為什麼中美兩國對台灣如此感興趣：英語精讀講義

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

你知道世界是由一家公司主導的嗎？

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company may not be a household name, 慣用語

台灣積體電路製造公司（台積電）或許不是家喻戶曉的名字，

but its chips are everywhere.

但它的晶片無處不在。

In iPhones,

在 iPhone 裡，

air conditioning units,

在冷氣機中，

smart doorbells,

在智慧門鈴裡，

computers,

在電腦中，

cars,

在汽車裡，

F-35 fighter jets,

在 F-35 戰鬥機中，

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

甚至在登陸火星的 NASA 毅力號火星車上。

The reason automakers haven't been making enough cars 文法

汽車製造商之所以無法生產出足夠的汽車，

is because of a shortage of these sophisticated chips

正是因為缺乏這些精密的晶片

that power functions like braking.

來驅動像煞車這樣的功能。

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

就我們的依賴程度而言，半導體晶片堪稱新時代的石油。

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

而一家公司幾乎壟斷了這一切。

Nestled on the northwest coast of Taiwan,

座落於台灣西北海岸，

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

台積電生產了全球 92% 的最先進晶片。

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

它是僅有的兩家量產 10 奈米以下晶片的公司之一，

the other being Samsung. 文法

另一家是三星。

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

奈米指的是電晶體的長度，

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

這是一種控制電流的微小開關，

that control electric currents.

比人類頭髮還要細一萬倍。

1 nanometer is equal to 1 billionth of a meter.

1 奈米等於十億分之一公尺。

The smaller the transistor, 文法

電晶體越小，

the more that can be crammed together.

能擠在裡面的數量就越多。

The more transistors you have,

電晶體越多，

the better the chip,

晶片的性能就越好，

and the more powerful your computer will be.

你的電腦也會更強大。

When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan in August 2022,

當美國眾議院議長南希·裴洛西在 2022 年 8 月訪問台灣時，

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

她特意與台積電董事長劉德音會面，

a sign of just how important the company is. 文法

這足以說明這家公司有多麼重要。

Beijing spent weeks telling Pelosi not to go to Taiwan,

北京曾花費數週時間警告裴洛西不要前往台灣，

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

中國國家主席習近平認為這個島嶼是叛離的省份，

and has threatened to invade.

並曾威脅要武力犯台。

In light of Pelosi's visit, 片語搭配

鑒於裴洛西的訪問，

Beijing sanctioned Taiwan 用詞

北京對台灣實施了制裁，

by suspending imports of citrus fruits and fish.

暫停了柑橘類水果和魚類的進口。

Of course,

當然，

Beijing did not ban Taiwanese semiconductors

北京並沒有禁止台灣的半導體進口，

because it relies on them like everyone else.

因為它和其他人一樣依賴它們。

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

半導體已經成為美中科技競爭的關鍵部分。

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

有人擔心如果中國武力犯台，

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

可能會切斷這些尖端晶片對

to the rest of the world

世界其他地區的供應，

and give Beijing control of this essential technology.

並讓北京控制這項關鍵技術。

So,

那麼，

how did Taiwan Semiconductor become so dominant? 表達脈絡

台積電是如何變得如此具有主導地位的？

The fundamental technology was actually invented in America

這項基礎技術實際上是在美國發明的，

and gave Silicon Valley its name, 片語搭配

矽谷的名字也由此而來，

as most chips are created with silicon.

因為大多數晶片都是用矽製造的。

In the '90s,

在 90 年代，

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

美國製造了全球三分之一的晶片。

Today,

而今天，

none of the advanced chips is made in the USA.

沒有任何尖端晶片是在美國製造的。

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

像英特爾這樣的公司過去常常在內部設計和製造晶片。

but beginning in the 1980s,

但從 1980 年代開始，

American firms started struggling

美國公司在面對日本公司的競爭時

against competition from Japanese companies.

開始陷入困境。

So they outsourced some parts of their business 用詞

因此他們將部分會吞噬利潤的

that were draining their profits,

業務外包出去，

including the expensive factories

包括那些生產半導體晶片的

that produce semiconductor chips.

昂貴工廠。

Morris Chang noticed this trend and took advantage of it. 慣用語

張忠謀注意到了這個趨勢並抓住了機會。

He was born in China,

他出生於中國大陸，

and in 1949,

在 1949 年，

he moved to the States

他搬到了美國，

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

最終在史丹佛大學取得了電機工程博士學位。

He spent 25 years rising through the ranks of Texas Instruments 慣用語

他在德州儀器公司度過了 25 年並步步高升，

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

之後台灣政府為他提供了發展當地半導體產業的機會。

Chang realized there was a great opportunity

張忠謀意識到這是一個絕佳的機會，

to create a new company

可以創建一家新公司，

focused solely on making chips

專注於製造晶片

that could supply all needs.

以此滿足所有的需求。

In 1987,

在 1987 年，

TSMC was born.

台積電誕生了。

Chang initially priced the chips at a loss 片語搭配

張忠謀最初以虧本的價格銷售晶片

to capture a larger market share 片語搭配

以奪取更大的市場份額，

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

期望成本最終能充分降低

to generate a profit.

