經(jīng)濟商業(yè)報道及財務(wù)知識分析

Business商業(yè)報道Germanweaponsfirms德國武器公司Nofarewelltoarms不和武器講再見PoliticalpressureandbriberyallegationsareunlikelytohurtGermany'sexportersofmilitaryequipment.看起來政治壓力和受賄指控都可不能阻礙德國的軍事裝備出口公司。SINCEthesecondworldwar,Germanyhasrarelysentsoldierstocombatzones.自二戰(zhàn)以來，德國幾乎不曾向戰(zhàn)爭地區(qū)派兵。Butitexportsalotofweapons:morethanBritain,FranceoranyothercountrybesidesAmericaandRussia.然而它卻出口了大量武器：超過英國、法國以及除美國、俄羅斯之外的所有其他國家。SomeGermanmakersofmilitarygeararepartofcivilianindustrialgiants,suchasAirbusGroup,andThyssenKrupp,asteelmaker.德國的武器制造商中有些隸屬于私有的工業(yè)巨頭，比如空客集團，還有鋼鐵制造商蒂森克虜伯集團。ButthebiggestGermancompanyknownmainlyforweapons,Rheinmetall,isjust26thintheworldleagueofarms-exportingfirms.然而，即使是德國聞名的以武器業(yè)務(wù)為主的公司中最大的萊茵金屬公司，在世界武器出口公司中也僅僅排在26位。AndKraussMaffeiWegmann,whichmakestheLeopard2tank,is54th.而制造出豹2坦克的KraussMaffeiWegmann則位居54位。Germansare,ingeneral,proudoftheirexportprowess.總的來講，德國對自己的出口實力感到驕傲。Butalthoughforeignsalesofweaponrybringinalmost1billionayear,theyareadelicatesubject,andlatelybesetbybadpress.然而盡管武器外貿(mào)帶來了將近10億歐元一年的利潤，這是一項特不微妙的行業(yè)，同時近日承受的巨大壓力。SeveralGermanfirmsareaccusedofbriberyinGreece.數(shù)家德國公司被指控在希臘行賄。Aformerdefenceofficialtherehassaidthatof8minbribeshetook,3.2mcamefromGermanfirms,includingWegmannandRheinmetall.希臘一位前國防部官員曾講，在他被行賄的800萬歐元中有320萬來自于德國公司，其中包括Wegman和萊茵金屬公司。OnJanuary3rdKMW'sallegedmiddlemanwasdetainedafteracourthearing.在1月3日，一位宣稱的KMW中間人在庭審后被拘留。Thefirmitselfdeniesanybribery.該公司自己否認有行賄行為。2_副本.jpgAtlas,amakerofnavalweaponsownedjointlybyAirbusandThyssenKrupp,isunderfiretoo.空客集團和蒂森克虜伯共有的海軍武器制造商Atlas也正受到打擊。AformerrepresentativeinAthenshasreportedlyadmittedtobribery;thecompanysaysitisinvestigatingthematter.一位前雅典代表在報道中承認行賄；該公司則表示其正在進行調(diào)查。Onanotherfront,theindustryfacescriticismoverthecountriesitsellsto—mostrecentlyoveradealtosellLeopard2stoSaudiArabia.另一方面，該產(chǎn)業(yè)因其售賣武器的對象而受到批判—最近是因為向沙特阿拉伯賣出豹2。ArmssalestoanywhereotherthanNATOandNATO-equivalentcountriesareinprincipleforbidden.向北約以及北約等同國家以外的國家和地區(qū)銷售武器從原則上講是禁止的。ButtheFederalSecurityCouncil,headedbyChancellorAngelaMerkel,canapproveexceptionswhenforeignpolicydictates,aslongastheydonotharmhumanrights.然而由總理安吉拉默克爾領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的聯(lián)邦安全局能夠在外交政策需要時批準一些專門情況，只要他們關(guān)于人權(quán)沒有損害。Peacecampaignersfearthattheexceptionsarebecominglessexceptional.和平活動者們擔心這些些專門情況正變得越來越不專門。NATOcountries'budgetsarebeingsqueezed,soGermany'sarmsmakersarelookingfartherabroad.北約國家正緊縮財政，因而德國武器制造商們只能將目光轉(zhuǎn)向了遠方的國家。Rheinmetall,forexample,hasatargetof50%ofexportsoutsideEuropeby2015.比如，萊茵金屬基團打算在2015年前將歐洲以外地區(qū)的出口比重提高到50%。Asiaisagrowingtarget:Singaporerecentlysigneda1.6billiondealforThyssenKruppsubmarines.亞洲是一個快速成長的目標：新加坡最近簽署了一份價值16億歐元的合同用于購買蒂森克虜伯潛艇。Germansmallarmsarealsopopular.Heckler&Koch'sG3rifleistheworld'smostpopularaftertheRussianAK-47.德國的小型武器同樣專門受歡迎。赫克勒-科赫G3步槍的受歡迎程度僅次于俄國的AK47。GermanywasaleaderinpushingtheUNtorestricttheflowofsmallarmstowar-torncountries.德國是推動聯(lián)合國限制對戰(zhàn)爭頻繁地區(qū)的小型武器出售的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者之一。Butsuchweaponsleakacrossbordersnonetheless.盡管如此，此類武器依舊會進入這些地區(qū)。