Battered by China’s tutoring clampdown, one of the country’s top education tycoons decided to pivot to the lucrative livestreaming sector by pitching agricultural products. But he was in for a rude awakening.
受到中国整顿培训行业的打击,中国一位头部教育大亨决定转向利润丰厚的直播行业,推销农产品。但他会猛然醒悟事情没有自己想的那么容易。
本段语言知识点积累
lukewarm /'luːkwɔːm/ 本义是指〔食物、液体等〕微温的,温热的,不冷不热的;Something, especially a liquid, that is lukewarm is only slightly warm. 举个例子:•She sipped some lukewarm coffee from her mug.她抿了几口杯子里温热的咖啡。
现在常常引申表示缺乏兴趣的;不热情的;冷淡的;not showing much interest or excitement,比如说:•His idea got only a lukewarm response from the committee.他的想法只得到了委员会冷淡的反应。
【近义词拓展】half-hearted, indifferent, unenthusiastic, unresponsive
clampdown /'klæmpdaʊn/ n. 严禁; 取缔; 压制:sudden firm action that is taken to reduce crime, 【常见介词搭配】+on,举个例子:•a clampdown on drug dealers对贩毒者的严厉打击。
分开使用时,clamp down则变成动词短语,比如说:Banking regulators failed to clamp down until earlier this month.银行监管机构直到本月初才开始严格管制。
【习语积累】a rude awakening 对不愉快之事的猛然觉醒;If you have a rude awakening, you are suddenly made aware of an unpleasant fact. 举个例子:If they had expected a warm welcome, they were in for a rude awakening.要是他们以为会受到热烈欢迎,那他们一定会猛然醒悟。
【原文理解】原文这个用这个短语,想表达的是直播行业看似很好赚钱,但是俞敏洪的首场直播数据并不乐观。
Yu Minhong debuted as a grocery salesperson on Douyin’s e-commerce platform Tuesday but many of his live audiences dismissed gift sets containing fruits and vegetables as “too expensive,” domestic media reported. During the three-hour broadcast, the CEO of New Oriental Education and Technology Group offered a variety of products ranging from rice and beef to apples and oranges — at higher prices than average market rates.
据国内媒体报道,俞敏洪周二首次在抖音电商平台上以杂货销售人员的身份亮相,但观看他直播的观众认为,他卖的包含水果和蔬菜的礼品套装“太贵了”。在三个小时的直播中,新东方教育科技集团的首席执行官卖的产品很多元化,从大米,牛肉,到苹果和橘子等各种产品都有——价格高于市场平均价格。
The CEO made about 5 million yuan ($785,000) in sales, a disappointing result compared to popular livestreamers.
这位首席执行官的销售额约为500万元人民币(78.5万美元),与受欢迎的主播相比,这是一个令人失望的结果。
New Oriental is among several tutoring companies pivoting to new business ventures after China’s “double reduction” policy targeted after-school tutoring centers to reduce the academic burden on students on weekends and holidays. Last month, Yu announced that the company would sell agricultural products to compensate for the losses from closing tutoring centers.
新东方是几家转向新业务的教育培训机构之一,此前中国的“双减”政策针对课后补习机构,以减轻学生周末和假期的学业负担。上个月,俞敏洪宣布,公司将出售农产品,以弥补关闭培训机构造成的损失。
Yu’s much-hyped event aimed to spotlight Oriental Select, New Oriental’s new venture, which so far only has 72,000 subscribers on Douyin, compared with the company founder’s 7.4 million followers on the short-video platform.
俞敏洪大肆宣传的活动,旨在让新东方的新创企业东方甄选(Oriental Select)得到更大的曝光度,迄今为止,东方甄选在抖音上只有7.2万名粉丝,而该公司创始人在短视频平台上有740万粉丝。
本段语言知识点积累
hype用作动词时表示大肆宣传或吹捧;To hype a product means to advertise or praise it a lot,比如说:We had to hype the film to attract the financiers.我们不得不热炒这部电影以吸引投资人。
spotlight /'spɒtlaɪt/ v.使显眼,使突出,使受注意; to direct attention to someone or something,比如说:a new book spotlighting female entrepreneurs.一本关注女企业家的新书•The programme spotlights financial problems in the health service. 节目突出报道了公共医疗机构的财政问题。
New Oriental’s shares dropped by 20% on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange the day after the livestream.
直播结束后的第二天,新东方在香港交易所的股价下跌了20%。
China’s “double reduction” policy, announced in July, has dealt a heavy blow to New Oriental’s business. Founded in 1993, the education powerhouse has closed several branches and dismissed employees en masse since July, while its market value has shrunk 90% this year.
今年7月宣布的中国“双减”政策,给新东方的业务带来了沉重打击。这家教育巨头成立于1993年,自7月份以来已经关闭了几家分支机构,并解雇了大量员工,而今年其市值缩水了90%。