VOA慢速英语听力：推特推出新的“X”标志取代蓝鸟 Twitter Introduces New ‘X’ Logo to Replace Blue Bird

VOA慢速英语听力：推特推出新的“X”标志取代蓝鸟 Twitter Introduces New ‘X’ Logo to Replace Blue Bird.

Twitter owner Elon Musk has launched a new logo – the single letter “X” – to replace the social media service’s famous blue bird.

Twitter的所有者埃隆·马斯克推出了一个新的标志——单个字母“X”，来取代这个社交媒体服务著名的蓝色小鸟标志。

The X design started appearing at the top of Twitter’s computer version on Monday. But the old bird logo could still be seen across areas of the service.

这个X设计从周一开始出现在Twitter的电脑版顶部。但是在该服务的某些区域仍然可以看到旧的鸟标志。

Musk announced in a Twitter message Sunday that he had decided to change the company’s logo. He said he had asked his millions of followers to provide logo ideas and if they would favor a change in the service’s colors from blue to black.

马斯克在周日的Twitter信息中宣布，他决定改变公司的标志。他说，他已经请他数百万的追随者提供标志设计的意见，并询问他们是否支持将服务的颜色从蓝色改为黑色。

When asked what tweets would be called without the blue bird logo, Musk said they would now be known as “Xs.”

当被问及没有蓝色小鸟标志的推文应该称为什么时，马斯克表示，现在它们将被称为“Xs”。

The latest change is one in a series Musk has carried out since buying Twitter for $44 billion last year.

这最新的改变是马斯克去年以440亿美元购买Twitter以来所进行的一系列改变之一。

The billionaire businessman dismissed about 75 percent of the company’s workforce soon after the deal closed. Musk said the move was necessary to make Twitter more effective and increase profits. He also announced plans to start charging Twitter users eight dollars a month to keep a verified account.

在交易结束后不久，这位亿万富翁商人解雇了公司约75%的员工。马斯克表示，此举是为了使Twitter更加高效，并增加利润。他还宣布计划开始向Twitter用户收取每月8美元的费用来保持经过验证的账户。

As Twitter chief, Musk also lifted some existing restrictions on user content. He said those changes were part of a larger effort to protect the free speech of Twitter users. Critics said his plans were likely to increase the amount of harmful content and hate speech appearing on the service.

作为Twitter的首席执行官，马斯克还解除了一些现有的用户内容限制。他表示，这些变化是保护Twitter用户言论自由的更大努力的一部分。批评人士称，他的计划可能会增加服务中出现的有害内容和仇恨言论的数量。

Musk’s changes led to drops in the number of Twitter users. Some advertisers stopped doing business with the company, as well.

马斯克的改变导致了Twitter用户数量的下降。一些广告商也停止了与该公司的业务往来。

In a message on Twitter Monday, chief executive Linda Yaccarino wrote, “X is here! Let’s do this.” Along with her message, she published a picture of the logo projected onto the building’s headquarters in San Francisco

在周一的Twitter信息中，首席执行官琳达·雅卡里诺写道：“X在这里！让我们做这个。”她在信息中还发布了一个将标志投射在旧金山总部大楼上的照片。

Musk also commented on the logo change, writing, “And soon we shall bid adieu to the twitter brand and, gradually, all the birds.” Musk said the X.com web domain was already redirecting users to Twitter.com.

马斯克还对标志变更发表了评论，写道：“很快我们将向Twitter品牌道别，逐渐向所有的鸟道别。”马斯克表示，X.com的网域已经将用户重定向到Twitter.com。

A three-member team designed the first Twitter logo in 2012. One of those designers, Martin Grasser, described the blue bird logo as "simple, balanced” and easy to read at very small sizes.

一个由三名成员组成的团队在2012年设计了第一个Twitter标志。其中一名设计师马丁·格拉瑟将蓝色小鸟标志描述为“简单、平衡”，并且在非常小的尺寸下很容易辨认。

Matt Rhodes is with the British creative agency House 337. He told news agency Reuters that making changes to such an established brand presents big business risks. "Anything that makes it harder for people to find, or want to open the app on their cluttered phone screens risks harming usage," Rhodes said.

马特·罗兹是英国创意代理公司House 337的一员。他对路透社表示，对这样一个已经确立的品牌进行改变会带来巨大的商业风险。“任何让人们更难找到应用程序，或者不想在他们杂乱的手机屏幕上打开应用程序的改变都会损害使用率，”罗兹说道。

However, Paolo Pescatore, a technology and media specialist who founded advisory company PP Foresight, said the change could be good. He spoke to the Associated Press.

然而，科技和媒体专家保罗·佩斯卡托雷，他创办了咨询公司PP Foresight，表示这种改变可能是好事。他接受了美联社的采访。

Pescatore said social media users currently can get confused by too many apps and messaging services to choose from. Driving users to one central place will “engage” more users and could make Twitter easier to use, he said.

佩斯卡托雷表示，目前社交媒体用户可能会因为有太多应用程序和消息服务可供选择而感到困惑。将用户引导到一个中心地带将会“吸引”更多用户，并且可能使Twitter更易于使用，他说道。

Musk has long been interested in the letter X. He had already changed Twitter's official name to X Corp after buying the company.

马斯克长期以来对字母X一直很感兴趣。在收购Twitter后，他已经将其正式名称更改为X Corp。

The billionaire is also CEO of rocket company Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, commonly known as SpaceX. He started an artificial intelligence company this month called xAI to compete with OpenAI. And in 1999, he founded a startup called X.com, an online financial services company now known as PayPal.

这位亿万富翁还是火箭公司Space Exploration Technologies Corporation的首席执行官，通常被称为SpaceX。本月，他创办了一个名为xAI的人工智能公司，与OpenAI竞争。而且在1999年，他创办了一家名为X.com的初创企业，现在已经被称为PayPal，是一家在线金融服务公司。

Musk's Twitter purchase and rebranding effort are seen as steps toward his stated plans to create what he has called an “everything app.” Such an app would be similar to China’s WeChat, which combines video, messaging, streaming and payments.

马斯克的Twitter收购和重新品牌化努力被视为朝着他所宣布的创造一个他所称之为“全能应用”的计划迈出的一步。这样的应用将类似于中国的微信，将视频、消息、流媒体和支付功能结合在一起。

Yaccarino wrote on Twitter that she sees X becoming “the future state of unlimited interactivity – centered in audio, video, messaging, payments/banking – creating a global marketplace for ideas, goods, services, and opportunities.”

Yaccarino在Twitter上写道，她认为X将成为“无限互动的未来状态，以音频、视频、消息、支付/银行为中心，打造一个全球的思想、商品、服务和机会市场。”

Words in This Story

logo – n. to interest someone in something and keep them thinking about it

verify – v. to prove something is true

content – n. information or ideas that appear in books, movies or on the internet

bid adieu – v. say goodbye

brand – n. a kind of product made by a particular company under a particular name

clutter – n. a state of being messy

confuse – v. to mix up someone’s mind or ideas

engage – v. to interest someone in something and keep them thinking about it

gradually – adv. moving forward in steps or degrees

app – n. a computer program that performs a special function, usually found on mobile phones

streaming – n. the continuous transmission of video files from a server to a viewer