VOA慢速英语2015 北美车展,多款汽车再度受欢迎

 

AS IT IS 2015-01-27 Cars Making a Comeback at North American Auto¹ Show 北美车展,多款汽车再度受欢迎 

The 2015 North American International Auto Show took a test drive in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. It was the first major international car show in the U.S.

Automobile² manufacturers from around the world presented over 500 car models. Many manufacturers featured cars powered by electricity. But lower oil prices still keep cars powered by gasoline popular among drivers.  

Aaron Bragman is a car expert who works for cars.com. He says many car ideas seemed to be popular at this year’s auto show.

“We're seeing a lot of variety of product. Luxury vehicles, electric vehicles, concept cars now apparently³ are making a comeback.  So, there's no one theme except that the industry is back.”

Mary Barra is the chief executive officer of General Motors. She presented the company’s new electric car, called the Chevy Bolt. The Chevy Bolt may be the first fully⁴ electric car that will be popular with drivers. It can go longer than most other electric cars -- 320 kilometers before it needs to be recharged. It also costs around $30,000, about the average price for a new car in the U.S.

And, Mary Barra says the Chevy Bolt is also more functional⁵ than any other electric vehicle on the market.

“Trust me, this is no stripped-down science experiment. The Bolt EV concept offers unexpected functionality and technology with proportions and flexibility⁶ of a crossover. It's an all-electric vehicle for the real world.”

The Chevy Bolt will be available to consumers after 2017.

But the U.S. market may see another futuristic car as early as this year. The small carmaker Local Motors plans to introduce a vehicle called The Strati. The car has a 3-D printed body. The motor and other parts are based on designs by the French automobile manufacturer Renault. 

Jay Rogers is the CEO of Local Motors. He says printing the electric car takes about 44 hours.

“We hope by the end of the year to be closer to 24 hours, and then we'd hope be able to get it down to somewhere between 10 and 12 hours total.”

A lot of new models with gas engines are more expensive. German automobile manufacturer Mercedes presented its new four-door sedan, the GLE Coupe. Porsche exhibited a new car model called the 911 Targa 4 with a 430 horsepower engine.

?And American car manufacturer Ford⁷ presented its first muscle car in more than ten years, its GT supercar. The supercar has a more fuel-efficient engine than other cars like it on the market. The car also has more than 600 horsepower.

The Japanese manufacturers of the Acura presented what it called a “super-hybrid” vehicle, the NSX. It has three electric motors providing more than 550 horsepower. The NSX can run in four different modes: Quiet, Sport, Sport + or Track. Each mode creates a different engine sound.

The 2015 North American International Auto Show ended January 25. Organizers have not yet decided⁸ where next year’s auto show will take place.

Words in This Story

exhibit – v. to place an object or a collection of objects in a public space for people to look at 

horsepower – n. a unit used to measure the power of engines

muscle car – n. an American-made two-door sports car with a powerful engine

sedan – n.  a car that has four doors and that has room for four or more people

1 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。

2 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。

3 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

4 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。

5 functional   

adj.为实用而设计的，具备功能的，起作用的

参考例句：

• The telephone was out of order,but is functional now.电话刚才坏了，但现在可以用了。
• The furniture is not fancy,just functional.这些家具不是摆着好看的，只是为了实用。

6 flexibility   

n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性

参考例句：

• Her great strength lies in her flexibility.她的优势在于她灵活变通。
• The flexibility of a man's muscles will lessen as he becomes old.人老了肌肉的柔韧性将降低。

7 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。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。