ThisiswhyHelmutSchmidt,aformerchancellor,inDecemberurgedGermanytorestrictarmsexports,callinggundeathsaslow-motionHiroshimaandNagasaki.這也是為何前總理赫爾穆特施密特在12月督促德國限制武器出口，他稱槍支引發(fā)死亡如同慢性的廣島和長崎原子彈爆炸。HisfellowSocialDemocrat,Frank-WalterSteinmeier,promisedtorestrictsalesifhispartymadeitintogovernmentafterlastSeptember'selections.他的社會民主黨同僚，弗蘭克沃爾特施泰因邁爾曾承諾假如去年9月選舉后其黨派成功執(zhí)政，就會限制武器出口。Itdid:MrSteinmeierisnowforeignminister,andsitsontheFederalSecurityCouncil.這一條件差不多實現(xiàn)：施泰因邁爾現(xiàn)在是外交部長，并任職于聯(lián)邦安全委員會。ButGermany'sarmsexportsareprobablyinlittledanger,sincetheyhavethesamereputationforreliabilityasitscarsandotherindustrialgoods.然而德國的武器出口看似并無危險，因為它的武器產(chǎn)品在可靠性方面有著和汽車及其他工業(yè)產(chǎn)品一樣的好名聲。EvenPieterWezemanoftheStockholmInternationalPeaceResearchInstitute,acriticofweaponssales,comparesaHeckler&Kochguntoahigh-qualityLeicacamera.甚至斯特哥爾摩和平研究所的PieterWezeman，一位武器銷售的批判者，也將赫克勒-科赫槍支比作質(zhì)量優(yōu)異的徠卡相機。ThoughGermansoldiersmostlystayclearofcombatzones,Germanweaponsarebattle-tested;LeopardtanksintheformerYugoslaviaandAfghanistan,forexample.盡管德國士兵不曾踏足戰(zhàn)爭區(qū)域，德國的武器但是通過實戰(zhàn)檢驗的；豹型坦克就曾現(xiàn)身前南斯拉夫和阿富汗。Moreover,therearewaystolessenthecontroversyofsellingthingsusedtowagewar.此外，還有許多方法來減少戰(zhàn)爭武器銷售的爭議性。Forexample,makinggunsforafighterjetassembledelsewhereislessvisiblethansellingaGerman-madetank.比如，為在其他地區(qū)組裝的戰(zhàn)斗機制造槍支同直接賣出德國制造的坦克相比要不顯眼許多。Militarytransport,logistics,surveillanceandprotectiveequipmenttogetheraccountforfivetimesasmuchofGermandefencefirms'outputasweaponsandammunition—andarelesslikelytobeblamedforciviliancasualties.軍事運輸設(shè)備、后勤物資、監(jiān)視和防護設(shè)備總計是德國國防公司武器和軍火出口額的5倍，而且這些生意可不能受到引發(fā)平民死亡的責備。StephanBoehm,ananalystatCommerzbank,seessuchnon-lethalmaterielasabrightspotforGermanexporters.德國商業(yè)銀行的分析師StephanBoehm將這些非致密材料看做是德國出口的閃光點。TheflaggingfortunesofRheinmetall,inparticular,shouldberestoredbystrongsalesofthearmouredtransportersitproducesinajointventurewithMAN,alorry-maker.需要指出的是，萊茵金屬公司的巨大財寶中許多就源自于它和貨車制造商MAN聯(lián)合制造的裝甲運輸車輛的良好銷量業(yè)績。Criticssaythegovernmentistoowillingtoletarmsfirmsexporttododgyregimes.許多批判認為政府太想要將武器公司出口到過于冒險的區(qū)域。TheFederationofGermanSecurity&DefenceIndustriesarguesthatstrongexportsarecrucialtospreadthedevelopmentcostsoftheequipmentGermanyneedstodefenditself.德國安全和國防工業(yè)聯(lián)合會爭辯講繁榮的武器出口關(guān)于分擔德國進展國防設(shè)備的花費至關(guān)重要。Thiswouldbelessofaproblem,thelobbygroupadmits,ifEurope'sfragmenteddefenceindustrywereconsolidated;itsaysthegovernmentshouldnothavevetoedaproposallastyeartomergeEADSwithBAESystemsofBritain.游講者們也承認，假如歐洲散亂的國防工業(yè)能得到統(tǒng)一的話，那個問題就會小專門多；他們還提到，政府不應(yīng)在去年否決EADS和英國的BAESystem合并的提議。Weaponsaccountforlessthan1%ofGermany'sexports.武器出口在德國總出口中所占比重不足1%。Butitisa1%thatit,likeothercountries,islothtogiveup.然而如同其他國家一樣，德國無法割舍這1%。Business商業(yè)報道Cabletelevision有線電視The61billionproposal耗資610億的提案Thelatestplottwistsinacontinuingtelevisiondrama電視連續(xù)劇中最新的情節(jié)突轉(zhuǎn)SPURNEDsuitorsusuallynursethewoundsofrejectionquietly.令人唾棄的起訴者通常悄然的治愈拒絕的傷口。2_副本.jpgNotinthecable-televisionindustry.HavingunsuccessfullyapproachedTimeWarnerCabletwicelastyear,CharterCommunications,arivalAmericancableoperator,hasgonepublicwithanewproposal.這并不是在電纜電視行業(yè)。美國有線電視運營商的競爭對手Charter通訊，兩次試圖接近時代華納有線公司都未能成功，現(xiàn)在又有一個新的提案差不多上市。