据说【星标】大傻考研，您离上岸又近一步

同学们，大家好！

众所周知，考研英语阅读站分数比最多，有句俗话：得阅读者得考研英语，一直在考研届流传，从这里可以看出阅读有多重要了！而考研英语阅读真题每年都是从国外的主流报刊里面精选过来的，例如：《基督教科学箴言报》、《卫报》、《华盛顿邮报》、《时代周刊》等；这些文章内容都是跟考研真题同源，如果能在备考前期就以这些文章为导向，那么我们在考研英语的路上便有了“领路人”，让大家很大程度上提前先熟悉考研英语真题文章的风格，这样才能从容应对。

相信我们每天一篇，坚持下来，细水长流，一天一天的都再进步，待到考研时，再回头望去，你会发现你不知不觉已经成为一颗参天大树，无人能撼动！

标题/出处

Maker of keyboard apps for the blind sues Apple， claiming anti-competitive behavior

盲人输入法软件开发者指控苹果反竞争行为

The Washington Post《华盛顿邮报》 March 18， 2021

文章导读

输入法软件Flick Type的开发者柯斯塔·埃勒夫瑟里奥于3月17日起诉苹果公司， 称其滥用市场支配权， 在高度赞扬Flick Type这款应用程序的同时， 却拖延一年时间才批准其在苹果应用商店上架。Flick Type是苹果手机和苹果手表的热门输入法应用程序，专门为苹果智能手表进行了优化，用户可使用手势在苹果智能手表的小屏幕上实现快捷输入。2019年1月，在与苹果方面的输入法技术高管讨论收购事宜后，埃勒夫瑟里奥本以为好事将近，但在此后近一年的时间里，苹果公司没有让这项技术在苹果应用商店上架。直至2020年1月， Flick Type输入法才获得苹果的批准得以上架。不过，由于上架后的种种问题，埃勒夫瑟里奥最终选择起诉苹果公司。

正文

The maker of Flick Type， a keyboard for the Apple Watch， sued Apple on Wednesday for allegedly abusing its market power， adding to the growing opposition to the way Apple runs its App Store.

FlickType， which allows Apple Watch users to type directly on their watch face， says it was praised by Apple and presented the technology at Apple’s headquarters in 2019.But then，“Apple threw up roadblock after roadblock that made no sense， ”the lawsuit alleges， keeping the technology out of the App Store for nearly a year.

Then， when the app finally found success， it was undercut by“copycat and scam applications”that used allegedly fake App Store reviews to boost downloads， according to the suit.FlickType also issuing Apple for fraud.

“Apple’s promise to help developers build， test， market， and distribute their products and grow their business through a secure， trusted， and accessible marketplace is just a facade designed to wrongfully entice developers to the App Store， ”the lawsuit says.

Apple did not respond to requests for comment.

The developers of FlickType are the latest to come out swinging against the powerful tech giant and its App Store， the exclusive distribution method for software on iPhones， iPads and Apple Watches.From Blix， the little-known developer of email software， to Epic Games， the maker of video game Fortnite， companies operating on the App Store are taking Apple to court and joining coalitions aimed at forcing the $2 trilion company to allow competing app stores. Blix and Epic are part of the Coalition for App Fairness， which has argued that Apple should be forced to allow alterative app stores and payment systems.

Apple has denied anti-competitive behavior and defended its App Store policies.It says it must control software distribution through the App Store to protect its customers’ privacy and security and to keep out undesirable or misleading apps.In the lawsuit Epic brought against Apple， for instance， Apple’s lawyers argued as part of the company’s defense that Apple’s App Store policies“protect Apple customers”and that“every app is reviewed by experts， ”which helps make the store“the world’s most trusted marketplace for apps.”

But FlickType’s lawsuit alleges Apple’s defense is disingenuous.“Apple justifies its monopoly by claiming it is necessary to protect its users and developers from unserupulous conduct and ensure a fair competitive marketplace for the benefit of both， ”the lawsuit says.“In truth Apple turns a blind eye to rampant fraud and exploitation to make an easy profit.”

