VOA常速英语2015--手机应用帮助肯尼亚公司领先于假货商人

Apps Helping¹ Kenyan Businesses Stay Ahead of Counterfeiters 手机应用帮助肯尼亚公司领先于假货商人

NAIROBI—

Counterfeit² goods in Kenya cost the government as much as $1 billion each year in lost tax revenues.  The fake goods also hurt entrepreneurs who find it hard to carve out a niche³ in the market and retain customers.  But, information technology is being used to try to beat the problem.

Thirty-four-year-old Jemima Mwafigu intently logs her inventory⁴ into her computer. She is a businesswoman who deals in perfumes and designer colognes. But in the first year of running her business, she found it hard to keep customers due to counterfeit goods.

三十四岁的Jemima Mwafigu一心一意地向电脑中输入东西。她是一个女商人，经营香水并且设计古龙水。但是在经营生意的第一年，她发现很难留住消费者，因为假货。

She says things have improved since she began using an smartphone app known as “Barcode Scanner” to authenticate⁵ her products.

她表示自从她开始使用智能电话应用后情况开始好转，这个应用被叫做“条形码扫描器”，来鉴定她的产品。

Today she’s taking one of her clients through the authentication⁶ process before finalizing⁷ a sale. She says the app has made all the difference.

现在，她正在完成销售之前通过条形码验证来和其中一个客户进行交流。她表示这个应用让一切不同了。

“With this application I’m able to scan the bar codes of each perfume that I may be able to sell to my customers and instantly I get the manufacture date, the expiry date and I’m able to know the authenticity⁸. It will actually point me to the perfume house that I’m looking for. That way, I have confidence in selling to my customers,"

“通过这个应用，我能扫描每一个香水的条形码，这样我就能够向我的客户售卖并且立刻得到生产日期，过期日期，而且我能够知道这个的真实性。这真的能将我指向我正在寻找的香水房。通过这个方式，我在向客户销售的时候有了自信。”

In 2010, Kenya created an Anti-Counterfeit Agency (ACA) to combat the illicit⁹ trade. The ACA has successfully lobbied for stiff penalties to deter¹⁰ would-be counterfeiters.

在2010年，肯尼亚组建了防伪机构（ACA）来和非法交易斗争。防伪机构已经成功地游说议员对制止伪造者进行严厉的惩罚。

Agnes Karingu, the ACA’s acting¹¹ deputy director for research and awareness¹², tells VOA the agency is trying to stay one step ahead of those making the fake goods.

Agnes Karingu，防伪机构的研究和预警执行副主任，告诉VOA这个机构正在尝试抢先那些制造假货的人们一步。

“We are also looking into IT solutions where we can be able to use SMS programs, we can be able to use bar codes and information sharing, whereby the end users of the products can actually be able to get the information authentication between counterfeit and genuine, and this information comes back to ACA and intellectual property rights holders,"

“我们也寻求IT解决办法，并且能够使用SMS项目，我们能够使用条形码和信息共享，凭借产品的最终消费者能够真的得到假货和真货之间的信息甄别，而且这个信息返回防伪机构和知识产权持有者。”

The agency is testing a pilot program known as “Allvirtous” – another app that checks a product’s authenticity by scanning its barcode. The information is then sent to a database before a positive or negative result is fed back to the app.

这个机构正在尝试被称为“Allvirtous”的试点项目-另外一个应用，能够通过扫描条形码检查产品的真伪。这个信息在将正确或者错误的结果送回应用之前被送到数据库。

The International Chamber¹³ of Commerce says the value of counterfeit goods produced globally is expected to top $1.7 trillion this year.

国际商会表示全球假冒产品生产总价值在今年估计高达一万七千亿元。

For entrepreneurs such as Mwafigu, the new apps will help ensure the products she sells are the real thing.

对于像Mwafigu一样的企业家，这个新的应用将会保证她售卖的产品是真的东西。

1 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

2 counterfeit   

vt.伪造，仿造；adj.伪造的，假冒的

参考例句：

• It is a crime to counterfeit money.伪造货币是犯罪行为。
• The painting looked old but was a recent counterfeit.这幅画看上去年代久远，实际是最近的一幅赝品。

3 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

4 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

5 authenticate   

vt.证明…为真，鉴定

参考例句：

• We would have to authenticate your relationship with the boy.我们必须证实一下您和那个孩子的关系。
• An expert was needed to authenticate the original Van Gogh painting from his imitation.这幅画是凡·高的真迹还是赝品,需由专家来鉴定。

6 authentication   

鉴定，认证

参考例句：

• Computer security technology includes mainly:Authentication,Encryption,Access Control,Auditing and so on.计算机网络安全技术主要有: 认证授权、数据加密、访问控制、安全审计等。

7 finalizing   

vt.完成（finalize的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• You may edit registered information any time during the finalizing period. 您可以在规定期限内随时编辑修改注册资料。 来自互联网
• Natsun Trimming & Ironing, Finalizing the Perfection. 40南山整烫，完美在此定格。 来自互联网

8 authenticity   

n.真实性

参考例句：

• There has been some debate over the authenticity of his will. 对于他的遗嘱的真实性一直有争论。
• The museum is seeking an expert opinion on the authenticity of the painting. 博物馆在请专家鉴定那幅画的真伪。

9 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。

10 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。

11 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

12 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

13 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。