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Computing geography (2)
Great cloud of China
Chinese tech companies plan to steal American cloud giants’ thunder
计算地理（2）
中国大云
中国科技公司计划抢走美国云巨头的风头
WHICH of the world’s tech giants boasts the fastest-growing computing cloud? Many would guess either Amazon or Google, which operate the world’s largest networks of data centres, but the correct answer is Alibaba. In 2016 the cloud-computing business of the Chinese e-commerce behemoth grew by 126％, to $675m. Growth is unlikely to slow soon. Simon Hu, president of Alibaba Cloud, wants it to “match or surpass” Amazon Web Services (AWS) by 2019.全球哪家科技巨头的“计算云”扩大最快？很多人可能会猜是亚马逊或谷歌，毕竟它们运营着全球最大的数据中心网络。但正确答案是阿里巴巴。2016年这家中国电子商务巨头的云计算业务增长了126％，达到6.75亿美元。这一增长势头一时不大可能放缓。阿里云总裁胡晓明希望在2019年前公司这项业务能“赶上或超越”亚马逊网络服务（AWS）。
V-T/V-I If someone boasts about something that they have done or that they own, they talk about it very proudly, in a way that other people may find irritating or offensive.【ALSO】V-T If someone or something can boast a particular achievement or possession, they have achieved or possess that thing.N-COUNT If you refer to something as a behemoth, you mean that it is extremely large, and often that it is unpleasant, inefficient, or difficult to manage.
That is a stretch: AWS is estimated to have generated revenues of about $17bn in 2017. But Alibaba’s cloud (known locally（句型）as Aliyun) is one of a thriving group: China’s cloud-computing industry as a whole is growing rapidly. Even more intriguing than its speedy expansion is the fact that China’s cloud is different to that of Western firms in important ways.这可是个艰巨的任务：2017年AWS的收入估计在170亿美元左右。但是阿里巴巴的云业务（在中国被称为“阿里云”）身处于一个繁荣的群体之中——中国云计算行业整体发展迅猛。而比这种快速扩张更耐人寻味的是，中国的云服务企业在一些重要方面与西方同行有所不同。
ADJ If you describe something as intriguing, you mean that it is interesting or strange
The technology that China’s cloud-computing providers use is not so dissimilar（句型）. Indeed, the fact that Western tech firms have released much of the necessary code as open-source software made it easier for them to get going. “That brought us to the same starting-line,” says Xilun Chen, the chief executive of EasyStack, which builds clouds for many Chinese firms.中国的云计算提供商使用的技术倒没有多大不同。其实西方的科技公司已经以开源软件的形式发布了许多必要的代码，中国的同行因而很容易就上手（句型）了。为许多中国公司建立起云业务的EasyStack首席执行官陈喜伦表示：“这让我们站在了同一起跑线上。”
2018年02月02日 00点02分
1
Great cloud of China
Chinese tech companies plan to steal American cloud giants’ thunder
计算地理（2）
中国大云
中国科技公司计划抢走美国云巨头的风头
WHICH of the world’s tech giants boasts the fastest-growing computing cloud? Many would guess either Amazon or Google, which operate the world’s largest networks of data centres, but the correct answer is Alibaba. In 2016 the cloud-computing business of the Chinese e-commerce behemoth grew by 126％, to $675m. Growth is unlikely to slow soon. Simon Hu, president of Alibaba Cloud, wants it to “match or surpass” Amazon Web Services (AWS) by 2019.全球哪家科技巨头的“计算云”扩大最快？很多人可能会猜是亚马逊或谷歌，毕竟它们运营着全球最大的数据中心网络。但正确答案是阿里巴巴。2016年这家中国电子商务巨头的云计算业务增长了126％，达到6.75亿美元。这一增长势头一时不大可能放缓。阿里云总裁胡晓明希望在2019年前公司这项业务能“赶上或超越”亚马逊网络服务（AWS）。
V-T/V-I If someone boasts about something that they have done or that they own, they talk about it very proudly, in a way that other people may find irritating or offensive.【ALSO】V-T If someone or something can boast a particular achievement or possession, they have achieved or possess that thing.N-COUNT If you refer to something as a behemoth, you mean that it is extremely large, and often that it is unpleasant, inefficient, or difficult to manage.
That is a stretch: AWS is estimated to have generated revenues of about $17bn in 2017. But Alibaba’s cloud (known locally（句型）as Aliyun) is one of a thriving group: China’s cloud-computing industry as a whole is growing rapidly. Even more intriguing than its speedy expansion is the fact that China’s cloud is different to that of Western firms in important ways.这可是个艰巨的任务：2017年AWS的收入估计在170亿美元左右。但是阿里巴巴的云业务（在中国被称为“阿里云”）身处于一个繁荣的群体之中——中国云计算行业整体发展迅猛。而比这种快速扩张更耐人寻味的是，中国的云服务企业在一些重要方面与西方同行有所不同。
ADJ If you describe something as intriguing, you mean that it is interesting or strange
The technology that China’s cloud-computing providers use is not so dissimilar（句型）. Indeed, the fact that Western tech firms have released much of the necessary code as open-source software made it easier for them to get going. “That brought us to the same starting-line,” says Xilun Chen, the chief executive of EasyStack, which builds clouds for many Chinese firms.中国的云计算提供商使用的技术倒没有多大不同。其实西方的科技公司已经以开源软件的形式发布了许多必要的代码，中国的同行因而很容易就上手（句型）了。为许多中国公司建立起云业务的EasyStack首席执行官陈喜伦表示：“这让我们站在了同一起跑线上。”