跟《经济学人》学英文：2024年08月03日这期 India’s electric-scooter champion goes public

India’s electric-scooter champion goes public

It promises to be a wild ride for investors

electric-scooter：电瓶车，电动车

wide ride: 充满波折的过程

• 解释：指经历一个充满波折、刺激或不可预测的过程。通常用来形容冒险或经历的起伏不定。
• 例子：Investing in startups can be a wild ride, with high risks and potentially high rewards. (投资初创公司可能是一次充满波折的旅程，既有高风险也可能有高回报。)

原文：

Two-wheeled vehicles are an integral part of life in India. They whizz over

the country’s broken, clogged roads, carrying families and loads that would

fill a small lorry. India manufactures about 20m of them each year, making it

one of the world’s leading producers. It is fitting, then, that the country’s

largest initial public offering (IPO) so far this year is for an electric-scooter

company. On August 2nd Ola Electric plans to sell around $730m of shares

at a price that will value the firm at roughly $4bn.

两轮车是印度生活中不可或缺的一部分。他们载着家人和可以装满一辆小卡车的货物，在这个国家破损、堵塞的道路上呼啸而过。印度每年生产约2000万台，是世界领先的生产商之一。因此，今年迄今为止印度最大的首次公开发行(IPO)是电动滑板车公司，这再合适不过了。8月2日，Ola Electric计划以大约40亿美元的价格出售约7 . 3亿美元的股票。

学习：

whizz：飕飕地移动；迅速移动；使飞驰；飞速行驶

clogged：美 [klɑgd] 堵住的；阻塞的

lorry：美 [ˈlɔːri] 卡车；货车；运货车辆

原文：

Ola Electric has been on a fast but bumpy ride since it began churning out

battery-powered scooters in 2021. Mechanical troubles early on led to fires

and breakdowns. The company has now resolved those manufacturing

problems, and is the leading maker of the vehicles in India. Yet it lost $190m

in its most recent fiscal year, 8% more (in rupees) than its loss in the

previous year. It sold 330,000 scooters at an average price of $1,800—and

an average loss of $573. Although that is an improvement, of sorts, on the

156,000 scooters sold at an average loss in excess of $1,100 in the previous

year, profits appear to be some distance away.

自2021年开始生产电池驱动的电瓶车以来，Ola Electric一直在快速但颠簸地前进。早期的机械故障导致了火灾和故障。该公司现在已经解决了这些制造问题，成为印度汽车的领先制造商。然而在最近一个财政年度，它亏损了1 . 9亿美元，比前一年的亏损多了8%(以卢比计)。它以1800美元的均价卖出了33万辆摩托车，平均亏损573美元。尽管这在某种程度上是一种进步，但相对于前一年平均亏损超过1100美元的156000辆小型摩托车，利润似乎还有一段距离。

学习：

bumpy：颠簸的；崎岖不平的；不平整的

bumpy ride：颠簸的旅途；坎坷时期；困难时期

churn out：大量生产

breakdown：故障；崩溃

resolve：解决（问题或争议）

resolve the problems：解决问题

原文：

The $4bn valuation at which the company will list is significantly below the

$5.4bn valuation it received in September during its last venture-funding

round. Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric’s founder, claimed, implausibly, that

he wanted to make sure that the IPO was priced “attractively for the entire

investor community in India”. The company’s reduced valuation will be

disappointing for some recent investors, but is hardly a rarity in India these

days. Valuations among Indian startups have plummeted owing to rising

interest rates. Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing service from which Ola Electric was

spun off, was valued at $7.3bn in 2021. It has since suspended its planned

listing, sacked employees and closed overseas operations.

该公司将上市的40亿美元估值，远低于9月份上一轮风险投资中获得的54亿美元估值。Ola Electric的创始人Bhavish Aggarwal令人难以置信地声称，他希望确保IPO的定价“对整个印度投资者群体具有吸引力”。该公司估值的降低会让一些近期的投资者感到失望，但这在印度并不罕见。由于利率上升，印度初创公司的估值大幅下降。打车服务Ola Cabs从Ola Electric剥离出来，2021年估值为73亿美元。此后，该公司暂停了上市计划，解雇了员工，并关闭了海外业务。

学习：

implausibly：美 [im’plɔzəbli] 难以置信地

解释：难以置信地；不合情理地

例子：He implausibly claimed that he had never heard of the famous singer. (他难以置信地声称他从未听说过那位著名歌手。)

句中：Bhavish Aggarwal, Ola Electric’s founder, claimed, implausibly, that he wanted to make sure that the IPO was priced “attractively for the entire investor community in India”. (Ola Electric的创始人Bhavish Aggarwal声称，他希望确保IPO的价格对整个印度投资者社区具有吸引力，这难以置信。)

rarity：美 [ˈrerəti] 罕见；珍品

is hardly a rarity：并不罕见

ride-hailing：打车服务

解释：打车服务

例子：Uber and Lyft are popular ride-hailing services around the world. (Uber和Lyft是全球流行的打车服务。)

句中：Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing service from which Ola Electric was spun off, was valued at $7.3bn in 2021. (Ola Cabs是Ola Electric分拆出来的打车服务，在2021年的估值为73亿美元。)

spun off：剥离；衍生；分拆；（spin off的过去式和过去分词）

从母公司分拆出来的

例子：The tech company spun off its software division into a separate entity. (这家科技公司将其软件部门分拆成一个独立的实体。)

句中：Ola Cabs, the ride-hailing service from which Ola Electric was spun off, was valued at $7.3bn in 2021. (Ola Cabs是Ola Electric分拆出来的打车服务，在2021年的估值为73亿美元。)

原文：

Ola Electric, though, is raising money to do more than just keep its engine

running. Of the funds it raises, $191m will be used for research and

development and $147m for capital equipment, primarily to bring the

production of batteries in-house. A planned electric car has been put on hold,

but new electric motorcycles are scheduled to be introduced in 2025.

