voa标准英语2008-Russia to Assist Ailing Domestic Car Makers

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is offering government assistance to car buyers in an effort to support the country's ailing¹ auto² producers. The move comes amid an economic slowdown that is also affecting American car companies in Russia.
　

Russian PM Vladimir Putin, right, visits Russian truck maker3 OAO Kamaz in Naberezhnye Chelny, the region of Tatarstan, about 700 kilometers east of Moscow, 19 Dec. 2008

Speaking at the Kamaz truck factory in the city of Naberezhniye Chelny, Prime Minister Putin said he considers it inadmissible for Russians to spend money on imported cars when Russian domestic manufacturers are cutting back production. Mr. Putin added that state companies should buy only cars made in Russia, and he recommends that private firms do so as well.

On Sunday, about 3,000 people staged a protest in the Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok against a recent government decision to raise tariffs⁵ on imported used cars. Protest organizers say about 200,000 people in the Vladivostok area are involved in the import, sale and servicing of used foreign vehicles. But Mr. Putin says the government will compensate⁶ the cost of shipping⁷ Russian-built models to the Far East.

Mr. Putin is proposing to end rail tariffs for the shipment of cars built anywhere in Russia to the Far East. He says rail company tariff⁴ losses will be compensated⁸ from the state budget.

Shipping cars from Russia's major car manufacturing center around Saint Petersburg to Vladivostok would involve a rail trip of nearly 7,000 kilometers.

In addition, Oleg Dackiw, commercial director of the Russian auto industry Internet publication, Autodealer.ru , told VOA that people in the Russian Far East are accustomed to Japanese imports.

Dackiw says a driver with a used Toyota in Vladivostok will never give it up for a car built by Russia's AvtoVaz, because even if it's new, it doesn't give the sense of comfort, security and safety of those right-wheel drive cars from Japan.

Prime Minister Putin says the most important task is to revive consumer activity. He proposed subsidizing interest rates for three-year consumer automobile⁹ loans. He noted¹⁰ that Russians who want a car would do best if they bought one in 2009, when the assistance will be available.

That assistance will be available for cars built in Russia by foreign manufacturers, who are also cutting back production. They include American carmaker Ford¹¹, which will stop operations near Saint Petersburg for nearly one month, beginning December 24. General Motors, which opened another plant in Russia last month, will produce cars only three days a week beginning in February. The new GM facility in Russia employs 1,700 people and represents a $300 million investment.

Rising unemployment and the global credit crunch¹² have lowered demand for cars in Russia. Mr. Putin says his government's proposed credit subsidies¹³ would apply to cars costing no more than 350,000 rubles, about $12,500.

1 ailing   

v.生病

参考例句：

• They discussed the problems ailing the steel industry. 他们讨论了困扰钢铁工业的问题。
• She looked after her ailing father. 她照顾有病的父亲。

2 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。

3 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。

4 tariff   

n.关税，税率；(旅馆、饭店等)价目表，收费表

参考例句：

• There is a very high tariff on jewelry.宝石类的关税率很高。
• The government is going to lower the tariff on importing cars.政府打算降低进口汽车的关税。

5 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。

6 compensate   

vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消

参考例句：

• She used her good looks to compensate her lack of intelligence. 她利用她漂亮的外表来弥补智力的不足。
• Nothing can compensate for the loss of one's health. 一个人失去了键康是不可弥补的。

7 shipping   

n.船运（发货，运输，乘船）

参考例句：

• We struck a bargain with an American shipping firm.我们和一家美国船运公司谈成了一笔生意。
• There's a shipping charge of ￡5 added to the price.价格之外另加五英镑运输费。

8 compensated   

补偿，报酬( compensate的过去式和过去分词 )； 给（某人）赔偿（或赔款）

参考例句：

• The marvelous acting compensated for the play's weak script. 本剧的精彩表演弥补了剧本的不足。
• I compensated his loss with money. 我赔偿他经济损失。

9 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。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 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。

12 crunch   

n.关键时刻；艰难局面；v.发出碎裂声

参考例句：

• If it comes to the crunch they'll support us.关键时刻他们是会支持我们的。
• People who crunch nuts at the movies can be very annoying.看电影时嘎吱作声地嚼干果的人会使人十分讨厌。

13 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》