VOA常速英语2007年-Fuel Efficiency, Gadgets Mark Los Angeles Auto

By Mike O'Sullivan
Los Angeles
16 November 2007

Auto¹ makers² who are showcasing their latest models at the Los Angeles auto show are expanding product lines in the hope of staying competitive in a changing market. Mike O'Sullivan reports, carmakers from Ford³ to Honda are offering fuel-efficiency with high tech extras.

Executives from Ford say the key to growth is offering a greater range of products. Ford plans to build big sports utility vehicles and trucks for those who want them, and smaller vehicles that can compete with industry leaders, General Motors and Toyota.

Ford has been losing money, but chief executive Alan Mulally, speaking with reporters in Los Angeles, said the company is restructuring and developing new models, and plans to be profitable by 2009.

Downstairs on the display floor, Mark Laschinski demonstrates a selling point in a dozen Ford models, a high-tech⁴ system called Sync, which interacts with some mobile phones, music and video players.

"Sync is a voice activation⁵ media and communication entertainment device available to Ford from Microsoft which allows you to voice activate⁶ your iPod, your media devices, your Zune," he said. "If you have a flash drive, you can stick it in through a USB port."

The device will receive and read aloud text messages from your friends, including your closest friends.

"I love you," it said.

Other high tech devices now common in vehicles include GPS or global positioning navigation systems, and a range of safety features, such as electronic stability controls that reduce the risk of rolling over on the highway.

The biggest changes in recent years have been under the hood⁷ of the car. With oil prices approaching $100 a barrel, the hottest models at the auto show are those with fuel-efficient engines, including gasoline-electric hybrids⁸. And, for the first time, Honda is putting on the market a hydrogen fuel cell car. Called the Honda FCX Clarity, the car will be offered for lease to specially⁹ selected customers by the middle of next year.

Christina Ra of Honda says it is the first model completely designed around fuel cell technology, which runs on hydrogen and produces no emissions¹⁰ except water vapor¹¹.

She says there will be hurdles¹² for the customers who lease them because there are just a few refueling stations around major cities like Los Angeles.

"The first few customers will be those that we have spoken to and do understand that there still are some challenges with these vehicles, refueling certainly being one of them, understanding their range, having somewhat predictable driving patterns, and also alternatively another vehicle that they can drive for those longer trips where they can't find that infrastructure," she said.

Small gasoline-powered vehicles are also becoming more fuel efficient, and some carmakers are gambling¹⁵ that consumers will want them. A company called Smart will sell tiny two-seat autos, which are already in use in Europe, on the U.S market. Ken¹³ Kettenbeil of Smart says people will notice this car.

"You're standing¹⁴ here with me and I think you'll agree when I say the car is small," he said. "The car is a little under nine feet long [under three meters], so if you think about that, it's probably about the size of your couch that you might have in your living room."

One-and-a-half meters high and wide, the Smart car when seen from the front is about as big as an oversized TV set.

Americans may be skeptical¹⁶ about a European-style mini-car, but Kettenbeil says consumers are seeking alternatives to their oversized gas-guzzlers.

"People that live in large urban areas like Los Angeles have expressed a lot of interest in the vehicle for parking and traffic and urban congestion¹⁷, as well as empty nesters, people that really don't need that big back seat any more," he said.

Some offerings at the LA auto show are for those who want speed and style more than a practical vehicle with good fuel economy.

Among the more exotic offerings is a Lamborghini equipped with a new 12-cylinder, 650 horsepower engine and selling for $1.4 million. And Ford is spicing up its model line with a limited-edition Mustang called the Bullitt, inspired by the car driven by the actor Steve McQueen in the 1968 movie of the same name.

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 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》

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 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

5 activation   

n. 激活，催化作用

参考例句：

• A computer controls the activation of an air bag.电脑控制着气囊的启动。

6 activate   

vt.使活动起来，使开始起作用

参考例句：

• We must activate the youth to study.我们要激励青年去学习。
• These push buttons can activate the elevator.这些按钮能启动电梯。

7 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

8 hybrids   

n.杂交生成的生物体( hybrid的名词复数 )；杂交植物（或动物）；杂种；（不同事物的）混合物

参考例句：

• All these brightly coloured hybrids are so lovely in the garden. 花园里所有这些色彩鲜艳的杂交花真美丽。 来自辞典例句
• The notion that interspecific hybrids are rare is ill-founded. 有一种看法认为种间杂种是罕见的，这种看法是无根据的。 来自辞典例句

9 specially   

adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地

参考例句：

• They are specially packaged so that they stack easily.它们经过特别包装以便于堆放。
• The machine was designed specially for demolishing old buildings.这种机器是专为拆毁旧楼房而设计的。

10 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。

11 vapor   

n.蒸汽，雾气

参考例句：

• The cold wind condenses vapor into rain.冷风使水蒸气凝结成雨。
• This new machine sometimes transpires a lot of hot vapor.这部机器有时排出大量的热气。

12 hurdles   

n.障碍( hurdle的名词复数 )；跳栏；（供人或马跳跃的）栏架；跨栏赛

参考例句：

• In starting a new company, many hurdles must be crossed. 刚开办一个公司时，必须克服许多障碍。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• There are several hurdles to be got over in this project. 在这项工程中有一些困难要克服。 来自辞典例句

13 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

14 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

15 gambling   

n.赌博；投机

参考例句：

• They have won a lot of money through gambling.他们赌博赢了很多钱。
• The men have been gambling away all night.那些人赌了整整一夜。

16 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

17 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。