2006年VOA标准英语-VoiceOver Internet May Pay Off for eBay

By Barry Wood
San Francisco, California
29 November 2006
 
watch VoiceOver Internet report

In September 2005 eBay, the Silicon¹ Valley-based on-line auction² site, stunned³ California's high-tech⁴ community by spending $2.5 billion to buy a company called Skype. The small European startup had pioneered technology that allowed the Internet to be used for voice communication.

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At first glance it's an unlikely combination. Why would the world's biggest on-line market place want to buy an on-line phone service? 

 
Niklas Zennstrom, Skype's co-founder
Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, a Swede, based his company in Luxembourg. Its software was written in Estonia. "Skype is a free software that you can download to your computer and make free, unlimited⁵ phone calls to anyone in the world, over the Internet."

While Skype remains⁶ headquartered in Europe, just 13 people run its North American operations from a house on eBay's sprawling⁷ campus an hour's drive south of San Francisco.

Jennifer Caukin is Skype's director of corporate⁸ communications. The service, she says, requires a broadband Internet connection. It is winning customers because it is simple and cheap.

 
Kevin Werbach
Kevin Werbach, a professor at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, predicts steady growth for voice over Internet. "What's striking about Skype is that it became such a phenomenon, especially in Europe and Asia, with virtually no marketing⁹."

Skype has 136 million users worldwide, including 25 million in China. Jennifer Caukin says Skype enhances the shopping experience on eBay.  "(But) if we can enable that communication to be even closer by having voice where you can chat between buyers and sellers it reduces friction¹⁰. It alleviates¹¹ any questions the buyer might have about the seller."

eBay is marketing Skype as a stand-alone product. It remains the hottest software on the Internet and 250,000 users are signing up for it every day.

1 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

2 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

5 unlimited   

adj.无限的，不受控制的，无条件的

参考例句：

• They flew over the unlimited reaches of the Arctic.他们飞过了茫茫无边的北极上空。
• There is no safety in unlimited technological hubris.在技术方面自以为是会很危险。

6 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

7 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

8 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

9 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

10 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

11 alleviates   

减轻，缓解，缓和( alleviate的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Heat often alleviates pain. 热常常能减缓疼痛。
• A cold compress often alleviates pain. 冷敷常会减轻疼痛。