VOA标准英语2014--Drivers of US Vehicles at Risk, Says Auto Safety Group

 

Drivers of US Vehicles at Risk, Says Auto¹ Safety Group 

WASHINGTON — As U.S. lawmakers demand to know why it took U.S. automaker General Motors more than 10 years to replace a safety defect, an auto safety group says the delay exposes a major flaw in the recall system that puts anyone who drives an American car at risk.

A defective² ignition switch, easily fixed³ with a 60-cent part, is blamed for the deaths of at least 13 people, including Randall Rademaker’s 15-year-old daughter Amy.

“Her and two other friends were in a [Chevrolet] Cobalt," he said. "They are coming back from shopping and the ignition switch shut off, and they left the roadway and hit a tree. Two of the girls were killed."

Families of the victims who gathered in Washington during congressional hearings say it didn’t have to happen.  

“They have known [about] this defect all along for a decade," said David Chansuthus, whose sister Sadie was killed in a similar accident in 2010. "So they deliberately⁴ concealed⁵ the truth simply for a business decision.”

Testifying before Congress, General Motors CEO Mary Barra said those were the actions of the old GM.

“That’s not the way we do business in today’s GM,” Barra said. “Today, if there is a safety issue, we take action. If we know there is a defect on our vehicles, we do not look at cost associated with it. We look at the speed at which we can fix the issue.”

But Clarence Ditlow at the Center for Auto Safety says the problem is a systemic one involving a cozy⁶ relationship between automakers and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

“They had meetings over this defect," Ditlow said. "They share complaints over this defect, yet there was no investigation⁷ by the government and no recall by General Motors until 10 years later. That’s a tragedy.”

Among the government’s failings, says Ditlow, are inadequate⁸ agency funding and not enough investigators⁹.

But an expert on corporate¹⁰ culture says industry-wide problems prior to the government bailout may be partly to blame. 

“When a company’s very existence is at risk, you probably develop a bit of a siege mentality," said Brian Fielkow, author of Driving to Perfection. "Let’s just cut every dime¹¹, cut every corner in order to survive.”

In a global marketplace, Ditlow says that's bad business.  

"We have a global auto industry today, and, if you have a death in a vehicle in the U.S., there’s likely to be a death in a similar model in another country, and we need global regulations and global recalls instead of global cover-ups," he said.

 

Ditlow would like to see the entire recall system become more transparent¹². And if that fails, he suggests making the government agency accountable and allowing the public to sue when it fails to do its job.

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 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

3 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。

4 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

5 concealed   

a.隐藏的，隐蔽的

参考例句：

• The paintings were concealed beneath a thick layer of plaster. 那些画被隐藏在厚厚的灰泥层下面。
• I think he had a gun concealed about his person. 我认为他当时身上藏有一支枪。

6 cozy   

adj.亲如手足的，密切的，暖和舒服的

参考例句：

• I like blankets because they are cozy.我喜欢毛毯，因为他们是舒适的。
• We spent a cozy evening chatting by the fire.我们在炉火旁聊天度过了一个舒适的晚上。

7 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

8 inadequate   

adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的

参考例句：

• The supply is inadequate to meet the demand.供不应求。
• She was inadequate to the demands that were made on her.她还无力满足对她提出的各项要求。

9 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

11 dime   

n.（指美国、加拿大的钱币）一角

参考例句：

• A dime is a tenth of a dollar.一角银币是十分之一美元。
• The liberty torch is on the back of the dime.自由火炬在一角硬币的反面。

12 transparent   

adj.明显的，无疑的；透明的

参考例句：

• The water is so transparent that we can see the fishes swimming.水清澈透明，可以看到鱼儿游来游去。
• The window glass is transparent.窗玻璃是透明的。