中国已经占领了 3D 打印机爱好者市场
文章出自《经济学人》（The Economist）｜ 无境中高考 · 外刊阅读 ｜ 2026 年 10 月 26 日
图 1 中国 3D 打印机爱好者市场（无境中高考 · 外刊阅读）
文章导读：中国 3D 打印全球份额十年间从 19% 冲到 96%，「深圳四小龙」凭什么击败西方巨头？
一、中考改编版全文
1. China makes many great products today. Electric cars, batteries, game consoles and robots are famous. But there is another winner: the 3D printer for hobbyists.
译文：如今中国制造许多出色的产品。电动汽车、电池、游戏机和机器人广为人知。但还有另一个赢家：面向爱好者的 3D 打印机。
2. A 3D printer is a machine that builds things layer by layer. It pushes out hot melted plastic to make tools, parts and toys. For a long time, these printers were slow, expensive and hard to use. Now they usually cost only about 500 dollars. Western printers cost more than twice that much.
译文：3D 打印机是一种逐层构建物体的机器。它挤出热熔塑料，用来制造工具、零件和玩具。很长一段时间里，这些打印机速度慢、昂贵又难用。如今它们通常只需约 500 美元。而西方打印机的价格是它们的两倍多。
3. More and more people started to buy Chinese printers, which now sell well all over the world. In the past ten years, China’s share of the world market has grown from 19% to 96%. Four large companies from Shenzhen — Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo and Bambu Lab — are the leaders.
译文：越来越多的人开始购买中国打印机，如今它们畅销全球。过去十年，中国的全球市场份额从 19% 增长到 96%。来自深圳的四家大公司——Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo 和 Bambu Lab——是其中的领军者。
4. Why are they so good? First, Chinese factories compete with each other, so prices are low and quality is high. Second, the government gives them strong support. Third, new AI tools help make it fast and easy to design parts by just talking about them.
译文：它们为什么这么好？首先，中国工厂相互竞争，于是价格保持低廉、质量保持上乘。其次，政府给予它们有力支持。第三，新的人工智能工具帮助人们快速轻松地设计零件，只需说出想法。
5. Chinese 3D printers are not perfect, but companies plan to make them better. Some firms worry about using them for military or secret work. But for hobbyists and small businesses, they are a great and cheap choice.
译文：中国的 3D 打印机并不完美，但公司计划让它们变得更好。一些公司担心将它们用于军事或机密工作。但对爱好者和中小企业来说，它们是又好又便宜的选择。
二、高考改编版全文
1. The fastest-growing industrial product in China today is not the electric vehicle, the lithium-ion battery or even the humanoid robot. It is the humble 3D printer for hobbyists. Once regarded as a geeky curiosity, it has quietly become one of China’s most successful consumer electronics. Exports of the machines grew by 90% in the first half of this year, and Chinese firms have captured 96% of the global market, up from 19% a decade ago.
译文：如今中国增长最快的工业产品不是电动汽车、锂离子电池，甚至不是人形机器人，而是不起眼的爱好级 3D 打印机。它曾被视作极客们的新奇玩物，如今已悄然成为中国最成功的消费电子产品之一。今年上半年，这类机器出口增长 90%；过去十年，中国企业已拿下全球市场 96% 的份额，而十年前仅为 19%。
2. The personal 3D-printing market is now divided among the “four little dragons of Shenzhen”: Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo and the industry leader, Bambu Lab. Their success shows how combining fierce competition with generous government support can improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.
译文：个人 3D 打印市场如今被「深圳四小龙」瓜分：Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo 和行业领军者 Bambu Lab。它们的成功表明，把激烈的竞争与慷慨的政府支持结合起来，能提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。
3. The printers build objects layer by layer, usually by extruding molten plastic. Invented in 1983, they long remained expensive, unreliable and difficult to use. Today entry-level printers routinely cost a little over $500, with the sleek aluminium finish of an Apple computer. Artificial intelligence (AI) allows users to create designs for tools, parts or toys by describing them in natural language, instead of using complicated software. Just as Chinese factories turned drones into cheap recreational devices, they are now doing the same with 3D printers.
译文：打印机通常通过挤出熔融塑料，逐层构建物体。1983 年问世后，它们长期昂贵、不可靠且难以使用。如今，入门级打印机通常只需略高于 500 美元，还带有苹果电脑般的流畅铝制外壳。人工智能让用户用自然语言描述工具、零件或玩具，就能生成设计，而无需使用复杂的软件。正如中国工厂曾把无人机变成廉价的娱乐设备，如今它们正对 3D 打印机做同样的事。
4. Price wars have eaten into the firms’ profits even as sales boom. But they still excite investors. Bambu Lab was founded by alumni of DJI, the world’s leading dronemaker, and reportedly has a private valuation of about $10 billion. Creality listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May, with a market capitalisation of HK$12 billion.
