秋天的第一杯奶茶

今日立秋，朋友圈又刮起秋天第一杯奶茶风。

今天你练听力了吗？

🤔️小作业：

1. The rapid growth of China's bubble tea industry is evidenced by:

A) The declining popularity of traditional tea varieties

B) Multiple billionaire founders emerging from the sector

C) Starbucks losing market share to local tea brands

D) Subsidies for beverage startups

无注释原文：

China's bubble tea boom creates billionaires

From: Bloomberg

Are you a fan of bubble tea? Love it or hate it, you probably know a millennial or Gen Zer who's crazy about the cloyingly sweet drink filled with sticky balls of tapioca (the “bubbles,” or “boba”) that make it almost chewy as it slithers down your throat. That growing passion has created at least a half-dozen billionaires in China in the past few years and is at the heart of several other potential fortunes.

On April 23, Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial Co., China's No. 3 bubble tea chain, is scheduled to start trading, aiming to raise more than $300 million in the biggest Hong Kong listing since November. That valuation would give its husband-and-wife founders, Wang Xiaokun and Liu Weihong, a combined net worth of $2.7 billion based on the 73% stake they'll own after the initial public offering, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Bubble tea was invented in the late 1980s, with small stalls selling it near schools and offices. Today, thousands of brands vie for the attention of thirsty tea lovers across China, and countless shops have popped up in the US and Europe, though the biggest Chinese providers don't sell there—yet.

Like Starbucks Corp., these chains offer an almost infinite number of combinations. You can pair your favorite tea (any black, white, green or pu'er variety, with or without milk) with fresh fruit (mulberry, grapefruit, strawberry, orange), various bubbles (the original dark tapioca balls, crystal, cactus, taro and more), special additions (red beans, chunks of flavored gelatin, a topping of cream cheese foam) and various levels of sweetness and iciness. For an extra kick, some chains offer a shot of Moutai, the traditional Chinese grain liquor. “Life is tough, and something sweet will make you happier,” was the top response to the question “Why do you buy tea drinks?” in a survey cited by Minsheng Securities.

Two other bubble tea billionaires are Zhang Hongchao and Zhang Hongfu, brothers who in 1997 founded Mixue Bingcheng in Henan province. Mixue Group (which also has a coffee brand) calls itself the world's second-largest drink chain after Starbucks by number of stores, with more than 32,000 outlets across China and 4,000 in 11 other countries, mostly nearby. After a 2020 cash infusion from investors, including the venture arm of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan and Hillhouse Investment Management, the tea maker was valued at 23.3 billion yuan, pushing the net worth of each brother to $1.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Guming Holdings Ltd. (China's second-largest player, with some 9,000 stores) and No. 4 Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Co., which have also filed IPO documents in Hong Kong, now charge less than $3.50 per cup. “Competition has gotten fierce,” Gloria Cao, an analyst at Essence International, wrote in an April 16 report.

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注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为机器翻译并非一一对应，仅供参考

含注释全文：

China's bubble tea boom creates billionaires

From: Bloomberg

Are you a fan of bubble tea? Love it or hate it, you probably know a millennial or Gen Zer who's crazy about the cloyingly sweet drink filled with sticky balls of tapioca (the “bubbles,” or “boba”) that make it almost chewy as it slithers down your throat. That growing passion has created at least a half-dozen billionaires in China in the past few years and is at the heart of several other potential fortunes.

你喜欢喝奶茶吗？无论喜欢与否，你身边总有个痴迷于这种甜腻饮品的千禧一代或Z世代——里面黏糊糊的木薯球（即所谓的“珍珠”或“波霸”）让整杯饮料滑过喉咙时带着奇特的咀嚼感。这种日益高涨的消费热情在过去几年至少催生了六位中国亿万富豪，还孕育着多个潜在的财富神话。

millennial /mɪˈlen.i.əl/ 表示“一千年的，千禧年的；与2000年有关的”，英文解释为“relating to a millennium or to the year 2000”如：millennial celebrations 千禧年庆祝活动。

作名词，通常复数，表示“千禧一代，千禧世代”，举个🌰：Millennials have grown up with the internet and can't imagine a world without it. 千禧世代在互联网环境中长大，无法想象没有互联网的世界会是什么样的。

