As Apple tries to maintain its growth and success in
China, the world's largest smart-phone market is becoming even more critical.
Apple's shares(股份) fell sharply as the company's earnings
for the holiday quarter through December disappointed investors.
The sales of the iPhone, which include both the iPhone
5 and older models, came in at the low end of analysts' expectations, while the
company's income plan for the second quarter was below analysts' forecasts,
though Apple is known to give conservative (保守的)
forecasts.
Som'6 analysts have said that for Apple to regain its
growth, the company.needs a more aggressive strategy for markets, or more
specifically for China, where the market for smart phones has been expanding
more rapidly than anywhere else. In China, demand is particularly great for
inexpensive phones that run on Android(安卓) operating
system, sold by many Chinese phone makers as well as South Korea's Samsung
Electronics Co.
But Apple says it's already enjoying strong growth in
China. "We saw big growth in iPhones,"Chief Executive Tim Cook said.
He said that the company has been quickly expanding its sales channels in
China, including the number of Apple stores. "This isn't nearly what we
need, we're not even close to that, but we're making great progress. " he
said.
In China, a big missing piece for Apple is China
Mobile Ltd. , the biggest local telecom carrier that doesn't yet sell the
iPhone. Earlier this month, Mr. Cook met China Mobile Chairman Xi Guohua in
Beijing and discussed cooperation, stirring hopes that the world's largest
mobile carrier may soon start offering the iPhone.
Earlier this month, the Wall Street Journal reported
that Apple is working on a lower-end iPhone that could launch as early as this
year. But one possible challenge for Apple in China is that low-pricod
Android-based phones are getting better in terms of quality. A report from CLSA
in late November showed that many smart-phones sold at about 1,000 yuan ( $160)
came with higher-reso-lution screens, better cameras and more powerful
processors than phones at that price did a year earlier.
1.Apple's shares dropped sharply because in December__
A.the iPhone
wasn't popular in China
B.its product
quality was widely criticized
C.the earnings
for the holiday quarter was disappointing
D.the investors
were not satisfied with Apple's management
2.What can we learn from the passage?
A.Apple tends
to offer a lower sales forecast.
B.China Mobile
Ltd began to team up with Apple.
C.Cook is
pessimistic about what Apple did in China.
D.Apple didn't
take measures to develop Chinese market.
3.The author uses the report from CLSA to prove
A.their prices
are actually lower than a year earlier
B.Apple in
China has ability to deal with any problem
C.low-ended
Android-based phones are progressing fast
D.the promotion
of lower-end iPhone will face a challenge
4.The main purpose of the passage is to show the
readers __
A.Apple.'s high
popularity in China
B.the challenge
Apple faces in China
C.the
approaching failure Apple will suffer in China
D.Apple's
aggressive strategy in its market expansion