OnJanuary14thCharterannouncedabidvaluingTWCat61billionincludingdebt,offering132.50asharecomparedwiththe95orsotheywerefetchingearlylastJune,whenrumoursofitsapproachemerged.1月14日charter宣布為時代華納有限公司估價610億，提供一個份額132.50美元相比于原來的95美元高出許多。早在去年六月這些做法就流傳出來了。Charter'sboss,TomRutledge,wroteapubliclettertoRobertMarcus,thebossofTWC,beseechinghimtoconsidertheoffer,andheldaconferencecalltoseekshareholders'backingforthebid.Charter的老總湯姆?拉特里奇寫了一封公開信給TWC的老總羅伯特馬庫斯，求他考慮該提案，并進行了電話會議，以尋求股東的支持。TWC'sexecutivesareplayinghardtoget:theywantahigherprice,andvownottoletCharterstealthecompany.TWC的高管們欲擒故縱，他們希望得到更高的價格，并宣誓決不讓charter公司竊取。Forthosewhohavebeenfollowingthiscabledrama,ithasbeenaquestionofwhen,notif,theindustrywouldconsolidate.關(guān)于那些一直在遵循這種電纜劇的人來講，一直有個有關(guān)行業(yè)鞏固的時刻問題，而不是是否的問題。TWCisAmerica'ssecond-largestcableoperatorbysubscribers,afterComcast,andCharteristhefourth-largest.TWC是繼康卡斯特后的美國第二大有線電視運營商，而charter排名第四位。JohnMalone,oneoftheindustry'spioneers,whosecompany,LibertyMedia,isCharter'sbiggestshareholder,isamongmanyinthebusinesscallingformergers.行業(yè)的先驅(qū)之一—約翰馬龍，他的公司自有媒體是行業(yè)最大的股東，也是眾多的業(yè)務(wù)中要求兼并的公司之一。Thiswouldhelpcablefirmsfendoffcompetitionfromsatelliteoperators,phonecompaniesandstreamingserviceslikeNetflix,whicharepoachingtheircustomersforinternetserviceandforfilmsandTVshows.這將關(guān)心有線電視公司抵御來自衛(wèi)星運營商，電話公司和如Netflix的流媒體服務(wù)等互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)對他們客戶的偷獵和對電視電影節(jié)目的競爭。Besideslettingthemcutcosts—CharterreckonsamergerwithTWCcouldsaveatleast500mayear—scalewouldalsogivecableoperatorsmorecloutwhennegotiatingwithcontentprovidersovertheratestheyhavetopaytocarrytheirchannels.除了讓他們削減成本，charter打算與TWC合并每年能夠節(jié)約至少5億，而且在于提供商洽談必須支付的渠道費率時也使有線運營商更有底氣。LastyearTWCgotintoafightwithCBSoveritsfees,whichledtoablackoutofCBSchannelsforamonthuntilthetworeachedagreement.去年TWC與CBS戰(zhàn)斗而花費了過多的費用，這導(dǎo)致CBS頻道停擺了一個多月，直到兩方協(xié)議達成。TWClostmorethan300,000customersduringthethirdquarter,manyofthemasaresultofthisspat.TWC在第三季度失去了超過30萬客戶，其中不乏是因為這種爭吵而出現(xiàn)的結(jié)果。Withitslatestproposaljudgedstillinadequate,Charterwillhavetodecidewhethertooffermore.其最新的提案也有不足之處，charter將不得不決定是否要提供更多。Othercablefirms,suchasComcast,mayenterthefray,offeringtobuyallorpartofTWC.其他的有線電視公司，如comcast公司，可能會加入戰(zhàn)斗，提供購買TWC所需的全部或部分資金。Pay-televisionisnotagrowthbusinessforcableoperators,sotheymustbecomemorecreativetoincreasesales.付費電視并不是有線電視運營商增長業(yè)務(wù)的方式，因此他們想要增加銷售必須變得更有創(chuàng)意。Oneareaofexperimentationistoofferbroadbandalongwithalighttelevisionpackage,asseveralcableprovidersaredoingincertainmarkets,toappealtowallet-wiseyoungsters.實驗的一個方面是提供寬帶伴隨著光的電視包裝，幾個有線運營商正在做某些市場，以吸引鈔票包鼓鼓的青青年。Othersaresellingmeteredbroadband,withthecosttiedtousage.其他正在銷售的計量寬帶，花費和使用成本緊緊相連。Cablefirmsandotherinternetprovidersmaysoonbefreetotryevenmoreradicalexperimentswithpricing.有線電視公司和其他互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)供應(yīng)商們可能專門快能夠嘗試更為激進的實驗與定價。OnJanuary14thanappealscourtstruckdownfederalrulesthatrequiredthemtotreatallinternettrafficequally—apolicycallednetneutrality.1月14日上訴法院推翻了一個名為網(wǎng)絡(luò)中立的聯(lián)邦規(guī)則，那個政策要求他們對待所有互聯(lián)網(wǎng)流量相等。