苹果公司年度发布大会

苹果公司在9月9日举行每年一度的产品发布大会，包括新一代的iPhone，手表，和苹果支付功能。新一代的iPhone会有一系列的升级。同时，虽然苹果电子手表的销量并不如预期中的理想，但也已经占据了20%的市场，仅次于Fitbit。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

hype 宣传广告

quirky 离奇的

revamp 改进

strives 斗争

Apple schedules annual iPhone debut for September 9 （584words）

By Tim Bradshaw in London

Apple has scheduled its annual iPhone debut for Wednesday September 9,a year to the day after 2014's launch of its latest handset alongside Apple Pay and the Watch.

Invitations were sent out to members of the press and analysts on Thursday morning,California time,bearing the teaser: “Hey Siri,give us a hint”.

When asked for a “hint”,Siri responds with cryptic comments such as: “Well,I hear there's something big happening on September 9” and “Why don't you check a rumours blog?That's what I do.” Fuelling the hype that inevitably accompanies any such launch,Apple fans posted quirky responses from the iPhone's virtual assistant to social media.

Stakes are high for the new device,which is likely to go on sale in the last week of September,as Apple strives to defy slowing growth in the global smartphone market and economic uncertainty in China,its most important source of new customers.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley predict that iPhone unit sales next year will grow by just 3 per cent,compared with 35 per cent in its most recent quarter.

Unlike last year's Silicon Valley-based iPhone 6 event,next month's unveiling will be held at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. The large 7,000-person capacity venue is better known for concerts,playing host to musicians including Janet Jackson,Jack White and Ellie Goulding.

The venue is expected to see the debut of the iPhone 6S,which in keeping with previous “S” models is likely to see upgrades to the handset's internal technology,such as a faster processor,while maintaining the current model's size and design.

New features are rumoured to include the addition of “Force Touch”,where pressing harder on the iPhone's screen will allow for new kinds of interaction,a concept first introduced on the Apple Watch. Apple-focused news site 9to5Mac suggested on Thursday that the iPhone 6S's camera will also see a significant upgrade,with its resolution increased from 8 megapixels to 12,with 4K video capture.

The iPhone will run iOS 9,which Apple introduced in June,including a new “Proactive” personal assistant to bolster Siri's capabilities,improved maps and a new News app.Alongside a new iPhone,the California-based technology company is expected to reveal its long-awaited revamp to Apple TV,bringing the App Store to its set-top box for the first time and introducing a new remote control. Apple has been seen as falling behind rivals such as Roku,Google's Chromecast and Amazon's Fire TV in the interactive television market,where it has not made significant improvements to its device since 2012.

Apple's share price was up 3 per cent by lunchtime in New York at about $113,as it continues to rally after recent stock market concerns over its growth prospects in China that briefly saw its shares dip below $100 earlier in the week.

Earlier on Thursday,research on the market for wearable technology by analysts at IDC found that Apple Watch had leapt into second place behind Fitbit in the second quarter,ahead of rival smartwatch makers such as Samsung,LG,Motorola and Pebble.

Even though Apple Watch sales have come in lower than some forecasters had estimated,IDC found that it had taken 20 per cent of the global market for wearable devices in its first quarter of availability,just behind Fitbit at 24 per cent. Samsung's share,however,has fallen from 14 per cent a year ago to 3 per cent in the three months ended June,according to IDC.

1.Where is Apple's most important source of new customers?

A.Japan

B.India

C.Brazil

D.China

[1] 答案

2.Which one is not the upgrades of iphone6S?

A.Faster processor

B.Bigger screen

C.Better camera

D.“Force Touch”

[2] 答案

3.In which sector,Apple is regarded falling behind its rivals?

A.Smart watch

B.Personal computers

C.Tablet

D.Interactive television

[3] 答案

4.Apple watch's sales had leapt into the second place. So who is only one ahead of Apple?

A.LG

B.Samsung

C.Fitbit

D.Motorala

[4] 答案

[1]答案：D.China

解释：第四段最后，讲中国是新客户最重要的来源。

[2]答案：D.“Force Touch”

解释：第七八段，讲了新一代的更新。

[3]答案：D.Interactive television

解释：倒数第四段，讲Apple TV 不如他的竞争对手们，从2012年来没有重大更新。

[4]答案：C.Fitbit

解释：最后两段讲苹果已经占据了可佩戴电子设备市场的20%，仅次于Fitbit的25%。