VOA慢速英语 2008 0409b

VOICE ONE:

I’m Bob Doughty¹.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. This week we look at an industry that is facing major changes -- the automobile³ industry.

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On the road, near Yosemite, California

Americans, possibly more than any other people, love their cars. Ownership of cars is a sign of middle class wealth. A car has long been part of the American dream. For many people, nothing provides a feeling of freedom like driving in a powerful car on the open road. But high fuel prices and changes in technology are causing people to change the way they look at the car.

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VOICE ONE:

The car industry is changing more quickly than almost any other industry. Just ask General Motors. This year the American company celebrates one hundred years of being in business. GM remains⁴ the biggest car company in the world for now. But Toyota of Japan is positioning itself to become the world leader very soon. General Motors has been losing market share to foreign carmakers at home for years. For two thousand seven, General Motors lost almost thirty-nine billion dollars. That is believed to be the largest one-year loss in the history of the auto² industry.

General Motors finds itself in a changing marketplace. During the nineteen nineties, much of GM's profits came from the sale of large sports utility vehicles, or SUVs. However, rising gas prices have made these big, fuel-hungry vehicles unpopular. And GM has struggled to offer new vehicles that use less fuel.

VOICE TWO:

However, GM has made its own changes. In January, Mark LaNeve, GM's North American vice⁶ president of sales and marketing⁷, spoke⁸ at the Washington, D.C. Auto Show. He discussed ways that GM was changing itself into a car company for the twenty-first century. He said that GM is looking forward to competing in the next one hundred years. Mister LaNeve noted⁹ that not only was it important for GM to compete in the United States but also around the world.

The fastest growth markets are not in industrial nations any longer but in the developing world. And in these areas, GM is doing increasingly well. Mister LaNeve said that GM had increased sales in three of four areas around the world. The North American market was the only one in which sales did not grow.

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VOICE ONE:

The market for cars around the world is changing in ways that are more complex than simply the size or style of cars. One of the most interesting new developments comes from India's biggest company, the Tata Group, which owns Tata Motors. Tata Motors recently bought the high-cost car models Jaguar¹⁰ and Land Rover from American carmaker Ford¹¹ in a deal worth two-point-three billion dollars.
　

Tata Motors' Nano

But in January, Tata Motors made big news by announcing that it would start selling a very small car that costs only two thousand five hundred dollars.

The car, called the Nano, is designed mainly for India's home market, but its price has caught the attention of the world. The Nano is the result of a different kind of engineering. Instead of designing things to add to the vehicle, engineers thought of ways to remove things. For example, the car has very little storage space. Parts like the steering¹² column, which helps the car to turn, are made of less costly¹³, lighter¹⁴ materials. As with any lightweight car, safety is a major issue. The car could be very dangerous if it is in an accident. But the Nano does have four doors and five seats. And its price puts it within the reach of millions of people in India.

VOICE TWO:
　

The 2008 Smart Fortwo

Tata Motors' Nano is mainly meant for the Indian market. But the German company Daimler makes a very small car meant for markets in industrial countries. It is called the Smart Fortwo. Almost eight hundred thousand of an early version of the car have been sold in thirty-six countries. Now Daimler will try to sell the Smart Fortwo in the American car market.

The car is less than three meters long and less than two meters wide. Still it has many of the things that people in industrial countries expect from a car. For example, the car can have a radio, air-cooling and many other details. However, its cost is not as low as you might think. The least costly version of the Smart Fortwo is over eleven thousand dollars.

VOICE ONE:

Smaller cars are just one direction that the car industry is taking. The industry is also producing cars that limit pollution and have a less harmful effect on the environment. Many experimental versions of cars are being made using new technologies. These include cars that run on fuels like ethanol, hybrid¹⁵ cars that use both fuel and electric power and fully¹⁶ electric cars. Added to these are fuel cell vehicles.
　

GM's Chevy Equinox Fuel Cell

At the Washington Auto show, a GM product called the Chevrolet Equinox Fuel Cell won top honors as an environmentally friendly vehicle. This fuel cell car won the Green Car Journal's Green Car vision award. The Equinox Fuel Cell is powered by an engine that uses hydrogen to produce electricity.

