VOA慢速英语2021 亚马逊寻求收购米高梅（在线收听）

Online marketplace Amazon announced plans Wednesday to buy movie production company Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in a deal valued at $8.45 billion.

亚马逊在线商城周三宣布计划以84.5亿美元的价格收购米高梅电影制片公司。

The deal has some observers concerned that a few media companies are getting too big.

这笔交易让一些观察家担心少数媒体公司的规模变得太大了。

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, known as MGM, started making movies in 1924, before films had sound. The movie production company created well-known movies that include Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz. But it no longer owns the rights to those films.

米高梅公司从电影有声音之前的1924年开始制作电影。这家电影制片公司制作了著名影片包括《乱世佳人》和《绿野仙踪》。但是该公司不再拥有这些电影的相关权利。

MGM also shares ownership of the James Bond action movies. The release of the latest film in the series, No Time to Die, has been delayed by the coronavirus health crisis.

米高梅公司还拥有詹姆斯·邦德动作片的所有权。邦德系列最新电影《无暇赴死》的发行工作由于新冠病毒健康危机而被推迟。

In addition to films, MGM also produces television shows including Shark Tank and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

除电影外，米高梅还制作了《鲨鱼坦克》和《比弗利娇妻》之类的电视节目。

The movie studio has been for sale for a number of years and sought legal protection from its creditors in 2010 after having financial problems.

该电影公司多年来一直在转让，并且在遇到财务问题后的2010年寻求获得债权人的法律保护。

Media competition

媒体竞争

Observers say Amazon is trying to compete with other large media and entertainment companies like Netflix and Disney.

观察人士表示，亚马逊正试图与网飞和迪士尼之类的大型媒体娱乐公司竞争。

Earlier this month, AT&T and Discovery, owner of the Discovery Channel, said they would seek to form a new company that includes CNN, the Food Network and HBO.

本月初，探索频道的所有者美国电话电报公司以及探索通信公司表示，他们将寻求建立一家包括美国有线电视新闻网、美国美食频道以及美国家庭影院频道在内的新公司。

Amazon already has its own movie studio. But it is looking for more movies and shows to offer its Amazon Prime subscribers through online streaming.

亚马逊已经拥有了自己的电影制片公司。但是它正在寻求更多的电影和电视节目，以通过网络流媒体向亚马逊金牌会员订户提供服务。

Some successful Amazon television shows and movies include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag and The Sound of Metal, which recently won Academy Awards.

亚马逊公司一些成功的电视节目和电影包括《了不起的麦瑟尔夫人》、《伦敦生活》以及最近获得奥斯卡金像奖的《金属之声》。

Amazon is also developing a television version of the Lord of the Rings movies and books.

亚马逊还正在制作《指环王》电影和书籍的电视剧版。

However, the U.S. and other governments are concerned some media companies are getting too big and pushing out competitors. A report from the U.S. House of Representatives last year suggested that Amazon and other large, influential companies should be broken up.

但是，美国等国政府担心某些媒体公司规模太大并排挤竞争对手。去年美国众议院的一份报告建议将亚马逊和其它有影响力的大公司拆分。