Alibaba challenged as TikTok generation starts shopping on short video apps
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Alibaba is still the largest ecommerce company in China, but its market share isslippingas rival platforms take advantage of thebreak-upof its monopoly. Antitrust regulators hit Alibaba with a record $2.8bn fine in April after finding that it hadhinderedfair competition in online retailing by forcing merchants to sell on its platforms exclusively.
阿里巴巴仍是中国最大的电子商务公司，但随着对手平台利用对其垄断地位的拆解，其市场份额正在下滑。今年4月，中国反垄断监管机构对阿里巴巴处以创纪录的28亿美元罚款，原因是发现该公司强迫商家只能在其平台上销售商品，阻碍了在线零售领域的公平竞争。
这组词都有“滑动”的意思，其区别是：skid着重指不自主地或失去控制地滑动，特指车轮在结冰或潮湿路面上的滑动，常暗含有危险存在的意味。glide指自由、顺畅地流动，也指不费力、无声响地滑动。slip指不自觉地、偶然地滑动。slide通常多指与光滑表面保持接触并且迅速地连续滑动。
这组词都有“阻止、阻塞”的意思，其区别是：hamper侧重因受到约束或阻碍而造成的行动困难。hinder语气较轻，多指阻碍、拖延人或事，强调使进展速度缓慢下来。block语气强烈，指有效堵住了通道，使人或物无法通过。prevent含义广泛，指采取预防措施或设置障碍去阻止某人或某事。bar含义与block很接近，指阻塞通道或禁止出入，但有对暗示不用障碍物的阻止或禁止。obstruct正式用词，语气强，多指以干扰或设置障碍的方式阻碍交通，使不能自由畅通。
Taobao and Tmall’s share of the overall gross merchandise value (GMV) — the total value of everything sold on the site — declined after they wereforcedtohaltpractices that enabled it tofiercely（观点）guard its leading position.
在被迫停止能够坚决捍卫自己领先地位的一些做法后，淘宝和天猫在GMV（电商网站上出售的所有商品的总价值）总量中所占份额出现下降。
这组词都有“停止”的意思，其区别是：pause指暂时的、瞬间的停顿，隐含有再进行之意。stop指动作、运行、进展等被停下来，含突然、断然的意味。cease指逐渐、徐徐中止某种状态的存在。书面用词。halt侧重突然地、决定性地终止、停止某一活动。quit指最终彻底停止某事，有时暗示遭到失败或面临挫折。
In the first half of 2021, Taobao and Tmallcollectivelyaccounted for 48 per cent of China’s overall ecommerce GMV, down from 62 per cent a year earlier, according to research by Daxue Consulting.
Daxue Consulting的研究显示，2021年上半年，淘宝和天猫合计占中国电商GMV总量的48%，低于一年前的62%。
The livestreaming model isgearedtowardshigh volume. “Shoppers love it because you can find so many special deals onbulkpurchasesand discounts,” said one 20-something shopper in the southern province of Guangdong, adding that the format is particularly loved by students, who have free time to scroll through videos.
直播模式面向的是大批量销售。广东省一名20多岁的购物者说，“购物者之所以喜欢看直播，是因为你可以找到很多折扣力度很大的批发式特别优惠”，这种形式特别受学生欢迎，他们有的是空闲时间来浏览视频。
PHRASE If you buy or sell somethinginbulk, you buy or sell it in large quantities.
But the sort of goods that are particularly popular with livestreamers are also some of Alibaba’sbiggestearners（观点）: skincare, women’s fashion, cosmetics and perfume.
但在直播中特别受欢迎的商品，也是让阿里巴巴很赚钱的一些商品：护肤品、女装、化妆品和香水。
“Livestreaming isparticularlyconducivetobeauty andapparel, which happens to be Taobao and Tmall’s strengths,” where they collect the highestcommissionsfrom merchants, said Michael Norris, senior research analyst at Shanghai-based consultancy AgencyChina.
总部位于上海的咨询公司AgencyChina的高级研究分析师迈克尔•诺里斯(Michael Norris)表示，“直播尤其适合卖美妆产品和服装，这恰好是淘宝和天猫的强项”，是这两家从商家那里拿到最多佣金的品类。
ADJ If one thing isconducivetoanother thing, it makes the other thing likely to happen
N-UNCOUNTApparelmeans clothes, especially formal clothes worn on an important occasion.
N-UNCOUNT If a bank or other company chargescommission, they charge a fee for providing a service, for example for exchanging money or issuing an insurance policy. 【OR】N-COUNT If a member of the armed forces receives acommission, he or she becomes an officer.
这组词都有“委员会”的意思，其区别是：committee既用作普通名词，也用作集体名词，指通过选举或其它方式而成立的一般委员会。commission指为了某项任务专门成立的委员会。
Daniel Zhang, Alibaba’s chair and chief executive,blameda slowdown in clothing sales for the company’s “single-digit” GMV growth at last month’sgloomyearnings.
