▍课程导读
沃尔玛公司是一家美国的跨国零售企业，1962年由山姆·沃尔顿创立，总部位于美国阿肯色州的本顿维尔。沃尔玛主要涉足零售业，是世界上雇员最多的企业，且连续多年在美国《财富》杂志世界500强企业中位居首位。近年来线上市场竞争激烈，为了抢占市场份额，沃尔玛不断尝试线上业务与行业巨头亚马逊竞争，比如其针对 Prime (亚马逊的会员服务) 推出了无需会员费就能享受两日送达的服务。2016年，沃尔玛收购了在线零售商 Jet.com 以加强其电商业务。此外，该公司正准备入股印度最大电商 Flipkart，目前正在接洽。虽然动作不断，但其最新的财务报表却不太好看。财报显示，线上销售增长大幅下降，净收入同比下跌42.1%。公司解释称，因与亚马逊争夺日杂和服饰业务的市场份额，毛利受大量降价促销活动拖累，电商存在库存补货方面的运营困难，损害了销售增长。
本篇课程首发于2018年2月23日
▍原文
Going online: Walmart
① Most incumbents【n. 任职者；在职者】 shrink in fear蜷缩在恐惧里 when Amazon rolls onto their turf【n. 领地】.
② Not so Walmart.
③ In 2016 the retailing giant acquired v.收购 Jet.com, an American e-commerce firm, to fend off 抵御远去 the challenger.
④ In the third quarter of last year the firm's internet sales rose by half (but still account for only 3% of total revenue).
⑤ Walmart's earnings, released today, will reveal whether that online growth spurt 【（经济）急剧增长；生长突增】has continued.
⑥ Corporate-tax cuts in America are likely to have left it【范指cuts】 with spare【adj. 闲置的】 cash, so bosses might also hint at the scope of technology investments.
⑦ They are already reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Flipkart, an Indian e-commerce firm.
⑧ There are other demands on Walmart, too—namely keeping the workers happy as the labour market tightens.
⑨ Last month the company announced bonuses and wage【小时工资】 increases amounting to 达到 $700m.
⑩ But prices also need to stay low, to keep customers loyal.
⑪ A tricky 【adj. 复杂的；难处理的】juggling act【抛球杂耍；同时做几件事又难以做好的局面】 lies ahead.
▍生词好句
incumbent /ɪnˈkʌmb(ə)nt/: n. 任职者；在职者
turf /təːf/: n. 领地
growth spurt:（经济）急剧增长；生长突增
spurt /spəːt/: n. 喷射；急剧上升
corporate /ˈkɔːp(ə)rət/: n. 企业
spare /spɛː/: adj. 闲置的
stake /steɪk/: n. 股本
bonus /ˈbəʊnəs/: n. 分红；奖金
tricky /ˈtrɪki/: adj. 复杂的；难处理的
juggling act: 抛球杂耍；同时做几件事又难以做好的局面
juggle /ˈdʒʌɡ(ə)l/: v. 抛球杂耍
