考研英語閱讀訓練:中國是否將成為高科技巨人
考研英語閱讀文章絕大多數來自英、美國家的報刊雜志,并且以面向大眾的社科類和科普類刊物為主。歷年考研英語閱讀文章的類型也大致分為以下這幾類:經濟類文章、科學技術類文章、社會生活以及文化類文章。考研網校輔導專家在編寫英語復習專區時,本著盡可能貼近考試的原則,精心挑選符合考查要求的閱讀文章,幫助考生們有針對性地進行復習,從而提高英語閱讀能力,在考試中取得優異的成績。
The myth behind China as a high-tech Goliath?
Having become workshop to the world, is China poised to storm the bastions of its high-technology industries? Thanks partly to foreign expansion by Huawei, telecommunications equipment maker, and a few other Chinese companies, the idea is starting to be taken seriously abroad above all in the US, ever jealous of its technological pre-eminence.
Some commentators predict China may rival US information technology leadership in only a decade. Its scientific achievements also provoke awe. Stephen Minger, a stem-cell scientist who led a UK fact-finding mission to China last year, says he was stunned by the sophistication of its medical research and laboratories.
Since the late 1980s, the number of science and engineering doctorates awarded in China has exploded. It now has more researchers than Japan. Its annual research and development spending, though still well below US levels, is rising five times faster, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says Chinas biggest exports are now high-tech products. But those dazzling statistics mask an often more mundane reality. The bulk of Chinas high-tech exports are actually low-margin commodity products such as personal computers and DVD players, assembled from imported components that account for most of their value.
In contrast to the home-grown IT industries of Japan and South Korea, two-thirds or more of those exports are from partly or wholly foreign-owned plants. Chinas state-owned companies spend relatively little on R D and have almost no international brands or distribution networks, a drawback acknowledged by Lenovos purchase of IBMs barely profitable PC business.
Ah, say the China-boosters, but all that is mere prologue. Chinas abundant cheap brainpower, energy and determination to succeed make it only a matter of time before it grows into a formidable knowledge economy. Again, appearances may deceive. R D effort is only a rather crude measure of input. Its economic value depends on the quality of output and how it is commercialized. On both counts, China still has much to prove.
Its engineers high calibre and low cost have spurred western companies such as General Electric and International Business Machines to set up laboratories there. But Chinas state-owned enterprises seem less adroit at exploiting those assets. The OECD last year gave most SOEs low marks for innovation and for training and organizing researchers. McKinsey, the management consultancy, says Chinas software industry lags behind Indias, because of its fragmented structure and poor management. That may change as more foreign-trained IT engineers with business experience return from abroad. However, they face big barriers to disseminating technology across industry. Not only are foreign companies operating in China increasingly careful to keep core technologies to themselves but Chinese companies collaborate little with each other or with universities.
Weak intellectual property laws, long assailed by western companies, are also a self-inflicted handicap because they provide no rewards for innovation. Chinas international patent applications, though growing, are still less than 1 percent of the total filed in the US and Europe. And while start-up companies abound in China, they are poorly supported by its financial system. Its bigger banks favour lending to state-owned industries;venture capital is in its infancy, and the countrys immature equity market fails to offer the dependable exit route demanded by sophisticated early-stage investors.
That compels many company founders to rely on funds raised from relatives. Some management gurus believe Chinas model of family-based capitalism is a shaky foundation for enduring corporate structures. Japans Kenichi Ohmae says his successful Chinese friends care more about getting rich quickly than creating world-beating businesses.
Historians puzzle over why, for 500 years after inventing gunpowder, China invented so little else. No country, of course, is bound to repeat history, and China has shed centuries of insularity to embrace foreign investment, trade and technology. But whether its future is as a high-tech powerhouse in its own right or as the worlds biggest branch-plant economy remains an open question.