然而，Ola Electric正在筹集资金，不仅仅是为了保持发动机运转。在它筹集的资金中，1 . 91亿美元将用于研发，1 . 47亿美元用于资本设备，主要用于内部生产电池。一款计划中的电动汽车已被搁置，但新的电动摩托车计划于2025年推出。

学习：

electric motorcycle：电动摩托车

原文：

Analysts are bullish about the outlook for two-wheelers in India. According

to one presentation accompanying Ola Electric’s offering, annual sales in the

country are expected to rise to 13m units by 2028, up from around 700,000

today. But pot holes still lie ahead. In recent months the government has cut

subsidies for electric vehicles, leading to a slowdown in growth. And even if

electric scooters continue to spread across the country, there will be stiff

competition from domestic rivals such as TVS and Bajaj, which have excellent

reputations and deep pockets.

分析师看好印度两轮车的前景。根据Ola Electric发行的一份演示文稿，预计到2028年，该公司在印度的年销量将从目前的约70万台增至1300万台。但是坑洞还在前面。最近几个月，政府削减了对电动汽车的补贴，导致增长放缓。即使电瓶车继续在全国推广，也会有来自TVS和Bajaj等国内竞争对手的激烈竞争，这些公司拥有良好的声誉和雄厚的资金。

学习：

outlook：前景；展望

accompanying xxx’s offering: 随着xxx发行一起的

accompanying Ola Electric’s offering

• 解释：随Ola Electric的发行（或产品发布）一起的
• 例子：The analyst’s report accompanying the company’s IPO offering provided valuable insights into its potential growth. (随公司IPO发行一起的分析师报告提供了关于其潜在增长的宝贵见解。)
• 句中：According to one presentation accompanying Ola Electric’s offering, annual sales in the country are expected to rise to 13m units by 2028, up from around 700,000 today. (根据一份随Ola Electric发行一起的演示文稿，该国的年销售量预计到2028年将增加到1300万台，而现在大约为70万台。)

pot holes：坑洞；障碍；困难

障碍；困难（字面意思是“坑洞”）

例子：The new project encountered several pot holes along the way, delaying its completion. (新项目在进行过程中遇到了几个障碍，延迟了完工。)

句中：But pot holes still lie ahead. In recent months the government has cut subsidies for electric vehicles, leading to a slowdown in growth. (但前方仍有障碍。最近几个月，政府削减了电动汽车的补贴，导致增长放缓。)

have deep pockets：很有钱

原文：

On the bright side, one usual group of competitors—Chinese companies—

has struggled to keep up with domestic firms. Part of the explanation may be

regulations in the Chinese market which, for perhaps understandable

reasons, cap the speed at which its two-wheelers can travel. India has no

such restraints. Ola Electric’s two-wheelers can reach a zippy 120kph. They

have a range of 150km, to boot.

从好的方面来看，一个常见的竞争对手群体——中国公司——一直在努力追赶国内公司。部分原因可能是中国市场的法规，出于可以理解的原因，这些法规限制了两轮车的行驶速度。印度没有这样的限制。Ola Electric的两轮车时速可达120公里。此外，它们的最大行程为150公里。

学习：

cap the speed：限速

to boot：(用作附带评述)而且, 另外, 除此之外

原文：

For now, it looks as though investors in India’s public markets are happy to

go along with Ola Electric for a ride. Interest in the IPO is reportedly high. In

recent days, in anticipation of the listing, videos have circulated on social

media of partially submerged Olas speeding through flooded Indian streets.

That is an impressive achievement—though, given the brevity of the clips, it

is unclear whether the riders successfully make it to their destinations.

Investors in the scooter-maker may be taking a similar plunge. ■

目前看来，印度公开市场的投资者很乐意与Ola Electric共同冒险。据报道，对首次公开募股的兴趣很高。最近几天，在上市的预期中，社交媒体上流传着部分被淹没的Olas在被洪水淹没的印度街道上飞驰的视频。这是一个令人印象深刻的成就——尽管，鉴于短片的简短，尚不清楚骑手们是否成功到达目的地。电瓶车制造商的投资者可能会经历类似的暴跌。■

学习：

go along with xxx for a ride：一起参与，共同冒险

解释：在这里是指与Ola Electric一起参与或跟随其发展（通常是指冒险或风险）。有时也可以指被欺骗或被戏弄，但在本文中指的是与公司共同冒险或参与其中。

例子：The startup’s promising new technology convinced many investors to go along for a ride. (这家初创公司的新技术前景光明，吸引了许多投资者参与其中。)

后记

2024年8月7日17点51分于上海。