译文：即使在销售火爆的同时，价格战也在蚕食这些公司的利润。但它们仍让投资者兴奋。Bambu Lab 由全球领先无人机制造商大疆的校友创立，据报道其私人估值约为 100 亿美元。Creality 今年 5 月在香港联交所上市，市值 120 亿港元。
5. The government values 3D-printing firms, which featured in its “Made in China 2025” plan to ensure self-reliance in high-tech manufacturing. Research institutes back them, and officials see 3D printers as a way to speed up the production of parts for aerospace, health care, military equipment and national defence.
译文：政府重视 3D 打印企业，它们被纳入「中国制造 2025」计划，以确保高科技制造业的自力更生。科研机构支持它们，官员们也将 3D 打印机视为加快生产航空航天、医疗、军事装备和国防设备部件的一种途径。
6. However, Chinese firms have struggled in the industrial market. Some rivals say they have profited from Western open-source software. An American court recently ruled that Bambu Lab infringed four patents and ordered it to pay $27.6m in damages. Firms are also wary of relying on Chinese products if that involves feeding them with sensitive designs. Outside China, top-of-the-range machines are still mostly supplied by American and European companies, and comparable machines from China remain rare.
译文：然而，中国企业在工业市场仍举步维艰。一些竞争对手称，它们从西方的开源软件中获益。美国一家法院最近裁定，Bambu Lab 侵犯四项专利，须支付 2760 万美元赔偿金。如果依赖中国产品意味着要向它们提供敏感设计，企业也会心存戒备。在中国以外，高端机器仍主要由美国和欧洲公司供应，来自中国的可比机型仍然稀少。
7. Undeterred, Chinese suppliers are pioneering “3D-printing farms”—large facilities with up to 5,000 desktop printers that operate like factories. These farms can mass-produce trinkets for zany consumer trends in short order, replacing expensive and slow injection-moulding. Like the printers themselves, their output will be cheaper and better than what came before.
译文：中国供应商并未气馁，正在开创「3D 打印农场」——配备多达 5000 台桌面打印机的大型设施，像工厂一样运转。这些农场能在短时间内批量生产迎合新奇消费潮流的小物件，取代昂贵而缓慢的注塑工艺。和打印机本身一样，它们的产出将比以往更便宜、更好。
三、学术原版全文
China has captured the market for hobbyist 3D printers
译文：中国已经占领了 3D 打印机爱好者市场
The fastest-growing industrial product in China today is not the electric vehicle, lithium-ion battery or even humanoid robot. It is the humble 3D printer for hobbyists. Once geeky curios, 3D printers have quietly become one of China’s most successful consumer electronics. Exports of the machines grew by 90% in the first half of this year. In the past decade China’s global market share has risen from 19% to 96%, ending the dominance of Western firms.
译文：如今中国增长最快的工业产品不是电动汽车、锂离子电池，甚至不是人形机器人。它是不起眼的爱好级 3D 打印机。这些曾是极客们新奇玩意的设备，已悄然成为中国最成功的消费电子产品之一。今年上半年，这类机器出口增长 90%。过去十年，中国的全球市场份额从 19% 升至 96%，终结了西方企业的主导地位。
The personal 3D-printing market is now split among the “four little dragons of Shenzhen”, says Chris Connery of Context, a London-based market-intelligence firm. Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo and the industry’s leader, Bambu Lab, reign supreme globally (see chart). Their success shows, yet again, how fierce competition in China combined with generous government support can help improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.
译文：伦敦市场情报公司 Context 的 Chris Connery 表示，个人 3D 打印市场如今被「深圳四小龙」瓜分——Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo 以及行业领军者 Bambu Lab 在全球占据主导地位（见图表）。它们的成功再次表明，中国激烈的竞争加上慷慨的政府支持，能够帮助提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。
The printers work by building objects layer by layer, usually by extruding molten plastic. Invented by Chuck Hull, an American, in 1983, they long remained expensive, unreliable and difficult to use. Today they routinely sell for a little more than $500 and have the sleek aluminium finish of an Apple computer. Comparable entry-level printers from Western firms start at more than double the price. Artificial intelligence allows users to create print designs for such things as tools, parts or toys by describing them in natural language rather than using complicated design-software. Just as Chinese factories helped to turn drones into recreational devices (as well as game-changers in warfare) by achieving large-scale production at low cost, so they are now doing with 3D printers.
