A humbled hegemon: Barnes & Noble
① America's largest retail bookseller reports quarterly results today.
② Expect yet another sorry show.
③ Analysts forecast a loss of nine cents per share, compared with 15 cents the same quarter last year, and a drop of 2% in same-store sales.
④ All this comes as independent bookshops are, remarkably, on the up after years of Amazon-induced pain.
⑤ Their number has grown by nearly 40% since 2009, with sales up 5% in the past year.
⑥ But B&N, with its soulless big-box stores, has failed to offer a colourful, curated experience.
⑦ Independent shops brim with tailored advice and community events, making browsing a pleasure.
⑧ Disarray among B&N's top brass has complicated matters.
⑨ In July it fired its CEO—the fourth in five years. (He is suing, accusing its founder of micromanagement.)
⑩ Those whose local indie shop has been killed by Amazon must now, in a twist of fate, pull for the former bricks-and-mortar behemoth to turn things around.
▍生詞好句
humble /?h?mb?l/: vt. 擊敗 adj. 謙遜的
hegemon /?hed??m?n, ?hed??mɑ?n/: n. 最高領(lǐng)袖
· hegemony: n. 霸權(quán)；支配權(quán)
sorry /?s?ri, ?s??ri/: adj. 遺憾的
(be) on the up: 持續(xù)增長
remarkably /r??mɑ?k?bli, r??mɑ?rk?bli/: adv. 令人驚奇地；給人留下深刻印象地
induce /?n?dju?s, ?n?du?s/: vt. 導(dǎo)致；勸說
· 近義詞 cause/persuade
soulless /?s??ll?s, ?s??ll?s/: adj. 沒有生氣的；缺乏個性的
curate /kj???re?t, ?kj?re?t/: vt. 操持；籌辦；組織 n. 助理牧師 (/?kj?r?t/)
· select, organize, and present (online content, merchandise, information, etc.), typically using professional or expert knowledge
brim with /br?m/: 裝滿；充盈著
· brim: n. 帽檐；(容器的) 邊
tailored /?te?l?d, ?te?l?rd/: adj. 量身定制的
· tailor: n. 裁縫 vt. 專門制作；使適應(yīng)特定需要
browse /bra?z/: vi. 瀏覽
· browser: n. 瀏覽器
disarray /?d?s??re?/: n. 混亂
top brass /brɑ?s, br?s/: 頂層；高級領(lǐng)導(dǎo)人員
micromanagement /?ma?kr???m?n?d?m?nt/: n. 微觀管理
indie /??ndi/: adj. 獨(dú)立的；非主流的
a twist of fate /tw?st/: 命運(yùn)無常
pull for /p?l/: 驅(qū)使
bricks-and-mortar / brick-and-mortar: adj. 傳統(tǒng)行業(yè)的
· clicks and mortar: 虛實整合企業(yè) (結(jié)合傳統(tǒng)零售渠道和在線電子商務(wù)的運(yùn)營方式)
behemoth /b??hi?m?θ, b??hi?mɑ?θ/: n. 巨頭企業(yè)；巨獸
