大众就排放造假事件在美道歉

 　　WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- Volkswagen's top U.S. executive offered apology for emission¹ cheating scandal in front of U.S. lawmakers on Thursday but no remedy schedule was announced.

　　"On behalf of our company, and my colleagues in Germany, I would like to offer a sincere apology for Volkswagen's use of a software program that served to defeat the regular emissions² testing regime," said Michael Horn, president of Volkswagen Group of America in a hearing held by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce.

　　However, he asserted top corporate³ officials had no knowledge of the cheating software installed in 11 million diesel⁴ cars in the emissions scandal enveloping⁵ the world's largest automaker.

　　"To my understanding this was not a corporate decision, this was something individuals did," Horn said, noting that he felt personally deceived.

　　Volkswagen U.S. chief apologizes for emission cheat, giving no remedy schedule

　　On Sept. 18, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Notice of Violation⁶ (NOA) of the Clean Air Act to Volkswagen (Volkswagen AG, Audi AG, and Volkswagen Group of America) accusing the company of installing a software to evade⁷ authority's emission control in about half million diesel cars sold in the United States since 2008.

　　The software called "defeat device" by the EPA can turn on full emission controls only when the car is undergoing emission tests to make the car meet the legal emission standards, but during normal driving, the car will emit nitrogen oxides at up to 40 times the standard.

　　Horn said Volkswagen will "take full responsibility" for this illegal action and is "working with all relevant authorities in a cooperative way."

　　"Our immediate⁸ goal is to develop a remedy for our customers," said Horn, but he declined to release the timetable for the company to make the remedy when Dianna DeGette, Representative from Colorado asked him.

　　"We are still working on the time frame (of the remedy) and it's too early to say when this fix is exactly going to take place," said Horn.

　　Horn said Volkswagen has already begun a world-wide investigation⁹ into how these matters happened and identified responsible parties. But he said, "Any information developed at this stage is preliminary."

　　The EPA has also continued its investigation into Volkswagen's action, working closely with the California Air Resources Board and the U.S. Department of Justice, said Christopher Grundler, director of EPA's Office of Transportation and Air Quality at the hearing.

　　"However, at this point we are unable to provide further details of the investigation because the release of such information could jeopardize¹⁰ this onging enforcement investigation," said Grundler.

　　Volkswagen could face a total of more than 18 billion U.S. dollars for this scandal as the highest penalty per car for violating the Clean Air Act is 37,500 dollars, according to the EPA.

　　Since the EPA issued the NOV to Volkswagen, the price of the company's share has fallen sharply and it former CEO of Volkswagen AG Martin Winterkorn has resigned for it.

　　Many governments in Europe and Asia where Volkswagen sells diesel cars have also started to investigate into the company.

1 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

2 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。

3 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

4 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

5 enveloping   

v.包围，笼罩，包住( envelop的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Always the eyes watching you and the voice enveloping you. 那眼睛总是死死盯着你，那声音总是紧紧围着你。 来自英汉文学
• The only barrier was a mosquito net, enveloping the entire bed. 唯一的障碍是那顶蚊帐罩住整个床。 来自辞典例句

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 evade   

vt.逃避，回避；避开，躲避

参考例句：

• He tried to evade the embarrassing question.他企图回避这令人难堪的问题。
• You are in charge of the job.How could you evade the issue?你是负责人，你怎么能对这个问题不置可否？

8 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

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 jeopardize   

vt.危及，损害

参考例句：

• Overworking can jeopardize your health.工作过量可能会危及你的健康。
• If you are rude to the boss it may jeopardize your chances of success.如果你对上司无礼，那就可能断送你成功的机会。