千禧一代通常指出生于20世纪且在2001年跨入成年的一代人，而2000年出生的人群被称为“千禧宝宝”或“世纪婴儿”。

Gen Z /ˌdʒen ˈzed/ 表示“Z世代（Generation Z的缩写，指1990年代后期和2000年代前期出生的人）”，英文解释为“short for Generation Z : a way of referring to the group of people who were born in the late 1990s and early 2000s.”

cloyingly /ˈklɔɪ.ɪŋ.li/ 1）表示“令人腻烦地；腻味地；假惺惺地”，英文解释为“in a way that seems good, kind, or loving but is too extreme, annoying, or not sincere”举个🌰：His impassioned outpourings can sometimes turn cloyingly sentimental. 他慷慨激昂的倾诉有时会变成令人腻味的感伤。

2）表示“甜得发腻地”，英文解释为“in a way that is too sweet and therefore unpleasant”如：cloyingly sweet 甜得发腻。

sticky /ˈstɪk.i/ 1）表示“黏性的；黏的；涂有黏胶的”，英文解释为“made of or covered with a substance that stays attached to any surface it touches”如：a sticky mess 黏胶带。

2）表示“（天气）湿热的，闷热的”，英文解释为“If the weather is sticky, it is very hot and the air feels wet.”

3）表示“困难的，棘手的”，英文解释为“difficult”举个🌰：There were a few sticky moments during the meeting, but everything turned out all right in the end. 会议过程中有几处卡壳，但最后总算是一切顺利。

区分：

📍tricky /ˈtrɪk.i/ 作形容词，表示“难办的；难对付的；棘手的”，英文解释为“If a piece of work or problem is tricky, it is difficult to deal with and needs careful attention or skill.”举个🌰：I'm in a tricky situation - whatever I do I'll offend someone. 我的处境真有点儿难办——我无论怎么做都会得罪人。

tapioca /ˌtæpɪˈəʊkə/ 表示“木薯粉；木薯淀粉”，英文解释为“Tapioca is a food consisting of white grains, similar to rice, which come from the cassava plant. It is used as a thickener and as a dessert.”

chewy /ˈtʃuːi/ 表示“需要多嚼的；不易嚼烂的；耐嚼的”，英文解释为“needing to be chewed a lot before it can be swallowed”

slither /ˈslɪð.ər/ 表示“滑行；爬行；（躯体）蜿蜒而行，曲折滑行”，英文解释为“(of bodies) to move easily and quickly across a surface while twisting or curving”举个🌰：She watched the snake slither away. 她看着蛇游走了。

On April 23, Sichuan Baicha Baidao Industrial Co., China's No. 3 bubble tea chain, is scheduled to start trading, aiming to raise more than $300 million in the biggest Hong Kong listing since November. That valuation would give its husband-and-wife founders, Wang Xiaokun and Liu Weihong, a combined net worth of $2.7 billion based on the 73% stake they'll own after the initial public offering, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

4月23日，中国第三大奶茶连锁品牌四川百茶百道实业股份有限公司将正式挂牌交易，拟通过本次港股IPO募资超3亿美元，这将成为去年11月以来中国香港规模最大的新股上市。根据彭博亿万富豪指数测算，若按发行后创始夫妇王霄锟、刘洧宏持有的73%股权计算，二人合计身家将达到27亿美元。

chain /tʃeɪn/ 1）表示“链条，链子；锁链；项链”，英文解释为“(a length of) rings usually made of metal that are connected together and used for fastening, pulling, supporting, or limiting freedom, or as jewellery”举个🌰：The gates were locked with a padlock and a heavy steel chain. 大门被一把挂锁和一根沉重的钢链锁着。

2）表示“一连串，一系列（的事物）”，英文解释为“a set of connected or related things”

3）表示“（尤指跨城市、跨国家）连锁商店（或酒店）”，英文解释为“a group of shops/stores or hotels owned by the same company or person, especially in different places.”

