美国有线新闻 CNN 电动汽车势头猛 无人驾驶成汽车业发展方向

 

AZUZ: According to InsideEVs.com, which covers news about electric vehicles and tracks their sales, there was a deep in the average number of electric cars sold in the U.S. between March and April. Still, for the first four months of this year, EV sales have been higher across the board than they were last year. Is that a sign of things to come?

PETER VALDES-DAPENA, CNNMONEY SENIOR AUTOMOTIVE REPORTER: For the past 100 years or more, Americans have mostly bought cars, filled them with gasoline, and driven them places.

Get ready for all that to change.

SUBTITLE²: The future of driving.

REPORTER: First, electric cars are coming on strong. Batteries are now better and cheaper to make. The Chevrolet Volt³ and soon the Tesla model 3 both get more than 200 miles of range for under $40,000. They promised to make practical electric cars accessible to the masses.

At the same time, advances in computers, software and sensors⁴ are bringing the dream of self-driving cars to reality. Already, many luxury models can largely drive themselves on highways and in stop and go traffic.

That's easy stuff, though. The real challenge is driving on city streets and in suburbs where are there complex intersections⁵ and pedestrians⁶.

Companies from both inside and outside the auto¹ industry are working on those problems. Several automakers have promised to put self-driving cars on the road in just a few years. They'll probably show up in fleets at first, think self-driving taxis with a driver at the wheel.

Once cars can drive themselves, car sharing becomes much more attractive. After all, if your car doesn't need you to drive it, why just let it sit in a parking space all day? For that matter, why buy a car at all when you can cheaply ride in one that's just driving around on its own anyway.

With all this going on, it's no wonder automakers and auto industry investors⁷ are nervous about which companies will come out on top when the future finally arrives, and it's arriving fast.

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 subtitle   

n.副题（书本中的），说明对白的字幕

参考例句：

• His new book has a subtitle.他的新书有一个副标题。
• Ah!I don't know why they don't subtitle these movies.唉！我不知道这些电影为什么不打字幕。

3 volt   

n.伏特，伏

参考例句：

• You may use 100 and 110 volt appliances in your room.您可以在房间使用100及110伏特的电器。
• The common service voltage of electric power in our country is 220/380 volt.我国普通供电电压为220/380伏。

4 sensors   

n.传感器，灵敏元件( sensor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were more than 2000 sensors here. 这里装有两千多个灵敏元件。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Significant changes have been noted where sensors were exposed to trichloride. 当传感器暴露在三氯化物中时，有很大变化。 来自辞典例句

5 intersections   

n.横断( intersection的名词复数 )；交叉；交叉点；交集

参考例句：

• Traffic lights have been placed at all major intersections. 所有重要的交叉路口都安装了交通信号灯。
• Intersections are of the greatest importance in highway design. 在道路设计中，交叉口占有最重要的地位。 来自辞典例句

6 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

7 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会