蘋果：從手機到汽車

◎陳科芳 浙江外國語學院

域外采風

蘋果：從手機到汽車

◎陳科芳 浙江外國語學院

導讀

本期閱讀材料選自《經濟學人》（The Economist），這是一份由倫敦經濟學人報紙有限公司出版的雜志，于1843年9月由詹姆士·威爾遜創辦。創辦的目的是“參與一場推動前進的智慧與阻礙我們進步的膽怯無知之間的較量”，這句話被印在每一期《經濟學人》雜志的目錄頁上。雜志的大多數文章寫得機智、幽默、有力度，嚴肅又不失詼諧，并且注重于如何在最小的篇幅內告訴讀者最多的信息，其封面設計也往往很有特色。雜志主要關注政治和商業方面的新聞，但是每期也有一兩篇針對科技和藝術的報道，以及一些書評。雜志中所有文章都不署名，而且往往帶有鮮明的立場，但又處處用事實說話，因為其主編們認為：寫出了什么東西，比出自誰的手筆更重要。從2012年1月28日的那一期開始，《經濟學人》雜志開辟了中國專欄，為有關中國的文章提供更多的版面。《經濟學人》有意識地將自己看作是一份國際性雜志，其報道不僅僅局限于或偏重于英國或歐洲，因此其80%以上的讀者是在英國以外地區。其全球發行量據報道大約有半數銷往北美洲，20%在歐洲大陸，15%在英國，10%在亞洲。

要讀懂這類文體的材料，除了對相關主題知識有所了解之外，基本的一些詞匯也是需要掌握的。首先需要了解一些專有名詞，包括The Economist《經濟學人》、The Wall Street Journal《華人街日報》、BMW寶馬、Volkswagen大眾、Tesla特斯拉、Elon Musk埃隆·馬斯克公司、Google谷歌等。平時同學們需要盡量多看報，多聽新聞，雙語版的更佳。需要掌握的名詞包括：auto business,tech industry,debut,swarms of,venture,legions of,the massive hit,gross profit margins,compliance,newbie,firm, emission,entrepreneur,malware,rivalry等，需要掌握的動詞包括 showcase,infiltrate等，其他詞性的詞匯包括lucrative,rigorously等。雖然面上顯得詞匯量要求比較高，其實在上下文中，結合語境和主題知識，完全可以很好地推測出詞匯的意義，不必因為詞匯望而生畏。

從邏輯脈絡來看，本文的開頭指出蘋果公司立志涉足新領域即開發新型汽車，接下來說明了蘋果公司為該目標所做的準備工作，隨后指出汽車開發和手機開發是有區別的，最后指出蘋果公司選擇開發iCars還是有其自身優勢的。同學們在閱讀過程中，會發現主題知識的幫助非常大，如果事先了解蘋果公司的動態和跟其關聯的業界動態的話，會比較容易讀懂這篇文本。由此可見，平時的閱讀量和知識面對閱讀理解是多么重要。

閱讀材料

Business:Apple From iPhones to iCars

Apple is entering the auto business,but the road ahead could be rough.Having redefined the personal-computer and mobile-phone industries,Apple has set its sights on a new,moving target.

The darling of the tech industry is aiming to debut an electric car in 2019,according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.For years there had been speculation that Apple had auto ambitions.It has been hiring swarms of engineers to work on the project,code-named Titan,which now employs around 600.

With around$200 billion stored up,Apple certainly has enough cash to spend on a new venture.Its legions of fans are always eager to see it launch a new offering that makes a splash.Its most recent product,the Apple Watch,has not been the massive hit some analysts expected,and Apple’s launch event earlier this month was rather dull,showcasing mainly tweaks to existing products.Launching a car would be far more daring and,in theory,highly lucrative.Global car sales were worth around$2 trillion last year.

However,there are many things about the car business that make it quite unlike peddling phones.The replacement cycle for an iPhone is a mere two years.Consumers hold on to their cars for far longer.To make business sense,Apple’s cars would need to earn returns comparable to those of its existing products.But gross profit margins like Apple’s current 40%or so are something most large-scale carmakers can only dream of.At BMW,one of the most profitable of these,such margins are around 20%.

An even more important factor is that,as demonstrated by all thisweek’s attention on Volkswagen,cars are more heavily regulated than consumer electronics.Compliance with safety standards and emissions rules is likely to be more rigorously enforced in future.That is a tricky prospect for even the most experienced carmaker,let alone an industry newbie.

The firm’s capabilities in mobile devices will be an advantage,as cars become ever more connected to the internet.But the risks associated with connected cars are of a different order to those with mobile phones.This week it was revealed that malware had infiltrated some of the smartphone apps sold in Apple’s store,including two of the most popular apps in China.This was embarrassing but not disastrous.If similar malware got into an Apple car,the results could be deadly.

Such concerns are not enough to discourage tech firms from driving at full speed into the car business.Leading the way is Tesla,a maker of upmarket electric vehicles set up by Elon Musk,a successful tech entrepreneur.Google is working on a self-driving vehicle and an operating system for cars,and recently hired a former motor-industry executive to run its autonomous car project. Apple’s decision to enter the motor industry may be fuelled in part by not wanting to leave Google with control of the dashboard and cars’operating systems.Their rivalry is turning into a road race.