Ifthecourt'srulingprevails,thiswouldletcablefirmsandotherinternetprovidersstartdemandingpaymentfrombandwidth-hungrysuppliersofvideo,suchasNetflix,forspeedydeliverytoviewers.假如以法院的判決為準，這將讓有線電視公司和其他互聯(lián)網(wǎng)服務(wù)供應(yīng)商開始要求高寬帶視頻用戶，如Netflix快速傳達給觀眾。Besidesgivingcablefirmsajuicynewsourceofincome,thiscouldcurbtheexpansionofanincreasinglypowerfulgroupofcompetitorsforprovidingpackagesofvideocontent.除了給電纜公司提供收入的新來源，這可能遏制日益強大的集團競爭對手擴張?zhí)峁┮曨l內(nèi)容。Thecablefirmscouldalsofavourvideositesinwhichtheyhadaninterest:forexample,Comcastpart-ownsHulu,arivaltoNetflix.電纜公司也可能對視頻網(wǎng)站感興趣，例如，Netflix的競爭對手hulu—他們有用comcast的部分股權(quán)。Asanyfanknows,cable-TVdramastendtobelong-runningandfullofplottwists.由于任何人都明白，電纜電視劇往往是長時刻運行而又情節(jié)曲折，Thisonewillprobablybenodifferent.Staytuned.這其中可能會沒什么不同。敬請關(guān)注。Scienceandtechnology科學技術(shù)Dinosaurbehaviour恐龍行為Headbangers瘋狂撞頭的家伙Evidenceofduellingdinosaurs戰(zhàn)斗性恐龍的證據(jù)WORKINGouthowanextinctanimalbehavedwhenitwasaliveistricky.關(guān)于滅絕的生物來講，要研究出它們存活時的行為是專門棘手，Butitisnotalwaysimpossible,只是也不是完全不可能。2_副本.jpgasJosephPetersonandCollinDischleroftheUniversityofWisconsinexplainedonOctober17thtotheSocietyofVertebratePalaeontologymeetingheldinRaleigh,NorthCarolina.10月17日，在北卡羅萊納州羅利市進行的古脊椎動物學會議上，美國威斯康星大學的約瑟夫·彼得森和柯林·狄斯勒就對腫頭龍的習性做出了一些解釋。Pachycephalosaurslived65myearsago.腫頭龍生活在6500萬年前。Astheirnamesuggests,theyhadlarge,bony,domedheads.正如其名稱所講，它們有巨大的、高隆的頭骨。Foryears,itwasassumedtheyusedthesetobashoneanotherinthewaythatramsdonow.多年來，人們一直認為腫頭龍用頭攻擊同類，就像現(xiàn)在的公羊一樣。Recently,though,asecondsuggestionhassurfaced—thatratherthanforfighting,thedomeswereforshow;thedinosaurequivalentofapeacock'stail.只是最近有人提出另外一個假設(shè)：它們的大腦袋不是為了戰(zhàn)斗，而是出于展示的目的—作用相當于孔雀的尾巴。DrPetersonandDrDischlerputthesetwotheoriesintoahead-to-headcompetition.彼得森和狄斯勒博士讓這兩種理論來了個頭對頭的正面對抗。Todoso,theystudied102pachycephalosaurskulls,ofvariousspecies.為此，他們研究了102只不同品種腫頭龍的頭骨。Theyfoundthat23oftheseskullshadpitsinthem,andthatthesepitsweresimilarbothtoeachotherandtothosefoundintheskullsoflivinganimalsthatbasheachotherwiththeirheads.他們發(fā)覺其中23只頭骨上有凹坑。這些凹坑彼此類似。而且現(xiàn)存的用頭部撞擊同類的動物中，頭骨上的凹坑也與之類似。Thatsupportedthehead-buttingtheory.Theclincher,though,camewhentheycreatedcomputerisedmodelsofpachycephalosaurskullsandmappedthedamagefromeachoftheirpittedspecimensontothesevirtualskulls.這支持了頭部沖撞理論。只是決定性的證據(jù)來自于他們用計算機模擬的腫頭龍頭骨。他們將每個有坑樣本的損傷部位標注在虛擬的頭骨上。Whentheydidthis,theyfoundthatthepitswereclustered—exactlyasmightbeexpectediftheyweretheresultofanimalsdeliberatelyaimingateachother.如此操作后，他們發(fā)覺凹坑聚攏分布，正如人們假設(shè)的那樣：是腫頭龍有意用頭部攻擊彼此的結(jié)果。Intriguingly,theyfoundtwopatternsofclustering.有意思的是，他們發(fā)覺凹坑有兩種聚攏圖案。Thosepachycephalosaurswithhighlydomedheadshadpitsonboththefrontsandthebacksoftheirskulls.那些不太隆起的頭骨僅在前方有凹坑，而特不高隆的則前后都有。Thosewhosedomeswerelowerhadthemonlyonthefronts.這證明了兩種腫頭龍攻擊時的不同。Thissuggeststhetwosortsofanimalfoughtindifferentways.Low-domes,itseems,simplychargedateachother.High-domesdidthattoo.相對低隆的一種大概僅向?qū)Ψ接^沖撞。Buttheyalsoengagedinhead-to-headwrestlingofasortthatallowedthemtogetbehindtheiropponents'skullsanddodamagefromtherear,inthewaythatmodernbisondo.特不高隆的腫頭龍除此之外還會采取頭對頭式摔跤法：能夠碰到對方頭骨的背部，從后面對彼此造成損傷，好比現(xiàn)在的野牛。