VOA慢速英语2021 福特推出电动版F-150皮卡

Ford¹ Motor Company has officially presented an electric version of its best-selling F-150 pickup² truck.

福特汽车公司已经正式推出了其最畅销的F-150皮卡的电动版。

The company showed off its new model, the F-150 Lightning, during an event this week. In announcing the vehicle, Ford chief Jim Farley said it represented "a watershed³ moment" for the company. He added, it also marked "a very important transition" for the automobile⁵ industry.

该公司在本周的一次活动上展出了其最新型号的F-150 Lighting⁶。福特首席执行官吉姆·法利在宣布这款车时表示，它代表着该公司的分水岭。他还表示，这也标志着汽车行业一次非常重要的过渡。

Experts say that with its new vehicle, Ford is aiming to be highly competitive with other companies in the electric truck market, notably⁷ Tesla and General Motors (GM). The Lightning seems to offer buyers new technology in a popular, proven vehicle that is also good for the environment and saves on fuel costs.

专家表示，福特希望通过其新车型，与电动卡车市场上的其它公司，尤其是特斯拉和通用汽车形成高度竞争。这款电动版似乎是在一款颇受欢迎和久经考验的皮卡上为买家提供一种新技术，它有利于环境，并节省了燃油成本。

The trucks are to be manufactured at a production center in Dearborn, Michigan beginning next year. Ford said it was investing $700 million into the production complex and was adding 500 new jobs. It plans to start selling the vehicles in the spring of 2022.

这款皮卡将于明年开始在密歇根州迪尔伯恩市的生产中心生产。福特称其将向该生产中心投资7亿美元，并增加500个新的工作岗位。该公司计划在2022年春季开始销售这些车辆。

With a starting price near $40,000, the F-150 Lightning will be available in four different versions. The base model will have a traveling range of 370 kilometers on one battery charge.

F-150 Lighting起价接近4万美元，将提供4种不同版本。入门版一次充电可以行驶370公里。

Ford says the size of the cab and bed of the electric vehicle will be the same as its gas-powered F-150. And with a federal tax credit of up to $7,500 available for Ford electric vehicles, the price of the base model falls to around $32,500. That is below the lowest-priced gas model of the F-150, which starts at $37,000.

福特表示，F-150电动版的驾驶室和车厢跟汽油版相同。福特电动汽车最高可以获得7500美元的联邦税收抵扣，从而将入门版的价格降到了32500美元左右。这远低于F-150汽油版起价37000美元的最低价格。

The company says the high-end Lightning – which is equipped with a longer-range battery – can pull an estimated 4,500 kilograms. This is comparable to many gas-powered trucks, but it falls about 1,350 kilograms short of Ford's powerful V-8 engines.

该公司表示，配备长续航电池组的Lightning高端版的牵引力约为4500公斤。这可以跟许多燃油版的卡车相媲美，但是比福特强大的V8发动机要低大约1350公斤。

The F-150 Lightning comes with a 39 centimeter, electronic control screen and extra storage space where the gas engine would be. Ford says the Lightning with the extended-range battery can fully⁸ power a home for up to three days. The high-end truck will likely cost between $60,000 to $90,000.

F-150电动版配备了39厘米的中控屏，以及原本安放燃油发动机的额外储物空间。福特表示，带有扩展电池组的Lightning可以为一个家庭提供最高3天的电力。高端版的售价可能在6万到9万美元之间。

In a usual year, Ford sells about 900,000 F-series trucks in the U.S. The model has been America's top-selling vehicle for nearly 40 years. F-150 trucks are commonly used at building sites across the U.S.

福特在美国通常一年会售出约90万辆F系列卡车。这款车型近40年来一直是美国最畅销的汽车。F-150皮卡普遍用于美国各地的建筑工地。

Ford expects to increase yearly production of the electric F-150 to 40,000 vehicles or more, beginning in 2023. That information comes from Sam Fiorani, an expert at industry research company AutoForecast Solutions, who spoke⁹ to Reuters.

福特预计从2023年开始将F-150电动版的年产量提高到4万辆以上。该信息来自于行业研究公司AutoForecast Solutions的专家萨姆·菲奥拉尼接受路透社的采访。

By comparison, Tesla's electric Cybertruck is set to begin high-level production in 2022, with a starting price of $39,900. GM describes its first electric pickup as an "electric supertruck," the GMC Hummer EV. It will go into production in autumn of 2022, and will be priced from nearly $80,000 to nearly $100,000.

相比之下，特斯拉起价39900美元的的Cybertruck电动皮卡定于2022年开始批量生产。通用汽车将其首款电动皮卡称为电动超级卡车GMC Hummer EV。它将于2022年秋季投产，价格从近8万美元到近10万美元。

While electric vehicle sales in the U.S. are rising, the overall share of the market is still very low. This year, through April, automakers sold about 108,000 fully electric vehicles (EV) in the U.S. That is nearly twice the number from the same period last year. However, auto⁴ industry researcher Edmunds reports that EVs still account for only 2 percent of U.S. vehicle sales.

虽然美国电动汽车销量正在提升，但整个市场份额仍然很低。今年截至4月，汽车制造商在美国售出了大约10.8万辆电动汽车，几乎是去年同期的两倍。但是汽车行业研究机构埃德蒙兹报道称，电动版汽车仍然只占到美国汽车销量的2%。

Words in This Story

watershed – n. a moment in time when important change happens

transition – n. a change from one system or method to another

battery – n. a device that is placed inside something to supply it with electricity

cab – n. the front part of a truck where the driver sits

screen – n. the part of a computer or device that shows images or writing

1 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。

2 pickup   

n.拾起，获得

参考例句：

• I would love to trade this car for a pickup truck.我愿意用这辆汽车换一辆小型轻便卡车。||The luck guy is a choice pickup for the girls.那位幸运的男孩是女孩子们想勾搭上的人。

3 watershed   

n.转折点，分水岭，分界线

参考例句：

• Our marriage was at a watershed.我们的婚姻到了一个转折关头。
• It forms the watershed between the two rivers.它成了两条河流的分水岭。

4 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。

5 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。

6 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

7 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

8 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

9 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。