美国国家公共电台 NPR Samsung Recalls Galaxy Note 7 Over Exploding, Burning Batteries

Samsung Recalls Galaxy¹ Note 7 Over Exploding, Burning Batteries

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Samsung has announced a global recall for its latest smartphone, the Galaxy Note 7. The Korean phone giant concluded that was smarter than waiting for more of them to catch fire. NPR's Elise Hu is covering this story in Seoul. Elise, remind us. What is the Galaxy Note 7?

ELISE HU, BYLINE³: Well, this is a large-screen device known as a phablet, since it's big enough to be closer to the size of a tablet.

INSKEEP: But also a phone, so phablet - OK, I get it. And what happens to it?

HU: Well, the battery of some of these devices is catching⁴ fire in some instances. Samsung says it knows of at least 35 cases of fires of the 1 million Galaxy Note 7s that it has sold. Samsung has shipped about 2.5 million of these devices to 10 countries now.

So all shipments and unsold products are getting recalled except for those in China, notably⁵, because the battery supplier for those Galaxy Notes was different. And customers who already have these devices in hand can take them in for a replacement⁶ in all 10 countries where they have been sold.

INSKEEP: All 10 countries - does that include the United States?

HU: Yes, it does, of course.

INSKEEP: How big a deal is the Note 7 to Samsung?

HU: It is a big deal. There's no figures yet on how much this particular recall is going to cost. But there was a hastily arranged press conference here in Seoul this afternoon. And a Samsung executive said the loss is, quote, "big enough to make my heart ache."

This is also a symbolic⁷ loss for Samsung because it's competing globally in mobile devices. And it had really put its hopes on this Galaxy line to drive the recovery of its mobile business. As we've talked about on MORNING EDITION, of course, Samsung has really been struggling with phones on the high end against Apple, which is coming out with its next generation phones next week.

And then it's been struggling on the low end against Chinese phone makers⁸ like Xiaomi. And so this flagship Galaxy line was really supposed to help the company's bottom line.

INSKEEP: One other thing, Elise. Is Samsung sure they know why the phones are catching fire? Because you do hear these recalls where they end up having to recall the recall 'cause they hadn't really fixed⁹ the problem.

HU: They are reasonably confident that the battery is the problem. And that's why the sales are going to continue in China - because the battery supplier seems to be at issue here. These explosions or fires have been happening to phones that have been plugged in while charging in most cases.

INSKEEP: NPR's Elise Hu is in Seoul. Thanks very much.

HU: You bet.

1 galaxy   

n.星系；银河系；一群(杰出或著名的人物)

参考例句：

• The earth is one of the planets in the Galaxy.地球是银河系中的星球之一。
• The company has a galaxy of talent.该公司拥有一批优秀的人才。

2 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 catching   

adj.易传染的，有魅力的，迷人的，接住

参考例句：

• There are those who think eczema is catching.有人就是认为湿疹会传染。
• Enthusiasm is very catching.热情非常富有感染力。

5 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

6 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。

7 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

8 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。