新奇事件簿 16岁一级方程式赛车手

In most countries around the world, 16-year-olds have to wait for another two years to be able to drive a car. Not so for 16-year-old Max Verstappen. He has just been signed up to drive for a Formula 1 racing¹ team. He will become the youngest ever F1 driver when he races for the Toro Rosso team next year. He will be 17 when he takes part in his first Grand Prix, alongside drivers like Fernando Alonso, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel. The current record for the youngest F1 driver is 19 years and 125 days. Verstappen will make his debut² at the Australian Grand Prix. He told reporters: "Ever since I was seven years old, Formula 1 has been my career goal, so this opportunity is truly a dream come true."

在世界上的大部分国家，16岁的少年想要开车，还需要再等两年。然而16岁的Max Verstappen却是个例外。他刚刚与一个一级方程式赛车队签约。明年他将代表红牛二车队参加比赛，那时他将成为有史以来最年轻的一级方程式赛车选手。他在17岁的时候将会首次参加国际汽车大奖赛，那时他将与费尔南多?阿隆索，刘易斯?汉密尔顿和赛巴斯蒂安?维泰尔一起比赛。目前最年轻的一级方程式赛车选手年龄记录为19岁125天。Verstappen的首秀将在澳大利亚国际汽车大奖赛上演。他告诉记者，当他只有7岁的时候，一级方程式赛车就是他的职业梦想，所以这次确实是使他梦想成真的好机会。

The Toro Rosso team boss Franz Tost was very enthusiastic about Max signing for his team. He said: "We are happy to welcome Max into the Toro Rosso family. We consider Max to be one of the most skilled young drivers of the new generation and we believe he has the necessary maturity³ and mental strength to take on this challenge successfully." He added: "It will now be up to us to provide Max with a competitive car, which will enable him to have the best possible start to his Formula 1 career." Max is the son of the former-F1 driver Jos Verstappen. He said he owed a lot of his success to his father, saying: "First of all a big thanks to my father, who has always been by my side, day and night, year after year."

红牛二车队的老板，Franz Tost对于马克斯的加入，感到非常兴奋。他说，我们非常欢迎马克斯加入红牛二队的大家庭。我们认为马克斯一定会成为新一代选手中技术最好的赛车手，我们相信马克斯足够的成熟度和脑力一定能够战胜挑战。他补充说道，现在是时候给马克斯配备富有竞争力的赛车了，这将会帮助他在一级方程式赛车职业生涯中拥有最好的开端。马克斯的父亲Jos Verstappen也是一级方程式赛车选手。马克斯将自己的许多成就都归功于自己的父亲。马克斯说，首先，我非常感谢我的父亲，他总是日复一日，年复一年地陪在我的身边。

1 racing   

n.竞赛，赛马；adj.竞赛用的，赛马用的

参考例句：

• I was watching the racing on television last night.昨晚我在电视上看赛马。
• The two racing drivers fenced for a chance to gain the lead.两个赛车手伺机竞相领先。

2 debut   

n.首次演出，初次露面

参考例句：

• That same year he made his Broadway debut, playing a suave radio journalist.在那同一年里，他初次在百老汇登台，扮演一个温文而雅的电台记者。
• The actress made her debut in the new comedy.这位演员在那出新喜剧中首次登台演出。

3 maturity   

n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期

参考例句：

• These plants ought to reach maturity after five years.这些植物五年后就该长成了。
• This is the period at which the body attains maturity.这是身体发育成熟的时期。