新奇事件簿 每年花9000美元养车

A new report from the American Automobile¹ Association (AAA) says that the average car costs over $9,000 a year to own and run. The AAA said that on average, the cost of driving 23,000 km a year rose around two per cent last year. This cost includes fuel, maintenance, insurance and repairs. The report says the biggest increase in costs was for maintaining the car things like oil changes, new air filters, and safety inspections². AAA manager Michael Calkins said: "As a vehicle gets older, you tend to encounter more significant repair costs." The second largest increase was for insurance. Americans pay an average of $1,029 a year to insure their car.

据美国汽车协会的一项新报告显示，每年养车的平均价格为9000美元。美国汽车协会称，对于去年平均跑2.3万公里的汽车来说，费用增加了大约2%。这些费用包括燃油费、保养费、保险费以及修理费。报告称费用增加最多的是汽车保养费，包括换油，空气过滤器以及安全检查费。美国汽车协会主席麦克·卡尔金斯认为：“车的年头越长，维修费用也就越高。”第二贵的是保险费。车主平均每年的保险费为1029美元。

The AAA's report noted³ that the cost of owning a car depended on its size. Owners of small cars would probably spend around $7,000 a year to keep their car running, while 4WD owners would have to pay over $12,000 a year for their gas guzzlers. Mr Calkins also said that people were keeping their car for a longer time before buying a new one. "The length of time people keep cars has been going up for the past several years," he said. This is probably because of the global recession. People are putting off buying such an expensive item until the economy improves. Calkins added: "The average age of the vehicle on the road now is 11.1 years. The quality of the cars is also improving."

美国汽车协会的报告指出，车的大小决定了养车的费用。小型轿车车主每年的养车费用大约为7000美元，四驱车车主每年的费用超过了1.2万美金。卡尔金斯还称，在换新车之前，老车的年头一般都会很长。他认为：“在过去几年，决定不换车的车主人数有所增加。这可能是因为全球经济衰退。在经济好转之前，人们决定不买车。卡尔金斯称：“如今的平均车龄大约为11.1年。轿车质量也有所改善。”

1 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。

2 inspections   

n.检查( inspection的名词复数 )；检验；视察；检阅

参考例句：

• Regular inspections are carried out at the prison. 经常有人来视察这座监狱。
• Government inspections ensure a high degree of uniformity in the standard of service. 政府检查确保了在服务标准方面的高度一致。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。