VOA慢速英语(翻译+字幕+讲解):约翰内斯堡的打车手机应用
日期:2013-11-26 13:20

(单词翻译:单击)

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听力文本

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From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.

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Getting a taxi ride in New York city is as easy as standing along a street and raising your hand high in the air. In Johannesburg, getting a taxi ride just got even easier, thanks to a new software application. SnappCab lets users call a taxi simple by touching the screen of their smartphone.

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Anton van Metzinger shows how the SnappCab app, which allows users to hail a cab and pay for it electronically, works on his smartphone. (VOA/Peter Cox)

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Anton van Metzinger is the managing director of SnappCab. He and two partners launched their smartphone app in September. He explains how it works.

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"You open the app. And you literally with two clicks of a button you can order a cab. Using your GPS, you click the button, you electronically hail the cab, it connects you to the closest cabs in the area. So I get the cab driver's name, I get the cab driver's company ID he or she works for, their vehicle registration details and the vehicle description. So I know, as the passenger I know exactly which cab is coming to me and I can now track it on my smartphone," said van Metzinger.

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When the vehicle arrives, the app sends a message to the passenger. When the ride is done, He or she can either pay the driver directly, or pay using the smartphone.

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"We've been in the market only for about a month now and we already see that the credit card payment option is very popular, in fact more popular than we expected initially... People are getting used to the idea of online shopping, they're getting used to the idea of mobile. We predict that a year down the line, the majority of our transactions will be by credit card," said van Metzinger.

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But critics say the move to financial transaction through mobile apps has been slow. Arthur Goldstuck is managing director of World Wide Worx, he also marks as a writer who specializes in South African technology. He says many South Africans are not get ready to make online purchases by telephone. He says they lack trust in the technology.

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"There's a phenomenon in this country and probably across Africa, that we call the digital participation curve. And it shows that the average Internet user needs to have been online for five years or more before they're ready to start transacting online," said Goldstuck.

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But there have been success stories. An app called Powertime was launched in 2009, it sells pre-paid, or pay-as-you-go electricity. Before Powertime, power users would have to go to a fueling station or store to buy pre-paid electricity.

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"What I find that is working in South Africa, is if you build an app that is relevant to the country because it solves a local problem. Kind of a local app for a local problem. And I think that was part of the success of Powertime. It was a very, very significant issue in South Africa to buy pre-paid electricity,"said Lacour.

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With the group of dependable customers, Powertime has now moved into paying for other services, like water bills and airtime for mobile phones.

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There are an estimated 14.7 million smartphones registered with South African telecom networks. That number is sure to grow as local smartphone prices drop below $100 and as South African technology companies began launching smartphones of their own.

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And that is the Technology Report from VOA Special English. I'm June Simms.

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文本来自51voa,译文属可可原创,仅供学习交流使用,未经许可请勿转载

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词汇解释

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1.literally adv. 照字面地;逐字地;不夸张地;正确地;简直

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He translated the passage literally.
他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字SUseW.as[3!p^bLR|^v

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2.track vt. 追踪;通过;循路而行;用纤拉 vi. 追踪;走;留下足迹

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I followed him, tracking him in the snow until finally he got tired.
我跟着他,在雪地里追踪他,直到他最终体力不支=ou+(c)BpaMXlS

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3.initially adv. 最初,首先;开头

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Feathers initially developed from insect scales.
羽毛最初由昆虫的翅瓣演化而来t+HUiu;KwlVxhxo

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4.pre-paid 预付费的

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Why would you have a prepaid phone card if you have a cell phone?
如你有手机,为何还要用预付卡呢?

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内容解析

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1.People are getting used to the idea of online shopping, they're getting used to the idea of mobile.

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get used to 习惯于…

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You will soon become [get] used to the weather here.
你很快就会习惯这里的气候iFiwIW0rwFwrCB5^XnL

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Driving on the left is strange at first but you get used to it.
沿着路的左侧驾车刚开始时有些别扭,可是习惯就好了j.@;;iXVY&e9J#7rsk

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2.What I find that is working in South Africa, is if you build an app that is relevant to the country because it solves a local problem.

