Take-Away English

一沁供稿

Take-Away English

一沁供稿

電臺節目“英語文化隨身帶”文章短小精悍，內容包羅萬象。將英語文化裝進口袋里，利用閑散的時間隨身翻閱，英語學習者可以在潛移默化中了解當代英語世界的生活和文化。哈哈，iPhone7終于出來啦，是不是特別開心呀！而與此同時你也會發現，咦咦咦，怎么這次iPhone木有插入耳機的接口咧？

★ 聽力練習（本文為英式發音）：

本文會讀兩遍。

STEP 1: 合上雜志先聽一遍，理解文章大意。

STEP 2: 聽第二遍，在畫線部分填上所缺的單詞或詞組。

STEP 3: 歸納文章重點，再用英語表達自己的看法。

Apple is 1._for technological innovation. They came up with the iPod, the iPad and the iPhone—all of which were game changers. But their 2._offering has had many tech journalists scratching their heads.

Why? Their new smartphone has been released without the humble headphone jack. That’s right, customers who buy an iPhone 7 will not be able to plug traditional headphones 3._into their device.

Instead, they’ll be encouraged to use “AirPod” headphones, which connect wirelessly to the iPhone. These look much the same as the old earbuds, with one crucial difference: they’re cordless. And whilst we’re all 4._with the frustration of tangled wires, the thought of two expensive bits of kit dangling precariously from our ears 5._a simple question: what if they fall out?

重點詞匯

humble ['h?mbl] adj. 普通的

headphone jack 耳機接口

plug [pl?g] v. 塞住

wirelessly ['wa??l?sl?] adv. 無線地

earbud [??b?d] n. 耳塞

cordless ['k??dl?s] adj. 無線的

whilst [wa?lst] conj. 同時

tangled ['t??gld] adj. 紊亂的，纏結的

precariously [pr?'kε?r??sl?] adv. 不安全地，不牢靠地

deride [d?'ra?d] v. 嘲笑，嘲弄

obsolete ['?bs?li?t] adj. 過時的，被淘汰的

demise [d?'ma?z] n. 終止

transistor radio 晶體管收音機

switchboard ['sw?t?,b??d] n. 電話總機

share price 股價

AirPods have also been derided on social media for their appearance, with people 6.＿＿ they look like mini-hairdryers, like electric toothbrushes, and even like cartoon dog Snoopy. Others claim the change is about proft, as old headphones are now obsolete without an adapter.

Apple themselves admit the move has taken “courage,” and insist the new approach 7.＿＿vital space inside the phone, as well as making devices more water- and dust-re_sistant. AirPods also double as microphones and can be used to control the iPhone with just your 8.＿＿.

So, could this mark the demise of one of the longest-standing technologies? The simple 3.5mm headphone jack was frst used in transistor radios as _far back as the 1950s, and earlier versions go even further to the telephone switchboards of the 9＿＿.1800s.

Regardless, with a falling share price and strong, innovative comp_etition, Apple needed to do something bold. Time will tell if their headphone strategy will help cut 10.＿＿the noise.