Noneofwhichprovesthatpachycephalosaursdidnotstruttheirstuffwiththeirdomesaswell,justasastagwilloftenshowoffitsantlersbeforeengagingincombat,inordertogivealesswell-endowedrivaltheopportunitytowithdraw.然而，兩種圖案都沒有否定腫頭龍自豪地邁步時也在炫耀他們的大腦袋。成年雄鹿就經(jīng)常在戰(zhàn)斗之前展示它的鹿角，為了使天生劣勢的對手借機撤退。Butitdoesdemonstratethatthedomeswereseriousweapons,notmerefripperiesoffashion.只是這確實證明了高隆的頭骨是專門厲害的武器，而不僅僅是時髦的矯飾品。Scienceandtechnology科學技術(shù)3Dprinting三維壓制Athird-worlddimension第三世界的進展空間Anewmanufacturingtechniquecouldhelppoorcountriesaswellasrichones一項新的制造技術(shù)能夠?qū)ω毨矣兴P(guān)心，就像對那些富有國家的關(guān)心一樣。EVERYsummer,SeattleholdsaraftraceinGreen每年夏天，西雅圖都會在綠湖進行一場木筏競賽，參加競賽的木筏必須渡過那個湖，那個地點的公園因其湖水而聞名。EntriesfortheMilkCartonDerbyhavetobemadefromoldplasticmilkbottles.參加這場同城牛奶盒競賽的木筏必須是由舊的塑料牛奶盒制成。2_副本.jpgTheresultisawonderfullyHeath-Robinsoncollectionofimprovisedcraft.結(jié)果，你就會看到一場奇異的希思-魯賓遜簡易工藝展。Butthisyearonestoodout:theentryfromtheUniversityof然而今年，有一個參賽的木筏特不引人注目：那個木筏是華盛頓大學工程系做的，看起來確實像一只船。Thestudentswhobuiltit,MatthewRogge,BethanyWeeksandBrandonBowman,hadshreddedandmeltedtheirbottles,andthenuseda3Dprintertoprintthemselvesaplasticvessel.制造那個木筏的學生—馬修羅格、伯斯尼威克斯和布蘭登伯曼，把他們收集的塑料盒切碎后再熔化，再使用一種三維壓印技術(shù)壓印成一種塑料容器。NodoubttheMilk-Carton-Derbyruleswillbetightenednextyear—thoughintheend,theteamcameonlysecond.毫無疑問的是，同城牛奶盒競賽的規(guī)則明年會更加嚴格—盡管最后，那個隊只贏得了第二名。Buttheydidcomefirstinacompetitionthatmatteredmore.然而，他們在競賽中首次出現(xiàn)的意義卻更重大。OnOctober19ththeywon$100,000inthe3D4DChallenge,organisedbyacharitycalledtechfortrade.在10月19日，他們在由一個稱為技術(shù)為了貿(mào)易更美好的慈善組織組織的三維-四維挑戰(zhàn)賽中贏得了十萬美元的獎金。3Dprintingisalltherageatthemoment.三維壓印目前正是風靡一時。Severalvarietiesofthetechniqueexist,usingawiderangeofmaterialsastheink.利用幾種不同的現(xiàn)有技術(shù)，再加上大范圍的原料—稱之為墨水就能夠操作了。Oneofthemostpopularmethods,though—andtheoneusedbytheteam—worksbyextrudingafilamentofmoltenplastic.盡管，最流利的一種方式—確實是那個參加競賽的隊伍使用的，只是擠壓成一條熔化后的塑料細絲。Inthecaseoftheteam'sprinter,thisplasticwashigh-densitypolyethylenefrommilkbottles.就那個參賽隊伍的印刷技術(shù)來講，這種塑料是由牛奶盒提煉出的高密度聚乙烯。Theprintheadmakesrepeatedpassesoverthethingbeingprinted,leavingaplastictrailasitdoesso.打印頭重復(fù)地打壓著半成品，當它重復(fù)如此的過程后，只留下一條塑料絲。Itthusbuildsupathree-dimensionalstructure.最后，就生產(chǎn)出了一個三維產(chǎn)品。3Dprintingisnowtakenseriouslybymanufacturersasanalternativetocutting,bending,pressingandmouldingthings.制造商們正在認真考慮三維壓印技術(shù)，想用它來替代切割、彎曲和壓制成型機器。Itisalsoapopularhobbyamongthoseofageekydisposition.而且，它在那些古怪的配制中也算比較受歡迎了。Whatithasnotbeenusedforsofaristohelppeopleinpoorcountriesimprovetheireverydaylives.只是，到目前為止它還沒被應(yīng)用于貧困國家，關(guān)心那兒的人們改善他們的生活。MrRogge,MsWeeksandMrBowmanintendtoemploytheirprizemoneytodopreciselythat.羅格先生，威克斯女士和伯曼先生打算用他們的獎金去實現(xiàn)那個目標。Theyplantoformafirmthatwill,inpartnershipwithacharitycalledWaterforHumans,custom-buildcompostingtoiletsandrainwatercollectors.他們打算與一家稱為為人類提供生活之水的慈善組織合作，創(chuàng)建一家專門生產(chǎn)自動堆肥廁所和雨水收集容器的公司。Thepartnershipwilllookforsuitablelocalentrepreneursinpoorcountriesandwilltrainthemhowtobuild,useandmaintaintheprinters.他們的合伙人將會在那些貧困國家中查找當?shù)睾线m的企業(yè)家，同時會訓(xùn)練他們?nèi)绾螛咏M裝、使用和保養(yǎng)壓印機器。Oncethetechnologyisestablishedfortoiletsandwatercollectors,otherproductswillbeintroduced.一旦這種技術(shù)應(yīng)用于廁所和集水箱，那么將會產(chǎn)生一系列的其它附屬產(chǎn)品。