【新闻精讲】

Silicon Beach
Los Angeles booms as startup hub
A cheaper location for tech companies takes off
HOLLYWOOD has produced plenty of films about underdogs rising to claim the limelight. Now Los Angeles is experiencing its own real-life Cinderella story, as the area’s technology scene has been transformed from backwater to boomtown in just a few years. Hordes of venture capitalists from northern California, once long dismissive of their southern neighbour, now regularly commute in search of deals in a less heavily hunted spot than the Bay Area. In 2016 the city’s startups received around $3bn in funding, around six times more than in 2012, according to CB Insights, a research firm.
落魄的人一跃成为众人瞩目的焦点，好莱坞已经拍了很多这样的电影。如今洛杉矶正在上演自己的现实版灰姑娘的故事——短短数年间，该地区就在科技领域从一潭死水转变成为新兴都市。从北加州蜂拥而至的风险资本家曾经对他们的南部芳邻不屑一顾，如今却经常往来于两地，在这个比起湾区来没那么被过度捕猎的地方寻觅一些生意。根据研究公司CB Insights的数据，2016年该市的创业公司获得了约30亿美元的融资，是2012年的六倍左右。
Underdog n. 落魄的人（loser）
Limelight n.聚光灯
- Spotlight
Backwater n.一滩死水
Boomtown n.新兴城市
- boom v./n.繁荣兴旺
Horde n.一大群
- Hordes of people
Dismissive adj.鄙视的
- Dismiss v.拒绝，开除
Commute v.通勤，交通往返
Hunt v.捕猎
北加州引以为傲的是它的高科技行业和风投资金。硅谷是全球高科技和信息产业的圣地。家喻户晓的大公司不计其数。 资金和技术在这里造就了一个又一个的高科技神话。
南加州是环球影视之都，世界娱乐之都。 主题公园和电影公司给一代有一代的美国人提供了精神的食量。

Evan Spiegel went to Stanford University in the heart of Silicon Valley, but he wanted to live and work close to the sea. So he based his new company one block from the Pacific in Venice Beach, which is better known in Los Angeles for its silicone-enhanced bodies than the silicon chips that gave the Valley its name. Mr Spiegel’s firm, Snap, is best known for its ephemeral Snapchat social-media messages and is now valued at a whopping $18bn. Other successful technology firms are thriving nearby, including Dollar Shave Club, an e-commerce firm recently sold to Unilever for $1bn; Ring, a “smart” doorbell company, and Riot Games, maker of “League of Legends”, a popular online multiplayer contest.
伊万•斯皮格尔（Evan Spiegel）读的是位于硅谷中心的斯坦福大学，但他想在靠近海边的地方生活、工作。于是他将新公司设在威尼斯海滩（Venice Beach）边，离太平洋仅一个街区。在洛杉矶，威尼斯海滩更出名的是硅胶填充的曼妙身姿，而不是赋予硅谷之名的硅片。斯皮格尔的公司Snap最知名的是“阅后即焚”的Snapchat社交媒体应用，现在估值达到惊人的180亿美元。附近还有一些成功的技术公司蒸蒸日上，包括最近被联合利华以10亿美元收购的电子商务公司Dollar Shave Club、智能门铃公司Ring，以及流行的多人在线竞技游戏《英雄联盟》（League of Legends）的开发商Riot Games。
block n.街区
enhance v.加强
ephemeral adj.短暂的
- momentary
Whopping adj.巨大的
thrive v.繁荣发展
- flourish，boom，prosper