list作动词，表示“使（公司）上市；（公司）上市”（If a company is listed, or if it lists, on a stock exchange, it obtains an official quotation for its shares so that people can buy and sell them.）举个🌰：Last month, thirty new companies were listed. 上个月有30家公司上市。

📍relist 重新上市。

📍listing作名词，除了表示“（表册上的）位置，项目”，也有“上市”的含义，英文解释为“a position or an item on a list”举个🌰：The company is seeking a stock exchange listing (= for trading shares). 这家公司正在争取上市。

首次公开募股（Initial Public Offering, IPO）是指一家企业第一次将它的股份向公众出售。一旦首次公开上市完成后，这家公司就可以申请到证券交易所或报价系统挂牌交易。

Bubble tea was invented in the late 1980s, with small stalls selling it near schools and offices. Today, thousands of brands vie for the attention of thirsty tea lovers across China, and countless shops have popped up in the US and Europe, though the biggest Chinese providers don't sell there—yet.

珍珠奶茶于20世纪80年代末诞生，最初只是学校与办公场所附近小摊贩售的饮品。如今在中国各地数千个品牌正激烈争夺茶饮爱好者的青睐；而在欧美市场，尽管目前尚未有中国头部奶茶品牌进驻，但街头巷尾早已涌现无数奶茶店铺。

stall /stɔːl/ 作名词 1）表示“（房间内的）小隔间，淋浴室，洗手间”，英文解释为“a small area in a room, surrounded by glass, walls, etc., that contains a shower or toilet”

2）表示“（农场建筑中圈养单只牲畜的）隔栏，分隔间”，英文解释为“a small closed area within a farm building in which there is space for one animal to be kept”

3）表示“货摊，摊位；售货亭”，英文解释为“a large table or a small shop with an open front from which goods are sold in a public place”

作动词，1）表示“（使）（发动机）熄火”，英文解释为“If an engine stalls, or if you stall it, it stops working suddenly and without you intending it to happen.”举个🌰：A car may stall due to the driver braking too suddenly. 司机踩刹车过猛可能会导致汽车熄火。

2）表示“拖住（某人）”，英文解释为“If you stall a person, you delay them or prevent them from doing something for a period of time.”举个🌰：I managed to stall him for a few days. 我设法拖住了他几天。

3）表示“推迟，暂缓；搁置”，英文解释为“If you stall an event, you delay it or prevent it from making progress.”

vie /vaɪ/ 表示“竞争；争夺”，英文解释为“to compete with other people to achieve or get something”举个🌰：The two older children tend to vie with the younger one for their mother's attention. 两个大一点的孩子正在和小的争宠，都想博得妈妈的注意。

表示“（尤指突然地）出现，发生”，英文解释为“to appear or happen, especially suddenly or unexpectedly”举个🌰：She's one of those movie stars who pops up everywhere, on TV, in magazines, on Broadway. 她是那种四处露脸的影星，在电视上、杂志上、百老汇，到处可见她的身影。

Like Starbucks Corp., these chains offer an almost infinite number of combinations. You can pair your favorite tea (any black, white, green or pu'er variety, with or without milk) with fresh fruit (mulberry, grapefruit, strawberry, orange), various bubbles (the original dark tapioca balls, crystal, taro and more), special additions (red beans, chunks of flavored gelatin, a topping of cream cheese foam) and various levels of sweetness and iciness. For an extra kick, some chains offer a shot of Moutai, the traditional Chinese grain liquor. “Life is tough, and something sweet will make you happier,” was the top response to the question “Why do you buy tea drinks?” in a survey cited by Minsheng Securities.

这些连锁品牌和星巴克一样，提供近乎无限的搭配可能。你可以任选茶底（红茶、白茶、绿茶或普洱，可加奶或不加奶），搭配鲜果（桑葚、葡萄柚、草莓、柑橘），混搭各类珍珠（经典黑糖波霸、水晶珍珠、芋圆等），再佐以特色小料（红豆、风味布丁块、奶盖顶），还能自由调节甜度与冰度。更有品牌推出加料选项——注入一勺中国传统白酒茅台，让人瞬间提神。民生证券援引的调研显示，对于“为何购买奶茶”这个问题，最高频的回答是：“生活太苦，需要一点甜来点亮心情。”

