百度即将推出自己的手机

黄连英

Xiaodu， the artificial intelligence-powered voice assistant unit of Chinese tech heavyweight Baidu Inc， said on May 8 that it will officially launch its first smartphone later this month in a bid to grab a slice of the worlds largest smartphone market amid intense domestic handset competition.

Xiaodu is the developer of DuerOS， a voice assistant system based on AI that supports television， speakers and other smart home appliances. Baidu said in its latest financial earnings that Xiaodu smart home systems were linked with more than 200 million units of devices covering 70 categories of smart household appliances and 1，200 well-known brands last year.

Xiaodu topped the list in smart speaker shipments （货物） in China for the first three quarters of 2022， said market research firm International Data Corp. The company has expanded its product combinations including smart screens， tablets， headsets and televisions.

Xiang Ligang， director-general of the Information Consumption Alliance， a telecom industry association， said， “Xiaodu hopes to combine its strengths in smart voice interaction technology with a wide range of hardware devices，” adding that the new smartphone is likely to have access to Baidus large language model and other core AI capacities. Xiang said that knowing how to make innovations and breakthroughs in core technologies is key to convincing tech-savvy consumers， who have not yet switched their smartphones， to upgrade to new models.

Guo Tianxiang， a senior analyst from IDC， said Xiaodus new handset might focus on students and integrate Baidus capabilities in AI large language models. “However， it is very difficult for a newcomer to compete with major smartphone makers against the backdrop of slow growth in the countrys highly saturated （饱和的）  smartphone market.”

Noting that competition in Chinas smartphone market is heating up， Zhang Mengmeng， a research analyst at Counterpoint Research， said Baidu lacks experience in phone manufacturing and will also encounter challenges in expanding retail channels and brand development. He added that it takes a long time to nurture a high-end phone brand.

（材料來自“ChinaDaily”网站，有删改）

1. Whatre Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 mainly about？

A. Xiaodu is the developer of DuerOS.

B. Xiaodus smart appliances and home systems gained much popularity.

C. Xiaodu has expanded its product combinations.

D. Xiaodu topped the list in smart speaker shipments.

2. How can Xiaodu convince tech-savvy consumers to buy its smartphone？

A. To combine its smart voice interaction technology with hardware devices.

B. To allow it to have access to Baidus large lang-uage mode.

C. To make innovations and breakthroughs in core technologies.

D. To compete with major smartphone makers in China.

3. What can we infer from Guo Tianxiangs words？

A. Xiaodus target users of the new smartphone are old people.

B. The smartphone market is slightly saturated in China.

C. The development of Chinas smartphone market is growing fast.

D. Xiaodus newly-launched smartphone is hard to compete with Huawei smartphone.

4. Whats Zhang Mengmengs attitude towards Xiaodus first smartphone？

A. Negative.           B. Positive.

C. Cautious.           D. Indifferent.

1. B。解析：推理判断题。材料第二段和第三段通过举一些例子来论证小度智能家电和家居系统的受欢迎程度。A、C和D选项只是其中的一些信息点。故选B。

2. C。解析：细节理解题。根据材料第四段最后一句中的“knowing how to make innovations and breakth-roughs in core technologies is key to convincing tech-savvy consumers， who have not yet switched their smartphones， to upgrade to new models”，我们可知，如何在核心技术方面进行创新和突破，是说服尚未更换智能手机的科技精英消费者升级到新机型的关键。故选C。

3. D。解析：推理判断题。根据材料第五段中的“it is very difficult for a newcomer to compete with major smartphone makers against the backdrop of slow growth in the countrys highly saturated smartphone market”，我們可知，在中国高度饱和的智能手机市场增长乏力的背景下，新手很难与主要智能手机制造商竞争。而华为是国内影响力较大的智能手机制造商，故选D。

4. A。解析：观点态度题。根据材料最后一段中的“Baidu lacks experience in phone manufacturing and will also encounter challenges in expanding retail channels and brand development”“ it takes a long time to nurture a high-end phone brand”，我们可知，张萌萌认为百度缺乏手机制造经验，在扩大零售渠道和品牌发展方面也将面临挑战，而且培育一个高端手机品牌需要很长时间。由此可见，其对此不是十分看好，故选A。