为什么中美两国对台湾如此感兴趣：英语精读讲义

Did you know that the world is ruled by one company?

你知道世界正由一家公司主导吗？

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may not be a household name, 習語

台湾积体电路制造公司（台积电）或许并非家喻户晓，

but its chips are everywhere.

但它的芯片却无处不在。

In iPhones,

在iPhone中，

air conditioning units,

在空调设备里，

smart doorbells,

在智能门铃里，

computers,

在电脑里，

cars,

在汽车里，

F-35 fighter jets,

在F-35战斗机中，

and even NASA's Perseverance rover that landed on Mars.

甚至在登陆火星的NASA“毅力号”火星车上。

The reason automakers haven't been making enough cars 語法

汽车制造商之所以无法生产足够的汽车

is because of a shortage of these sophisticated chips

正是因为短缺了这些精密的芯片，

that power functions like braking.

它们为刹车等功能提供动力。

Semiconductor chips are the new oil in terms of our dependence on them. 講解

就我们的依赖程度而言，半导体芯片堪称新时代的石油。

And one company pretty much has a monopoly. 短語搭配

而一家公司几乎垄断了这一切。

Nestled on the northwest coast of Taiwan,

坐落于台湾西北海岸，

TSMC produces 92% of the most advanced chips in the world.

台积电生产了全球92%的最先进芯片。

It's one of only two companies that mass produces chips below 10 nanometers, 語法

它是仅有的两家量产10纳米以下芯片的公司之一，

the other being Samsung. 語法

另一家是三星。

Nanometer refers to the length of a transistor, 短語搭配

纳米指的是晶体管的长度，

tiny switches 10,000 times thinner than a human hair 語法

这种控制电流的微小开关

that control electric currents.

比人类头发还要细一万倍。

1 nanometer is equal to 1 billionth of a meter.

1纳米等于十亿分之一米。

The smaller the transistor, 語法

晶体管越小，

the more that can be crammed together.

能在其中塞入的数量就越多。

The more transistors you have,

晶体管越多，

the better the chip,

芯片的性能就越好，

and the more powerful your computer will be.

你的电脑也会更加强大。

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022,

当美国众议院议长南希·佩洛西在2022年8月访问台湾时，

she made it a point to meet with TSMC Chairman Mark Liu, 短語搭配

她特意与台积电董事长刘德音会面，

a sign of just how important the company is. 語法

这足以说明这家公司有多么重要。

Beijing spent weeks telling Pelosi not to go to Taiwan,

北京曾花费数周时间警告佩洛西不要前往台湾，

an island that Chinese President Xi Jinping believes is a breakaway province

中国国家主席习近平认为这个岛屿是一个叛离省份

and has threatened to invade.

并曾威胁要武统。

In light of Pelosi's visit, 短語搭配

鉴于佩洛西的访问，

Beijing sanctioned Taiwan 用詞

北京对台湾实施了制裁，

by suspending imports of citrus fruits and fish.

暂停了柑橘类水果和鱼类的进口。

Of course,

当然，

Beijing did not ban Taiwanese semiconductors

北京并没有封杀台湾的半导体，

because it relies on them like everyone else.

因为它和其他人一样依赖它们。

Semiconductors have become a key part of the tech rivalry between the US and China.

半导体已经成为中美技术竞争的关键部分。

There are concerns that an invasion of Taiwan by China 短語搭配

有人担心如果中国大陆武统台湾，

could choke off the supply of these cutting-edge chips 講解

可能会切断这些尖端芯片对

to the rest of the world

世界其他地区的供应，

and give Beijing control of this essential technology.

并让北京控制这项关键技术。

So,

那么，

how did Taiwan Semiconductor become so dominant? 表達脈絡

台积电是如何变得如此具有主导地位的？

The fundamental technology was actually invented in America

这项基础技术实际上是在美国发明的，

and gave Silicon Valley its name, 短語搭配

它也赋予了硅谷这个名字，

as most chips are created with silicon.

因为大多数芯片都是用硅制造的。

In the '90s,

在90年代，

the US manufactured a third of the world's chips.

美国制造了全球三分之一的芯片。

Today,

而今天，

none of the advanced chips is made in the USA.

没有任何尖端芯片是在美国制造的。

Companies like Intel used to build and design chips in-house. 講解

像英特尔这样的公司过去常常在内部设计和制造芯片。

but beginning in the 1980s,

但从20世纪80年代开始，

American firms started struggling

美国公司在面对日本公司的

against competition from Japanese companies.

竞争时开始陷入困境。

So they outsourced some parts of their business 用詞

因此，他们将部分

that were draining their profits,

吞噬利润的业务外包出去，

including the expensive factories

包括那些生产半导体芯片的

that produce semiconductor chips.

昂贵工厂。

Morris Chang noticed this trend and took advantage of it. 習語

张忠谋注意到了这一趋势并抓住了机会。

He was born in China,

他出生于中国大陆，

and in 1949,

在1949年，

he moved to the States

他搬到了美国，

where he eventually earned a PhD in electrical engineering from Stanford.

最终在斯坦福大学获得了电气工程博士学位。

He spent 25 years rising through the ranks of Texas Instruments 習語

他在德州仪器公司度过了25年并步步高升，

before the Taiwanese government offered him a chance to develop its semiconductor industry.

之后台湾当局为他提供了发展当地半导体产业的机会。

Chang realized there was a great opportunity

张忠谋意识到这是一个绝佳的机会，

to create a new company

可以创建一家新公司，

focused solely on making chips

专注于制造芯片，

that could supply all needs.

以此满足所有人的需求。

In 1987,

在1987年，

TSMC was born.