表示“无限的，无边的；极大的”，英文解释为“without limits; extremely large or great”举个🌰：The universe is theoretically infinite. 从理论上来讲，宇宙是无边无际的。

kick /kɪk/  作动词，表示“踢，踹”，英文解释为“to hit someone or something with the foot, or to move the feet and legs suddenly and violently”举个🌰：I kicked the ball as hard as I could. 我用尽全力踢球。

作名词，1）表示“极度刺激；极度兴奋；极大的乐趣”，英文解释为“a strong feeling of excitement and pleasure”举个🌰：He gets his kicks from hurting other people. 他以伤害他人为乐。

2）表示“（毒品或酒精的）效力，刺激性”，英文解释为“the strong effect that a drug or an alcoholic drink has”举个🌰：This drink has quite a kick. 这酒的劲相当大。

复数形式securities，熟词僻义，表示“证券”，英文解释为“documents proving that sb is the owner of shares, etc. in a particular company”

Two other bubble tea billionaires are Zhang Hongchao and Zhang Hongfu, brothers who in 1997 founded Mixue Bingcheng in Henan province. Mixue Group (which also has a coffee brand) calls itself the world's second-largest drink chain after Starbucks by number of stores, with more than 32,000 outlets across China and 4,000 in 11 other countries, mostly nearby. After a 2020 cash infusion from investors, including the venture arm of Chinese food delivery giant Meituan and Hillhouse Investment Management, the tea maker was valued at 23.3 billion yuan, pushing the net worth of each brother to $1.5 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

奶茶界的亿万富豪还有张红超、张红甫两兄弟。1997年，他们在河南创立蜜雪冰城。这家集团（旗下还拥有咖啡品牌）自称全球门店数量仅次于星巴克，在中国拥有超过3.2万家门店，另在11个国家（以周边国家为主）开设了4000家分店。2020年，美团旗下风险投资部门和高瓴资本等投资方注资后，这家茶饮制造商的估值达到233亿元人民币。据彭博亿万富豪指数显示，两兄弟各自身家因此达到15亿美元。

outlet /ˈaʊt.let/ 或者outlets一词经常出现，media outlet / news outlets 都可以表示媒体/新闻机构；outlet本身表示“商店，商行；销售公司；专卖店；直销店”，英文解释为“An outlet is a shop or organization which sells the goods made by a particular manufacturer or at a discount price, often direct from the manufacturer.”如：a fast-food outlet 快餐店，a retail outlet 零售店，举个🌰：At the factory outlet you'll find discounted items at up to 75% off regular prices. 在工厂的直销店里，你会找到比常规价低75%的打折商品。

📍而我们日常生活中常见的“奥特莱斯”商场就是outlets的音译，指的就是品牌直销购物中心。

此外，也可以指“（情绪或精力的）发泄方式，发泄途径，施展的机会”，英文解释为“a way in which emotion or energy can be expressed or made use of”举个🌰：Her work provided no outlet for her energies and talents. 她的工作没有给她提供发泄精力及施展才华的机会。

📍美式英语里还可以表示“电源插座（同 power point）”

infusion /ɪnˈfjuː.ʒən/ 1）表示“注入；灌输”，英文解释为“the act of adding one thing to another to make it stronger or better”举个🌰：An infusion of $100,000 into the company is required. 公司需要注入10万美元的资金。

2）表示“（药物等的）输注；注入用药物”，英文解释为“an act of slowly putting a drug or other substance into a person's vein ; the drug that is used in this way”

Guming Holdings Ltd. (China's second-largest player, with some 9,000 stores) and No. 4 Auntea Jenny (Shanghai) Industrial Co., which have also filed IPO documents in Hong Kong, now charge less than $3.50 per cup. “Competition has gotten fierce,” Gloria Cao, an analyst at Essence International, wrote in an April 16 report.

已向港交所递交上市申请的古茗控股有限公司（中国第二，门店约9000家）和沪上阿姨（上海）实业股份有限公司（中国第四），如今单杯售价已不足3.5美元。“行业竞争日趋白热化，”安信国际分析师曹女士在4月16日的报告中写道。

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