2007年VOA标准英语-India Set to Introduce World's Cheapest Car

By Raymond Thibodeaux
Kochi, India
22 August 2007

An Indian car maker¹ is getting set to roll out a car next year aimed at those on the lower end of the country's economy. It is expected to extend the dream of car ownership to millions of Indians. Raymond Thibodeaux filed this report from Kochi in India's southwestern Kerala State.

Many Indians predict the country's already jammed streets are going to get even more clogged² next year when one of India's top car makers³, Tata Motors, rolls out the world's cheapest car. The sticker price? 100,000 rupees, or one lakh in Indian currency. That's about $2,500, half the price of the lowest-priced cars on India's market today.

Still, the one-lakh car - Tata has yet to release its official name - is nearly three times the average per capita income in India.

Only eight in every 1,000 Indians own a car, compared with roughly 500 Europeans out of every 1,000 and 770 Americans. The vast majority of Indians get around on motorcycles or mopeds, or foot.

Sudheer Mahanan, a 42-year-old forestry⁴ warden⁵, often carries two passengers on his moped, his 11-year-old son and his five-year-old daughter. Every day he takes them home from school on his moped.

Tata is targeting its one-lakh car at families like Mahanan's, in India's vast lower-middle class.

But Mahanan says the price is still too high for him. He says he has taken this two-wheeler with financial support from the bank. So he will not be able to take a car that is costing one lakh rupees."

How cheap would a car need to be in order for him to buy one?

"50-thousand rupees," says Mahanan.  He says if there is a car of that sort that you are able to make, then he is very happy to buy it.

That is just over $1,000. So, that car is not likely to be on the market anytime soon.

In Kerala, car sales are booming. In cities such as Trivandrum and Kochi, the brisk trade is being helped along by a robust⁶ tourism sector⁷ and a growing technology industry.

That growth is seen in much of India, which has one of the world's fastest-growing economies.

Azad Pathan owns a Tata dealership⁸ along a stretch of road in Trivandrum with about a dozen car dealerships, with gleaming showrooms filled with cars.

Pathan seems to have doubts about whether Tata will actually pull off the one-lakh car.

"It is definitely going to revolutionize," he said. "But I don't know whether it is possible to make such a car. Ratan Tata, who is the chairman, is a man with a big vision."

Tata has not divulged⁹ many details about the one-lakh car. Supposedly, it will be small, four or five-seat compact, much of it will be plastic, and it will have a tiny 30-horsepower engine.

If the one-lakh car is successful, it is expected to boost sales in spin-off industries such as car parts and auto¹⁰ repairs.

Saji Kumar manages the Pradeep Driving School in Kochi.

"There are people coming to learn driving, but there is not any drastic increase," he said. "Once they know that there will be a one lakh rupees car, then there will be more people coming to learn driving."

Tata is counting on the one-lakh car to be a hit. The car maker is banking¹¹ on huge sales volume to make up for the car's tiny profit margin¹².

But its success could spell trouble for India's urban planners and environmentalists. They say a significant increase in car ownership could overwhelm the country's beleaguered¹³ roadways and worsen its air quality, which the World Bank says is already at "critical levels" in most of India's big cities.

Environmental groups also express great concern that bringing car ownership to India's masses - who represent about 17 percent of the world's population - would inevitably¹⁴ enlarge India's carbon footprint - its gas emissions¹⁵ from burning fossil fuels such as oil and coal. At the moment, India contributes only four percent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions, which many scientists say may contribute to global climate change. That level is tiny compared with the U.S. and Europe, and environmentalists want to keep it that way.

1 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。

2 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

5 warden   

n.监察员，监狱长，看守人，监护人

参考例句：

• He is the warden of an old people's home.他是一家养老院的管理员。
• The warden of the prison signed the release.监狱长签发释放令。

6 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

7 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

8 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

9 divulged   

v.吐露，泄露( divulge的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He divulged nothing to him save the terrible handicap of being young. 他想不出个所以然来，只是想到自己年纪尚幼，极端不利。 来自辞典例句
• The spy divulged the secret plans to the enemy. 那名间谍把秘密计划泄漏给敌人。 来自辞典例句

10 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。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

13 beleaguered   

adj.受到围困[围攻]的；包围的v.围攻( beleaguer的过去式和过去分词)；困扰；骚扰

参考例句：

• The beleaguered party leader was forced to resign. 那位饱受指责的政党领导人被迫辞职。
• We are beleaguered by problems. 我们被许多困难所困扰。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

15 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。