2015考研英语阅读英文原刊《经济学人》：卷烟工业 强弩之末

　　That would mainly affect state-owned China Tobacco, which has a near-monopoly.

　　这将主要影响到在行业中几乎处于垄断地位的中国烟草国有企业。

　　But multinationals' shares wobbled anyway: the proposed crackdown could portend tighterregulation elsewhere.

　　但是跨国公司的股份也是摇摆不定：打击的提议可能会预示着更为严格的监管。

　　Britain's government, after some wavering, may now go ahead and copy Australia'srequirement for cigarettes to be sold in ugly, scary plain packs.

　　英国政府在几番举棋不定后最终决定采取与澳大利亚同样的做法，在烟草的包装上采用印有丑陋恐怖图案的普通包装。

　　Such pleasure-pinching regulation strikes at one of the main ways cigarette companiesboost profits: converting smokers to pricier brands.

　　这种pleasure-pinching监管方式主要打击的是烟草公司获取利润的其中一种方式：促使吸烟者选择价格更高的品牌。

　　Premiumisation is still happening in developing countries, where incomes are rising.

　　消费品质优化仍然发生在那些收入增加的发展中国家。

　　But elsewhere smokers are turning to cheaper brands or rolling their own cigarettes.

　　但是在其他地方烟民们开始转而选择低价品牌或是自己卷烟。

　　Many smokers will not trade back up once the economy improves, largely because smokingand advertising bans have robbed the habit of its air of glamour.

　　当经济有所好转时，许多烟民也不会改变他们的选择，这很大程度上是因为吸烟和烟草广告的禁令已经夺走了烟草香味一贯的魅力。

　　Euromonitor International, a research firm, forecasts that everywhere except in Asia and theMiddle East prices will rise less from 2012 to 2017 than they did during the previous fiveyears

　　欧睿国际预测除了亚洲和中东地区外，从2012年到2017年烟草价格的上涨将低于过去5年来价格的上涨。

　　Shane MacGuill of Euromonitor sees in all this a very serious threat to the long-term healthof the tobacco industry.

　　欧睿国际的巴蒂尔认为这些对于烟草业长期的健康发展是一个严重的威胁。

　　This is spurring a quest for safer methods of supplying smokers with their nicotine fixes.

　　这将促使该行业烟民们以更加安全的方式提供尼古丁。

　　Most of the hype is about e-cigarettes, which give users a hit of vapour infused with nicotinebut none of the other, nastier ingredients of tobacco smoke.

　　这其中最有可能的方式就是电子香烟，这种香烟主要提供的是尼古丁蒸汽而不含其它物质，特别是烟草中的有害成分。

　　In America, the fastest adopter, sales have jumped from nearly nothing five years ago to atleast 1 billion in 2013.

　　在美国最先采用这种方式的厂家，5年来其销售量实现了从零开始的激增，截止2013年已经达到至少10亿美元。

　　At first, it looked as if e-cigarettes might lure smokers from the big tobacco brands tostartups such as NJOY.

　　起初的时候，电子香烟似乎已经诱导烟民们从大的烟草品牌转向诸如NJOY的新兴公司。

　　But incumbents have been quick to see the threat.

　　但是公司们也都迅速的意识到了这种威胁。

　　Lorillard acquired Blu, now the biggest American brand, in 2012.

　　罗瑞拉德烟草公司于2012年收购了蓝光这一现今最大的美国品牌。

　　Altria and Reynolds are expected to launch e-cig ventures nationwide this year.

　　奥驰亚集团和雷诺预计今年将在全国范围内推出电子香烟业务。

　　Imperial recently acquired the e-cigarette operations of Dragonite, a Chinese firm thatpioneered the technology.

　　帝国烟草公司最近收购了一家名为叁龙的中国公司，因为该公司率先掌握了该项技术。

　　Though not the first movers, tobacco companies have bigger war chests, more knowledge ofsmokers' habits and better ties to distributors than the newcomers.

