英语听力精选进阶版 6173

Viable¹ in the Long Term? 是否长期可行？

It has been 10 years since the birth of Napster and the global spread of file-sharing sites.

Back in 1999, Shawn Fanning, then a 19-year-old student, could never have predicted the extent to which his simple computer program would change the music industry forever.

Napster’s peer-to-peer file sharing system was perhaps the most highly publicised of its time and it was not always good publicity².

The Recording³ Industry Association of America (RIAA) was less than impressed at how easy Napster made it for people to download music free of charge. They were quoted in the media at the time calling Napster "an instrument of shoplifting".

The RIAA proceeded to sue Napster saying "Napster knowingly and wilfully⁴ set out to build a business based on copyright infringement⁵ on an unprecedented⁶ scale."

Shawn Fanning says his original intention was never to make money from the site. He claims he had only been trying to make it easier for his friends to share digital music files.

A few years later, the lawsuit⁷ was dropped but a new ruling meant Napster was effectively unable to continue legally operating under their existing business model.

One thing Napster had proved was the enormous global appetite for sharing and downloading music. And where there is a healthy demand, there is usually a healthy profit to be made too.

So, unsurprisingly, the music industry followed suit and the big record labels now play a key role in hugely successful ventures such as Apple iTunes, Yahoo Music and Spotify. Napster has also relaunched itself with a more viable and legal business model in which people pay a small fee for downloading songs.

Turning your home PC into a modern-day jukebox has never been so easy. But with illegal file sharing still easily accessible, it is yet to be seen how viable in the long term these new legal music sharing sites are.

GLOSSARY 词汇表

file sharing 文件分享

predicted the extent to which 预测其程度

peer-to-peer 点对点/对等网络

publicised 公开宣传和曝光的

less than impressed 不喜欢/不屑一顾

instrument of shoplifting 入店行窃的工具

sue 起诉

wilfully 故意的

set out 有目的的开始做某事

copyright infringement 侵犯版权

unprecedented 前所未有的

intention 意图/目的

legally 法律的

business model 商业模式

healthy demand （健康）合理的需求

healthy profit （健康）合理的利润

followed suit 效仿

record labels 唱片公司

viable 可行的

modern-day jukebox 现代自动播放机

1 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

2 publicity   

n.众所周知，闻名；宣传，广告

参考例句：

• The singer star's marriage got a lot of publicity.这位歌星的婚事引起了公众的关注。
• He dismissed the event as just a publicity gimmick.他不理会这件事，只当它是一种宣传手法。

3 recording   

n.录音，记录

参考例句：

• How long will the recording of the song take?录下这首歌得花多少时间？
• I want to play you a recording of the rehearsal.我想给你放一下彩排的录像。

4 wilfully   

adv.任性固执地；蓄意地

参考例句：

• Don't wilfully cling to your reckless course. 不要一意孤行。 来自辞典例句
• These missionaries even wilfully extended the extraterritoriality to Chinese converts and interfered in Chinese judicial authority. 这些传教士还肆意将"治外法权"延伸至中国信徒，干涉司法。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书

5 infringement   

n.违反；侵权

参考例句：

• Infringement of this regulation would automatically rule you out of the championship.违背这一规则会被自动取消参加锦标赛的资格。
• The committee ruled that the US ban constituted an infringement of free trade.委员会裁定美国的禁令对自由贸易构成了侵犯

6 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。