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relevant to 有关的,相应的;与…有关的

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These comments are not directly relevant to this enquiry.
这些意见与这项调查没有直接联系Mz3&4!Cz^8JcOh

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I don't think his remarks are relevant to our discussion.
我认为他的话不切我们的议题l)Oe8cA]WV.k!Sbi

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参考译文

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这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道8yKVktyTa&

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在纽约市打的很简单,只需站在大街上挥挥手即可8-.%BpD,x8HfxsVX3G%。在约翰内斯堡打的更容易,这就多亏了一款新的软件应用8C~d29|s|G(Z;。有了SnappCab,打车者只需触摸下智能手机屏幕就能打到车AuYFh-9Gle5]

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Anton van Metzinger是这款应用的总经理,他和两名合作伙伴九月份推出了这款智能手机应用CqThedEuqLBrf。他解释了这款应用-MffKC@W@.Vu8-lZu

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“打开应用,对一个按钮只需点击两次就能订出租车,使用GPS,点击这个按钮,你就是在以电子的方式打车,它使你与该地区最近的出租车建立联系b-Nnh,9V_.。这样就能获得出租车司机的名字,司机在出租车公司的ID,他们的注册信息和车辆的描述o@OB,J[~1EqTJvga*Y。所以作为乘客,我就能确切知道哪辆车在开向我,我能在智能手机上追踪到它|V%_v;(NuYjOgU[WtJM。”

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当出租车到达时,应用就给乘客发信息k3*Z^bCsLt。乘客到达目的地后,可以直接付钱给司机,也可以使用手机支付=|x|6!kzvJ11OHtcl3

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“这款应用才上市一个月,但已经可以看到信用卡支付很流行了,事实上比我们最初预料的还要受欢迎Eo8G0B7I)t8*N。人们习惯于网络购物这个概念了,习惯于移动的概念[3A3fb0_5I。我们预料未来一年后,我们的大部分业务将通过信用卡进行_hib*5#&j3GAi。”

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但批评者说通过手机应用来进行财务交易的进步很慢,Arthur Goldstuck是World Wide Worx公司总经理,他还是一位专门从事南非科技的作家5[J+Y9ku(LgUU4。他说许多南非人还没做好用手机进行在线购物的准备y-RhteqnbaN。他说他们对科技还不够信任C6+7-Ij31Bk

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“这种现象在整个国家、或许整个非洲都存在,我们称这叫数字化参与曲线h!3Y1;jbuo,。这个曲线显示一般的互联网用户至少需要上网5年或更久,才能做好在线交易的准备Xh7Wd_g.Bn。”

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不过也有成功的案例,一个名为Powertime于2009年面世,该应用出售预付用电r|u4U=D(xub_OH7。在该应用推出之前,电力用户只得在加油站或商店里购买预付用电B!lMOZoTIemyXVm8

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“我们发现,在南非,能解决当地问题的与国家相关的应用就会成功,相当于解决本地问题的本地应用-A&e.pUb|[WJne5&。我认为这就是Powertime成功的部分原因,在南非购买预付用电是一个相当大的问题.i6EBqAs-D=LfD~Ah。”

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有了这批可靠用户,Powertime现在转向其他服务的付费,比如水单和手机话费;5FtRjAs7;xklfi3

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估计有1470万台智能手机注册了南非电信网,这个数字肯定还要增长,因为当地的智能手机价格下降到100美元以下,南非科技公司也开始推出自己的智能手机UY8x28,49ir,

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这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道,我是琼·希姆斯QGmTNzIP%cE=,

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点击此处下载本期VOA慢速新闻讲解PDF与音频字幕

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重点单词
  • majorityn. 多数,大多数,多数党,多数派 n. 法定年龄
  • vehiclen. 车辆,交通工具,手段,工具,传播媒介
  • trackn. 小路,跑道,踪迹,轨道,乐曲 v. 跟踪,追踪
  • curven. 曲线,弯曲,弧线,弯曲物 vt. 使...弯
  • optionn. 选择权,可选物,优先购买权 v. 给予选择
  • directorn. 董事,经理,主管,指导者,导演
  • paymentn. 支付,付款,报偿,报应
  • phenomenonn. 现象,迹象,(稀有)事件
  • predictv. 预知,预言,预报,预测
  • transactionn. 交易,处理,办理,事务 (复)transactio