Samsung’s Smartphone Woes
Without a doubt, Samsung is a powerful multinational conglomerate. Based in South Korea
but with a presence around the world, Samsung sells everything from household appliances to information technology. For many years, its consumer electronic devices, in particular its cell phones, have been very popular with
consumers everywhere. However, Samsung has been dealt a very serious blow in
recent months, after it was discovered that some Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones had caught on fire.
The news about Samsung’s “exploding” smartphones first came to light in the fall of 2016. By then, the company had already learned of
more than 35 cases of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 overheating and causing a fire. With this information in mind, Samsung made the
decision to recall each and every Galaxy Note 7 ever sold, which experts said could be
up to 2.5 million phones. The company did promise to send owners new replacement phones, and it also stopped shipping and selling all Galaxy Note 7
smartphones around the world.
Then, in early October, after reports of replacement Note 7
smartphones also catching on fire began to
surface, Samsung made the decision to ask all Galaxy Note 7 users to shut
down their phones immediately and stop using them altogether.
What caused this problem? Although the complete answer is very
complicated, experts say that, basically speaking, Samsung may have tried to “squeeze” too much power out of these lithium ion batteries. Unfortunately, this defect in design became apparent in certain situations. In
addition, it should be noted that other smartphones, including the iPhone and
Samsung Galaxy Core, have had similar problems in the past, though not as
serious or extensive as the Galaxy Note 7.
Perhaps
even more troubling is a recent incident involving a different Samsung
smartphone model. This past December on a China Airlines flight from Palau to Taipei, a passenger’s Samsung Galaxy S6 smartphone began to
smoke while the plane was in the air. Taking quick action, the crew sprayed the phone with a fire extinguisher and stored it in an ice bucket,
until the plane could land safely in Taiwan.
As a result of this incident, government
authorities in Taiwan are now considering whether passengers should be asked
not to bring on-board or use any Samsung smartphones
on any flights. Several airlines, including Virgin Australia and China Airlines, have already prohibited Samsung Galaxy Note 7 smartphones on their flights.
It can only be hoped that for the safety
of everyone, Samsung will be able to resolve this
problem quickly. Even so, the company may have a much harder time recovering
from the damage that has been done to its reputation by Samsung Galaxy Note 7.
Reading
Comprehension
(
) 1. What is the passage mainly about?
(A) The growing
popularity of Samsung smartphones around the world.
(B) The ways in which the iPhones are better than
Samsung’s smartphones.
(C) A brief report of smartphone problems and recalls
in Australia and Taiwan.
(D) The problems Samsung has been having recently with its smartphones.
( ) 2. The word “squeeze” in the fourth paragraph is closest in meaning
to “______.”
(A) succeed (B) sort
(C) force (D) limit
( ) 3. According to
the passage, how many Samsung Galaxy Note 7 have been recalled?
(A) Less than
one million. (B) Two
million.
(C) Up to 2.5
million. (D) The passage does not
mention.
( ) 4. In the passage, a flight in past December from Palau to Taiwan is
mentioned. What happened on this flight?
(A) A
passenger became very ill, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing.
(B) A Samsung
Galaxy Note 7 caught on fire and caused the plane to crash.
(C) An iPhone overheated and burst into flames shortly
after the plane took off.
(D) A Samsung Galaxy S6 began to emit smoke in the middle of the
flight.
( ) 5. According to the passage, what will Samsung likely have trouble
recovering from?
(A) The ban
that several airlines enforced on using Samsung smartphones
on any flights.
(B) The lawsuits that many Galaxy Note 7 users have
filed in courts around the world.
(C) The bad reputation for oppressing its employees.
(D) The damage that has been done to the company by
exploding smartphones.
Vocabulary and Phrases
1. woe [wo] n. pl. 麻煩，問題
．No one understands the woes the
homeless man has been through.
2. multinational [&m^ltI`n8S1nL] adj. 跨國的
．The multinational company set up headquarters in Paris. It is planning to open a branch in Beijing
next year.
3. appliance [1`plaI1ns] n. [C] 電器，器具
．The shopping mall sells many different
types of appliances: washing machines,
refrigerators, hairdryers, and so forth.
4. explode [Ik`splod] vi.
爆炸
．The NASA scientist claimed that the satellite had exploded because of mechanical problems.
5. come to light [k^m tu laIt] phr. (事情)曝光
．Finally, it came to light that the secretary of defense had betrayed his
country for money.
