苹果取消造车计划

近日，媒体报道称苹果宣布，取消电动汽车研发计划，相关团队将转向AI研发。

🤔️小作业：

1. How did Apple's strategy regarding autonomous driving capabilities evolve over time?

A) From semiautonomous to fully autonomous

B) Maintained a focus on fully autonomous from start to end

C) From fully autonomous to semiautonomous

D) No changes were made to their autonomous driving strategy

A) It would significantly boost Apple's market share

B) It was seen as the most far-fetched initiative for Apple

C) It would overshadow the success of the iPhone

D) It was expected to replace CarPlay in vehicles

无注释原文：

Apple Ends Quest to Build its Own Electric Vehicle

From: The Wall Street Journal

Apple has put an end to its decadelong push to build its own electric vehicle, an effort once seen as having the potential to transform the auto industry.

That transformation, which has been under way for years without Apple, continuously increased the level of difficulty Apple faced as it spent billions trying to catch or exceed the capabilities made available during a revolution led by Tesla.

The secret group inside the iPhone giant—known internally as Project Titan—has been informed that Apple would be shutting down its efforts in building a car while the company ramps up investments in the area of generative artificial intelligence, a person familiar with the situation said.

Some of the employees inside the group will be shifting to Apple's AI group, while other employees working on car hardware will likely face layoffs. Bloomberg News earlier reported the plans.

Since the mid-2010s, the specter of Apple introducing a car had rattled auto executives. Cars were becoming computers on wheels, with updateable features and large touch screens—morphing into a sort of device that seemed to play right into Apple's strengths.

“Apple had such an aura of being able to create really innovative, easy-to-use stuff,” said Phil Abram, a former General Motors executive who ran the company's infotainment division before retiring in 2017. “There was a view that if they ever did put out a car, that would be tough to compete with.”

Still, an Apple vehicle was seen as a distant threat, he said, “because everybody knew how hard it was to build cars.”

Even outside of its car project, Apple's products have had a far-reaching impact on the car business. Automakers for years had struggled to refine multimedia systems and other in-car technology. As Apple's iPhone and iPad surged in popularity, car brands tried to get their touch screens to have the look and functionality of an iPhone.

Eventually, automakers invited Apple inside with their CarPlay feature, an app that allows users to project their phone on the car's center display. CarPlay now comes installed on more than 90% of model-year 2023 vehicles sold in the U.S., according to research firm Wards Intelligence.

As Apple's car project progressed, the company's goals around autonomous driving capabilities wavered. When the effort kicked off around 2014, the company imagined a fully autonomous vehicle. Over time, Apple scaled back those ambitions to semiautonomous, where the vehicle automates only some parts of the driving.

With these strategic changes, leadership was also in near constant flux. Doug Field, a former Tesla executive, led the project between 2018 and 2021 before departing for Ford Motor. Kevin Lynch, who previously was responsible for the Apple Watch, had been leading Titan up until its cancellation.

“Apple canceling this project is a sigh of relief for us,” said Dan Morgan, a senior portfolio manager at Apple shareholder Synovus Trust. “When you looked at Apple's future initiatives, the car project was always the most far-fetched for Apple. This just isn't in their wheelhouse.”

- ◆ -

注：完整题目见本文开头；中文文本为华尔街日报官方译文，仅供参考

含注释全文：

Apple Ends Quest to Build its Own Electric Vehicle

From: The Wall Street Journal

Apple has put an end to its decadelong push to build its own electric vehicle, an effort once seen as having the potential to transform the auto industry.

苹果公司（Apple）结束了长达10年之久的打造自家电动汽车的努力，这一努力曾被视为有可能改变汽车行业。

transform /trænsˈfɔːm/ 表示“使彻底改观；使大变样；转变，转换”，英文解释为“to change completely the appearance or character of something or someone, especially so that that thing or person is improved”举个🌰：The reorganization will transform the entertainment industry. 这次重组将使娱乐业大为改观。

📍词根“trans-”表示“跨越”，“-form”来自拉丁语“forma”，表示“形状”。想象翻新将彻底改变旧图书馆的“形状”。联想宫殿：在宫殿的图书馆，你看到装修工人正在进行改造，将其“转换”成一个现代化的空间。近义词：convert（转换），同根词：transformation（转变），常用短语：transform into something（转变成某物）

auto /ˈɔː.təʊ/ 作名词，表示“汽车”；作形容词，表示“汽车的”，英文解释为“relating to cars”如：auto insurance/mechanics/engineers 汽车保险/机修工/工程师。

📍近义词：automatic（自动的），同根词：autonomous（自治的），常用短语：auto industry（汽车工业）

That transformation, which has been under way for years without Apple, continuously increased the level of difficulty Apple faced as it spent billions trying to catch or exceed the capabilities made available during a revolution led by Tesla.

