(点击右边的三个点,可以下载音频和调整播放速度)
听力参考原文 ↓↓↓
[00:00.04]Billionaire businessman Elon Musk
[00:03.48]recently confirmed he is still interested
[00:07.84]in buying the social media service Twitter.
[00:12.12]The move came after Musk withdrew an earlier offer
[00:17.48]to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
[00:22.60]In a recent tweet on the subject, Musk wrote:
[00:27.36]"Buying Twitter is an accelerant
[00:30.68]to creating X, the everything app."
[00:35.00]Musk did not provide details on his brief statement.
[00:40.24]The tweet has led many people to question
[00:44.52]what he meant by "the everything app."
[00:48.52]Reuters reporter Sheila Dang
[00:52.20]sought to explain what kind of app this might be.
[00:56.72]She noted that everything apps,
[01:00.40]often called "super apps,"
[01:03.36]have become very popular in Asia.
[01:06.96]Because of this success,
[01:09.84]technology companies across the world
[01:13.24]have tried to copy the idea.
[01:16.52]A super app, or what Musk calls an "everything app,"
[01:22.64]has been described as one that offers
[01:26.04]a series of services for users.
[01:29.72]This could include messaging, social networking,
[01:34.64]direct payment services and online shopping.
[01:39.68]Scott Galloway is a New York University professor of marketing
[01:45.28]and co-presenter of the technology podcast Pivot.
[01:51.00]He said last year that so-called mega apps
[01:55.80]are widely used in Asia
[01:58.40]because mobile devices are the main way
[02:02.16]people get on the internet.
[02:04.88]One industry estimate shows
[02:08.36]that Chinese super app WeChat
[02:12.12]has more than 1 billion monthly users
[02:15.64]and is a huge part of daily life in China.
[02:20.20]People can use the app to call up a ride-share or taxi,
[02:25.60]send money to friends and family
[02:28.32]or make payments at stores.
[02:31.44]In 2018, some Chinese cities began testing WeChat
[02:37.96]for an electronic identification system
[02:41.68]that would be linked to users' accounts,
[02:45.20]the South China Morning Post reported.
[02:48.88]Another leading super app across Southeast Asia is called Grab.
[02:56.00]It offers food delivery, ride-sharing,
[03:00.28]on-demand package delivery,
[03:02.68]financial services and investing.
[03:06.40]During a question-and-answer event with Twitter employees in June,
[03:13.08]Musk noted that there is nothing like a super app
[03:17.48]like WeChat outside of Asia.
[03:20.28]"You basically live on WeChat in China," he said,
[03:25.84]adding that he saw a chance to create such an app.
[03:31.28]Adding more tools and services to Twitter
[03:34.96]could also help Musk reach his high growth goals for the company.
[03:41.08]During his meeting with employees,
[03:43.84]Musk said he wanted Twitter to grow
[03:47.72]from its 237 million users to "at least a billion."
[03:54.04]Some of Musk's phone records were released
[03:58.24]during his legal disputes with Twitter over buying the company.
[04:03.92]The records showed that people close to the billionaire
[04:08.28]had repeatedly texted
[04:10.84]about the idea of adding digital payments to Twitter.
[04:16.40]The parent of messaging app Snapchat, Snap Inc.,
[04:21.56]introduced in the past a direct payment system called Snapcash.
[04:27.88]But the company ended the service in 2018.
[04:32.64]Snap also expanded into mobile gaming,
[04:36.80]but recently ended that offering as part of a cost-cutting plan.
[04:42.88]Meta's Facebook and Instagram services
[04:46.88]have also tried to expand beyond social networking
[04:51.44]and messaging into online selling activities.
[04:56.56]I'm Bryan Lynn.
_____________________
Words in This Story
accelerant – n. something that makes something move faster
app – n. a computer program that performs a special function, usually found on mobile phones
deliver – v. to transport goods from one place to another |
|