VOA慢速英语2016 决定：大众和丰田宣布召回

AS IT IS 2016-06-30 Settlements, Recalls Announced For Volkswagen and Toyota 决定：大众和丰田宣布召回

Volkswagen’s emissions¹ cheating will cost the company at least $15 billion in the United States alone.

大众汽车排放量作弊事件使得该公司仅在美国就将赔付至少150亿美元。

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that Volkswagen would make the largest-ever automobile² buy-back offer in U.S. History.

本周二，美国司法部宣布大众将进行美国有史以来最大规模的一次汽车回购。

Reports that Volkswagen had cheated on emissions tests in the U.S. first came out late last year. Investigators³ found that the German automaker had installed software in its vehicles that produced false test results. It would reduce the cars' pollution levels during testing. So, the vehicles would wrongly pass U.S. pollution tests.

去年下半年首次有报告表明大众在美国排放量测试上作弊。调查者们发现，该德国汽车制造商在其车辆上安装了产生虚假测试结果的软件。这将降低这些车辆被测试时的污染水平。所以，这些车辆违法地通过了美国的污染测试。

Owners of about 500,000 Volkswagen automobiles⁵ in the U.S. will now be able to sell their vehicles back to the company for a fair price. The owners will also be paid up to $10,000 each.

约50万美国大众汽车车主现在将可以以一个公平的价格将他们的汽车卖回给该公司。这些车主每人还将得到一万美元的赔偿。

The car maker⁴ will also pay about $5 billion for U.S. programs that promote no-emission vehicles and reduce air pollution in general.

该汽车制造商还将支付约50亿美元用于总体上促进美国零排放机动车以及降低空气污染的技术研发。

The Volkswagen cars involved created 40 times more pollution than is permitted in most U.S. states. The scandal affected⁶ 11 million vehicles worldwide.

大众汽车涉及在美国大部分州制造超过允许量40倍的污染排放。这起丑闻影响到世界范围内的1100万量汽车。

Volkswagen must repair or buy 85 percent of the cars by June 2019 or else it will face more punishment.

大众必须到2019年6月底修理或者回购85%的汽车，否则它将面临更多惩罚。

The settlement resolves the largest class-action lawsuit⁷ in U.S. automotive history.

该决定解决了美国机动车历史上最大的集体3诉讼案。

But the legal process is not yet over. Volkswagen and the Department of Justice have not decided⁸ what to do about the 85,000 other VW vehicles under investigation⁹.

但是法定程序还没有结束。大众汽车公司和司法部还未就如何处理其他正在被调查的85000辆汽车作出决定。

Volkswagen also produces cars sold under the Audi and Porsche brands in the U.S.

在美国销售的奥迪和保时捷两个品牌的汽车也是大众生产的。

Environmental Protection Agency administrator¹⁰ Gina McCarthy said the most important thing is “getting VW’s vehicles off the road.”

环保署行政官吉娜·麦卡锡称最重要的是“将大众汽车从路上清除”。

In a statement posted on its website, Volkswagen said the settlement is not an admission of liability.

在大众汽车网页中的一份陈述里，大众称该决定是不负责任的。

In other automotive news, the Japanese car company Toyota Motor Corporation announced a recall of over 3 million vehicles.

在其他机动车新闻中，日本汽车公司丰田汽车公司宣布召回超过300万辆汽车。

Toyota says some cars have faulty airbags and failing emissions control units. The cars under recall are the Prius, Corolla and Lexus CT200h models produced as long ago as 2006.

丰田称一些汽车有安全气囊以及排放量控制装置故障召回的汽车包括普锐斯、花冠、雷克萨斯CT200h系列，这些车生产与2006年。

The recall is not linked to the Takata company. Takata is an airbag supplier responsible for recent recalls by many car companies.

此次召回与高田公司无关。高田公司是为近期多家汽车公司召回负责的一家安全气囊生产商。

Airbag problems have affected over 100 million vehicles around the world.

安全气囊问题已经影响到全球超过1亿辆汽车。

Words in This Story

emissions – n. the pollution sent out by a car after its fuel ignites

settlement – n. a lawsuit in which many people join together to sue because they all say they were harmed by the same person or group

class-action – n. a lawsuit in which many people join together to sue because they all say they were harmed by the same person or group

scandal – n. an occurrence in which people are shocked and upset because of behavior that is morally or legally wrong

liability – n. the state of being legally responsible for something: the state of being liable for something

recall – n. a request by a company for people to return a product that has a defect or problem

1 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

2 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

3 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

5 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

7 lawsuit   

n.诉讼，控诉

参考例句：

• They threatened him with a lawsuit.他们以诉讼威逼他。
• He was perpetually involving himself in this long lawsuit.他使自己无休止地卷入这场长时间的诉讼。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。