汽车行业电动化转型已进行了多年，苹果公司没有参与其中，尽管该公司已花费数十亿美元试图赶上或超过特斯拉（Tesla Motors）领导的变革所带来的生产能力，但其面临的困难不断增加。

exceed /ɪkˈsiːd/ 表示“超过，超出（数量）；超越（规定的范围）”，英文解释为“to be greater than a number or amount, or to go past an allowed limit”举个🌰：The final cost should not exceed ￥100. 最终的花费不应超出100元。

📍词根“-ceed”表示"走，去"，前缀“ex-”表示"出，超出"。近义词：surpass（超过），同根词：proceed（进行），succeed（成功）

capability /ˌkeɪ.pəˈbɪl.ə.ti/ 表示“能力；才干；水平”，英文解释为“the ability to do something”举个🌰：These tests are beyond the capability of an average twelve-year-old. 这些测试超出了一个普通12岁孩子的能力。

📍词根“cap-”来自拉丁语“capere”，表示“抓取”，“-ability”表示“能力”。想象这个软件有“抓取”并快速处理大量数据的“能力”。近义词：capacity（容量），同根词：capable（有能力的），常用短语：enhance capability（增强能力）

revolution /ˌrev.əˈluː.ʃən/ 1）表示“革命性剧变；大变革”，英文解释为“a very important change in the way that people do things”如：a technological revolution 技术革命。

2）表示“旋转；绕转；循环运动”，英文解释为“a circular movement”举个🌰：The revolution of the earth around the sun was proposed by Copernicus. 地球围绕太阳旋转这一观点是哥白尼提出的。

📍词根“revolv-”来自拉丁语“revolvere”，表示“滚动”，“-ution”表示“过程”。想象数字“革命”改变了我们生活和工作的方式，就像社会在“滚动”更新。近义词：upheaval（动荡），同根词：revolve（旋转）

The secret group inside the iPhone giant—known internally as Project Titan—has been informed that Apple would be shutting down its efforts in building a car while the company ramps up investments in the area of generative artificial intelligence, a person familiar with the situation said.

一位知情人士说，这家iPhone巨头内部的秘密团队（在公司内部被称为泰坦计划（Project Titan））已被告知，苹果将停止造车工作，同时会加大在生成式人工智能（AI）领域的投资。

giant /ˈdʒaɪ.ənt/表示“巨头，大公司”，英文解释为“Giant is often used to refer to any large, successful business organization or country.”如：Japanese electronics giant, Sony 日本的电子业巨头——索尼公司。

📍这个词来自希腊神话中的“巨人”（Gigantes），表示在某个领域或行业内非常强大或巨大的实体。

类似的还有：

📍mogul /ˈməʊɡəl/表示“（尤指新闻、影视界的）大人物；大亨”，英文解释为“A mogul is an important, rich, and powerful businessman, especially one in the news, film, or television industry.”如：an international media mogul一位国际传媒大亨。

📍magnate /ˈmæɡneɪt, -nɪt/ 表示“大亨，巨头”，英文解释为“a rich and powerful person in industry or business”。

📍tycoon /taɪˈkuːn/ 表示“巨头，大亨（工商界）”，英文解释为“someone who is successful in business or industry and has a lot of money and power”如：property tycoon 房地产大亨。

📍conglomerate /kənˈglɒmərɪt/ 表示“联合大公司；企业集团”，英文解释为“A conglomerate is a large business firm consisting of several different companies.”如：the world's second-largest media conglomerate 世界第二大传媒集团。

📍behemoth /ˈbiːhɪmɒθ/ 表示“巨头（指规模庞大、实力雄厚的公司或机构）”，英文解释为“a very big and powerful company or organization”。

📍titan /ˈtaɪ.tən/表示“巨人；巨头”，英文解释为“If you describe someone as a titan of a particular field, you mean that they are very important and powerful or successful in that field.”

