2021年经济学人 芯片巨头Intel还能逆风翻盘,向阳而生吗?(3)

His first job will be to try to turn the firm’s ailing¹ manufacturing division around. Intel already outsources the manufacturing of some lower-end chips to TSMC. Its production woes² will force it, at least temporarily, to send more business to Taiwan, perhaps including some of its pricier desktop³ and graphics⁴ chips. Daniel Loeb, an activist⁵ investor⁶ with a sizeable stake in Intel, sent a letter to the firm’s management in December urging it to abandon factories entirely⁷ and restrict itself to designing chips that other firms, such as TSMC, would make. On paper, that looks attractive: Intel capital expenditure⁸ in 2020 amounted to $14.2bn, almost all of it on its chip factories. AMD, meanwhile, spun⁹ out its manufacturing business in 2009, and is thriving today. Nvidia has been “fabless” since its founding in 1993.

他的首要任务将是努力扭转公司陷入困境的制造部门。英特尔已经将一些低端芯片的生产外包给台积电。生产困境将迫使英特尔（至少暂时）把更多业务转给台湾，或许也会包括部分价格高昂的台式机芯片和图形芯片的制造业务。丹尼尔?勒布是一位激进的投资者，他持有英特尔相当大的股份。勒布在去年12月曾致函英特尔管理层，敦促该公司完全放弃工厂，全身心投入芯片设计，将芯片制造业务外包给台积电等其他公司。这项提议理论上看起来很有吸引力：英特尔2020年的资本支出达到142亿美元，几乎全部用于其芯片工厂。与此同时，AMD在2009年剥离了其制造业务，如今的它正蓬勃发展。英伟达自1993年成立以来一直未涉及过芯片制造。

Finding a buyer could be tricky¹⁰, says Linley Gwennap, a veteran chip-industry watcher, precisely¹¹ because Intel’s factories are now behind the cutting edge. Most of the world’s chipmakers, which might be tempted¹² by the fabs, are in Asia. Since chips are a front in America’s tech war with China, politicians may veto a sale to a non- American bidder¹³.

资深芯片行业观察家林利?格温纳普表示，正因为英特尔的芯片制造工厂目前落后于行业最前沿，寻找买家上可能会棘手。世界上大部分可能对微型芯片生产厂感兴趣的芯片制造商都在亚洲。由于芯片是中美科技战的前线交锋领域，政客们可能会否决与非美国竞标者达成芯片交易。

In any case, Mr Gelsinger has said he will ignore Mr Loeb’s suggestion. In January the new boss said that, although the firm may use more outsourcing for some products, he intends to pursue the hard, costly¹⁴ task of restoring Intel to its customary position at chipmaking’s leading edge. He also seems minded to pursue his predecessor’s strategy of diversifying¹⁵ into new products, including graphics-to-AI chips. “Our opportunity as a world-leading semiconductor¹⁶ manufacturer is greater than it’s ever been,” he wrote. The direction of travel, then, is not about to change. Intel’s shareholders¹⁷ will have to hope that Mr Gelsinger can at least get it back on the pace.

基尔辛格表示，无论如何，自己都会拒绝勒布的建议。今年1月，这位新老板表示，尽管英特尔可能会在某些产品上采用更多的外包服务，但他打算继续完成艰巨而昂贵的任务，让英特尔重回芯片制造业顶峰。他似乎也有意推行前任总裁提出的多元化战略，开发更多新产品，包括图形芯片和人工智能芯片。他写道：“作为世界领先的半导体制造商，我们的机会比以往任何时候都大。”英特尔的前进方向是不会改变的。股东们只能抱有希望，基尔辛格至少能让英特尔重回正轨。

1 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

2 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

3 desktop   

n.桌面管理系统程序；台式

参考例句：

• My computer is a desktop computer of excellent quality.我的计算机是品质卓越的台式计算机。
• Do you know which one is better,a laptop or a desktop?你知道哪一种更好，笔记本还是台式机？

4 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

5 activist   

n.活动分子，积极分子

参考例句：

• He's been a trade union activist for many years.多年来他一直是工会的积极分子。
• He is a social activist in our factory.他是我厂的社会活动积极分子。

6 investor   

n.投资者，投资人

参考例句：

• My nephew is a cautious investor.我侄子是个小心谨慎的投资者。
• The investor believes that his investment will pay off handsomely soon.这个投资者相信他的投资不久会有相当大的收益。

7 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

8 expenditure   

n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗

参考例句：

• The entry of all expenditure is necessary.有必要把一切开支入账。
• The monthly expenditure of our family is four hundred dollars altogether.我们一家的开销每月共计四百元。

9 spun   

v.纺，杜撰，急转身

参考例句：

• His grandmother spun him a yarn at the fire.他奶奶在火炉边给他讲故事。
• Her skilful fingers spun the wool out to a fine thread.她那灵巧的手指把羊毛纺成了细毛线。

10 tricky   

adj.狡猾的，奸诈的；(工作等)棘手的，微妙的

参考例句：

• I'm in a rather tricky position.Can you help me out?我的处境很棘手，你能帮我吗？
• He avoided this tricky question and talked in generalities.他回避了这个非常微妙的问题，只做了个笼统的表述。

11 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

12 tempted   

v.怂恿（某人）干不正当的事；冒…的险（tempt的过去分词）

参考例句：

• I was sorely tempted to complain, but I didn't. 我极想发牢骚，但还是没开口。
• I was tempted by the dessert menu. 甜食菜单馋得我垂涎欲滴。

13 bidder   

n.(拍卖时的)出价人，报价人，投标人

参考例句：

• TV franchises will be auctioned to the highest bidder.电视特许经营权将拍卖给出价最高的投标人。
• The bidder withdrew his bid after submission of his bid.投标者在投标之后撤销了投标书。

14 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

15 diversifying   

v.使多样化，多样化( diversify的现在分词 )；进入新的商业领域

参考例句：

• Some publishers are now diversifying into software. 有些出版社目前正兼营软件。 来自辞典例句
• Silverlit is diversifying into new markets, such as Russia and Eastern Europe. Silverlit正在使他们的市场变得多样化，开发新的市场如俄罗斯和东欧国家。 来自互联网

16 semiconductor   

n.半导体

参考例句：

• In the beginning,engineers hoped to use semiconductor lasers.在开始时，工程师们希望能够利用半导体激光器。
• The main agent of the company brand semiconductor sales.本公司主要代理各品牌半导体销售。

17 shareholders   

n.股东( shareholder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The meeting was attended by 90% of shareholders. 90%的股东出席了会议。
• the company's fiduciary duty to its shareholders 公司对股东负有的受托责任