译文：这类打印机通过逐层构建物体来工作，通常是挤出熔融塑料。它们由美国人 Chuck Hull 于 1983 年发明，长期价格昂贵、不可靠且难以使用。如今它们通常以略高于 500 美元的价格出售，并带有苹果电脑般的流畅铝制外壳。西方公司的同类入门级打印机起价是其两倍以上。人工智能让用户可以用自然语言描述工具、零件或玩具等物品来生成打印设计，而无需使用复杂的设计软件。正如中国工厂曾以低成本大规模生产将无人机变成娱乐设备（也成为战争中的规则改变者），如今它们正对 3D 打印机如法炮制。
Price wars have eaten into the printer dragons’ profits even as sales boom. But the firms still excite investors. Bambu Lab was founded in 2020 by alumni of another Chinese company, DJI, the world’s leading dronemaker. The printer-maker is reported to have a private valuation of about $10bn. Last year DJI itself invested in Elegoo, a Bambu rival. Creality listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in May. It boasts a market capitalisation of HK$12bn ($1.5bn).
译文：价格战在销售火爆的同时蚕食着打印机巨头的利润。但这些公司仍令投资者兴奋。Bambu Lab 由另一家中国公司——全球领先无人机制造商大疆——的校友于 2020 年创立。据报道，这家打印机制造商的私人估值约为 100 亿美元。去年，大疆本身投资了 Bambu 的竞争对手 Elegoo。Creality 于 5 月在香港联交所上市，市值高达 120 亿港元（合 15 亿美元）。
The government cherishes 3D-printing firms. The business featured in its “Made in China 2025” industrial plan, which was launched in 2015 to ensure domestic strength and self-reliance in high-tech manufacturing (much to the West’s concern). Officials see 3D printers as a way to produce components of aerospace, health care and military equipment, for which China often relies on Western suppliers. Policymakers have directed research institutes and state-run firms to buy them.
译文：政府珍视 3D 打印企业。这一产业被纳入 2015 年启动的「中国制造 2025」工业计划，该计划旨在确保高科技制造业的国内实力与自力更生（这让西方深感担忧）。官员们将 3D 打印机视为生产航空航天、医疗和军事设备部件的一种途径，而中国在这些领域往往依赖西方供应商。政策制定者已指示研究机构和国有企业购买它们。
Some competitors say Chinese firms have profited from Western open-source printing software. Last month an American court ruled that Bambu Lab had infringed on four patents held by an American company, and ordered it to pay $27.6m in damages. Although Chinese firms have captured the consumer market, they have struggled to do so for industrial 3D printers. Firms are wary of relying on Chinese products if it involves feeding them with sensitive designs (though Britain’s defence ministry has been using Bambu printers, its government admits). Outside China, top-of-the-range machines are still mostly supplied by American and European outfits. They can sell for millions of dollars.
译文：一些竞争对手称，中国企业从西方的开源打印软件中获益。上个月，一家美国法院裁定 Bambu Lab 侵犯了某美国公司持有的四项专利，责令其支付 2760 万美元赔偿。尽管中国企业已占领消费市场，但它们在工业级 3D 打印机领域仍举步维艰。如果涉及向中国企业输送敏感设计，企业会对依赖中国产品心存戒备（尽管英国政府承认，其国防部一直在使用 Bambu 打印机）。在中国以外，高端机器仍主要由美欧企业供应，售价可达数百万美元。
Undeterred, Chinese suppliers are creating a new form of manufacturing at home and abroad. They are pioneering “3D-printing farms”—facilities with as many as 5,000 desktop 3D printers that operate like factories. Several have been built in China this year. Printing farms can mass-produce trinkets for zany consumer trends in short order, replacing expensive and slow injection-moulding techniques. Like the printers themselves, their output will be higher quality and cheaper than what came before.