Calls grow for Europc an regulators to investigate Apple， accuesd of bullying smaller rivals FlickType， was created by a veteran app developer named Kosta Eleftheriou.

Eleftheriou， whose father has limited vision， began developing keyboards that could be used for the blind and visually impaired.In 2009， he created his first app in the space， called BlindType， allowed smartphone users to type without looking at the screen by analyzing the location of finger taps to predict which words the user was trying to type.

Apple sought to acquire Blind Type， according to the lawsuit， but Eleftheriou sold it to Google in 2010.

Eleftheriou went on to create a new typing system for the blind called Fleksy， which in 2012 received an award from the Royal National Institute of Blind People and was honored by Apple， according to the suit.The app was acquired by Pinterest， where Eleftheriou worked until 2017.

After leaving Pinterest， Eleftheriouse out to use his keyboard experience to build one for the Apple Watch.

In January 2019， Eleftheriou met with Randy Marsden， Apple’s text input special projects manager， according to the lawsuit. Marsden is a keyboard entrepreneur himself， having founded Swype， then Dryft， which he sold to Apple.

On Jan.24， Marsden told Eleftheriou he presented Flick Type to the Apple Watch team，including a senior engineering manager on the product side， that it had gone well and he would be discussing it with his boss， the lawsuit says.Eleftheriou believed Apple might offer to acquire the app and his technology.

But when Eleftheriou improved the Flick Type Apple Watch keyboard to make it more useful to a broader audience beyond just the visually impaired， Apple refused to allow it into the App Store on the grounds that Apple Watch keyboards were not allowed.

Apple says recentchanges to operatingsystem improve user privacy， but some lawmakers see them as an effort to edge out its rivals.

Eleftheriou said Apple approved other Apple Watch keyboards at the time， such as Shift Keyboard Swipe and Type.Apple would not explain to Eleftheriou why other

apps that did the same thing were being approved， and his was not， according to the lawsuit.The opaque nature of the app review process at Apple is one of the key complaints of mobile developers.

While he was barred from the store， Eleftheriou allowed other developers of Apple Watch apps such as Chirp to use the FlickType keyboard as a feature.He viewed the strategy as a way to market his technology and draw attention to his produc.

It wasn’t until January 2020， about a year later， that Apple finally allowed the full version of the FlickType keyboard on the App Store.Eleftheriou doesn’t know why it was suddenly accepted.

It quickly became successful.But the success didn’t last.Copycat apps that were“barely usable”and meant to scam users appeared on the App Store and hurt Flick Type’s downloads， the lawsuit alleges.And the apps were allegedly bolstered by high ratings becausc of

fake

reviews， the suit says.Eleftheriou said in an interview that he analyzed the ratings of those apps and discovered patterns suggesting they were inauthentic.In some cases， for instance， the written reviews were almost entircly ncgative， while the non-written reviews were almost all five stars.

“Despite possessing massive resources and technological savvy， Apple intentionally fails to police these fraudsters， costing honest developers millions， and perhaps billions， while Apple continues to a mass huge profits for itself， ”the lawsuit alleges.

Because Apple limits the functionality of all outside keyboard apps on the Apple Watch，he says some users complain， and his overall rating on the App Store is 3.5 stars.The copycat apps， one of which popped up just a few weeks ago， have five-star ratings because of what Eleftheriou alleges are fake reviews.

On Wednesday， he decided he had no other options.He filed suit.

