Bad News for Apple; Good News for Humanity

    When Apple cut its revenue estimate(收益预期) for the last quarter of 2018 because of unexpectedly slow sales of iPhones, markets trembled. The company's share price, which had been {#blank#}1{#/blank#} for months, fell by a further 10% on January 3rd, the day after the news came out. Apple's suppliers' shares were also hit.

    Analysts assume that the number of smartphones sold in 2018 will be slightly lower than in 2017, the industry's first ever annual decline. All this is terrible news for investors who had {#blank#}2{#/blank#} on continued growth. But step back and look at the bigger picture. That smartphone sales have peaked, and seem to be {#blank#}3{#/blank#} off at around 1.4billion units a year, is good news for humanity. The slowdown is actually the result of market saturation (饱和), which hits Apple the hardest because, despite a relatively small market share (13% of smartphone users), it captures almost all of the industry's {#blank#}4{#/blank#}. But Apple's pain is humanity's gain. The fact that the benefits of these magical devices are now so widely {#blank#}5{#/blank#} is something to be celebrated.

    Now many phones are used for longer than three years, often as hand-me-downs. Replacement cycles are lengthening as new models offer only {#blank#}6{#/blank#} improvements. So even with flat sales, the longer {#blank#}7{#/blank#} between upgrades mean people who already have phones benefit. For all but the most addicted device fans, the slowing pace of upgrades comes as a welcome {#blank#}8{#/blank#}.

    Does that mean innovation is slowing? No. As computers become smaller, still more {#blank#}9{#/blank#} and closer to people's bodies, many technicians expect that wearable devices, from smart watches to AR headsets, will be the next big thing. Even so, finding another product with the scope of the smartphone is a tall order. The smartphone holds its {#blank#}10{#/blank#} as the device that will make computing and communications worldwide. The recent slowing of smartphone sales is bad news for the industry, obviously. But for the rest of humanity it is a welcome sign that a transformative technology has become almost universal.

A Night The Earth Didn't Sleep

    On July 28, 1976, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake hit the sleeping city of Tangshan in northeastern China. ⑪The very large earthquake killed over 240, 000people, making it the deadliest earthquake of the twentieth century.

    In a village outside of Tangshan, well water rose and fell three times the day before the earthquake. Water pipes throughout the area cracked and     ①    . Animals also gave a warning that something was about to happen. Chickens and pigs were too nervous to eat. Mice ran around looking for a place to     ②    . A goldfish began jumping wildly in its bowl. Stranger Indeed. Many people reported seeing strange lights as well as hearing    ③     , which was described as louder than that of an airplane.

    At 3:42 a. m. on July 28, over a million people lay sleeping.  As the earth began to shake, it seemed as if the world was     ④    . One-third of the nation felt it. In fifteen terrible seconds a large city lay in     ⑤    . Two-thirds of people died or were     ⑥    during the earthquake. ⑫Everywhere they looked nearly everything was destroyed. All of the city's hospitals, 75%of its factories and buildings and 90% of its homes were gone.     ⑦     were faced with no water, no food, and no electricity. People were shocked. Then, later that afternoon, another big quake which was almost as strong as the first one shook Tangshan. Some of the     ⑧    workers and doctors were trapped under the ruins.

    All hope was not lost. Soon after the quakes, the army sent 150, 000 soldiers and thousands of people were helped. The army organized teams to    ⑨      those who were trapped and to bury the dead. Workers built     ⑩     for survivors whose homes had been destroyed. Fresh water was taken to the city by train, truck and plane. Though it took time, the entire city was rebuilt, earning Tangshan the name "Brave City of China."

The programme attracted millions of {#blank#}1{#/blank#}.

People came from all over the world to {#blank#}2{#/blank#}her work.