译文：中国供应商并未被吓倒，他们正在国内外创造一种新的制造形态。他们正率先建立「3D 打印农场」——配备多达 5000 台桌面 3D 打印机、像工厂一样运转的设施。今年中国已建成多处。打印农场能在短时间内为狂热的消费潮流批量生产小玩意，取代昂贵而缓慢的注塑工艺。就像打印机本身一样，它们的产出将比以往质量更高、价格更低。
四、核心词汇精选
中考核心词汇精选
share /ʃer/ n./v. B1（份额；分享）
语境：In the past ten years, China's share of the world market has grown from 19% to 96%.（越来越多的人开始购买中国打印机，如今它们畅销全球。过去十年，中国的全球市场份额从19%增长到96%。来自深圳的四家大公司——Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo和Bambu Lab——是其中的领军者。）
点拨：market share 市场份额；同义 portion 份额，反义 whole 整体。
compete /kəmˈpiːt/ v. B1（竞争）
语境：First, Chinese factories compete with each other, so prices are low and quality is high.（它们为什么这么好？首先，中国工厂相互竞争，于是价格保持低廉、质量保持上乘。其次，政府给予它们有力支持。第三，新的人工智能工具帮助人们快速轻松地设计零件，只需说出想法。）
点拨：compete with each other 互相竞争；同义 rival 竞争，反义 cooperate 合作。
government /ˈɡʌvərnmənt/ n. B1（政府）
语境：Second, the government gives them strong support.（它们为什么这么好？首先，中国工厂相互竞争，于是价格保持低廉、质量保持上乘。其次，政府给予它们有力支持。第三，新的人工智能工具帮助人们快速轻松地设计零件，只需说出想法。）
点拨：government support 政府支持；同义 administration 政府。
高考核心词汇精选
fierce /fɪrs/ adj. B2（激烈的）
语境：Their success shows how combining fierce competition with generous government support can improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.（个人3D打印市场如今被“深圳四小龙”瓜分：Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo和行业领军者Bambu Lab。它们的成功表明，把激烈的竞争与慷慨的政府支持结合起来，能提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。）
点拨：fierce competition 激烈竞争；同义 intense 激烈的，反义 mild 温和的。
generous /ˈdʒenərəs/ adj. B2（慷慨的）
语境：Their success shows how combining fierce competition with generous government support can improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.（个人3D打印市场如今被“深圳四小龙”瓜分：Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo和行业领军者Bambu Lab。它们的成功表明，把激烈的竞争与慷慨的政府支持结合起来，能提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。）
点拨：generous support 慷慨支持；同义 liberal 大方的，反义 stingy 吝啬的。
improve /ɪmˈpruːv/ v. B1（提高；改进）
语境：Their success shows how combining fierce competition with generous government support can improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.（个人3D打印市场如今被“深圳四小龙”瓜分：Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo和行业领军者Bambu Lab。它们的成功表明，把激烈的竞争与慷慨的政府支持结合起来，能提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。）
点拨：improve quality 提高质量；同义 enhance 提升，反义 worsen 恶化。
学术英语核心词汇精选
dominance /ˈdɑːmɪnəns/ n. C1（主导地位）
语境：In the past decade China's global market share has risen from 19% to 96%, ending the dominance of Western firms.（如今中国增长最快的工业产品不是电动汽车、锂离子电池，甚至不是人形机器人。它是不起眼的爱好级 3D 打印机。这些曾是极客们新奇玩意的设备，已悄然成为中国最成功的消费电子产品之一。今年上半年，这类机器出口增长 90%。过去十年，中国的全球市场份额从 19% 升至 96%，终结了西方企业的主导地位。）
点拨：global dominance 全球主导；同义 supremacy 霸权，反义 subordination 从属。
warfare /ˈwɔːrfer/ n. C1（战争；作战）
语境：Just as Chinese factories helped to turn drones into recreational devices (as well as game-changers in warfare) by achieving large-scale production at low cost, so they are now doing with 3D printers.（这类打印机通过逐层构建物体来工作，通常是挤出熔融塑料。它们由美国人 Chuck Hull 于 1983 年发明，长期价格昂贵、不可靠且难以使用。如今它们通常以略高于 500 美元的价格出售，并带有苹果电脑般的流畅铝制外壳。西方公司的同类入门级打印机起价是其两倍以上。人工智能让用户可以用自然语言描述工具、零件或玩具等物品来生成打印设计，而无需使用复杂的设计软件。正如中国工厂曾以低成本大规模生产将无人机变成娱乐设备（也成为战争中的规则改变者），如今它们正对 3D 打印机如法炮制。）
点拨：modern warfare 现代战争；同义 combat 战斗，反义 peace 和平。
reign supreme /reɪn sjuːˈpriːm/ phrase C2（占绝对主导）
语境：Creality, Anycubic, Elegoo and the industry's leader, Bambu Lab, reign supreme globally (see chart).（伦敦市场情报公司 Context 的 Chris Connery 表示，个人 3D 打印市场如今被“深圳四小龙”瓜分——Creality、Anycubic、Elegoo 以及行业领军者 Bambu Lab 在全球占据主导地位（见图表）。它们的成功再次表明，中国激烈的竞争加上慷慨的政府支持，能够帮助提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。）
点拨：reign supreme over 在…占主导；同义 dominate 主导。
五、长难句精选
中考长难句
More and more people started to buy Chinese printers, which now sell well all over the world.