全文翻译

周三， 苹果手表输入法软件FlickType的开发者起诉苹果公司， 称其滥用市场支配权。对于苹果应用商店的运营方式，反对声也越来越多。

FlickType因其能够让苹果手表用户直接在手表上打字得到了苹果公司的好评， 并于2019年在苹果公司总部展示了这项技术。但随后， Flick Type起诉“苹果设置了一个又一个毫无意义的障碍”，使得这项技术差不多一年后才在苹果应用商店上架。

此外，该诉讼指出，这款应用最终上架时，却遭到“一些山寨和欺诈应用程序”的打压， 而这些应用程序利用苹果应用商店的虚假评论提高下载量。Flick Type还起诉苹果公司欺诈。

该诉状称：“苹果承诺帮助开发者构建、测试、营销和分销他们的产品，并通过一个集安全性、可靠性和可行性于一身的市场来发展他们的业务，但这只是一种假象，就是为了误导开发者进入苹果应用商店。”

苹果公司对此尚未发表回应。

Flick Type的开发者是这家强大的科技巨头(苹果公司) 及其应用商店(苹果手机、苹果平板电脑和苹果智能手表所用软件的独家经营渠道)的新晋竞争对手。从鲜为人知的电子邮件软件开发商Blix， 到电子游戏《堡垒之夜》的开发商Epic数码，在苹果应用商店运营的公司纷纷将苹果告上法庭，并加入联盟，旨在迫使这家市值2万亿美元的公司允许应用商店间的相互竞争。Blix和Epic是应用程度公平联盟的成员，该联盟认为应该强制苹果公司允许其他应用商店的存在并支持多种支付系统。

苹果公司否认其反竞争行为，并为其应用商店的政策进行了辩护。苹果公司表示，必须通过应用商店控制软件经营，以保护消费者隐私和安全，同时将那些不受欢迎或具有误导性的应用程序拒之门外。例如， 在Epic对苹果公司提起的诉讼中， 苹果公司的律师在辩护中表示：苹果应用商店的政策是在“保护苹果用户”，而且“每款应用都要经过专家审查”，这有助于让苹果的应用商店成为“世界上最值得信赖的应用程序市场”。

但FlickType方在其对苹果公司的诉讼中表示这一辩护是虚伪的：“苹果声称有必要保护其用户和开发者免受不公正行为的侵害，并确保一个公平竞争、互惠互利的市场环境，以使其垄断行为合法化。”该诉讼还指出，“事实上，苹果公司为了轻松获利而对猖獗的欺诈和剥削行为熟视无睹。”

要求欧洲监管机构调查苹果公司的呼声越来越高，他们指控苹果公司欺压弱小竞争者FlickType， 这家公司由一位名叫柯斯塔·埃勒夫瑟里奥的资深软件开发者创建。

由于埃勒夫瑟里奥的父亲患有视觉障碍，他便开始开发可以供盲人和视障人士使用的输入法软件。2009年， 他发明了该领域的第一款应用程序—-BlindType， 智能手机用户无需看着屏幕打字，软件通过分析手指敲击的位置，就能预测用户想要键入的单词。

诉讼表明， 苹果曾试图收购BlindType， 但埃勒夫瑟里奥于2010年已将其卖给了谷歌。

该诉讼称， 埃勒夫瑟里奥继续为盲人发明了一款名为F leks y的新型输入法系统，该系统在2012年获得了英国皇家国家盲人研究所颁发的奖项，并得到了苹果公司的表彰。拼趣公司后来收购了这款软件，埃勒夫瑟里奥在那里工作到2017年。

离开拼趣后，埃勒夫瑟里奥打算用自己的经验为苹果手表打造一款输入法软件。

诉讼中指出，2019年1月，埃勒夫瑟里奥与苹果负贵文字输入的项目经理兰迪·马斯登会面。马斯登作为一位输入法软件的创业者， 先后创立了Sw ype和Dry t， 并将其卖给了苹果公司。

诉讼书中表示，1月24日，马斯登告诉埃勒夫瑟里奥，他向包括产品部门的一位高级工程经理在内的苹果智能手表团队展示了FlickType输入法， 进展很顺利， 他将和老板讨论此事。埃勒夫瑟里奥认为苹果公司可能会收购这款应用程序和他的技术。

