共享经济的退潮 The Ebb of the Sharing Economy

十年前shí nián qián，共享单车gòngxiǎng dānchē、共享充电宝gòngxiǎng chōngdiànbǎo、共享雨伞gòngxiǎng yǔsǎn几乎jīhū一夜之间yíyè zhījiān出现chūxiàn在zài中国Zhōngguó的de大街小巷dàjiē xiǎoxiàng。

Ten years ago, shared bikes, shared power banks, and shared umbrellas appeared almost overnight in the streets and alleys of China.

当时dāngshí几乎jīhū每个人měi ge rén都dōu相信xiāngxìn，“万物皆可共享wànwù jiē kě gòngxiǎng”将jiāng彻底chèdǐ改变gǎibiàn人们rénmen的de生活shēnghuó方式fāngshì。

At the time, almost everyone believed that "anything can be shared" would completely transform people's way of life.

然而rán'ér，热潮rècháo过后guòhòu，许多xǔduō共享经济gòngxiǎng jīngjì企业qǐyè却què因为yīnwèi盈利yínglì困难kùnnan，一家接一家yì jiā jiē yì jiā地de倒闭dǎobì了le。

However, once the craze passed, many sharing-economy companies, unable to turn a profit, went bankrupt one after another.

以yǐ共享单车gòngxiǎng dānchē为例wéi lì，由于yóuyú车辆chēliàng损坏sǔnhuài严重yánzhòng、维护wéihù成本chéngběn过高guò gāo，不少bùshǎo公司gōngsī最终zuìzhōng不得不bùdébù宣布xuānbù破产pòchǎn。

Take shared bikes as an example: because vehicle damage was severe and maintenance costs too high, quite a few companies ultimately had no choice but to declare bankruptcy.

除此之外chú cǐ zhī wài，用户yònghù素质sùzhì参差不齐cēncī bù qí也yě是shì一个yí ge不可忽视bùkě hūshì的de问题wèntí：有人yǒurén故意gùyì损坏sǔnhuài车辆chēliàng，甚至shènzhì把bǎ车chē藏cáng起来qǐlái私用sīyòng。

Besides this, the uneven conduct of users was also a problem that could not be ignored: some people deliberately damaged bikes, even hiding them away for private use.

与此相比yǔ cǐ xiāngbǐ，共享充电宝gòngxiǎng chōngdiànbǎo反而fǎn'ér活huó了le下来xiàlái，因为yīnwèi它tā满足mǎnzú了le人们rénmen出门在外chūmén zài wài应急yìngjí充电chōngdiàn的de真实zhēnshí需求xūqiú。

By contrast, shared power banks actually survived, because they met people's genuine need for emergency charging while out and about.

由此可见yóu cǐ kějiàn，一个yí ge共享经济gòngxiǎng jīngjì项目xiàngmù能否néng fǒu长期chángqī存在cúnzài，关键guānjiàn在于zàiyú它tā是否shìfǒu真正zhēnzhèng解决jiějué了le用户yònghù的de实际shíjì问题wèntí。

This shows that whether a sharing-economy project can survive long term hinges on whether it truly solves a real problem for users.

如今rújīn，街头jiētóu堆积如山duījī rú shān的de废弃fèiqì共享单车gòngxiǎng dānchē，成chéng了le这场zhè chǎng退潮tuìcháo留下liúxià的de最zuì直观zhíguān的de印记yìnjì。

Today, abandoned shared bikes piled up like mountains on the streets have become the most visible mark left behind by this ebb tide.

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Key words 生词

共享经济gòngxiǎng jīngjìsharing economy

倒闭dǎobìto go bankrupt; close down

破产pòchǎnbankruptcy

参差不齐cēncī bù qíuneven; varying widely

需求xūqiúneed; demand

退潮tuìcháoebb tide; receding wave

Grammar note 语法点

由此可见

'This shows that...' draws a conclusion from what was just described.

由此可见，一个共享经济项目能否长期存在，关键在于它是否解决了用户的实际问题。 — This shows that whether a sharing-economy project survives long term hinges on whether it solves a real problem for users.

以…为例

'Take... as an example' introduces a specific case to illustrate a general point.

以共享单车为例，由于维护成本过高，不少公司最终破产。 — Take shared bikes as an example: because maintenance costs were too high, quite a few companies eventually went bankrupt.

Check yourself 小测验

1. What happened to many sharing-economy companies after the initial craze?

2. Why did shared power banks survive while many bike-sharing companies failed?

3. According to the text, what determines whether a sharing-economy project can survive long term?

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共享经济的退潮Gòngxiǎng jīngjì de tuìcháoThe Ebb of the Sharing Economy

Key words 生词

Grammar note 语法点

Check yourself 小测验

Reading is the easy part. Speaking is where you get stuck.

More HSK 5 reading practice