一、參考譯文:
中國是否將成為高科技巨人
在成為世界工廠之后,中國是否已做好準備對本國的高科技行業發起強攻?部分由于電信設備制造商華為和其它一些中國公司的海外擴張,其它國家已開始認真考慮上述想法,特別是美國,因為它向來唯恐失去自己的科技領先地位。
一些評論家預言,不出10年,中國就能挑戰美國在信息技術領域的領袖地位。中國的科學成就也令人敬畏。干細胞科學家史蒂芬?明格去年曾率領一個英國的實地考察團去中國訪問,他說,中國的醫學研究和實驗室如此先進成熟,令他大吃一驚。
自上世紀80年代以來,中國被授予理工科博士頭銜的人數量激增。中國的研究人員數量現已超過日本。中國每年的研發支出仍大大低于美國的水平,但增長速度卻比美國快5倍以上,同時經濟合作與發展組織表示,中國現在出口最多的是高科技產品。但這些耀眼的統計數字掩飾了一個通常不那么出色的現實。中國大部分 高科技 出口品實際上都是低利潤率的大宗商品,比如個人電腦和DVD播放機等,它們由進口的零件組裝而成,這些零件占據了大部分的產品價值。
與日本及韓國土生土長的IT行業相反,中國三分之二或以上的IT出口品都是外商合資或獨資的工廠制造。中國的國有企業在研發方面的支出相當少,而且幾乎沒有國際品牌和分銷網絡。聯想收購國際商用機器公司幾乎不盈利的個人電腦業務,就是對這一缺陷的承認。
看好中國的人則說,啊,但這一切只是個開頭。中國有著豐富而廉價的人才資源和能源,以及取得成功的決心,因此中國成長為令人生畏的 知識經濟體 只是個時間問題。此外,表面現象不足信。研發只是對投入的一個相當粗淺的衡量標準,其經濟價值取決于產出的質量和商品化方式。對這兩種說法,中國都還需要好好證明。
中國的工程師水平高,成本低,這已促使通用電氣和IBM等西方企業在華設立實驗室。但中國的國有企業似乎不那么善于利用這些資產。在創新、培訓和組織研究人員方面,經合組織去年給大多數中國國有企業的評分都很低。管理咨詢公司麥肯錫表示,中國的軟件業落后于印度,原因就是中國軟件企業結構松散、管理不善。隨著更多受過海外培訓、又有實踐經驗的IT工程師回到中國,這一狀況可能會改變。但他們面臨巨大的障礙,無法在整個行業傳播技術。不僅是在華經營的外國公司越來越小心,對核心技術秘而不宣,中國企業與企業、企業與大學之間也極少進行合作。
中國的知識產權法規薄弱,這點長期遭到西方公司的攻擊,也成為中國自我造成的障礙,因為薄弱的法規沒有為創新提供回報。中國的國際專利申請數量雖然在增加,但仍不到美國和歐洲專利申請總數的1%.另外,雖然在中國有大量初創企業,但中國的金融體系對這些企業支持不足。在中國,較大的銀行喜歡貸款給國有行業,風險投資還處在萌芽階段,而中國不成熟的股票市場也無法為精明的初期投資者提供可靠的退出渠道。
這迫使許多公司創建者依靠從親戚那里籌措的資金。一些管理大師認為,在形成持久的公司結構方面,中國的家族式資本主義模式無法充當穩固的基石。日本的大前研一表示,他那些獲得成功的中國朋友們更關心快速致富,而不是打造舉世無雙的企業。
在發明火藥后的500年間,中國幾乎沒有什么新發明,歷史學家對此感到困惑不解。當然,沒有哪個國家一定要重復歷史,并且中國也已擺脫了數個世紀的閉關自守,而向外國投資、貿易和技術展開了懷抱。但中國未來將憑借自身能力成為一個高科技強國,還是會成為全球最大的分支工廠經濟體,這仍是個謎。
二、重點詞匯
1、Goliath n. 被牧羊人大衛殺死的Philistine的巨人
2、be poised to 隨時準備著做
3、preeminence n.卓越
4、rival v.競爭,對抗,相匹敵;n.競爭者,對手
5、provoke vt.激怒,挑撥,煽動,惹起,驅使
6、stun vt.使暈倒,使驚嚇,打暈;n.暈眩,打昏,驚倒
7、account for v.占
8、in contrast to 和 形成對比
9、prologue n.序言
10、deceive v.欺騙,行騙
11、spur v.鞭策,刺激,疾馳,驅策
12、disseminate v.散布
13、collaborate with v.合作,與敵人合作,通敵
14、self-inflicted adj.自己造成的
15、venture capital n.風險資本
16、compel vt.強迫,迫使
17、be bound to 一定要
18、shed vt.擺脫
19、embrace vt.擁抱
考研英語閱讀文章絕大多數來自英、美國家的報刊雜志,并且以面向大眾的社科類和科普類刊物為主。歷年考研英語閱讀文章的類型也大致分為以下這幾類:經濟類文章、科學技術類文章、社會生活以及文化類文章??佳芯W校輔導專家在編寫英語復習專區時,本著盡可能貼近考試的原則,精心挑選符合考查要求的閱讀文章,幫助考生們有針對性地進行復習,從而提高英語閱讀能力,在考試中取得優異的成績。
The myth behind China as a high-tech Goliath?
