11月01日
The Phone of the Future
A single device will soon be wired to run your life
Harry Santamaki vows to never utter the word “phone.” That’s odd, considering Santamaki works at Nokia, the largest mobile phone maker in the world, located in Espoo, Finland. “We are forbidden to call them phones,” said the vice president of multimedia strategy and business development. Instead, they’re “multimedia computers.” This decree reveals the Finnish company’s vision of the cell phone future, one in which one device will manage your information, communication and entertainment needs—a single remote control of sorts for your electronic life.
Situated seemingly at the edge of the globe, its global headquarters in Espoo sits along a waterfront that freezes over in winter. As remote as it may seem, Nokia aims to be on the cutting edge of an industry that determines much of our technology-driven activities. Already, it dominates the wireless business, producing about a third of the 800 million mobile phones sold around the world every year. In a way, Nokia defines the world of wireless and mobile technologies.
Rise to the top of a mobile world
With 63,000 employees, Nokia is a long way from its start in 1865 as a wood-pulp company. Over the years, it has branched out to more industries. It wasn’t until 1992 that Nokia unveiled one of its first digital mobile phones.
Today, the company plots its message on the future of mobile technology form its headquarters building called Nokia House. The idea, says Antti Vasara, vice president for corporate strategy, is to change the perception of how we use the Internet. Today we have a range of gateways, from desktop computers and handheld devices to TV set-top boxes. However, Nokia is working to make mobile the “one way-the dominant way-to access it.” That would make access to the Internet available anytime from virtually any place.
Specialized Terms
Wood-pulp (n) 木浆 wood changed into a soft mass which can be used for making paper
Vocabulary Focus
Utter (v) to say something
Decree (n) an official statement that something must happen
Unveil (v) to make something known for the first time
Plot (v) to plan something in detail
Discussion Question
What a legend of Nokia! Have you ever used Nokia ‘multimedia computers’? How’s your feeling?
Extra Exercise
1. Translate the following sentence into Chinese, ‘This decree reveals the Finnish company’s vision of the cell phone future, one in which one device will manage your information, communication and entertainment needs—a single remote control of sorts for your electronic life.’
2. According to the recording, what’s the average price of Nokia’s mobile phone?
说明：
1.文本摘自《Advanced 彭蒙惠英语》，由chandler30亲自录入。更多节目可访www.studioclassroom.com
2.回帖内容为大家讨论类话题，如非个人隐私，请不要选中“只有楼主可见”，以便大家交流。
3.参考答案在二楼，回复可见。
4.参与讨论奖励50沪元，回答问题奖励50沪元，本栏目谢绝灌水!