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Businesses Facing Extinction 夕阳工业

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繁體中文譯本

Progress and technology go hand in hand. As a result, new companies frequently pop up to replace existing businesses. When this happens, long-established industries often bite the dust. Here are a few examples of major businesses that may face extinction within the next ten years.

科技带来进步，因此新企业的窜起常会取代现存的行业。这种情况发生时，历史悠久的产业往往便得走入历史。这里有几个大行业的例子，它们在未来十年内可能消失。

Record Stores  唱片行

First there were records, then there were tapes, and then there were CDs. The digital age has now created a new music format that does not require brick-and-mortar stores to sell music. As more consumers buy their music online, there is continually less of a need for traditional record stores. Consumers can get thousands of songs without ever leaving their homes.

最早先有唱片，接着出现录音带，然后才有CD。如今数字时代已创造了一种新的音乐格式，不需经由实体商店卖音乐。由于透过因特网购买音乐的消费者越来越多，人们对传统唱片行的需求便持续减少。消费者不出家门即可买到数以千计的歌曲。

Camera Film Manufacturing  底片制造业

In the not-so-distant past, people would take pictures and then wait for them to be developed. Nowadays, most of us enjoy the instant satisfaction and convenience offered by digital cameras. Since fewer people are using film cameras, there is less demand for film itself. Thus companies that make film are disappearing.

才在不久前，人们拍照后得等相片冲洗出来，如今多数人却可享受数字相机提供的实时便利。使用传统相机的人逐渐减少，底片的需求便日益降低，因此底片制造商正在消失。

Newspapers  报纸

When television and radio became popular years ago, some people predicted the end of newspapers. However, today everyone still loves to read. Even so, printed newspapers may eventually fade away, replaced by information available online.

多年前电视和广播蔚为风潮时，有人便预言报纸即将走入历史，然而如今人们仍喜欢看报。即使如此，纸本报纸可能终将式微，被在线信息取代。

Vocabulary

单词发音

extinction [ɪkˋstɪŋkʃən] n. 灭绝；消灭

pop up【口】出现, 发生(尤指出乎意料)  to arise suddenly; to appear without warning

digital [ˋdɪdʒɪt!] adj. 数字的﹐数码的

format [ˋfɔrmæt] n. 格式; 方式﹐样式

eventually [ɪˋvɛntʃʊəlɪ] adv. 最后，终于

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单词发音

go hand in hand 与…密切相关  if two things go hand in hand, they exist together and are connected with each other

bite the dust  倒地而死, 阵亡  to fail or to stop existing

brick-and-mortar（与virtual 相对）实际存在的，实体的

camera film  底片

develop [dɪˋvɛləp] v. 冲洗（底片）

fade away 消失, 消退 to diminish

课文朗读

课文讲解

Pay Phones   公共电话

With so many inexpensive, and sometimes even disposable, mobile phones, pay phones have gone out of fashion. As time goes on, more and more of them will be phased out. However, pay phones will not disappear completely. You will probably still see them in airports and hotels.

由于市面上有一箩筐廉价、甚至可抛弃的移动电话，公共电话已经过时，随着时间流逝，会有越来越多公共电话被淘汰。然而它们不会完全消失，将来机场和饭店或许仍然看得到。

Used Bookstores  二手书店

Website like Amazon.com and eBay connect customers with thousands of booksellers. If you are looking for an old out-of-print book, chances are you will find it online rather than in a used bookstore. For this reason, used bookstores are disappearing left and right.

亚马逊和eBay之类的网站，让消费者可接触数以千计的书店。若要找一本绝版的旧书，因特网可能比二手书店更容易找到，因此许多地方的二手书店都在消失中。

Coin Operated Arcades  代币电玩店

Video game arcades were a great place for young people to hang out in the 1980s and 1990s. But lately, most games get their fix at home. High-definition TVs and sound systems allow gamers to have amazing experiences without ever leaving the house. They can play the latest games without feeding coins into arcade machines.

1980、90年代，电动玩具店是年轻人消磨时间常去的地方，但近来多数电动玩家却可在家里得到满足。高画质电视和音响设备让电动玩家足不出户，便可享有绝妙的体验，玩最新的游戏根本不需将代币投入电玩机器。

As technology races forward, more and more businesses are fading into history. Traditional material-based products are giving way to the Internet and handheld electronic devices. Cell phones, for example, have become increasingly integrated multimedia centers. Although no one knows for sure what the future holds in store for us, what we do know is that the only constant is change.

由于科技突飞猛进，越来越多行业将走入历史，以实物为基础的传统产品，渐被因特网及掌上型电子装置取代。举例来说，移动电话整合的功能日益增加，俨然成为多媒体中心。尽管没人确切知道未来会如何，但我们知道，唯一不变的就是改变。

−by Mark Mitchell & Nathan Godolphin

Vocabulary

单词发音

disposable [dɪˋspozəb!] adj. 用完即丟棄的; 可任意處理的

phase out (使)逐步淘汰 to bring or come to an end

fade [fed] v.【美】【俚】離去，跑掉

electronic [ɪlɛkˋtrɑnɪk] adj. 電子的

integrated [`ɪntəˏgretɪd] adj. 整合的; 〔各組成部分〕相互協調的

More Information

单词发音

go out of fashion 不再流行; 過時 to become unfashionable; to become obsolete

bookseller [ˋbʊk͵sɛlɚ] n. 書商

out-of-print 已絕版的; 已售完的

left and right 到處 everywhere

arcade [ɑrˋked] n. 商场，游乐中心

hang out【非正式】閒蕩; 廝混 to spend time aimlessly; to waste time

fix [fɪks] n. 解决方案(或措施) informal a solution to a problem, especially one that is hastily devised or makeshift

definition [͵dɛfəˋnɪʃən] n. 清晰度; 解析度

give way to something 為…所代替; 屈服 to be replaced by something

handheld [ˋhænd͵hɛld] adj. 手持的; 掌上型的

multimedia [mʌltɪˋmidɪə] adj. 多媒體的

hold in store  蕴藏  planned or likely to happen

constant [ˋkɑnstənt] n. 不變的事物

Reading Questions

1. Why are record stores going out of business?

A. Because CDs are becoming too expensive for people to afford.

B. Because more people are getting their music from the Internet nowadays.

C. Because it is becoming more difficult to build brick-and-mortar stores.

D. Because people are not as interested in music as they once were.

2. The phrase “bite the dust” in the first paragraph is closest in meaning to _____.

A. fail

B. recover

C. move

D. prosper

3. Which of the following is probably true of pay phones?

A. Soon there will be no pay phones left.

B. Pay phones are rapidly replacing cell phones.

C. Pay phones are more widely used today than at any other time in history.

D. There will be fewer pay phones, but they will not go away entirely.

4. According to the article, which will likely be a future trend?

A. More and more services and products will be available online to be used on handheld devices.

B. Material-based products will become popular again as people grow tired of new technology.

C. Businesses will stop paying attention to new technological developments and employ old business methods.

D. People will spend more time in places such as used bookstores and coin operated arcades.

arcade machine

Answer