英语流利说20190312 | 在科技跑道上，美国大学或失去关键优势

In tech race with China, U.S. universities may lose a vital edge 

edge, n.优势

The U.S. is still out in front of global rivals when it comes to innovation, but American universities -- where new ideas often percolate -- have reason to look over their shoulder.

out in front, 遥遥领先 

percolate, v.扩散，流传；渗透

look over one's shoulder, 焦虑不安

That's especially true for technologies like 5G phone networks and artificial intelligence. They're exactly the fields where President Donald Trump recently insisted the U.S. has to lead -- and also the ones where Asia, especially China, has caught up. 

Universities from China get more patens than their U.S. peers in wireless communications, according to research firm GreyB Services. In AI, 17 of the top 20 universities and public research organizations are in China, with the Chinese Academy of Sciences topping the list, says the World Intellectual Property Organization in Geneva.

paten, n.专利 

There's a special place for universities in the ecosystem of research. Universities groom future scientists and can be incubators for pie-in-the-sky ideas -- some of which turn out to be game-changers. The list ranges from Google's search engine to DNA technology that's behind a whole industry of gene-manipulating treatments.

groom, v.使某人做好准备，训练 

incubator, n.孵化器；鼓励或培养新想法产生的地方 

pie-in-the-sky, adj.希望渺茫的；难以实现的

game-changer, n.游戏规则；打破格局者

However, goverment grants to universities have been stagnant for more than a decade, meaning they've declined in real terms and as a share of the economy.

stagnent, a.停滞不前的，无变化的

in real terms, 按实质计算，考虑通货膨胀影响计算 

"If you look at the federal dollars, they've not really changed substantially,"  says Stephen Susalka, head of AUTM, a technology transfer association whose members include 800 universities. "Other countries are catching up. We can't sit on our laurels."

sit on one's laurels, 满足于既得成就，不思进取