1）表示“加快（速度）；增加（威力）；提高（费用）”，英文解释为“to increase the speed, power, or cost of something”举个🌰：Announcement of the merger is expected to ramp up share prices over the next few days. 预计公司合并的消息发布后，接下来的几天里股票价格会上扬。

2）表示“（公司）扩大，增加，增多（业务等）”，英文解释为“If a business ramps up its activity, it increases it.”举个🌰：The company announced plans to ramp up production to 10,000 units per month. 这家公司宣布了每月生产1万件的增产计划。

📍《经济学人》（The Economist）一篇讲述新型冠状病毒抗体检测的文章中提到：Even when they are cleared for general use it will take time for manufacturers to ramp up the production of tests, 即便在检测设备被获准通用之后，制造商要扩大生产也需要时间，

📍ramp up短语由“ramp”（斜坡）和“up”（向上）组成，直接表示“增加”或“加强”的动作，就像沿着斜坡向上爬升一样。近义词：increase（增加），常用短语：ramp up efforts（加大努力）

generative /ˈdʒen.ər.ə.tɪv/ 表示“有生产能力的；能生成的”，英文解释为“able to produce or create something”如：the generative power of the mind 大脑的生成能力。

📍ChatGPT全名就是：Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer.

📍词根“gen-”来自拉丁语“generare”，表示“产生”，后缀“-ative”表示形容词，即“有产生作用的”。想象生成式AI能够基于现有数据创造新内容。近义词：productive（生产的），同根词：generate（生成），常用短语：generative model（生成模型）

artificial /ˌɑː.tɪˈfɪʃ.əl/ 表示“人造的，人工的；仿造的”，英文解释为“made by people, often as a copy of something natural”如：clothes made of artificial fibres 人造纤维面料的服装。

📍词根“art-”来自拉丁语“ars”，表示“艺术，技巧”，“-ficial”来自“facere”，表示“做”，整体意思是“通过技巧做出来的”，即“人工的”。近义词：synthetic（合成的），同根词：artifact（人工制品），常用短语：artificial light（人工光）

📍artificial intelligence /ˌɑː.tɪ.fɪʃ.əl ɪnˈtel.ɪ.dʒəns/ 表示“人工智能”，英文解释为“the study of how to produce machines that have some of the qualities that the human mind has, such as the ability to understand language, recognize pictures, solve problems, and learn”

Some of the employees inside the group will be shifting to Apple's AI group, while other employees working on car hardware will likely face layoffs. Bloomberg News earlier reported the plans.

该团队内部部分员工将转到苹果的AI集团，而其他从事汽车硬件研发的员工可能面临裁员。彭博新闻（Bloomberg News）稍早报道了这一计划。

layoff /ˈleɪ.ɒf/ 表示“解雇，解聘，下岗”，英文解释为“an occasion when a company stops employing someone, sometimes temporarily, because the company does not have enough money or enough work”

📍由“lay”（放置）和“off”（离开）组成，直接表示“让员工离开工作岗位”的行为。近义词：redundancy（裁员），常用短语：face a layoff（面临裁员）

Since the mid-2010s, the specter of Apple introducing a car had rattled auto executives. Cars were becoming computers on wheels, with updateable features and large touch screens—morphing into a sort of device that seemed to play right into Apple's strengths.

自2015年前后以来，苹果公司推出汽车的魔咒就一直困扰着汽车行业的高管们。汽车正成为装在车轮上的电脑，具有可更新的功能和大尺寸触摸屏，逐渐演变成一种似乎苹果正好能发挥优势的设备。

美式 specter /ˈspek.tər/ 英式 spectre，the specter of sth 表示“对于…的恐惧（或忧虑）”，英文解释为“the idea of something unpleasant that might happen in the future”举个🌰：The awful spectre of civil war looms over the country. 内战的阴云笼罩着全国。

rattle /ˈrætəl/ 1）表示“使慌乱，使紧张”，英文解释为“to make someone lose confidence or become nervous (informal)”举个🌰：His mocking smile rattled her more than his anger. 他那种嘲讽的微笑比他的愤怒更让她慌乱。