　　虽然不是起步最早的，但是烟草公司比起新进的公司来说更具实力，它们更了解烟民们的习惯也有更多的分销渠道。

　　Some pundits reckon Americans will puff more e-cigarettes than normal ones within adecade, but tobacco folk are sceptical.

　　一些专家预测在未来的十年里，美国人将消费更多的电子香烟，但是烟民们对此却持怀疑态度。

　　E-cigs account for just 1% of America's cigarette market.

　　在美国的烟草市场，电子香烟只占到了1%的份额。

　　In Europe 7% of smokers had tried vaping by 2012 but only 1% kept it up.

　　在欧洲，有7%的烟民都试过了这种 电子烟雾,但是只有1%的人到2012年还在使用。

　　PMI has higher hopes for a new type of cigarette, which heats tobacco rather than burning it.

　　PMI公司更希望有一种全新的香烟，这种香烟只是加热烟草而不点燃。

　　Such cigarettes could deliver fewer toxins than conventional sticks and more pleasure thanmere vapour.

　　这种香烟比起普通香烟产生的毒素更少，而与电子香烟的烟雾相比又能使人更加愉悦。

　　PMI says it will invest up to 500m in a factory in Italy to make them.

　　PMI公司表示它们将投入5亿欧元到意大利一家生产这种香烟的工厂。

　　Earlier efforts to hook smokers on heated tobacco flopped, so there is no assurance thatPMI's versions will succeed.

　　早期为了使烟民们使用加热烟草的努力都以失败告终，因而不能保证PMI公司的这一思路能得以实现。

　　And no one knows what sort of restrictions regulators will eventually place on reduced riskproducts, including e-cigarettes.

　　并且每人知道对于包括电子香烟在内的降低风险产品会出台什么样的监管措施。

　　If they can manage the transition to less harmful smokes, and convince regulators to besensible, the tobacco giants could keep up the sort of performance that has made theirshares such a fine investment over the years.

　　如果这些公司能实现向低危害的烟草的转变，并且说服监管机构意识到这种转变。那么这些烟草巨头们将能有实力继续为他们的投资者们提供丰厚的分红。

　　But some analysts are not so sure.

　　但是一些分析人士对此却不那么肯定。

　　Many tobacco firms are struggling to deliver the consistency of the earnings-per-sharemodel we've seen in the past, says David Hayes of Nomura. If that persists, investors mayfall out of love with the industry.

　　野村公司的大卫表示许多的烟草公司都在挣扎着想要继续沿用以前烟草按股数收益的经营方式。如果它们坚持，那么它们的投资者们可能会失去对该行业的兴趣。

　　A half-century after the surgeon-general's alarm, they, and incorrigible puffers, are its lastremaining friends.

　　从卫生部部长发出警告的半个世纪以来，这些公司最后的朋友就只剩那些已经无药可救的烟民们了。

　　词语解释

　　1.die from 死于

　　The studies also showfewer children now die frommeasles.

　　研究还表明现在只有少数儿童死于麻疹。

　　So what did he die from?

　　那他是怎么死的?

　　2.drop from 从…落下;从…除去

　　That was a5% drop from the year before--the first reduction since 1996.

　　比去年下降了5%，是自1996年的第一次下滑。

　　Without those propellant burns, the station would eventually drop from orbit.

　　没有这些推进器的点燃，空间站最终会从轨道降落。

　　3.cough up 咳出;掏出

　　Some people actually cough up the larvae.

　　有人真的咳出过幼虫。

　　I cough up a great deal of sputum.

　　我咳嗽有很多痰。

　　4.call for 需要;要求

　　Chinese companies call for fairer treatment from foreigners.

　　中国公司要求更公平的对待外国人。

　　A few relatively infrequent situations also call for a semicolon.

　　有几个比较少见的的情况也要求使用分号。

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