation plays a vital economic role in facilitating the economic transaction in the first place.
- liable 易遭受…的
- facilitate 促进，使……容易
第十三段：
Transport for London has ruled that Uber’s failure, among other things, to properly investigate complaints against its drivers makes it unfit to hold an official licence. It’s perfectly possible to agree or disagree, based on the evidence that has been made available, on whether TFL’s decision was warranted.
- rule 对……做出正式裁决
- warranted 合理的，正当的
第十四段：
One can argue about whether TFL has cravenly capitulated to the lobbying of traditional black cab drivers, whose livelihoods were threatened by Uber. We can discuss the capture of regulators by vested producer interests. It’s naïve to imagine that such capture doesn’t happen - in some countries authorities really have been in thrall to vested interests in the traditional taxi sector. And. as the Office of Fair Trading concluded in 2003, there's really no compelling economic or social case for authorities rationing the quantity of licences.
- cravenly 胆怯地
- capitulate 停止反抗，投降
- lobby 游说
- capture （从对手那里获得的）战利品
- vested 既得的
- in thrall to 受……管制/影响
第十五段：
Yet we have, nevertheless, to start from a basis of realism about the social framework for the exchange of goods and services in any modern and complex economy where buyers and sellers have never met and may well never interact again. The advent of a new technology such as Uber’s app, even with its transparency over prices and the ability of customers to rate drivers, does not change the fact that the broader market for taxi services is socially embedded.
- advent 出现，到来
第十六段：
TFL had every right to make a judgement about whether the company was fit to run taxi services in the capital’s streets. Indeed, as citizens and consumers, we demand it.
revoke [rɪ'vəʊk]
vt. 撤回，取消
scrap [skræp]
vt. 放弃，取消，终止（一项措施）
proposal [prə'pəʊzl]
n. 提议
cruise [kruːz]
vi. 巡航
inebriated [ɪ'niːbrieɪtɪd]
adj. 喝醉了的
aviation [ˌeɪvi'eɪʃn]
n. 航空
liable ['laɪəbl]
adj. 易遭受…的
capitulate [kə'pɪtʃuleɪt]
vi. 停止反抗，投降
in thrall to
受……管制/影响
advent ['ædvent]
n. 出现，到来
不要一时兴起，就要天天在一起
明天见！
下载音频
Here's why the taxi industry should be regulated, even if it means no more Uber and more expensive rides
第一段：
Why licence taxi cabs at all? It’s a question we might well ask, in the wake of the stunning decision by Transport for London to revoke Uber’s right to operate in the capital.
第二段：
Licensing cabs diminishes competition because not every prospective provider of taxi services gets one. This is even more true where local authorities (although this doesn't happen in London) deliberately ration the total number of licences issued.
第三段：
This regulation makes travelling by taxi more expensive for the public than it otherwise would be.
第四段：
The excess profit flows into the pockets of the taxi drivers (or taxi companies) with licences.
第五段：
So why not simply scrap licensing and instantly make customers financially better off? Why not redistribute from producers to consumers? Whose side are you on?
第六段：
This is the kind of economic argument one hears from libertarians, and technological “disruptors” of existing industries such as Uber’s founders. Yet it does not take too much thought to see the problem with this kind of deregulatory proposal.
第七段：
Imagine if pretty much anyone was allowed to drive a car to the airport and pick up disoriented tourists, charging whatever they could get away with. Imagine if we permitted anyone with a vehicle to cruise around city centres on a Saturday night, offering to drive the inebriated home for cash.
第八段：
The libertarians are quite right that state licensing creates higher profits for providers of these services than would otherwise exist. Yet this is a cost we, as a society, are willing to bear. Why? Because it’s clear to most of us that the alternative of a free-for-all would be worse.
第九段：
The fear of the nasty consequences of such a free-for-all is why we require doctors to train for up to 16 years before we allow them to treat people in hospitals. It’s why we require pharmacists to attain certain qualifications before we allow them to run a chemist.
第十段：
It’s why pilots have to pass recognised exams and have a certain number of flight hours under their belt before they can work in the aviation industry. It’s why those who want to look after other people’s savings have to be vetted by the financial regulator.
第十一段：
Those who call for the deregulation of professions fail to understand that all markets are socially embedded. We allow them to function only in a wider regulatory framework that guarantees certain standards and oversight of practitioners.
第十二段：
Those who argue that the framework is unnecessary, fail to grasp the fact that without the framework there might be no market at all. Trading in a totally unregulated market is liable to be thin and outcomes unsatisfactory. The signal of quality conveyed to the user of a service by regulation plays a vital economic role in facilitating the economic transaction in the first place.
第十三段：
Transport for London has ruled that Uber’s failure, among other things, to properly investigate complaints against its drivers makes it unfit to hold an official licence. It’s perfectly possible to agree or disagree, based on the evidence that has been made available, on whether TFL’s decision was warranted.
第十四段：
One can argue about whether TFL has cravenly capitulated to the lobbying of traditional black cab drivers, whose livelihoods were threatened by Uber. We can discuss the capture of regulators by vested producer interests. It’s naïve to imagine that such capture doesn’t happen - in some countries authorities really have been in thrall to vested interests in the traditional taxi sector. And. as the Office of Fair Trading concluded in 2003, there's really no compelling economic or social case for authorities rationing the quantity of licences.
第十五段：
Yet we have, nevertheless, to start from a basis of realism about the social framework for the exchange of goods and services in any modern and complex economy where buyers and sellers have never met and may well never interact again. The advent of a new technology such as Uber’s app, even with its transparency over prices and the ability of customers to rate drivers, does not change the fact that the broader market for taxi services is socially embedded.
第十六段：
TFL had every right to make a judgement about whether the company was fit to run taxi services in the capital’s streets. Indeed, as citizens and consumers, we demand it.