Facebook is the world's biggest social network -- and the subject of the movie "Social Network."
Facebook是全球最大的社交网络——同时也是电影《社交网络》讲述的主题。

The real Mark Zuckerberg and his friends at Harvard University launched the site in 2004.
2004年，现实中的Mark Zuckerberg和他哈佛大学的朋友启动了这个网站。

Facebook says it reached 500 million users last July.
Facebook声称去年7月其网站用户人数已达到了5亿。

Now, the American bank Goldman Sachs and the Russian company Digital Sky Technologies have friended Facebook.
目前，美国高盛银行和俄罗斯数码天空技术公司已与Facebook友好合作。

They are investing a total of $500 million in the company.
两家公司共同向Facebook投资了5亿美元。

The deal values Facebook at $50 billion -- more than many publicly traded Internet companies.
这笔交易也将Facebook市值估价为500亿美元——超过了许多上市的互联网公司。

Goldman Sachs is expected to raise a billion and a half dollars more by selling shares of ownership in Facebook to rich investors.
高盛银行预计将通过向实力雄厚的投资者出售Facebook股份筹集超过15亿美元。

The plan does not include a public stock offering -- at least not right now.
这项计划不包括公开发行股票——至少现在不会发行。

For now, Facebook would remain a private company -- meaning a company that does not sell shares to the public.
目前，Facebook仍是一家私人公司——意味着这家公司不向公众出售股份。

The plan has brought new attention to the largely secretive world of private financing and the rules for private companies in the United States.
该计划引起了对神秘的私人融资和美国私人公司管理制度的新关注。

The idea is that investors in public companies have protections that investors in private companies do not.
这个原因就是，上市公司投资者受到保护，而私人公司投资者不受保护。

The Securities and Exchange Commission says a private company must report financial information if it has 500 shareholders or more.
美国证券交易委员会称，如果一家私人公司有500或更多名股东，就必须披露财务信息。

A new business, a startup company, is usually considered too risky for average investors.
一项新业务或一家创业型公司通常被认为对普通投资者风险过大。

But a promising startup may find a small number of private investors, often known as "angels."
但一家充满前景的创业型公司可以寻找少数通常被称为“天使投资人”的私人投资者。

These investors are willing to lose everything for a chance at big returns.
这种投资人在巨大的回报面前甘冒任何风险。

Rikki Tahta has been involved in raising money for startups.
Rikki Tahta一直参与为创业型公司筹集资金。

He is now chairman of his own investment company, Covestor, with offices in New York and London.
他现在是自己的投资公司Covestor的董事长，该公司在纽约和伦敦设有办事处。

Mr. Tahta compares the difference between public and private companies to the difference between marriage and dating.
Tahta先生将公众公司和私人公司之间的差异用结婚和约会来比喻。

When people are dating, he says, there are understandings but few rules.
他说，约会中的人们有默契，却少有规则。

In marriage, the rules are more clear and well-defined.
但在婚姻中，规则更加清晰明确。

In his opinion, the only real benefit for a private company is lower administrative and record-keeping costs.
在他看来，一家私营公司唯一的实际好处是更低的管理成本和做帐成本。

Yet he tells us Covestor remains a private company after a few years because it is still too risky for most investors.
然而他告诉我们，他的Covestor公司数年后仍保持私人公司身份，因为对大多数投资者来说风险还是太高。