Thelocalpartnerswillknowwhatproductsareneededandhowmuchpeoplearepreparedtopayforthem—andthereforewhatisworthmaking.當?shù)氐暮献髡唏私猓莻€地點需要什么樣的產(chǎn)品，那個地點的人們情愿花多少鈔票來購買—因此這是值得試試的。Theoperationwillthusrunonacommercialbasis.這種運作將會基于一種商業(yè)操作模式。Butthesoftwarethatcontrolstheprinterswillbeopen-sourceandavailabletoall,aswillmanyofthedesignsforthingstheprinterscanmake.然而，操縱壓印機器的軟件將會成為公共資源，所有人都能夠使用，就像當時設(shè)計這種壓印機器時的設(shè)想一樣。Thatway,thetechnologycanspread.如此的話，這種技術(shù)將能專門快傳播開來。AtrialwillbeginsooninOaxaca,墨西哥的瓦哈卡將會專門快進行這種試驗。Thecrucialpointabouttheteam'sprinteristhatitcombinessizeandcheapness.威克斯小組的壓印機最關(guān)鍵的一點是，它的大小正合適而且價格專門廉價。Printersusedbyhobbyistsarenotexpensive,buttheyaresmall.供業(yè)余愛好者使用的壓印機并不貴，而且專門小巧。Manywouldfindithardtomakeanythinglargerthanacoffeecup.許多人發(fā)覺那個機器做出的東西都沒一個咖啡杯大。Thoseusedbyengineeringcompaniescostseriousmoney—andeventheymightbalkatprintinganobjectthesizeoftheMilkCartonDerbyboat.那些工程公司使用的壓印機成本專門高—甚至他們也無法壓制出像同城牛奶盒競賽中那樣大的木筏。Theteam'sprinterisbuiltaroundasecond-handcomputer-controlledplasmacutter.那個參賽隊伍的壓印機是由一臺二手電腦操縱的空氣等離子切割機做出來的。Thisdirectsthemovementofanextruderthatmeltsflakesofplasticintoathinstreamwhichcanbesquirtedoutasrequired.電腦操縱著擠壓機里的一切運作—即先熔化塑料，再擠壓成細細的液體狀，當需要時就能夠噴射出來進行壓制。Itisabletocreatethingswithdimensionsofupto2.5metresby1.2metresby1metre.這種機器能夠生產(chǎn)出長2.5米，寬1.2米，高1米的物品。Appropriately,manyofitspartswerethemselvesmanufacturedonadesktop3Dprinter.產(chǎn)品的許多部分依舊來自于原材料，只是通過了一臺臺式三維壓印機的處理而已。Theinkischeap,too.High-densitypolyethyleneisascommonasmuck—literally,foralotofitendsuponrefusetips.墨水也專門廉價。高密度聚乙烯專門常見，就像隨處可見的泥土一樣—確實是那個意思，因為垃圾堆中有大量這種材料。Chopitup,though,anditisgristtothemill.然而，一定要記得剁碎它，這對壓印機專門重要。MrRoggeestimatesthatifheandhiscolleagueshadprintedtheirboatfromcommercialplasticfilamentitwouldhavecostthem$800.羅格先生可能，假如他和他的同事利用商業(yè)塑料絲來制作這條船的話，那么成本會高達800美元。Instead,250clean,emptymilkbottlessetthembackjust$3.20.相反，他們用250個潔凈的，空牛奶盒只花了3.2美元。Sometechnicalquestionsremain.只是，還有一些技術(shù)問題。High-densitypolyethyleneshrinkswhenitcools.高密度聚乙烯遇冷會收縮。Thatstressestheobjectbeingprintedandcansometimestearitapart.那個不足也反應(yīng)到了壓制出來的產(chǎn)品上，產(chǎn)品有時都能完全扯開。Thestudentsarethereforeworkingonasecondprototypethatprintsthingsfaster,allowingthelayersofplastictocoolalmostsimultaneously.因此，這些學生們正在努力制作第二個樣品，以提高壓制速度，而且確保讓塑料層幾乎能同時冷卻下來。Theyarealsoexperimentingwithmakingthingsfromothertypesofwasteplasticthatsufferlessfromshrinkage.他們也在試驗用其它類型的廢塑料制作產(chǎn)品，以減少收縮性。Anduntilaproductionversionoftheprinterisreadyandpriced,itremainstobeseenhowcompetitiveitsoutputreallywillbewithmass-produceditems.在壓印機生產(chǎn)出來的成品差不多完全沒有問題，而且定出合理的價格往常，這種產(chǎn)品與大批量生產(chǎn)的成品的競爭力誰高誰低還有待觀看。MrRoggedoubts,forexample,thata3D-printedbucket—evenonemadefrommilkbottles—willeverbecheaperthanonemadeinafactory.羅格先生還不確定，比如講，一個三維技術(shù)壓制出來的水桶—即使原材料是牛奶盒—的價格會低于工廠生產(chǎn)出來的水桶價格。Boats,though,couldbeahit.盡管，木筏可能會是個創(chuàng)舉。Oneofthejudgesatthe3D4DChallengenotedthatmanysmallvesselsinWestAfricaaremadefromtrees,suchasteak,thatarebecomingscarce.在三維-四維挑戰(zhàn)賽中的一位評委講，在西非，許多小容器確實是由樹木，比如柚木制成的，而這種木材也越來越少了。Makingthemfromwasteplasticinsteadwouldbeanenvironmentaltwofer:rarespecieswouldbeconservedandlessrubbishthrownaway.假如用廢塑料制作這些容器將會對環(huán)境是一舉兩得：珍稀物種得到了愛護，而且還減少了垃圾Science