2）表示“（使）发出咔嗒咔嗒的声音”，英文解释为“to make a series of short loud sounds when hitting against sth hard; to make sth do this”举个🌰：Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

morph /mɔːf/ 1）表示“（尤指很大的、质的）改变；变化”，英文解释为“If one thing morphs into another thing, especially something very different, the first thing changes into the second.”举个🌰：Mild-mannered KangKang morphs into a confident, grinning hero. 温良恭谨的康康变了，变成了一位充满信心、笑口常开的豪杰人物。

2）表示“（使）图像变形；将（图像）进行合成处理”，英文解释为“to gradually change one image into another, or combine them, using a computer program”

📍比如疫情期间，不少客运航空变成货运：Passenger airlines morph into cargo carriers.

“Apple had such an aura of being able to create really innovative, easy-to-use stuff,” said Phil Abram, a former General Motors executive who ran the company's infotainment division before retiring in 2017. “There was a view that if they ever did put out a car, that would be tough to compete with.”

“苹果公司有一种能够创造出真正创新、易于使用的东西的光环，”通用汽车（General Motors）前高管、在2017年退休前担任该公司信息娱乐部门负责人的Phil Abram说，“有一种观点认为，如果苹果公司真的推出汽车，那将很难与之竞争。”

aura /ˈɔːrə/ 1）表示“气氛；氛围；气质”，英文解释为“a feeling or particular quality that is very noticeable and seems to surround a person or place”

2）表示“（一些人声称在人或动物身体周围看到的）光环，光轮”，英文解释为“a type of light that some people say they can see around people and animals”

infotainment /ɪn.fəʊˈteɪn.mənt/ 表示“（电视）信息娱乐节目”，英文解释为“(in television) the reporting of news and facts in an entertaining and humorous way rather than providing real information”举个🌰：It wasn't a real documentary - it was more what you'd call infotainment. 这不是真正的纪录片——它更像所谓的信息娱乐片。

📍由“info”（信息）和“entertainment”（娱乐）合成，直接表示将信息和娱乐结合的内容或节目。近义词：edutainment（教育娱乐），常用短语：watch infotainment programs（观看信息娱乐节目）

division /dɪˈvɪʒ.ən/ 1）表示“部门（如部、处、室、科等）”，英文解释为“a separate part of an army or large organization”如：the sales division 销售部。

2）表示“（体育运动的）级”，英文解释为“a group of teams that play against each other in a particular sport”如：The team plays in one of the lower divisions. 低一级队伍的球员。

3）表示“除法”，英文解释为“the calculation of how many times one number goes into another”

Still, an Apple vehicle was seen as a distant threat, he said, “because everybody knew how hard it was to build cars.”

尽管如此，外界认为苹果汽车的威胁还很遥远，他说，“因为大家都知道造车有多难。”

Even outside of its car project, Apple's products have had a far-reaching impact on the car business. Automakers for years had struggled to refine multimedia systems and other in-car technology. As Apple's iPhone and iPad surged in popularity, car brands tried to get their touch screens to have the look and functionality of an iPhone.

即使在汽车项目之外，苹果的产品也对汽车行业产生了深远影响。多年来，汽车制造商一直苦于改进多媒体系统和其他车载技术。随着苹果公司iPhone和iPad大受欢迎，汽车品牌纷纷试图让自己的触摸屏拥有iPhone的外观和功能。

refine /rɪˈfaɪn/ 1）表示“完善；改进，改善”，英文解释为“If something such as a process, theory, or machine is refined, it is improved by having small changes made to it.”举个🌰：Surgical techniques are constantly being refined. 外科手术技术正在不断得到完善。

2）表示“（尤指去除不需要的杂质而）精炼，提炼，提纯”，英文解释为“to make something pure or improve something, especially by removing unwanted material”

📍词根“-fine”表示"细，精"，前缀“re-”表示"再，重新"。同根词：refinery（炼油厂）

surge /sɜːdʒ/ 1）作动词，表示“急剧上升；飞涨；剧增”，英文解释为“If something surges, it increases suddenly and greatly, after being steady or developing only slowly.”举个🌰：The company's profits have surged. 公司的利润激增。