進而實現獲利。

His strategy paid off big time. 片語動詞

他的策略取得了巨大的成功。

The world's largest companies all rely on TSMC.

全球最大的幾家公司都依賴台積電。

Apple,

蘋果，

Intel,

英特爾，

Qualcomm,

高通，

AMD,

AMD，

Nvidia,

輝達 (Nvidia)，

Huawei,

華為，

and Tesla.

以及特斯拉。

Manufacturing semiconductor chips that are the size of a fingernail

製造指甲般大小的半導體晶片

is crazy difficult.

極度困難。

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

每個晶片中都塞滿了多達 500 億個電晶體。

The process begins by cutting silicon wafers,

這個過程始於切割矽晶圓，

these thin slices of semiconductors

這些看起來有點像閃亮鏡子的

that kind of look like shiny mirrors,

半導體薄片，

into individual chips.

被切割成單個的晶片。

Employees must wear protective gear when handling them.

員工在處理它們時必須穿戴防護裝備。

If even a speck of dust falls onto the wafer,

哪怕有一粒灰塵落在晶圓上，

the entire batch risks being ruined. 文法

整批產品都有被毀的風險。

The chips are made by etching tiny patterns across the wafer

晶片是透過在晶圓上蝕刻微小的圖案而製成的，

layer upon layer. 片語搭配

一層又一層。

To create the layers,

為了建立這些層次，

the wafer is coated with a light-sensitive chemical.

晶圓表面會塗上一層感光化學物質。

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

這有點像做分層蛋糕，

except in this case the cake has 75 layers

只不過這個「蛋糕」有 75 層，

and takes three months to make.

而且需要花費三個月才能完成。

The layers are connected by copper wires

這些層次透過傳輸電力的銅線

that carry electrical power.

連接起來。

The entire process is daunting,

整個過程令人望而生畏，

and TSMC has the undisputed edge. 片語搭配

而台積電在這方面擁有無可爭議的優勢。

But things are getting complicated

但事情正變得越來越複雜，

as it finds itself caught in the middle 慣用語

因為它發現自己被夾在

of a tug of war between two superpowers.

兩個超級大國的角力之間。

In August,

今年 8 月，

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

拜登總統將《晶片法案》簽署成為法律，

which bans companies that receive American subsidies 文法

該法案禁止接受美國補貼的公司

from manufacturing sophisticated chips for China,

為中國製造精密的晶片，

any that are below 28 nanometers.

也就是任何低於 28 奈米的晶片。

Washington is offering 52 billion in subsidies

華盛頓正提供 520 億美元的補貼

to encourage manufacturers like TSMC

以鼓勵像台積電這樣的製造商

to build semiconductor plants in the US.

在美國建造半導體工廠。

One is scheduled to open in Arizona in 2024,

其中一家工廠計劃於 2024 年在亞利桑那州開業，

which TSMC previewed on its LinkedIn page.

台積電已在其 LinkedIn 頁面上進行了預告。

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

但這仍然只佔全球晶片產量的一小部分。

At the same time,

與此同時，

Chinese chip innovation is growing by leaps and bounds. 慣用語

中國的晶片創新正突飛猛進。

In 2020,

在 2020 年，

Chinese firms were still struggling to get below 40 nanometers.

中國企業仍在努力突破 40 奈米以下的製程。

Today,

如今，

leading Chinese chip company SMIC

據說中國領先的晶片公司中芯國際

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

已經成功製造出了 7 奈米晶片。

Researchers at the firm TechInsights

TechInsights 公司的研究人員

say the chip was made for crypto mining.

表示該晶片是為加密貨幣挖礦而製造的。

China has made it a strategic priority 片語搭配

中國已將推動國內半導體產業發展

to boost its domestic semiconductor industry,

作為一項戰略重點，

showering Chinese chip firms with incentives, 慣用語

為中國晶片企業提供了大量激勵措施，

including exempting them from paying corporate income tax 文法

包括免繳企業所得稅

for up to 10 years

長達 10 年，

if they make the most sophisticated chips.

只要他們能生產出最尖端的晶片。

Still,

不過，

for now,

就目前而言，

Taiwan Semiconductor

台灣半導體（台積電）

is the most important chip manufacturer in the world.

仍是世界上最重要的晶片製造商。

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

它生產的晶片比中國的小 2 奈米，

and vows to start manufacturing

並誓言要在 2025 年開始製造

ultra-advanced 2-nanometer chips by 2025.

超先進的 2 奈米晶片。

That means your iPhone would last 4 days

這意味著你的 iPhone 在無須充電的情況下

without needing a charge.

可以續航 4 天。

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

中國與美國一樣，都極度需要台積電。

As geopolitical tensions rise,

隨著地緣政治緊張局勢的升溫，

Taiwan Semiconductor's importance on the world stage 慣用語

台積電在世界舞台上的重要性

may be the island's greatest protection

可能成為這個島嶼抵禦任何

against any possible invasion.

潛在入侵的最大屏障。

Thanks for watching.

感謝您的收看。

For Newsthink,

這裡是 Newsthink，

I'm Cindy Pom.

我是 Cindy Pom。