The last videocassette recorder (VCR) in Japan will be produced by the end of the month, according to the Nikkei newspaper.

　　据日经新闻报道，本月月底，日本将制造最后一台盒式磁带录像机(VCR)。

　　Funai Electric has been producing VHS-playing VCRs for 33 years, most recently in China for Sanyo.

　　船井电机株式会社已经制造家用录像系统盒式磁带录像机三十三年。最近在中国为三洋制造录像机。

　　But last year it sold just 750,000 units, down from a peak of 15 million a year, and has been finding it difficult to source the necessary parts.

　　但是去年，盒式磁带录像机只卖出了七十五万台，远不及曾经一年销售一千五百万台的佳绩，而且现在机器的主要配件也很难寻到。

　　VCRs were introduced in the 1970s but were superseded by DVD technology.

　　盒式磁带录像机自二十世纪七十年代引进，但随即被DVD技术取代。

　　Last year, Sony announced it would stop selling Betamax video cassettes - a rival to the VHS. VCRs were required to play or record such tapes.

　　去年，索尼宣布它将停止销售Beta制式录像机的录像带。Beta制式录像带是VCR制式录像带的竞争对手。盒式磁带录像机需要录像带才能播放或录像。

　　It was 12 years ago that UK High Street retailer Dixons decided to phase out the sale of VCRs due to the popularity of DVD players.

　　十二年前，英国高街零售商迪克森由于DVD播放机的流行而决定逐步停止销售盒式磁带录像机。

　　'Niche market'

　　“小众市场”

　　Some vintage technologies - such as vinyl - have enjoyed a renaissance.

　　一些使用古董技术的产品，如黑胶唱片，又重新流行起来。

　　However, Tania Lofler, an analyst at IHS Technology, does not think the same nostalgia will ever be felt for VCR-playable formats.

　　然而，IHS科技公司的分析员塔尼亚·莱夫勒认为盒式磁带录像机不会迎来同样的怀旧风潮。

　　"I don't see VCR becoming like vinyl, where a lot of people appreciated the warmness of how something sounds on vinyl," she told the BBC.

　　她告诉BBC：“很多人欣赏黑胶唱片是因为它播放出来的声音带着一种温暖的感觉。但我发现盒式磁带录像机并不能像黑胶唱片一样给大家带来相似的感觉。”

　　"The quality on VHS is not something I think anyone would want to go back to."

　　“我认为没有人会想要盒式磁带录像机的画质和音质。”

　　However, she added that a niche market for accessing VHS content, perhaps for archival purposes, would probably mourn the loss of VCRs if they became unavailable.

　　但是她补充道，在盒式磁带录像机退出市场后，也许人们出于档案整理等原因依然会想播放盒式磁带的内容，从而形成盒式磁带录像机的小众市场，这或许将成为缅怀盒式磁带录像机的一种方式。

　　Vocabulary

　　supersede: 取代，代替;紧接着……而到来

　　vinyl: 黑胶唱片

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