and

technology科學技術(shù)The

genetics

of

politics政治遺傳學Body

politic人體政治Slowly,

and

in

some

quarters

grudgingly,

the

influence

of

genes

in

shaping

political

outlookand

behaviour

is

being

recognized在某些方面，塑造政治前景和行為的基因阻礙正在慢慢地被人們所同意，盡管依舊不情愿。IN

1882

W.S.

Gilbert

wrote,

to

a

tune

by

Sir

Arthur

Sullivan,

a

ditty

that

went

I

often

think

it'scomical

how

Nature

always

does

contrive/that

every

boy

and

every

gal

that's

born

into

theworld

alive/is

either

a

little

Liberal

or

else

a

little

Conservative.在1882年，W.S吉爾伯特寫的一首小詩-是為阿瑟-沙利文爵士的一首曲子而作，我一直認為，大自然的精工雕作是那么可笑/每個出生到那個世界上，并存活下來的男孩和女孩們/不是有一點自由傾向，確實是有一點保守。In

the

19th

century,

that

view,

though

humorously

intended,

would

not

have

been

out

of

placeamong

respectable

thinkers.在十九世紀，那個觀點盡管有一點幽默的意味，然而在那些備受尊敬的思想家眼中，也并不是一無是處。The

detail

of

a

man's

opinion

might

be

changed

by

circumstances.一個人意見的詳細觀點可能會由于環(huán)境而改變。But

the

idea

that

much

of

his

character

was

ingrained

at

birth

held

no

terrors.然而，這種與生俱來的，由他的性格決定的觀念也沒什么恐懼的。It

is

not,

however,

a

view

that

cut

much

ice

in

20th-century

social-scientific

thinking,

particularlyafter

the

second

world

war.然而，它在二十世紀的社會科學思想中沒有占到一席之地，特不是二戰(zhàn)之后。Those

who

allowed

that

it

might

have

some

value

were

generally

shouted

down

and

sometimesabused,

along

with

all

others

vehemently

suspected

of

the

heresy

of

believing

that

geneticdifferences

between

individuals

could

have

a

role

in

shaping

their

behavioural

differences.那些認為它有一些價值的人們發(fā)出的吶喊，通常會被持不同觀點人們的聲音所掩蓋，有時還會遭到辱罵，和那些對當時的異端邪講----即個體之間的遺傳差異在塑造他們各自不同的行為上起了一定的作用----有些推測的人們一樣受到不公平對待。Such

thinking,

a

product

compounded

of

Marxism

and

a

principled

rejection

of

the

eugenicsthat

had

led,

via

America's

sterilisation

programmes

for

the

feeble

minded,

to

the

Naziextermination

camps,

made

life

hard

for

those

who

wished

to

ask

whether

genes

really

doaffect

behaviour.如此的方法，與馬克思主義融合后的產(chǎn)物，加上美國借口弱智而產(chǎn)生的絕育打算，這種優(yōu)生學的原則性排斥反應(yīng)直接導(dǎo)致了納粹集中營的大屠殺，讓那些想明白基因是不是對行為確實有阻礙的人們更加難以生存了。Now,

however,

the

pendulum

is

swinging

back.然而，現(xiàn)在，那個一直在變化的問題又擺到了人們面前。In

the

matter

of

both

political

outlook

and

political

participation

it

is

coming

to

be

seen

thatgenes

matter

quite

a

lot.就政治觀點和政治參與而言，立即能夠看出，基因確實起到了專門大的作用。They

are

not

the

be-all

and

end-all.他們并不是最重要的。But,

as

a

review

of

the

field

published

in

September

in

Trends

in

Genetics,

by

Peter

Hatemi

ofPennsylvania

State

University

and

Rose

McDermott

of

Brown

University,

shows,

they

affect

aperson's

views

of

the

world

almost

as

much

as

his

circumstances

do,

and

far

more

than

manysocial

scientists

have

been

willing,

until

recently,

to

admit.然而，由美國賓夕法尼亞州立大學的彼德-哈特米和布朗大學的羅斯麥克德莫特合著的遺傳學的進展趨勢于今年九月出版，書中所持的遺傳學觀點認為，基因?qū)θ藗兪澜缬^的阻礙幾乎等同于環(huán)境的阻礙，而且，遠遠超過了許多社會科學家情愿承認的阻礙，直到最近他們才情愿同意那個結(jié)果。Family

values家庭價值The

evidence

for

this

claim

comes

from

two

types

of

source,

one

relatively

old

and

onespanking

new.這種講法的證據(jù)有兩種來源，一種比較古老，一種特不新穎。The

old

is

studies

of

twins,

comparing

identical

and

non-identical

pairs.古老的來自于對雙胞胎的研究，以同卵雙胞胎與異卵雙胞胎進行對比研究。The

new

is

a

direct

examination

of

people's

DNA,

searching

for

genes

whose

variationcorrelates

with

observable

behavioural

differences.新穎的是對人類的DNA直接進行檢查研究，探求基因變異與觀看到的行為變異的關(guān)系。Twins

studies,

which

seek

to

control

for

the

effects

of

upbringing

by

comparing

identical

twinswith

fraternal

ones,

have

been

going

on

since

the

1950s.雙胞胎研究從二十世紀五十年代就開始了，要緊是通過對同卵雙胞胎和異卵雙胞胎進行比較，尋求操縱成長的阻礙基因。In

that

time,

quite

a

number,

in

many

countries,

have

looked

in

part

at

political

questions.那時候，專門多國家的大多數(shù)人，他們的注意力要緊集中在政治問題上。Dr

Hatemi

and

Dr

McDermott

pored

over

89

peer-reviewed

papers

on

the

effects

of

genes

andenvironment

on

political

matters.哈特米博士和麥克德莫特博士認真鉆研了，89名同行關(guān)于基因和環(huán)境對政治問題阻礙的評論文章。These

included

twins'

