VOA慢速英语2019 越野车销售记录（在线收听）

Record Sales for Sports Utility Vehicles

2019 was a good year for sport utility vehicles, or SUVs.

对于运动型多功能车或SUV来说，2019年是丰收的一年。

Rising demand for SUVs drove record sales for German carmakers such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

对SUV的不断增长的需求推动了宝马和梅赛德斯-奔驰等德国汽车制造商的创纪录销售。

But some observers worry that their popularity could lead to more pollution from such vehicles and a reduction in the environmental benefits of electric cars.

但是一些观察家担心，这种汽车的普及会导致此类车辆的污染加剧，并降低电动汽车的环境效益。

SUV sales

SUV销量

BMW reported last week that it sold a record 2,168,516 vehicles last year. The Reuters news agency says the record resulted, in part, from a 21% increase in sales of the company's "X" model SUVs. These models now make up around 40% of BMW's sales worldwide.

宝马上周报告说，去年售出了创纪录的2168516辆汽车。路透社说，该记录的部分原因是该公司的“ X”型SUV销量增长了21％。现在，这些车型约占宝马全球销量的40％。

At Mercedes-Benz, the world's best-selling premium car line, every third luxury car sold last year was an SUV.

在全球最畅销的高档汽车品牌梅赛德斯-奔驰，去年售出的每辆豪华轿车中，每三分之二就是一辆SUV。

To try to meet stronger pollution rules, many automakers are investing a lot of money in electric vehicles. But it is unclear how many drivers will buy them.

为了满足更严格的污染法规，许多汽车制造商在电动汽车上投入了大量资金。但目前尚不清楚有多少司机会购买它们。

The International Energy Agency, or IEA, warned in its World Energy Outlook 2019 report that large SUV sales could create a problem for the environment.

国际能源署（IEA）在其《 2019年世界能源展望》报告中警告称，大型SUV销量可能对环境造成问题。

"Consumer preferences for SUVs could offset the benefits from electric cars," the report said.

报告说：“消费者对SUV的偏好可能会抵消电动汽车带来的好处。”

It added that "SUVs are more difficult to electrify fully, and conventional SUVs consume 25 percent more fuel per kilometer than medium-sized cars."

它补充说：“ SUV很难完全电动，传统SUV每公里比中型汽车多消耗25％的燃料。”

SUVs were the second-largest contributor to the increase in carbon dioxide emissions since 2010, said the IEA. Carbon dioxide is found naturally in Earth's atmosphere. But many scientists believe that it and other gases released by human activities are to blame for rising temperatures on our planet.

IEA表示，自2010年以来，SUV是二氧化碳排放量增加的第二大原因。二氧化碳是在地球大气中自然发现的。但是许多科学家认为，人类活动所释放的这种气体和其他气体应归咎于地球温度的升高。

There are now more than 200 million SUVs around the world, up from about 35 million in 2010.

目前，全球有超过2亿辆SUV，2010年约为3500万辆。

"If the popularity of SUVs continues to rise in line with recent trends, this could add another 2 million barrels per day to our projection for 2040 oil demand," the IEA reported.

IEA报道：“如果SUV的受欢迎程度继续按照近期趋势增长，这将使我们对2040年石油需求的预测每天再增加200万桶。”

Response

反应

BMW and Mercedes-owner Daimler say their vehicles are among the most fuel efficient available. They add that people could also choose to buy smaller, less costly cars instead of SUVs.

宝马和梅赛德斯所有者戴姆勒表示，他们的车辆是目前最省油的车辆之一。他们补充说，人们还可以选择购买体积更小，价格更低的汽车，而不是购买SUV。

Both German carmakers say they hope to set new sales records this year. They are preparing to launch fully electric SUVs, which they say shows their desire for a cleaner future.

两家德国汽车制造商均表示，他们希望今年能创造新的销售记录。他们正准备推出全电动SUV，这表明他们渴望拥有更清洁的未来。

While confirming the growing popularity of SUVs, Germany's powerful automobile industry group VDA said much of the demand was for more efficient models.

在证实SUV越来越流行的同时，德国强大的汽车工业集团VDA表示，许多需求都来自更高效的车型。

Future sales trends

未来的销售趋势

Electric and hybrid vehicles made up only 3.9 percent of new European sales in the three-month period from July through September 2019.

在2019年7月至2019年9月的三个月中，电动和混合动力汽车仅占欧洲新销量的3.9％。

Peter Fuss, a partner at Ernst & Young, said German carmakers pushed sales of SUVs last year before stronger clean air rules took effect in Europe.

安永会计师事务所（Ernst＆Young）合伙人彼得·富斯（Peter Fuss）表示，德国汽车制造商去年推动了SUV的销售，直到更严格的清洁空气法规在欧洲生效。

"We will not see the same growth rates in this segment as we did last year," Fuss said.

弗斯说：“我们在这一领域的增长速度不会像去年那样快。”

Electric car registrations are expected to climb in the middle of this year, he added. But that will depend on drivers being prepared to buy them, and perhaps also on how low manufacturers are prepared to cut prices.

他补充说，电动汽车的注册量有望在今年中期增加。但这将取决于司机准备购买它们，也许还取决于制造商准备降价的程度如何。

重点词汇：

Words in This Story：

benefit – n. something producing good or helpful results

premium - adj. of high or higher than normal quality

preference - n. a feeling of liking or wanting one person or thing more than another person or thing

consume – v. to spend or use up

contributor – n. someone or something that provides something

trend - n. something that is currently popular

compact – n. a small automobile

hybrid – adj. related to or involving a vehicle that powered by traditional motor fuel and electricity

segment - n. a part of something that is separate from the other parts or can be considered separately