热点英语：新浪微博会员收费制上线

（单词翻译:单击）

For a monthly fee of 10 yuan ($1.57, ?1) its 300 million users can add personalized pages, voice posts and better security, among other services. 
The move could help return the firm to profit. It posted a $13.7m (?9m) loss for its first quarter in May. 
One analyst¹ called it a "bold move", adding Twitter was unlikely to follow. 
Sina Weibo is introducing a total of 15 added VIP features, according to the Tech in Asia blog. 
It said the move built on other recent innovations added to the platform including social games and a virtual currency called Weibi. 
One Beijing-based business consultant² noted³ the decision to charge fees had followed government pressure on the business to boost efforts to filter out illegal posts by some of its members, increasing its costs. 
"Weibo has become an indispensable tool to Chinese netizens, although some argue of late that it has become less compelling due to the restrictions," said Duncan Clark, chairman of BDA. 
"But for Sina of course ultimately its aim is not to run the service as a charity. 
"This could be a tricky⁴ situation - if they push too far to monetize they couldtarnish their brand, but if they don't succeed in converting all this traffic to commercial value then it's ultimately unsustainable in the long term." 
'Brave move' 
While the move may prove a success for the Chinese firm, independent media analyst Mark Mulligan suggested it would be a mistake for western social networks to follow at this point. 
"It's a very brave move, and I do not think it is likely that Twitter would follow a similar route, certainly not at this stage," he said. 
"In order to start charging for something that people expect to be free, a company has to be very confident of its market position. 
"Any social tool faces competition - Facebook has done a lot trying to emulatemicroblogging with its timeline features. If Twitter tried to [introduce fees], Facebook would capitalise on that and try to implement⁶ a much richer set of services entirely⁷ free." 
He added that the dynamics⁸ were different in China and Sina Weibo might not be afraid of competition since other domestic web giants, such as Tencent and Renren, had also introduced membership fees for some add-on services. 
A spokeswoman for Twitter said the firm did not comment on other companies, adding that its business model remained based on advertising⁹. 
词汇】 
1. filter out 滤除 
filter out the noise 滤除噪音 
This test is used to filter out candidates who may be unsuitable. 这项测试是用来排除那些不合适的候选人。 
2. tarnish 
v. 1.（使）失去光泽 
Silver tarnished¹⁰ quickly. 银器易失去光泽。 
2. 败坏，玷污（名誉等），失去吸引力。 
The scandal tarnished his reputation.丑闻败坏了他的名誉。 
The dream has tarnished.梦想失去了吸引力。 
3. emulate⁵ 
v. 模仿，效仿 
She hopes to emulate her sister's sporting achievements. 她希望能取得和姐姐一样的运动成果。 
4. giant 
n. 1. 大企业，大公司 
competition from the American giants 来自美国几家大公司的竞争 
2. 力量超群的人 
an oil giant 石油巨头 
adj. 巨大的，重大的 
giant steps in the conquest of a disease 在战胜疾病过程中迈出的重要步伐 
5. introduce 
v. 1. 介绍 
2. 引入，采用，推行 
introduce new economic measures 推行新的经济措施 
句型】 
1. While A may prove a success for B, it will be a mistake for C to follow at this point. 尽管也许A对B来说是成功的措施，但是对C来说，现在这样做是不可取的。 
2. A has become an indispensable tool for B although some argue of late that... 尽管最近有人争辩说……，然而A对B已成为不可或缺的工具（东西）。 
新闻快讯】 
第一季度的巨大亏损加上微博上持续的大量投入，新浪不得不加快微博商业化的步伐。昨天，新浪微博会员服务正式上线，加入会员需每月支付10元，可享受身份、功能、手机及安全等四类增值服务。然而，通过各类媒体报道，可以看出大部分普通网友不愿为其埋单。 
自从2009年微博上线以来，新浪倾尽全力发展微博业务，投入大量资金，导致其陷入亏损。2012年第一季度，新浪净亏损1370万美元，而去年同期，新浪净利润为1500万美元。亏损原因可归结为广告收入减少，同时微博的投入和运营成本增加。新浪首席执行官曹国伟坦言，由于在微博上的投入，预计公司亏损将会持续。 
在此背景下。新浪不得不推进微博商业化。目前，加入微博会员，关注对象的上限可以突破2000人，其中VIP1至VIP3档会员可关注2500人，VIP4至VIP6档会员可关注3000人；会员可以在微博平台各个推荐展示列表中得到优先推荐；会员还将享受VIP专属标识、专属个人页面模板、等级加速及语音微博等服务。 
费用方面，开通会员的费用为每月10元。如果按年付费，可打9折，即108元；按3个月、6个月、9个月付费也可得到一定的优惠。这与腾讯QQ会员收费标准大体相当，QQ会员服务费也是每月10元，按年付费可享9.1折优惠。 
对此，大部分网友持反对态度，认为收费反而降低微博身价；而部分专家则表示新浪迈出这一步很大胆，如果新浪可以推出更加个性化的服务，相信会有部分用户愿意掏钱。

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