VOA慢速英语2009年-Economics Report - Getting Clunkers and Di

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

This week in Washington, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced plans for a "distracted driving summit" in September.

Transportation and law enforcement officials, safety activists¹ and others will discuss how to deal with drivers who do other things as they drive. Talking on the phone has long been an issue. But text-messaging while driving has gained more attention recently following a number of deadly crashes.

Right now, though, distracted driving is not the only thing Secretary LaHood has to think about.
　
At a dealer² in Springfield, Vermont, an old car is used as a promotion³ for the ''cash for clunkers'' program

For the first time in many months, large numbers of Americans have been buying new cars. And here is at least part of the reason why: Since late July the government has been paying for people to trade in older vehicles for newer ones with greater fuel economy. The program is named the Car Allowance Rebate⁴ System, but known as "cash for clunkers."

It was included as part of an unrelated defense⁵ bill passed in June. Congress provided one billion dollars for car dealers⁶ to pay for trade-ins. Qualified⁷ buyers can receive up to four thousand five hundred dollars toward a new vehicle. So far, most of the trade-ins have been trucks and the majority of new purchases have been cars.

Dealers are required to make the trade-ins unusable by destroying the engine, then recycle the old vehicles into scrap⁸ metal.

The billion dollars was supposed to last until November. But the program has been so popular, officials say most of the money is already gone. President Obama asked Congress for an additional two billion dollars which could last through Labor⁹ Day, September seventh.

Last week the House of Representatives agreed. And on Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry¹⁰ Reid announced a deal between Democrats¹¹ and Republicans to clear the way for final approval.

But "cash for clunkers" has its critics. Liberals say the fuel-efficiency requirements for the replacement¹² vehicles are not strong enough for the environment. Conservatives object to the cost, and the idea of what they say is just another bailout for the car industry.

The Transportation Department reported Wednesday that almost half of all sales were from American manufacturers. However, foreign automakers had six of the ten top selling vehicles in the program. But even so, most of their vehicles were built in the United States.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts¹³ and podcasts are at voaspecialenglish.com. I'm Steve Ember.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 dealer   

n.商人，贩子

参考例句：

• The dealer spent hours bargaining for the painting.那个商人为购买那幅画花了几个小时讨价还价。
• The dealer reduced the price for cash down.这家商店对付现金的人减价优惠。

3 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

4 rebate   

v./n.折扣，回扣，退款；vt.给...回扣，给...打折扣

参考例句：

• You can claim a rebate on your tax.你可以要求退回部分税款。
• Customers are to benefit from a rebate on their electricity bills.顾客将从他们的电费退费中得到实惠。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

7 qualified   

adj.合格的，有资格的，胜任的，有限制的

参考例句：

• He is qualified as a complete man of letters.他有资格当真正的文学家。
• We must note that we still lack qualified specialists.我们必须看到我们还缺乏有资质的专家。

8 scrap   

n.碎片；废料；v.废弃，报废

参考例句：

• A man comes round regularly collecting scrap.有个男人定时来收废品。
• Sell that car for scrap.把那辆汽车当残品卖了吧。

9 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

10 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

11 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 replacement   

n.取代，替换，交换；替代品，代用品

参考例句：

• We are hard put to find a replacement for our assistant.我们很难找到一个人来代替我们的助手。
• They put all the students through the replacement examination.他们让所有的学生参加分班考试。

13 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