台积电诞生了。

Chang initially priced the chips at a loss 短語搭配

张忠谋最初以亏本的价格销售芯片

to capture a larger market share 短語搭配

以夺取更大的市场份额，

in the hopes that costs would eventually be reduced enough 短語搭配

期望成本最终能充分降低

to generate a profit.

从而实现盈利。

His strategy paid off big time. 短語動詞

他的策略取得了巨大成功。

The world's largest companies all rely on TSMC.

全球最大的几家公司都依赖于台积电。

Apple,

苹果，

Intel,

英特尔，

Qualcomm,

高通，

AMD,

AMD，

Nvidia,

英伟达，

Huawei,

华为，

and Tesla.

以及特斯拉。

Manufacturing semiconductor chips that are the size of a fingernail

制造指甲盖大小的半导体芯片

is crazy difficult.

难度极高。

Each chip is packed with as many as 50 billion transistors. 講解

每个芯片中都挤满了多达500亿个晶体管。

The process begins by cutting silicon wafers,

这个过程始于切割硅晶圆，

these thin slices of semiconductors

这些看起来有点像闪亮镜子的

that kind of look like shiny mirrors,

半导体薄片，

into individual chips.

被切割成单个的芯片。

Employees must wear protective gear when handling them.

员工在处理它们时必须穿戴防护装备。

If even a speck of dust falls onto the wafer,

哪怕有一粒灰尘落在晶圆上，

the entire batch risks being ruined. 語法

整批产品都有被毁的风险。

The chips are made by etching tiny patterns across the wafer

芯片是通过在晶圆上蚀刻微小的图案而制成的，

layer upon layer. 短語搭配

一层又一层。

To create the layers,

为了创建这些薄层，

the wafer is coated with a light-sensitive chemical.

晶圆表面会涂上一层感光化学物质。

It's kind of like layering a cake, 表達脈絡

这有点像做分层蛋糕，

except in this case the cake has 75 layers

只不过这个“蛋糕”有75层，

and takes three months to make.

并且需要三个月才能完成。

The layers are connected by copper wires

这些层通过传输电力的铜线

that carry electrical power.

连接起来。

The entire process is daunting,

整个过程令人生畏，

and TSMC has the undisputed edge. 短語搭配

而台积电在这方面拥有无可争议的优势。

But things are getting complicated

但事情正变得越来越复杂，

as it finds itself caught in the middle 習語

因为它发现自己被夹在

of a tug of war between two superpowers.

两个超级大国的角力之间。

In August,

今年8月，

President Biden signed the CHIPS Act into law, 短語搭配

拜登总统将《芯片法案》签署成为法律，

which bans companies that receive American subsidies 語法

该法案禁止接受美国补贴的公司

from manufacturing sophisticated chips for China,

为中国制造精密的芯片，

any that are below 28 nanometers.

即任何低于28纳米的芯片。

Washington is offering 52 billion in subsidies

华盛顿正提供520亿美元的补贴

to encourage manufacturers like TSMC

以鼓励像台积电这样的制造商

to build semiconductor plants in the US.

在美国建造半导体工厂。

One is scheduled to open in Arizona in 2024,

其中一家工厂计划于2024年在亚利桑那州开业，

which TSMC previewed on its LinkedIn page.

台积电已在其领英页面上进行了预告。

But it will still represent only a small sliver of global chip production. 習語

但这仍然只占全球芯片产量的一小部分。

At the same time,

与此同时，

Chinese chip innovation is growing by leaps and bounds. 習語

中国的芯片创新正突飞猛进。

In 2020,

在2020年，

Chinese firms were still struggling to get below 40 nanometers.

中国企业仍在努力突破40纳米以下的工艺。

Today,

如今，

leading Chinese chip company SMIC

据说中国领先的芯片公司中芯国际

is said to have successfully made a 7-nanometer chip. 語法

已经成功制造出了7纳米芯片。

Researchers at the firm TechInsights

TechInsights公司的研究人员

say the chip was made for crypto mining.

表示该芯片是为加密货币挖矿而制造的。

China has made it a strategic priority 短語搭配

中国已将推动国内半导体产业发展

to boost its domestic semiconductor industry,

作为一项战略重点，

showering Chinese chip firms with incentives, 習語

为中国芯片企业提供了大量激励措施，

including exempting them from paying corporate income tax 語法

包括免缴企业所得税

for up to 10 years

长达10年，

if they make the most sophisticated chips.

如果他们生产出最尖端的芯片的话。

Still,

不过，

for now,

就目前而言，

Taiwan Semiconductor

台湾半导体（台积电）

is the most important chip manufacturer in the world.

仍是世界上最重要的芯片制造商。

It's producing chips that are 2 nanometers smaller than China

它生产的芯片比中国的小2纳米，

and vows to start manufacturing

并誓言要在2025年开始制造

ultra-advanced 2-nanometer chips by 2025.

超先进的2纳米芯片。

That means your iPhone would last 4 days

这意味着你的iPhone在无需充电的情况下

without needing a charge.

可以续航4天。

China needs TSMC just as much as the United States does. 語法

中国与美国一样，都需要台积电。

As geopolitical tensions rise,

随着地缘政治紧张局势的加剧，

Taiwan Semiconductor's importance on the world stage 習語

台积电在世界舞台上的重要性

may be the island's greatest protection

可能成为该岛抵御任何

against any possible invasion.

潜在入侵的最大屏障。

Thanks for watching.

感谢您的收看。

For Newsthink,

这里是Newsthink，

I'm Cindy Pom.

我是辛迪·庞 (Cindy Pom)。