Having become workshop to the world, is China poised to storm the bastions of its high-technology industries? Thanks partly to foreign expansion by Huawei, telecommunications equipment maker, and a few other Chinese companies, the idea is starting to be taken seriously abroad above all in the US, ever jealous of its technological pre-eminence.
Some commentators predict China may rival US information technology leadership in only a decade. Its scientific achievements also provoke awe. Stephen Minger, a stem-cell scientist who led a UK fact-finding mission to China last year, says he was stunned by the sophistication of its medical research and laboratories.
Since the late 1980s, the number of science and engineering doctorates awarded in China has exploded. It now has more researchers than Japan. Its annual research and development spending, though still well below US levels, is rising five times faster, while the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says Chinas biggest exports are now high-tech products. But those dazzling statistics mask an often more mundane reality. The bulk of Chinas high-tech exports are actually low-margin commodity products such as personal computers and DVD players, assembled from imported components that account for most of their value.
In contrast to the home-grown IT industries of Japan and South Korea, two-thirds or more of those exports are from partly or wholly foreign-owned plants. Chinas state-owned companies spend relatively little on R D and have almost no international brands or distribution networks, a drawback acknowledged by Lenovos purchase of IBMs barely profitable PC business.
Ah, say the China-boosters, but all that is mere prologue. Chinas abundant cheap brainpower, energy and determination to succeed make it only a matter of time before it grows into a formidable knowledge economy. Again, appearances may deceive. R D effort is only a rather crude measure of input. Its economic value depends on the quality of output and how it is commercialized. On both counts, China still has much to prove.
Its engineers high calibre and low cost have spurred western companies such as General Electric and International Business Machines to set up laboratories there. But Chinas state-owned enterprises seem less adroit at exploiting those assets. The OECD last year gave most SOEs low marks for innovation and for training and organizing researchers. McKinsey, the management consultancy, says Chinas software industry lags behind Indias, because of its fragmented structure and poor management. That may change as more foreign-trained IT engineers with business experience return from abroad. However, they face big barriers to disseminating technology across industry. Not only are foreign companies operating in China increasingly careful to keep core technologies to themselves but Chinese companies collaborate little with each other or with universities.
Weak intellectual property laws, long assailed by western companies, are also a self-inflicted handicap because they provide no rewards for innovation. Chinas international patent applications, though growing, are still less than 1 percent of the total filed in the US and Europe. And while start-up companies abound in China, they are poorly supported by its financial system. Its bigger banks favour lending to state-owned industries;venture capital is in its infancy, and the countrys immature equity market fails to offer the dependable exit route demanded by sophisticated early-stage investors.
That compels many company founders to rely on funds raised from relatives. Some management gurus believe Chinas model of family-based capitalism is a shaky foundation for enduring corporate structures. Japans Kenichi Ohmae says his successful Chinese friends care more about getting rich quickly than creating world-beating businesses.
Historians puzzle over why, for 500 years after inventing gunpowder, China invented so little else. No country, of course, is bound to repeat history, and China has shed centuries of insularity to embrace foreign investment, trade and technology. But whether its future is as a high-tech powerhouse in its own right or as the worlds biggest branch-plant economy remains an open question.
