VOA慢速英语2009年-Economics Report - Microsoft, Google Take

This is the VOA Special English Economics¹ Report.

Google, the Internet search leader, will now offer a free operating system for personal computers. The company hopes to loosen² Microsoft's hold on the market. Microsoft Windows is on more than ninety percent of PCs.

Google is basing the new product on its Chrome Web browser³ and the Linux open-source operating system. The Google Chrome OS is expected to be available in the second half of next year.

At first, it will be aimed at netbooks. These are smaller, simpler machines designed mainly for Internet use.
　
Google CEO Eric Schmidt, left, and Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates laughing together at a media conference in Idaho earlier this month

Google's chief executive⁴, Eric Schmidt, says Chrome will pay for itself. It will do that, he says, by reducing the cost of computers and increasing the number of people who search the Internet. Google earns most of its money from sales of advertising⁵ on its search engine.

But the recession⁶ has hurt the advertising market. And now Microsoft has targeted Google's main business. Microsoft says its new Bing search engine offers a better way to search the Internet. Ads for it make fun of how Web searches often give people a lot of useless results.

COMMERCIAL: "Find a cure at bing.com. It's not just a search engine. It's the first-ever decision engine. From Microsoft."

A Web traffic report last Friday from StatCounter said Bing twice passed Yahoo in usage⁷ in the United States in its first few weeks. Yahoo is the second biggest search engine.

But no one has the answer to how much market share Bing will claim from Yahoo or Google in the long term. Microsoft, in its struggle against Google, tried unsuccessfully last year to buy Yahoo for more than forty billion dollars.

Google and Microsoft are also competing in business software. Google offers Google Docs. These applications are free and on the Web. They compete with Microsoft Office, a hugely popular product. Next year, Microsoft plans a new version of Office that is both Web-based and free.

Also, Microsoft plans to launch its seventh version of Windows this October. And the company is preparing to open its own stores, like its competitor Apple. In fact, some Microsoft stores could open right next to Apple stores in the coming months.

The recession has cut sales of PCs and software. But there may be hopeful signs for the industry. Intel is the leading maker⁸ of computer processors. This week Intel reported that its results for the past three months were better than expected. And it predicted more good news in the current quarter.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts⁹ and MP3s are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 economics   

n.经济学，经济情况

参考例句：

• He is studying economics,which subject is very important.他正在学习经济学，该学科是很重要的。
• One can't separate politics from economics.不能把政治与经济割裂开来。

2 loosen   

vt.放松，松开，解除（便秘等），放宽；vi.变松，松弛

参考例句：

• I must take some exercise and loosen up my muscles.我必须活动活动使肌肉放松些。
• The medicine may loosen your cough.这种药能减轻你的咳嗽。

3 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

4 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

5 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

6 recession   

n.（工商业的）衷退（期），萧条（期）

参考例句：

• Manufacturing fell sharply under the impact of the recession.受到经济萧条的影响，制造业急剧衰退。
• A rise in interest rates plunged Britain deeper into recession.利率的提高导致英国经济更加萧条。

7 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句