Mobile phones have revolutionized the way people connect not only with family and friends but also business services. A good example: services that let people use their phones to send and receive money.




Two companies, Safaricom and Vodafone, launched the M-Pesa mobile money service in Kenya in two thousand seven. Pesa means money in Swahili. The service operates much like a savings bank -- which is important, because plenty of Kenyans do not have bank accounts. Most of the early users were young men who worked in cities and wanted to send money home to rural areas. Now customers can also use their M-Pesa accounts to pay bills, make purchases or pay for services like taxis. Users pay a small amount for each transaction.



Stephen Mbugua has a farm a half-hour's drive from the capital. He uses M-Pesa to receive money from his son and to pay bills. Stephen Mbugua: "I used to go to Nairobi or to any bank to pay my bill. But now, right now, I don't go to Nairobi, I just pay my bill from here." Some businesses use the service to pay their employees. All across Kenya, there are stores and automated teller machines where M-Pesa users can add and withdraw money from their accounts. People can also transfer money to other mobile phone users, even those without an M-Pesa account. The other person receives a text message with a code to take to the local M-Pesa agent to get the money. All this pleases twenty-two year old Phelister Omari. Phelister Omari: "It's very fast. The M-Pesa, they're available everywhere. So once you are going somewhere, you can drop, get some cash and proceed." M-Pesa is improving economic conditions for many Kenyan families. British-based Vodaphone has also teamed with local companies to offer the service in Uganda and Afghanistan. Safaricom says nearly eight million people in Kenya now use M-Pesa. That number is expected to grow as more people use mobile phones.



A recent report predicted that the number of mobile phone accounts worldwide will reach almost four and a half billion this year. That is twelve percent more than last year, and equal to two-thirds of the world's population. The report was from the European Information Technology Observatory. The group says the strongest growth in mobile phone use now comes from newly industrialized and developing countries.



And that's the VOA Special English Development Report, written by June Simms. You can find transcripts and podcasts of our reports at voaspecialenglish.com. And you can find us on Twitter and YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Bob Doughty.



一、全文翻译

手机不仅使人们与家人和朋友的联系方式发生革命性变化，也使商业服务发生革命性改变。一个比较好的例子就是：允许人们使用手机来接收和寄送资金的服务。



2007年，两家公司Safaricom和Vodafone在肯尼亚启动了M-Pesa移动钱包服务。Pesa在斯瓦希里语中是钱的意思。该服务的运营方式类似储蓄银行——这是非常重要的，因为许多肯尼亚人没有银行账户。该服务的早期用户大多是在城市中工作，想往农村的家中寄钱的年轻人。现在，客户还可以使用他们的M-Pesa账户来付账，购物或支付服务费用，例如出租车。用户只需为每笔交易支付少量费用。



Stephen Mbugua拥有一个农场，距离首都有一小时车程。他使用M-Pesa接受儿子寄回来的钱，并用来支付账单。Stephen Mbugua：“我过去常常去内罗毕，或者去任何一个银行来支付账单。但是现在，我不需要再去内罗毕，只要在这里付账就可以了。”一些公司使用这种服务来为员工支付薪资。在肯尼亚全国范围内都有商店和自动取款机，M-Pesa用户可以向账户中存钱，或者从账户中取钱。人们也可以向其他手机用户转账，即使他们没有M-Pesa帐号。另外一个人会受到编码短信，将编码带到当地的M-Pesa代理机构来取钱。所有这些服务都使22岁的Phelister Omari非常高兴。Phelister Omari：“这种服务的速度非常快。到处都有M-Pesa。所以一旦你要去什么地方，随时停下来取钱，然后可以继续前进。”M-Pesa改善了许多肯尼亚家庭的经济状况。位于英国的Vodaphone也与当地公司合作，为乌干达和阿富汗提供这种服务。Safaricom表示，目前，肯尼亚接近800万人使用M-Pesa。随着越来越多的人使用手机，该数目还会继续上升。



最近的一份报告预测，今年全球手机用户数量将达到45亿，比去年增加了12%，相当于全球三分之二的人口。该报告来自欧洲信息技术观察组织。该组织表示，手机用户数量增长最快的是新兴工业化国家和发展中国家。



二、词汇学习

1.rural adj.乡下的,田园的,乡村风味的

例句：The English rural area looks best in May and June.

英国乡村在五六月间风景最美。

We are now in rural seclusion.

我们目前过着乡村隐居生活。



2.transactionn.交易,办理,执行,报告书,学报,和解,事务

例句：Now let me record this transaction in your bankbook .

现在我把这笔帐登录在您的存折里。

There is a profit of over 20,000 yuan from the transaction.

这笔生意盈余2万多元。

3.withdraw vi.撤退,离开，取款

例句：Maggie withdrew 100 pounds from the bank.

麦琪从银行里取了100英镑。

4.transfervt. 转移,调转,调任,改变,传递，转账

例句：The clerk was transferred to another department.

那位职员已被调到另一部门。

The sum of money has been transferred into my account.

那笔钱已转入我的账户。

5.offervt.提供,出价,奉献,企图,使出现,演出

例句：He offered to swap his camera for hers.

他表示要与她交换相机。

You should offer her constant reassurance.

你应该不断地帮她树立自信心。

6.nearlyadv.几乎; 差不多

例句：He can nearly swim.

他差不多会游泳了。

I was nearly killed in the accident.

我在这场事故中险些丧命。

7.team vi.(与某人)一起工作, 合作

例句：He teamed up with a friend and set up a trade business.

他与一个朋友联合, 做起了买卖。