中文：越来越多的人开始购买中国打印机，如今它们畅销全球。
结构：which 引导非限制性定语从句，修饰 Chinese printers。
语法：非限制性定语从句（逗号隔开，起补充说明作用）。
Third, new AI tools help make it fast and easy to design parts by just talking about them.
中文：第三，新的人工智能工具帮助人们快速轻松地设计零件，只需说出想法。
结构：help (to) do 结构中省略 to；make it fast and easy to design… 中 it 为形式宾语。
语法：make + it + 形容词 + to do 形式宾语结构；help 后不定式可省 to。
高考长难句
Their success shows how combining fierce competition with generous government support can improve quality and drive down export prices, making Chinese products hard to beat.
中文：它们的成功表明，把激烈的竞争与慷慨的政府支持结合起来，能提升质量、压低出口价格，让中国产品难以被击败。
结构：how 引导宾语从句；动名词短语 combining… 作从句主语；making… 为结果状语。
语法：how 宾语从句；动名词作主语；现在分词作结果状语。
Just as Chinese factories turned drones into cheap recreational devices, they are now doing the same with 3D printers.
中文：正如中国工厂曾把无人机变成廉价的娱乐设备，如今它们正对 3D 打印机做同样的事。
结构：just as 引导方式状语从句（正如……），主句 they are now doing the same。
语法：just as 方式状语；do the same with 对……做同样的事。
学术英语长难句
Once geeky curios, 3D printers have quietly become one of China’s most successful consumer electronics.
中文：曾被视为极客珍品的 3D 打印机，如今已悄然成为中国最成功的消费电子产品之一。
结构：Once geeky curios（省略 they were）为名词短语作时间状语；主句为现在完成时。
语法：名词短语作时间状语；现在完成时表已实现的变化；one of + 最高级 + 复数名词。
Just as Chinese factories helped to turn drones into recreational devices (as well as game-changers in warfare) by achieving large-scale production at low cost, so they are now doing with 3D printers.
中文：正如中国工厂通过低成本实现大规模生产，把无人机变成娱乐设备（以及战争中的规则改变者）一样，如今他们正对 3D 打印机做同样的事。
结构：just as… so… 对举结构；by achieving… 为方式状语；括号为插入补充。
语法：just as… so… 结构；by doing 表方式；插入语的翻译处理。
六、本期考点速览
中考 · 细节定位题：十年间中国 3D 打印机全球市场份额从 19% 增至 96%，考数字细节定位与 market share 固定搭配识别。
模拟真题（源自本期文章）：
How much did China's share of the world 3D-printer market change in the past ten years?
A. From 19% to 96%.
B. From 96% to 19%.
C. From 19% to 90%.
D. From 90% to 96%.
参考答案：A
点拨：考查数据细节定位——原文明确给出 in the past ten years, from 19% to 96%。先定位 In the past ten years，再比对数字；注意区分价格（约 500 美元）与份额（19%→96%）两组信息。
高考 · 推理判断题：价格战蚕食利润但销售仍火爆、投资者仍兴奋（but 转折），考因果推理与干扰项识别。
模拟真题（源自本期文章）：
What can be inferred about the 3D-printer market from Paragraph 4?
A. Price wars have driven the firms out of business.
B. Investors remain confident in the firms despite falling profits.
C. Sales have stopped growing because of price wars.
D. The firms are losing money and need government help.
参考答案：B
点拨：考查因果推理——价格战蚕食利润（eaten into profits）但销售激增（sales boom），投资者仍兴奋（still excite investors）。抓住 but 转折：利润与销售一低一高并存，后文用 But 引向投资者态度，故选 B；干扰项多来自过度推断与偷换因果。
学术 · 段落主旨题：第 3 段讲 3D 打印机工作原理（layer by layer）与变便宜、变好用（成本下降、AI 简化设计），考段落中心句识别。
模拟真题（源自本期文章）：
What is mainly discussed in Paragraph 3 of the passage?
A. How 3D printers work and why they have become cheaper and easier to use.
B. Why Western printers are more expensive than Chinese ones.
C. The history of Chuck Hull's invention of the 3D printer.
D. How AI has replaced design software completely.
参考答案：A
点拨：考查段落主旨概括——第 3 段首句讲工作原理（layer by layer），随后围绕“变便宜、变好用”（成本下降、AI 简化设计、无人机类比）展开，故选 A；细节项（B/C）与绝对化表述（D）是主要干扰。
【继续阅读】完整内容见无境中高考知识星球外刊阅读。
