美国国家公共电台 NPR T-Mobile, Sprint Announce A Plan For Merger

T-Mobile, Sprint¹ Announce A Plan For Merger³

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

T-Mobile and Sprint have agreed to merge². It is not clear yet whether regulators will approve. But if the deal goes through, it would mean the big four telecom companies would become the big three. Here's NPR's Camila Domonoske.

CAMILA DOMONOSKE, BYLINE⁴: John Legere, the colorful CEO of the country's third-largest wireless⁵ carrier, is wearing his trademark⁶ hot-pink T-shirt, plus a leather jacket with another bright-pink T-Mobile logo.

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JOHN LEGERE: I'm back.

DOMONOSKE: And, he's grinning.

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LEGERE: You know what these videos mean. It means I have big news to share.

DOMONOSKE: The CEO of the country's fourth-largest carrier jumps in.

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MARCELO CLAURE: Actually, this time, we have big news to share.

DOMONOSKE: Marcelo Claure looks positively⁷ staid in his Sprint T-shirt and blazer, but he's grinning, too.

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LEGERE: Today we're announcing that T-Mobile and Sprint have reached a definitive⁸ agreement to come together and form a new, stronger company.

DOMONOSKE: Their big news is not exactly surprising. The two companies have been considering a merger for years, but previous talks have always been dropped, in part because of intense skepticism from federal regulators. Now the two companies have a plan. It's an all-stock deal that would create a new T-Mobile worth more than $140 billion. T-Mobile would be taking on debt from Sprint, but the companies say the merger will allow them to reduce prices and compete more effectively with Verizon and AT&T. Sprint and T-Mobile also say together they could invest in a nationwide 5G network that could compete with broadband. But the deal still needs to be approved.

DIANA MOSS⁹: This will get a very, very hard look.

DOMONOSKE: Diana Moss is the president of the American Antitrust Institute. She says the Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission will check to see if the savings¹⁰ for consumers outweigh¹¹ the loss of competition.

MOSS: And those efficiencies, they'd have to be merger-specific - couldn't get them any other way - and they would have to be verifiable. That is a heavy, heavy lift.

DOMONOSKE: T-Mobile and Sprint hope the government will call it in their favor, but it's still not clear what kind of reception they'll get from regulators. Camila Domonoske, NPR News.

1 sprint   

n.短距离赛跑；vi. 奋力而跑，冲刺；vt.全速跑过

参考例句：

• He put on a sprint to catch the bus.他全速奔跑以赶上公共汽车。
• The runner seemed to be rallied for a final sprint.这名赛跑者似乎在振作精神作最后的冲刺。

2 merge   

v.(使)结合，(使)合并，(使)合为一体

参考例句：

• I can merge my two small businesses into a large one.我可以将我的两家小商店合并为一家大商行。
• The directors have decided to merge the two small firms together.董事们已决定把这两家小商号归并起来。

3 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

4 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。

5 wireless   

adj.无线的；n.无线电

参考例句：

• There are a lot of wireless links in a radio.收音机里有许多无线电线路。
• Wireless messages tell us that the ship was sinking.无线电报告知我们那艘船正在下沉。

6 trademark   

n.商标；特征；vt.注册的…商标

参考例句：

• The trademark is registered on the book of the Patent Office.该商标已在专利局登记注册。
• The trademark of the pen was changed.这钢笔的商标改了。

7 positively   

adv.明确地，断然，坚决地；实在，确实

参考例句：

• She was positively glowing with happiness.她满脸幸福。
• The weather was positively poisonous.这天气着实讨厌。

8 definitive   

adj.确切的，权威性的；最后的，决定性的

参考例句：

• This book is the definitive guide to world cuisine.这本书是世界美食的权威指南。
• No one has come up with a definitive answer as to why this should be so.至于为什么该这样，还没有人给出明确的答复。

9 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

10 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

11 outweigh   

vt.比...更重，...更重要

参考例句：

• The merits of your plan outweigh the defects.你制定的计划其优点胜过缺点。
• One's merits outweigh one's short-comings.功大于过。