VOA慢速英语20060901a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Laptop Computer Batteries Become a Hot IssueBy Sarah Randle

Broadcast: Friday, September 01, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Batteries are rarely a worry except when the devices they supply power to go dead.


Overheated computer in Osaka, Japan



But in June the battery in a Dell laptop computer caught fire during a conference at a hotel in Osaka, Japan. Pictures of the burning computer spread on the Internet.

In the last few weeks, other laptop owners learned that they had good reason to be concerned. Dell and later Apple Computer recalled millions of lithium-ion batteries that could overheat and create a risk of fire.

Dell asked the owners of more than four million notebook computer batteries to return them for replacement¹. More than one million of these batteries were sold outside of the United States.

Apple recalled almost two million batteries used with some of its notebook computers. Seven hundred thousand of them were sold in other countries.

The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission announced the recalls. It described them as the two largest recalls in its history involving the consumer electronics industry.

Agency officials said Dell had received six reports of batteries overheating. These resulted in property damage but no reports of injuries. The agency said Apple had received nine reports of overheated batteries. These included two reports of minor² burns and reports of minor property damage.

In Japan, officials have ordered the two companies to investigate reports of fires in at least two Dell laptops and one Apple laptop.

Sony of Japan made the millions of recalled batteries. Sony officials say a production problem left very small pieces of metal that could cause a short-circuit and make a battery overheat.

Experts from different companies plan to meet in California this month to discuss the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries.

As laptop computers have gotten more powerful, they require more powerful batteries. Yet batteries are still not powerful enough to satisfy many users.

Some people see microcell technology as a solution. Microcells use energy sources like hydrogen and methanol. Many companies are working to find ways to make them safe and useful for computers. Experts say it could be ten years before computers with microcells are widely available.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Sarah Randle. Transcripts³ and audio files of our reports are at www.unsv.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

2 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。

3 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句