2）作名词，表示“剧增”，英文解释为“A surge is a sudden large increase in something that has previously been steady, or has only increased or developed slowly.”举个🌰：An unexpected surge in electrical power caused the computer to crash. 突然出现的电压剧增导致电脑死机。

🎬电影《雷神2：黑暗世界》（Thor: The Dark World）中的台词提到：But she will not survive the amount of energy surging within her. 但她体内涌动的能量太大 她撑不住的。

Eventually, automakers invited Apple inside with their CarPlay feature, an app that allows users to project their phone on the car's center display. CarPlay now comes installed on more than 90% of model-year 2023 vehicles sold in the U.S., according to research firm Wards Intelligence.

最终，汽车制造商通过CarPlay将苹果请进了车内，这是一款允许用户将手机投射到汽车中央显示屏上的应用程序。根据研究公司Wards Intelligence的数据，目前在美国销售的2023年款汽车中，90%以上都安装了CarPlay。

project /ˈprɒdʒ.ekt/ 1）表示“放映；投射（影、像或光）”，英文解释为“to cause a film, image, or light to appear on a screen or other surface”举个🌰：Laser images were projected onto a screen. 激光图像被投射到了屏幕上。

2）表示“预计，推算”，英文解释为“to calculate an amount or number expected in the future from information already known”举个🌰：Government spending is projected to rise by three percent next year. 明年政府的支出预计将增加3%。

3）表示“投射（自己的感觉给别人）”，英文解释为“to wrongly imagine that someone else is feeling a particular emotion or desire when in fact it is you who feels this way”举个🌰：I suspect he's projecting his fears onto you. 我猜他是把他的恐惧投射到你身上了。

4）表示“向别人表现（某种品质）”，英文解释为“If you project a particular quality, that quality is what most people notice about you.”举个🌰：Recently she has sought to project a much tougher image. 最近她努力塑造一个更强硬的形象。

install /ɪnˈstɔːl/ 1）表示“安装；安顿，安置；把…安装到计算机上，安装（软件）”，英文解释为“to put furniture, a machine, or a piece of equipment into position and make it ready to use”举个🌰：The plumber is coming tomorrow to install the new washing machine. 水管工明天来安装新的洗衣机。

2）还可以表示“正式任命，使正式就职”，英文解释为“to put someone in an important job or position”举个🌰：She has installed a couple of young academics as her advisers. 她任用几名年轻的大学教师作为顾问。

As Apple's car project progressed, the company's goals around autonomous driving capabilities wavered. When the effort kicked off around 2014, the company imagined a fully autonomous vehicle. Over time, Apple scaled back those ambitions to semiautonomous, where the vehicle automates only some parts of the driving.

随着苹果公司汽车项目的推进，该公司围绕自动驾驶能力的目标也在不断摇摆。在2014年前后启动该项目时，苹果公司设想的是一款完全自动驾驶的汽车。随着时间的推移，该公司将这些雄心壮志缩减为半自动驾驶，即车辆仅实现部分自动驾驶。

waver /ˈweɪ.vər/ 1）表示“（尤指暂时地）动摇”，英文解释为“to lose strength, determination, or purpose, especially temporarily”举个🌰：I'm afraid my concentration began to waver as lunch approached. 恐怕我的注意力在临近午饭时要开始下降了。

2）表示“（在两个选择之间）踌躇，犹豫不决”，英文解释为“If you waver between two possibilities, you cannot decide which of them to choose or you keep choosing one way and then the other.”举个🌰：I'm wavering between the soup and the cake. 我正在犹豫是喝汤还是吃蛋糕。

🎬电影《犯罪活动》（Criminal Activities）中的台词提到：That if opportunity presents itself, do not hesitate, do not waver. 如果机会出现，不要犹豫，不要动摇。

kick off动词短语，表示“（足球比赛）开球，开始”，英文解释为“If a game of football kicks off, it starts.”当然，也可以指活动，事件的开始，举个🌰：What time does the game kick off? 比赛什么时候开始？

🎬电影《又一年》（Another Year）中的台词提到：- Shall I kick off? - You take the honour.-可以让我开球吗 -当然可以。

