VOA慢速英语2010年-Economics Report_ A Rough Road for Toy

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

Toyota became the world's largest automaker in two thousand eight. But after years of building loyalty¹, the Japanese company may have put its quality brand name at risk, at least temporarily.

Toyota is recalling millions of cars and trucks around the world because of cases where vehicles have sped up unexpectedly. Last August, a driver in California was unable to stop. The crash killed him and three of his family members.

A technician repairs an accelerator pedal for a 2010 Corolla at McInerney Toyota in Clinton Township, Michigan

Toyota says the problem is rare and caused by accelerator pedals becoming stuck open. On January twenty-sixth, the company suspended sales of eight of its top-selling vehicles in the United States, its largest market. Toyota dealers² have been receiving parts to make repairs.

General Motors and Ford³ both reported increased sales in January. But Toyota sales in the United States have fallen, and so has its stock price. Toyota says it expects costs and lost sales from its recent safety recalls to total two billion dollars by the end of March.

Louis Lataif spent twenty-seven years in the car industry at Ford. Now he is dean of the School of Management at Boston University.

LOUIS LATAIF: "It's Toyota's biggest such recall. It's voluntary incidentally, it's not mandated⁴. So, in that respect, they are doing something fairly bold, namely, taking the hit of shutting production and correcting the vehicles that are in inventory⁵ on which they have stopped sales."

A recall late last year involved floor mats that Toyota said could cause the accelerator to get stuck. One of the vehicles in the floor mat recall was the Prius, the world's top selling hybrid⁶.

Now American officials are investigating the brake system on the twenty ten Prius. The Transportation Department says it has received more than one hundred twenty reports, including reports of four crashes.

Toyota says it found a software problem that could briefly⁷ affect the "feel" of the anti-lock brakes on rough or slippery roads. It says it fixed⁸ the brake problem last month.

But a growing number of legal cases claim Toyota knew for a long time about the sudden acceleration⁹ issue with other vehicles. The problem reportedly has led to more than eight hundred crashes and nineteen deaths in the past ten years. Congress is preparing for hearings.

Greg Bonner is a marketing¹⁰ professor at Villanova University. He says to regain¹¹ trust, Toyota will have to make public everything it knows about the problems and show it accepts responsibility.

The recall has also intensified¹² questions about all the computer control systems used in modern cars.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. I'm Steve Ember.

1 loyalty   

n.忠诚，忠心

参考例句：

• She told him the truth from a sense of loyalty.她告诉他真相是出于忠诚。
• His loyalty to his friends was never in doubt.他对朋友的一片忠心从来没受到怀疑。

2 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。

3 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。

4 mandated   

adj. 委托统治的

参考例句：

• Mandated desegregation of public schools. 命令解除公立学校中的种族隔离
• Britain was mandated to govern the former colony of German East Africa. 英国受权代管德国在东非的前殖民地。

5 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

6 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。

7 briefly   

adv.简单地，简短地

参考例句：

• I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
• He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。

8 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

9 acceleration   

n.加速，加速度

参考例句：

• All spacemen must be able to bear acceleration.所有太空人都应能承受加速度。
• He has also called for an acceleration of political reforms.他同时呼吁加快政治改革的步伐。

10 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。

11 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

12 intensified   

v.（使）增强， （使）加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
• The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》