But recently, both GM and Toyota have questioned whether fuel cell cars can be offered at a price most people can afford. GM Vice Chairman Bob Lutz spoke at the auto show in Geneva, Switzerland last month. He said there has been recent progress in power-storing lithium-ion batteries. He said future electric cars may be able to travel nearly five hundred kilometers before the batteries need to be recharged.

Toyota is working on fuel cell cars too. However, the company's president, Katsuaki Watanabe, confirmed that fuel cells are just too costly to be available in the next ten years. Toyota is the leading maker⁵ of hybrid vehicles. These run on both electrical power and gas.

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VOICE TWO:

The automobile industry is changing in ways that would seem surprising to people only a few years ago. Toyota, for example, is expected to become the largest car company in the world very soon. But while Toyota has gained market share in North America and other Asian countries, the company is facing falling sales at home.

In Japan, new car sales fell to a thirty-five year low in two thousand seven. Sales for new cars, trucks and buses fell over seven percent. High fuel costs and good public transportation are two reasons driving has become less popular in Japan.

An opinion study by a Japanese newspaper found that only twenty-five percent of Japanese men in their twenties wanted a car at all. That was down from forty-eight percent in two thousand. The study was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

VOICE ONE:
　

A Zipcar in New York City

Another trend involves not owning but sharing a car. Zipcar is a company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is the world's largest car-sharing business. Members pay each time they use a Zipcar. The car is left in a place were it is available to other members.

The company is growing quickly. Zipcar recently joined with a similar company, Flexcar. The merger¹⁷ is expected to be complete soon. The combined company will have one hundred eighty thousand members and five thousand vehicles. Zipcar does business in the United States, Canada and Britain.

And Zipcar is not the only company interested in car- sharing. Reports say vehicle rental¹⁸ businesses are interested in competing with Zipcar. In early February, Enterprise¹⁹ Rent-A-Car entered the car-sharing business in Saint²⁰ Louis, Missouri. Its program is called WeCar. Other companies such as U-Haul International have similar car-sharing businesses and the car rental company Hertz is considering one.

Enterprise, which is the biggest car rental company by sales, says it is seeking a different business model from Zipcar. It wants to provide shared cars to businesses.

VOICE TWO:

Shared cars are seen as an environmentally friendly way to use cars without owning one. Car- sharing reduces the number of cars on the road. Many of the cars are models that burn less fuel and produce less pollution. For example, Enterprise provides the Toyota Prius hybrid car for its members.

Car-sharing could be one way that people use cars in the future. Smaller cars and electric models are also a growing part of the future of cars. But as tens of millions of new cars are sold each year, one thing is clear: cars are still as popular as ever.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Mario Ritter. I’m Bob Doughty.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. For transcripts²¹, MP3s, podcasts and Special English on TV, go to voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for Explorations in VOA Special English.

1 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 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。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 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。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 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。

10 jaguar   

n.美洲虎

参考例句：

• He was green with envy when he saw my new Jaguar car.看见我那辆美洲虎牌新车，他非常妒忌。
• Should you meet a jaguar in the jungle,just turn slowly,walk away.But slowly,never look back.你在丛林中若碰上美洲虎，就慢慢转身走开，可一定要慢，切莫回头看。

11 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

12 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

13 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

14 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

15 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

16 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

17 merger   

n.企业合并，并吞

参考例句：

• Acceptance of the offer is the first step to a merger.对这项提议的赞同是合并的第一步。
• Shareholders will be voting on the merger of the companies.股东们将投票表决公司合并问题。

18 rental   

n.租赁，出租，出租业

参考例句：

• The yearly rental of her house is 2400 yuan.她这房子年租金是2400元。
• We can organise car rental from Chicago O'Hare Airport.我们可以安排提供从芝加哥奥黑尔机场出发的租车服务。

19 enterprise   

n.企业单位，商业公司，事业，计划

参考例句：

• They are determined to carry forward the enterprise.他们决心把事业进行下去。
• The enterprise has excellent prospects.这家企业的远景极其美好。

20 saint   

n.圣徒；基督教徒；vt.成为圣徒，把...视为圣徒

参考例句：

• He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
• The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。

21 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句