商业报道:丰田难停上升势头

Toyota Motor Corp. says it's on track to become the world's largest automaker. CNN's Eunice Yoon reports

In the race for the title of world's largest automaker, Toyota of Japan proved Tuesday it's on track to unseat US car giant General Motors.

'We've posted record highs from sales to net profit in our third quarter.'

In its latest quarterly earnings² report, profits jumped 7% to more than $3.5 billion. The company sold enough Camry sedans, Prius hybrid³ electric cars, and other vehicles in North America to warrant the construction of new factories there.

'The impressive thing about Toyota is they're expanding in multiple regions at the same time and that's giving them a lot of momentum⁴, er, to take that number one spot.'

Drivers worldwide have praised Toyota for making what they consider low maintenance, high mileage⁵ vehicles. That formula is working in North America where the automaker is now thinking of building an eighth assembly plant, a move that could help ward⁶ off political pressure. But there has been growing criticism in the US over Toyota's rising imports. One American politician from the heart of the American auto¹ industry in Detroit says the Japanese carmaker benefits unfairly from state-run pension systems and a government that dabbles⁸ in the currency markets. The weak yen⁹ played a big part in Toyota's profits. Yet many car analysts¹⁰ say those remarks are unfair.

'If a politician wants to come out against Toyota, he's gonna have to come out against employment and environmental technology, and that's pretty tenuous¹¹ ground to be standing¹² on.'

Toyota says it's sticking by its full year forecasts and analysts say the company is on course for an eighth straight year of record earnings. Still, Toyota in Japanese tradition is staying modest.

'There is a lot of talk of us becoming number one in the world. We are trying not to be too conscious of it. We want to produce cars that the market wants.'

And with it looking as though the market wants more Toyota-made cars, analysts say the company will drive by GM as soon as this year.

Eunice Yoon, CNN, Seoul.

Vocabulary

ward off phr-v. To ward off a danger or illness means to prevent it from affecting you or harming you.

She may have put up a fight to try to ward off her assailant.

dabble⁷ v. If you dabble in something, you take part in it but not very seriously.

He dabbled¹³ in business.

丰田汽车公司表示，他们逐渐变成世界上最大的汽车制造商。

在争夺世界上最大的汽车制造商的角逐中，日本的丰田汽车于周二证明，它们正击败美国汽车巨头通用汽车。

“我们第三季度的销量和纯收入都达到最高纪录。”

在最新的季度收益报告中，丰田的收益上涨7%，总额高达35亿美元。丰田在北美地区销售了大量Camry sedans，Prius hybrid电力汽车以及其他机动车，足以保证该公司在那里建设新的工厂。

“丰田汽车给人印象最深的是他们同时在许多不同的地区进行扩展，这给他们占领第一位带来许多动力。”

世界各地的司机都赞誉丰田汽车保养费用低廉，行驶路程长。这种规则在北美非常有效。该公司目前正在筹划建设拥有80条生产线的工厂，该举动可以有效避开政治压力。来自底特律的美国汽车制造业一名政治家说，日本的汽车制造商从国营体系和日本货币市场的疲软中受益，这并不公平。日元的疲软在丰田的收益中起到很大作用。

如果一个政治家试图反对丰田，他就是在跟就业和环保技术做对，他是在铤而走险。

丰田表示，他们受到全年预测的支持，分析家表示，该公司正在创造连续第八年的收益记录。然而，拥有日本传统的丰田汽车仍然很谦逊。

“许多人在谈论我们成为世界第一的问题。我们正在试着不要太在意。我们希望能生产出市场需要的汽车。”

似乎市场需要越来越多的丰田汽车，分析家表示，该公司今年之内很有可能超越通用汽车。

ward off :避开

dabble:玩水,泼溅

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 earnings   

n.工资收人；利润，利益，所得

参考例句：

• That old man lives on the earnings of his daughter.那个老人靠他女儿的收入维持生活。
• Last year there was a 20% decrease in his earnings.去年他的收入减少了20%。

3 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

4 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

5 mileage   

n.里程，英里数；好处，利润

参考例句：

• He doesn't think there's any mileage in that type of advertising.他认为做那种广告毫无效益。
• What mileage has your car done?你的汽车跑了多少英里？

6 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

7 dabble   

v.涉足，浅赏

参考例句：

• They dabble in the stock market.他们少量投资于股市。
• Never dabble with things of which you have no knowledge.绝不要插手你不了解的事物。

8 dabbles   

v.涉猎( dabble的第三人称单数 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• He dabbles in local politics. 他开始涉足地方政坛。
• She dabbles in painting as a hobby. 她学点绘画作为业余爱好。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 yen   

n. 日元；热望

参考例句：

• He wanted to convert his dollars into Japanese yen.他想将美元换成日币。
• He has a yen to be alone in a boat.他渴望独自呆在一条船上。

10 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

11 tenuous   

adj.细薄的，稀薄的，空洞的

参考例句：

• He has a rather tenuous grasp of reality.他对现实认识很肤浅。
• The air ten miles above the earth is very tenuous.距离地面十公里的空气十分稀薄。

12 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

13 dabbled   

v.涉猎( dabble的过去式和过去分词 )；涉足；浅尝；少量投资

参考例句：

• He dabbled in business. 他搞过一点生意。 来自辞典例句
• His vesture was dabbled in blood. 他穿的衣服上溅满了鲜血。 来自辞典例句