一、參考譯文:
中國是否將成為高科技巨人
在成為世界工廠之后,中國是否已做好準備對本國的高科技行業發起強攻?部分由于電信設備制造商華為和其它一些中國公司的海外擴張,其它國家已開始認真考慮上述想法,特別是美國,因為它向來唯恐失去自己的科技領先地位。
一些評論家預言,不出10年,中國就能挑戰美國在信息技術領域的領袖地位。中國的科學成就也令人敬畏。干細胞科學家史蒂芬?明格去年曾率領一個英國的實地考察團去中國訪問,他說,中國的醫學研究和實驗室如此先進成熟,令他大吃一驚。
自上世紀80年代以來,中國被授予理工科博士頭銜的人數量激增。中國的研究人員數量現已超過日本。中國每年的研發支出仍大大低于美國的水平,但增長速度卻比美國快5倍以上,同時經濟合作與發展組織表示,中國現在出口最多的是高科技產品。但這些耀眼的統計數字掩飾了一個通常不那么出色的現實。中國大部分 高科技 出口品實際上都是低利潤率的大宗商品,比如個人電腦和DVD播放機等,它們由進口的零件組裝而成,這些零件占據了大部分的產品價值。
與日本及韓國土生土長的IT行業相反,中國三分之二或以上的IT出口品都是外商合資或獨資的工廠制造。中國的國有企業在研發方面的支出相當少,而且幾乎沒有國際品牌和分銷網絡。聯想收購國際商用機器公司幾乎不盈利的個人電腦業務,就是對這一缺陷的承認。
看好中國的人則說,啊,但這一切只是個開頭。中國有著豐富而廉價的人才資源和能源,以及取得成功的決心,因此中國成長為令人生畏的 知識經濟體 只是個時間問題。此外,表面現象不足信。研發只是對投入的一個相當粗淺的衡量標準,其經濟價值取決于產出的質量和商品化方式。對這兩種說法,中國都還需要好好證明。
中國的工程師水平高,成本低,這已促使通用電氣和IBM等西方企業在華設立實驗室。但中國的國有企業似乎不那么善于利用這些資產。在創新、培訓和組織研究人員方面,經合組織去年給大多數中國國有企業的評分都很低。管理咨詢公司麥肯錫表示,中國的軟件業落后于印度,原因就是中國軟件企業結構松散、管理不善。隨著更多受過海外培訓、又有實踐經驗的IT工程師回到中國,這一狀況可能會改變。但他們面臨巨大的障礙,無法在整個行業傳播技術。不僅是在華經營的外國公司越來越小心,對核心技術秘而不宣,中國企業與企業、企業與大學之間也極少進行合作。
中國的知識產權法規薄弱,這點長期遭到西方公司的攻擊,也成為中國自我造成的障礙,因為薄弱的法規沒有為創新提供回報。中國的國際專利申請數量雖然在增加,但仍不到美國和歐洲專利申請總數的1%.另外,雖然在中國有大量初創企業,但中國的金融體系對這些企業支持不足。在中國,較大的銀行喜歡貸款給國有行業,風險投資還處在萌芽階段,而中國不成熟的股票市場也無法為精明的初期投資者提供可靠的退出渠道。
這迫使許多公司創建者依靠從親戚那里籌措的資金。一些管理大師認為,在形成持久的公司結構方面,中國的家族式資本主義模式無法充當穩固的基石。日本的大前研一表示,他那些獲得成功的中國朋友們更關心快速致富,而不是打造舉世無雙的企業。
在發明火藥后的500年間,中國幾乎沒有什么新發明,歷史學家對此感到困惑不解。當然,沒有哪個國家一定要重復歷史,并且中國也已擺脫了數個世紀的閉關自守,而向外國投資、貿易和技術展開了懷抱。但中國未來將憑借自身能力成為一個高科技強國,還是會成為全球最大的分支工廠經濟體,這仍是個謎。
二、重點詞匯
1、Goliath n. 被牧羊人大衛殺死的Philistine的巨人
2、be poised to 隨時準備著做
3、preeminence n.卓越
4、rival v.競爭,對抗,相匹敵;n.競爭者,對手
5、provoke vt.激怒,挑撥,煽動,惹起,驅使
6、stun vt.使暈倒,使驚嚇,打暈;n.暈眩,打昏,驚倒
7、account for v.占
8、in contrast to 和 形成對比
9、prologue n.序言
10、deceive v.欺騙,行騙
11、spur v.鞭策,刺激,疾馳,驅策
12、disseminate v.散布
13、collaborate with v.合作,與敵人合作,通敵
14、self-inflicted adj.自己造成的
15、venture capital n.風險資本
16、compel vt.強迫,迫使
17、be bound to 一定要
18、shed vt.擺脫
19、embrace vt.擁抱