阿里巴巴上月公布了惨淡的盈利数据，其中商品交易总额(GMV)增长为“个位数”，该公司董事长兼首席执行官张勇(Daniel Zhang)将这归咎于服装销售放缓。
这组词都有“完全地或不完全地缺少光亮”的意思，其区别是：dim指光线不足或视力较差，不能清晰地看见物体。dark最普通用词，指缺乏自然光线或人工照明，使某物漆黑无光或光线十分微弱。vague通常作借喻用，形容抽象事物。grey与dark意思相近，但侧重阴暗单调的意味。obscure指因光线不充足而使物体灰暗不清，失去光泽或若隐若现。作借喻时指因复杂、深奥或含糊而难于理解。black侧重颜色是黑色的，有时也指无光的黑暗。gloomy指光线不足或部分光线受阻而出现的阴暗。
Tofight back, Zhang told investors that Alibaba was training moreinfluencersto add to theirretinueof online stars, which includes Viya, who sold RMB31.1bn yuan of goods to her online fans last year, according to internet research firm iiMedia.
张勇对投资者表示，为了反击，阿里巴巴正在培训更多网红，以扩大其网络明星阵容，其中包括薇娅(Viya)。根据互联网研究公司艾媒咨询(iiMedia)的数据，薇娅去年向她的网络粉丝们销售了311亿元人民币的商品。
N-COUNT An important person'sretinueis the group of servants, friends, or assistants who go with them and take care of their needs.
“Alibaba willcatch up withchanging consumer taste,” said one 41-year-old shopper in Beijing. “A company this big will notsit around and wait to die（观点）.”
“阿里巴巴会跟上消费者不断变化的口味的，”北京一名41岁的购物者表示，“这么大的一家公司不会坐以待毙。”
Shiftingfurtherinto commerce could also prove dangerous for thedisrupters. “They riskdilutingthe entertainment value of their apps if the user’s individual feed becomes endless livestreams of people promoting their products,” said Norris. Lessengagementfrom users could hitdisplay advertising, still the primary source of revenue for Douyin and Kuaishou.
对这些挑战者来说，更深入地转向商业也可能是危险的。诺里斯说：“如果用户的个人账户变成无休止的带货直播，这些应用的娱乐价值就有可能被稀释。”用户参与度降低可能会打击展示广告，而这仍是抖音和快手的主要收入来源。
V-T If someone or somethingdilutesa belief, quality, or value, they make it weaker and less effective.
所谓展示广告，就是一种按每千次展示计费的图片形式广告，可以投放在Feed和博客页面中。
Meanwhile, Alibaba has the advantage of the years it spent building areliableand trustedplatform, and of managing complex supply chains andlogistics.
与此同时，阿里巴巴的优势在于它花了许多年打造一个可靠和值得信赖的平台，以及管理着复杂的供应链和物流。
Sellers on Douyin, including Dong, have comeunder firefor false promotions andrefusing to accept returns（观点）.
抖音上的卖家，包括董文明在内，因虚假促销和拒绝退货受到过指责。
Alibaba faced the same criticism in the early days of its move into ecommerce but has since invested money in bolstering consumer protections against merchants that sellfake and faultyproducts.
阿里巴巴在进军电商领域的初期也曾面临同样的批评，但自那以来，该公司已投入资金，加强对消费者的保护力度，帮助他们应对销售假冒伪劣产品的商家。
ADJ If you describe someone's argument or reasoning asfaulty, you mean that it is wrong or contains mistakes, usually because they have not been thinking in a logical way. 【AND】ADJ Afaultypiece of equipment has something wrong with it and is not working properly.
Douyin is trying to gain consumer trust with a protection fund that settlesdisputesbetween thevendorand shopper and bytaking downproblematic products from its app.
抖音正试图通过建立一个解决买卖纠纷的保护基金，并从其应用下架有问题的产品，来赢得消费者的信任。
这组词都有“争执、不和”的意思，其区别是：argument指辩论双方均以事实或理由来说服对方的辨论。controversy侧重指深刻的意见分歧，多指对引起广泛兴趣或非常重要的问题的辨论。dispute普通用词，侧重指长时间，言词激烈，针锋相对的争辩。debate通常指经过仔细组织和计划的个人或团体之间的辩论。conflict指双方坚持已见、互不妥协，怀有敌意的争论，多暗示分歧极为严重，有时用语言无法解决，只得诉诸武力。strife指因不可缓和的矛盾而引起的争吵或斗殴。quarrel普通用词，既可指言词激烈的争吵，也可指温和的言词上的不和。
N-COUNT Avendoris someone who sells things such as newspapers, cigarettes, or food from a small stall or cart. 【AND】N-COUNT Avendoris a company or person that sells a product or service, especially one who sells to other companies that sell to the public.
“I don’t trust live-streaming shopping,” said the Beijing shopper. “The products don’t come with any guarantees. Some of the live-streamers on Douyin have had an amazing performance, but still, it is difficult toshakeTaobao and Tianmao from theircommandingposition.”
“我不相信直播购物，”上述北京购物者表示，“这些产品没有任何保证。抖音上的一些主播表现得非常出色，但仍然难以撼动淘宝和天猫的主导地位。”
ADJ If you are in acommandingposition or situation, you are in a strong or powerful position or situation. 【AND】ADJ If you describe someone ascommanding, you mean that they are powerful and confident.
