【视频讲解】

Another looming problem is regulation. Later this year the European Court of Justice, the European Union’s highest court, will decide on whether Uber is a transport company or just a digital service; if it is judged to be the former, it will need to comply with stricter licensing, insurance and safety rules, lifting its costs significantly in Europe. Last week an American court upheld a law from Seattle allowing Uber drivers a vote to unionise. Other cities are expected to follow suit. A British court will soon need to rule on whether Uber has to pay value-added tax.
另一个渐渐浮现的问题是监管。今年晚些时候，作为欧盟最高法院的欧洲法院将判定优步是运输公司还是仅仅是一家数字服务公司。假如被判定为前者，优步将需要遵守更严格的营运牌照、保险及安全规定，这样一来它在欧洲的运营成本将大大增加。上月，西雅图一项法规获得了美国一家法院的支持，该法规允许优步司机投票组织工会。其他城市估计将会仿效。英国一家法院也即将裁定优步是否需要缴纳增值税。
looming adj.渐渐浮现的
- loom v.朦胧浮现 (to appear in an impressively large or great form)
- The mountains loom above the valley.
comply with 遵守
licensing n.许可
lift v.抬高
uphold v.支持 (to support or defend something)
unionise v.成立工会
follow suit 跟随效仿 (to follow an example set)

As for Uber’s race to move away from human drivers to autonomous driving, obstacles lie ahead. In February Waymo, a self-driving car unit that is owned by Google’s parent company, sued Uber, claiming that former employees of Google had stolen some of Waymo’s proprietary technology when they set up their own autonomous-driving startup, Otto. Last year Uber bought Otto, which makes self-driving kit for lorries, for around $700m.
而在从人类司机转向自动驾驶的竞赛中，优步仍面临诸多障碍。2月，谷歌母公司的自动驾驶部门Waymo起诉优步，称谷歌的前员工窃取了Waymo的部分专利技术创立了自动驾驶公司Otto，为货车提供自动驾驶技术。而去年优步以约七亿美元收购了Otto
autonomous adj.自动的
obstacle n.障碍
parent company 母公司
sue v.起诉
proprietary adj.专利的
kit n.装备
lorry n.卡车

Patent disputes are common in the tech industry and can take years to play out, but Waymo is being particularly aggressive. It has asked a judge to ban Uber’s use of its lidar technology, which uses lasers to scan a vehicle’s surroundings and is employed in self-driving cars. Uber may settle for a large sum, but the affair adds uncertainty.
专利纠纷在科技行业司空见惯，往往历时数年才有结果，但Waymo这次尤为咄咄逼人，要求法官禁止优步使用其激光雷达技术（安装在自动驾驶汽车上，以激光扫描汽车周围环境）。优步可能选择以大手笔和解，但这件事令变数加大。
patent n.专利
dispute n.纠纷
play out 结束
lidar 激光雷达
laser 激光
scan v.扫描
- scan a QR code
employ v.运用

Some people close to Uber ask whether all the difficulties will force Mr Kalanick, who has said he never wants to take the firm public, to consider doing just that. It will now be far harder to raise money in the private markets at Uber’s stratospheric valuation. But it is possible to argue the opposite: Mr Kalanick will need the clouds of controversy to clear before going public.
卡兰尼克曾表示从没想过让公司上市，但有些与优步密切相关的人想知道，当前这些难题会否迫使他改变想法。以其天价估值，优步现在要从私人市场融资将远比之前困难。但反过来想也完全有可能：卡兰尼克将需要等风波平息后再上市。
stratospheric adj.天价的, 极高的 (extremely high)
- stratospheric success
- stratospheric salary
controversy n.争议
- controversial adj.有争议的

His company’s problems could occur at many startups, but the fact that they have all struck at once suggests its immaturity and a lack of professional management. Given the sums at stake and the blow to the prestige of many in Silicon Valley if Uber failed, there will be no shortage of pressure on Mr Kalanick to prove that he is the right person to stay at the wheel.
优步的问题在许多创业公司都有可能发生，但这些问题同时爆发，显示出优步的不成熟和缺乏专业管理。假如优步败下阵来，硅谷的许多企业和个人的声望都会遭受沉重打击，而且牵涉的资本巨大。有鉴于此，卡兰尼克若要证明自己是掌舵的不二人选，肩头的压力肯定不小。https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=
immaturity n.不成熟
- mature adj.成熟的
stake n.投入
- have a stake in something 参与/对某事感兴趣
prestige n.声望
shortage n.短缺
stay at the wheel 驾驶