political

knowledge,

their

attitudes

to

racial,

sexual

and

religiousquestions,

their

views

on

defence

and

foreign

policy,

and

their

identification

with

particularpolitical

parties.這些評論報道包括了雙生子的政治知識，他們在種族，性不和宗教問題上的態(tài)度，他們對國防和外交政策的看法，還有他們對特不黨派的認同感。On

all

counts,

identical

twins

were

found

to

be

more

alike

than

fraternal

twins.通過這些項目的研究，發(fā)覺同卵雙胞胎比異卵雙胞胎更相像。That

knowledge,

refracted

through

the

prism

of

statistical

theory,

allows

calculations

of

theproportionate

influences

of

genes,

family

environment

and

general

environment

onparticular

traits

to

be

made.通過統(tǒng)計理論分析得到的結(jié)果，能夠推算出基因、家庭環(huán)境和外部環(huán)境對特不性狀的相應(yīng)比例的阻礙。Some

show

strong

genetic

influence.其中，一些結(jié)果表明受到了專門強的基因阻礙，Some

show

little.而有一些幾乎不受基因阻礙。Intriguingly,

political

knowledge

and

party

identification

are

at

opposite

ends

of

the

spectrum.有味的是，政治知識和黨派認同分不處于研究結(jié)果的兩端。As

the

chart

shows

knowledge

is

highly

genetically

determined.

Identification

with

aparticular

political

party,

by

contrast,

is

largely

a

question

of

family

upbringing—much

more

sothan

are

opinions

about

the

sorts

of

policy

that

it

might

be

thought

would

determine

votingpatterns.就像上表揭示的，政治知識受到基因的阻礙最大。相反，對特不政治黨派的認同要緊是家庭教育的問題，而關(guān)于各種政策的意見，家庭教育對那個的阻礙遠遠不如對前者的阻礙。But

even

family

ties

weaken

when

people

leave

home—and

they

do

so

in

a

way

that

helpsdisentangle

genetic

influence.然而當人們離開家，家庭聯(lián)系甚至日益減弱時，如此在某種程度上就把研究的方向聚攏到了基因的阻礙上。Dr

Hatemi

showed

this

in

2009

when,

along

with

a

group

of

colleagues,

he

looked

at

twins

agedbetween

11

and

75.哈特米博士在2009年-當時他與他的同仁們一起工作，對11歲到75歲的雙生子進行了研究-公布了那個研究結(jié)果。His

results

demonstrated

that

until

their

late

teens

both

kinds

of

twins

had

equally

similarpolitical

views.他的研究結(jié)果講明了，直到這些雙生子十幾歲時，他們的政治看法都專門相似。Soon

after

they

flew

the

nest,

though,

as

might

be

expected,

their

views

began

to

diverge.然而，可能就像預(yù)測的一樣，在他們離巢后不久，這些雙生子之間的看法就開始有分歧。And,

just

as

would

be

expected

if

genes

have

political

influence,

the

views

of

fraternal

twinsdiverged

more

than

did

those

of

identical

ones.而且，就像可能的，假如基因有政治阻礙力的話，那么異卵雙胞胎的意見分歧將會比那些同卵雙胞胎更加嚴峻。Between

the

ages

of

18

and

20

identical

and

fraternal

twins

both

shared

nearly

70%

of

theirpolitical

ideology.18到20歲的同卵和異卵雙胞胎的政治思想近70%都相同。Between

the

ages

of

21

and

25,

that

had

shrunk

to

60%

for

identical

twins

and

40%

forfraternal

twins.

Clearly,

then,

genes

matter.21到25歲，同卵雙胞胎的那個數(shù)值減小到了60%，而異卵雙胞胎只有40%。那專門明顯，基因阻礙。Nor

do

they

merely

affect

a

person's

opinions.基因不僅僅阻礙一個人的意見。They

also

affect

his

level

of

political

engagement.它們也阻礙人的政治參與水平。This

was

shown

in

a

study

published

in

2008

by

James

Fowler

of

the

University

of

California,San

2008年公布的一項研究-研究者是位于圣地亞哥的美國加州大學的詹姆斯福勒揭示了這點。Dr

Fowler

and

his

team

analysed

the

voter-registration

records

of

identical

and

fraternal

twinsfrom

Los

Angeles,

and

also

from

a

more

nationally

representative

福勒博士和他的團隊分析了洛杉磯市的同卵和異卵雙胞胎的選民登記記錄，也對更多有代表性的國家數(shù)據(jù)庫的數(shù)據(jù)進行了分析。They

found

that

identical

twins

are

53%

more

likely

either

both

to

register

or

both

not

toregister

than

are

fraternal

twins.他們發(fā)覺，在登記或者不登記這點上，53%的同卵雙胞胎的選擇可能相同，遠遠高于異卵雙胞胎。Political

signals政治信號Twins

studies

like

these

unequivocally

demonstrate

the

heritability

of

politically

relatedbehaviour.像如此的雙胞胎研究明確地證實了有關(guān)政治行為的遺傳性。What

they

do

not

do,

though,

is

explain

the

underlying

biology.盡管他們不如此做解釋了差不多生物學原理。That

is

an

area

which

is

only

now

starting

to

be

explored.這是一個現(xiàn)在剛剛開始進行探究的領(lǐng)域。In

2010

a

study

published

by

Dr

Fowler

and

his

colleagues

implicated

a

gene

known

asDRD4

inthe

development

of

political

affiliation.2010年，福勒博士和他的同事公布的一項研究暗示，被稱為多巴胺D4受體基因是政治立場進展過程的關(guān)鍵因素。DRD4

encodes

a

receptor

molecule

for

a

neurotransmitter

called