📍kick-off 名词，表示“（活动的）开始”，英文解释为“the time when an activity starts”或者表示“（足球比赛的）开球，开赛，中线开球”，英文解释为“the time when a game of football starts, or when it begins again after it has stopped because of a goal, etc.”

scale sth down = scale sth back 表示“缩减，缩小”，英文解释为“to make something smaller than it was or smaller than it was planned to be”举个🌰：A shortage of money has forced them to scale down the project. 由于缺乏资金，他们被迫缩减项目的规模。

semi /ˈsem.i/ 表示“半；部分”，英文解释为“half or partly”如：semi-literate 半文盲。

autonomous /ɔːˈtɒn.ə.məs/ 表示“自动的；自主的，有自主权的；自治的，有自治权的”，英文解释为“independent and having the power to make your own decisions”

With these strategic changes, leadership was also in near constant flux. Doug Field, a former Tesla executive, led the project between 2018 and 2021 before departing for Ford Motor. Kevin Lynch, who previously was responsible for the Apple Watch, had been leading Titan up until its cancellation.

随着这些战略变化，领导层也几乎在不断变化。特斯拉（Tesla）前高管Doug Field在2018年至2021年间领导了该项目，随后离职去了福特（Ford）。此前负责Apple Watch的Kevin Lynch后来一直领导泰坦项目，直到该项目取消。

flux /flʌks/ 表示“不断的变动，不停的变化”，英文解释为“continuous change”举个🌰：Our plans are in a state of flux at the moment. 我们的计划目前处在不断变化之中。

“Apple canceling this project is a sigh of relief for us,” said Dan Morgan, a senior portfolio manager at Apple shareholder Synovus Trust. “When you looked at Apple's future initiatives, the car project was always the most far-fetched for Apple. This just isn't in their wheelhouse.”

“苹果公司取消这个项目让我们松了一口气，”苹果股东Synovus Trust的高级基金经理Dan Morgan说。“当你审视苹果的未来计划时，汽车项目对该公司来说总是最牵强的。这不在他们的能力范围之内。”

sigh /saɪ/ 可以作动词，也可以作名词，表示“叹息，叹气”，英文解释为“a slow, noisy breath”举个🌰：He leaned back in his seat with a sigh. 他向后靠在座位上长出了一口气。

portfolio /pɔːtˈfəʊliəʊ/ 很久没出现了，很早之前在88岁股神巴菲特日喝5罐可乐一文中出现过：Even though Apple stock is a major part of Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, Buffett still uses a flip phone that he showed off on CNN. 表示“（某人或某公司持有的）有价证券组合，投资组合”（a group of stock s owned by a particular person or compan），如：an investment portfolio 投资组合。

此外，portfolio还有多个不同含义：1）表示“公事包，文件夹；画夹”（a large flat case used especially for carrying pictures, documents etc）。

2）表示“部长（大臣）的职责”（the work that a particular government official is responsible for），如：the foreign affairs portfolio 外交部长职责。

3）表示“（艺术家、摄影师等的）作品选集”（a set of pictures or other pieces of work that an artist, photographer etc has done）。

4）表示“（公司或机构提供的）系列产品，系列服务”（the range of products or services offered by a particular company or organization），如：a portfolio of wines 系列葡萄酒。

trust /trʌst/ 熟词僻义，表示“委托；信托；信托财产”，英文解释为“an arrangement by which an organization or a group of people has legal control of money or property that has been given to sb, usually until that person reaches a particular age; an amount of money or property that is controlled in this way”举个🌰：He set up a trust for his children. 他为子女安排好了信托财产。

far-fetched /ˌfɑːˈfetʃt/ 表示“牵强的；难以置信的”，英文解释为“very unlikely to be true, and difficult to believe”如：a far-fetched idea/story 牵强的意见/难以置信的故事。

wheelhouse /ˈwiːl.haʊs/ 表示“（船）操舵室，驾驶室”，英文解释为“a structure with a roof on a boat that provides shelter for the person who is controlling the direction of the boat”

📍someone's wheelhouse 表示“强项”，英文解释为“an area that someone is interested in and skilled at”举个🌰：I first needed to figure out what was in my wheelhouse. 我得先找出我的强项是什么。

- 词汇盘点 -

- 词汇助记 By ChatGPT -

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