VOA标准英语2009年-Leaner General Motors Hopes to Win Over Co

The U.S. auto¹ giant General Motors emerged from bankruptcy² Friday, and GM officials announced extensive changes designed to win back consumers and restore the luster³ of what has long been one of the country's most prestigious⁴ corporations.
　
Fritz Henderson addresses the media during a news conference at the company's headquarters in Detroit, Mechigan, 10 Jul 2009

After 40 days of bankruptcy, Chief Executive Fritz Henderson told a news conference in Detroit, Michigan, that a new, leaner and more competitive General Motors is now emerging, with the help of $50 billion in U.S. government loans.

"This is an exciting day for General Motors," he said. "Today marks the beginning of a new company - our company - one that will allow every single employee, including me, to return to the business of designing, building and selling great cars and trucks and serving our customers."

GM was able to move out of bankruptcy more quickly than many analysts⁶ had predicted.

In an effort to remake the company, GM officials announced some big changes including a 35 percent cut in its executive work force and the dropping of some car and truck brands that had long been staples⁷ in automotive showrooms including Saab, Saturn⁸, Opel, Pontiac and Hummer.

GM chief Henderson says the focus of the new General Motors will be giving consumers products that they will want to buy, including more efficient hybrid⁹ fuel vehicles, and a re-emphasis on core brands like Chevrolet and Cadillac.

"At the new GM, we need to make the customer the center of everything, and we are going to be obsessed¹⁰ with this, because if we don't get this right, nothing else is going to work. It's that simple," he said.

Henderson says that among the innovations GM will experiment with is a partnership¹¹ with eBay, the U.S. auction¹² and commerce Internet site, so that customers can buy their cars on-line.

"Consumers will be able to actually bid on vehicles just like they do in an eBay auction, including the option of a predetermined 'buy it now price.' Think of it as a physical auction for dealers¹³ reinvented for the on-line consumer," he said.

Last month alone, GM sales were down 34 percent. University of Detroit marketing¹⁴ expert Mike Bernacchi says General Motors has some work to do to win back the confidence of American consumers.

"General Motors has gained a reputation for not listening to the public," he said. "This new, brave General Motors has to establish that it is listening to the public."

But auto industry analyst⁵ Katie Kerwin says the GM makeover could prove to be an important step forward on the road to recovery.

"They have got all their ducks in a row in terms of how the company should be structured," she said. "They have got low debt, they have got everything kind of pared down to the essentials, and what remains¹⁵ now is for them to make it work, for them to make the right decisions to develop the right product."

The emergence¹⁶ of the new General Motors from bankruptcy is the culmination¹⁷ of an unprecedented¹⁸ effort by the U.S. government to shore up the faltering¹⁹ American auto industry.

The Obama administration has spent nearly $80 billion to help automakers, including $50 billion earmarked for GM.

GM Chief Henderson says the company intends to pay back those government loans long before the repayment²⁰ deadline of 2015.

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 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 luster   

n.光辉；光泽，光亮；荣誉

参考例句：

• His great books have added luster to the university where he teaches.他的巨著给他任教的大学增了光。
• Mercerization enhances dyeability and luster of cotton materials.丝光处理扩大棉纤维的染色能力，增加纤维的光泽。

4 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

5 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

6 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

7 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

8 Saturn   

n.农神，土星

参考例句：

• Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪，为什么只有土星有光环。
• These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们，土星由较轻的物质构成。

9 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。

10 obsessed   

adj.心神不宁的,鬼迷心窍的,沉迷的

参考例句：

• He's obsessed by computers. 他迷上了电脑。
• The fear of death obsessed him throughout his old life. 他晚年一直受着死亡恐惧的困扰。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

13 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。

14 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。

15 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。

16 emergence   

n.浮现，显现，出现，（植物）突出体

参考例句：

• The last decade saw the emergence of a dynamic economy.最近10年见证了经济增长的姿态。
• Language emerges and develops with the emergence and development of society.语言是随着社会的产生而产生，随着社会的发展而发展的。

17 culmination   

n.顶点；最高潮

参考例句：

• The space race reached its culmination in the first moon walk.太空竞争以第一次在月球行走而达到顶峰。
• It may truly be regarded as the culmination of classical Greek geometry.这确实可以看成是古典希腊几何的登峰造级之作。

18 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

19 faltering   

犹豫的，支吾的，蹒跚的

参考例句：

• The economy shows no signs of faltering. 经济没有衰退的迹象。
• I canfeel my legs faltering. 我感到我的腿在颤抖。

20 repayment   

n.偿还，偿还款；报酬

参考例句：

• I am entitled to a repayment for the damaged goods.我有权利索取货物损坏赔偿金。
• The tax authorities have been harrying her for repayment.税务局一直在催她补交税款。