Directions: Complete the following passage by using the
words in the box. Each word can only be used once. Note that there is one word
more than you need.
|
A.
marginal B. personal C. sliding D. promise E. counted F.
gaps G. profits H. distributed I. relief J.
maturing K. leveling
|
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.