6. recall
[rI`kOl] vt. 召回
．The car company decided to recall all the cars that have engine
problems.
7. replacement [rI`plesm1nt] n. [U] 替代品
．My computer doesn’t work and is in need of replacement.
8. surface [`s3fIs] vi. (問題、資訊等)顯露
．Doubts about
the safety of autonomous cars have just begun to surface.
9. altogether [&Olt1`GED2] adv. 完全，全部
．Passenger pigeons have become extinct in the wild altogether.
They are nowhere to be found now.
10. squeeze [skwiz] vt. 使擠入
．They
tried hard to squeeze forty people
into the car, and successfully achieved
the Guinness World Records.
11. defect [`dI&fEkt] n. [C] 缺點，缺陷
．The manager demanded the workers
to check the products for any
defect.
12. apparent [1`p8r1nt] adj.
明顯的，顯而易見的
．
13. extensive [Ik`stEnsIv] adj. 廣大的
．After the fierce typhoon, the
government had to deal with the extensive
damage.
14. spray [spre] vt.
噴灑
．The landscape gardener sprays the
plants with water and weeds the flower beds.
15. prohibit [pr1`hIbIt] vt. 禁止
．People are prohibited from hunting and fishing in national parks. Anyone who
violates the law will be punished.
16. reputation [&rEpj1`teS1n] n. [C] 名譽，名聲
．The famous hotel has a good reputation for its relaxed atmosphere, good service, and most of all,
reasonable price.
Words for
Recognition
1. Samsung n. 三星集團
2. conglomerate [k1n`GlAm1r1t] n. [C] 企業集團
3. information technology [&Inf2`meS1n tEk`nAl1dZI] n. [U] (abbr. IT) 資訊科技
4. consumer electronic device [k1n`sjum2
I&lEk`trAnIk dI`vaIs] n. [C] 消費性電子裝置
5. Galaxy Note n. 平板手機
6. overheating [&ov2`hitI9] n. [U] 過熱
7. lithium ion battery [`lITI1m `aI1n `b8t1rI] n. [C] 鋰離子電池
8. China Airlines n. 中華航空
簡稱華航，是臺灣的航空公司。
9. Palau n. 帛琉共和國
10. Virgin Australia n. 維珍澳洲航空
維珍澳洲航空是一家澳洲的廉價航空公司，成立於2000年，為澳洲第二大航空公司，總部設於布里斯本。
Translation
三星智慧型手機的大麻煩
無庸置疑地，三星是個強大的跨國集團。這個南韓品牌在世界各地皆有市場，銷售產品從家用電器到資訊科技，無所不包。多年來，其消費性電子產品受到各地消費者的歡迎，特別是手機。然而最近幾個月，三星在旗下的Note 7手機發生數起爆燃事件後面臨極大打擊。
三星手機爆炸的消息最早是在2016年秋天傳出的。然而在那之前，三星早已接獲35起Note 7因過熱而起火的案例。經過考量，三星決定召回所有售出的Note 7。據專家表示，總數可能高達250萬支。三星承諾將提供新的替代手機給用戶，也停止全球Note 7的運送及供貨。
接著10月初，在Note 7替代機也發生起火的報導浮上檯面後，三星便請所有Note 7用戶立即關機且完全不要使用。
造成問題的原因為何？儘管完整的答案相當複雜，但專家表示，基本上可能是因為三星企圖從鋰離子電池「擠出」過多電力。不幸的是，這個設計上的缺陷在特定情況下變得顯著。此外，值得注意的是，其他智慧型手機，如iPhone和三星的Galaxy Core，也曾發生相似的問題，只不過沒有Note 7那麼嚴重或大規模。
或許更令人頭痛的是，最近另一款三星手機也出包。去年12月，在中華航空帛琉飛往臺北的班機上，一位乘客的S6手機在飛行途中突然冒煙。機組人員當下立刻拿滅火器朝手機噴灑，並將它置於冰桶中，直到飛機安全降落臺灣。
由於這起事件，臺灣當局正考慮是否全面禁止乘客在飛機上攜帶或使用任何三星手機。某些航空公司，如維珍澳洲航空和中華航空，都已禁止Note 7上飛機。
為了所有人的安全，只期盼三星能迅速解決問題。不過就算問題解決了，面對Note 7對品牌名聲所造成的傷害，三星的復甦之路恐怕還相當艱鉅。
閱讀測驗解答：1. D 2. C 3. C 4. D 5. D
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