This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。

The United States says technology company Apple and book publishers illegally fixed prices of electronic books, or e-books. The Department of Justice took legal action on Wednesday in federal court in New York City.

美国表示，苹果科技公司和出版商非法操纵电子书价格。本周三，美国司法部在纽约市联邦法院对此展开了法律行动。

The same day, Attorney General Eric Holder spoke in Washington about the case against Apple and the book publishers. The publishers are Hachette, HarperCollins, MacMillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster.

同一天，总检察长埃里克·霍尔德（Eric Holder）在华盛顿谈到了这起针对苹果和出版商的诉讼。这些出版社包括阿歇特，哈珀-柯林斯，麦克米伦，企鹅，西蒙-舒斯特。

Mr. Holder said e-books are changing the way Americans share information. He said the Department of Justice wants to make sure Americans can buy e-books at a fair price. He said the case was part of that effort.

霍尔德先生称，电子书正在改变美国人分享信息的方式。他说，司法部要确保美国人能够以公平价格购买电子书，这起诉讼就是这一努力的一部分。

ERIC HOLDER: “As part of this commitment, the Department has reached a settlement with three of the nation’s largest book publishers – and will continue to litigate against Apple, and two additional leading publishers – for conspiring to increase the prices that consumers pay for e-books.”

霍尔德：“作为这一承诺的一部分，司法部已经同美国三家最大的出版商达成和解，并将继续对苹果及其它两家主要出版商联手提高消费者需要支付的电子书价格提起讼诉。”

The Justice Department says Apple and the five publishers made an illegal deal to set higher prices for electronic books. It says, because of this, Americans paid millions of dollars more than they should have.

司法部称，苹果和五大出版商就提高电子书价格达成非法协议。它表示，正因为如此，美国人额外多掏了数百万美元。

The dispute centers on the influence of Amazon.com. The Internet store had been selling e-books for nine dollars and ninety-nine cents. But the government says Apple made a deal with the publishers two years ago as it prepared to launch the iPad tablet computer. The deal guaranteed Apple thirty percent of the money earned on each e-book sold. It also created a pricing model that required stores to sell at a price set by the publishers and Apple. The price was several dollars higher than the one offered by Amazon.

这起诉讼的争议集中于亚马逊公司（Amazon.com）的影响力。亚马逊网上商店曾以9.99美元的价格出售电子书。但美国政府表示，苹果两年前准备推出iPad平板电脑时和出版商达成协议，该协议保证苹果获得出售电子书盈利的30%，它还建立了一个定价模型，要求商店以苹果和出版商确定的价格出售电子书。这个价格比亚马逊提供的价格高出数美元。

Acting Assistant Attorney General Sharis Pozen noted that businesses can set their own prices. But she also said:

署理助理总检察长莎丽斯·波曾(Sharis Pozen)指出，企业可以自行定价。但她同时表示：

SHARIS POZEN: “Let me be clear, when companies get together and conspire to enter into agreements that eliminate price competition, it crosses the line. This kind of agreement is illegal and anticompetitive. That’s when the Antitrust Division will take action, and that’s what we’ve done today.”

波曾：“当几家公司联合起来，合谋订立消除价格竞争的协议，它就越线了。这类协议属于非法和反竞争的协议。这时反垄断部门就会采取行动，也就是我们今天所做的。”

Sharis Pozen added that company officials knew what they were doing at the time. That included former Apple chief Steve Jobs.

波曾补充说，公司官员都知道他们当时在做什么。这其中包括苹果前首席执行官史蒂芬·乔布斯（Steve Jobs）。

Antitrust laws aim to halt business methods that crush competition. Hachette, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster have agreed to a settlement. It says they must repay millions of dollars and stop giving Apple special treatment.

反垄断法旨在制止破坏竞争的商业行为。阿歇特，哈珀-柯林斯以及西蒙-舒斯特已经同意和解，协议要求他们必须退还数百万美元，并停止给予苹果特殊待遇。

Sixteen states and Puerto Rico are also bringing their own case. Apple and British publishers McMillan and Penguin have decided to go to court.

美国十六个州以及波多黎各（美国属地）也对此提出了自己的诉讼。苹果和英国出版商麦克米兰以及企鹅已经决定应诉。

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. For transcripts, MP3s and now PDFs of our programs for e-readers, go to www.voanews.cn. And follow us on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm Mario Ritter.