但是， 当埃勒夫瑟里奥对适用于苹果智能手表的FlickType输入法应用进行改良，使其适用于更广泛的受众，而不仅仅是视障人士时，苹果公司以苹果智能手表不允许输入法应用加入为由拒绝其进驻苹果应用商店。

苹果方面表示，最近对操作系统的改变可以更好地保护用户隐私，但在一些立法者看来，苹果公司这是在努力排挤竞争对手。

埃勒夫瑟里奥表示，当时苹果公司批准了其他苹果智能手表输入法应用的上架，比如名为Swipe&Type的Shft输入法。诉讼称， 苹果公司无意向埃勒夫瑟里奥解释为什么其他应用程序做同样的事情得到了批准，而他的应用程序却没有。苹果应用程序审核过程的不透明，正是手机应用开发工程师的主要不满之一。

虽然苹果应用商店禁止埃勒夫瑟里奥的产品上架，但埃勒夫瑟里奥允许苹果智能手表的其他开发商(比如Chip) 将Fl ck Type输入法作为一项功能使用。他将此战略视为一种推销其技术和吸引人们关注其产品的方式。

直到2020年1月，也就是大概一年后，苹果公司才最终允许在其应用商店里推出完整版的FlickType输入法。但埃勒夫瑟里奥始终没搞清楚为什么苹果公司会突然接受自己的应用。

FlickType很快就取得了成功， 但好景不长。诉讼称， 应用商店中出现了“几乎无法使用”且意在欺骗用户的山寨应用， 这对用户下载FlikType输入法造成了不良影响。起诉书中还表示，这些山寨版的应用程序因为虚假评论而获得好评支持。埃勒夫瑟里奥在接受采访时说，他分析了这些应用程序的评分，发现了一些可以表明这些评分都属于凭空捏造的规律。例如，在有些情况下，差评几乎都有书面文字，而五星好评几乎都没有文字评价。

起诉书中还表明：尽管苹果公司具备大量的资源和技术支持，但故意不管制软件欺诈者，致使正直的开发商们损失了数百万乃至数十亿美元；与此同时，苹果则继续为自己积累巨额利润。

埃勒夫瑟里奥表示，由于苹果公司限制了所有外部输入法在苹果智能手表上的功能，一些用户对此表示不满，使得他的软件在苹果应用商店的总评分是3.5颗星。然而，几周前才出现的一些山寨应用，正是由于埃勒夫瑟里奥所谓的虚假评论而获得了五星评价。

无奈之下，埃勒夫瑟里奥于周三提起了诉讼。

特殊词汇

allegedly adv.据说， 据称

disingenuous adj.不真诚的；不诚实的

roadblock n.路障；障碍

lawsuit n.诉讼；起诉

unscrupulous adj.不道德的；不公正的

undercut v.削价竞争

copycat n.抄袭者；模仿者

rampant adj.猖獗的；泛滥的

scam n.欺诈；诈财骗局

opaque adj.不透明的

facade n.(虚假的)表面， 外表

bolster v.改善；加强

entice v.引诱；诱使

savvy n.实际知识；见识；了解

coalition n.联合；结合；联盟

随堂作业

作业1：长难句解析

In 2009， he created his fist app in the space， called Blind Type， allowed smartphone users to type without looking at the screen by analyzing the location of finger taps to predict which words the user was trying to type.

On Jan.24， Marsden told Eleftheriou he presented Flick Type to the Apple Watch team， including a senior engineering manager on the product side， that it had gone well and he would be discussing it with his boss， the lawsuit says.

作业2：原文自行翻译

因公众号不能放某宝链接，如有同学不想在小程序里面购买的话，可以移步到我们某宝搜索店铺：小优图书店，搜到后销量第一名的就是我们的手译本哦！由于小程序是我们今年新开的店铺，销量稍微低了点，其实我们已经在各大平台上销售手译本累计已经过10万+销量了，非常好用的手译笔记！绝对给力哈！超多网友在用哦！