2007年VOA标准英语-General Motors Brings Chevrolet Volt Car to Was

By Paul Sisco
Washington, D.C.
26 July 2007
 

Representatives from American auto¹ manufacturer General Motors recently were in Washington, D.C. to showcase the electric Chevy Volt². GM says the vehicle will change the way people commute³, reducing emissions⁵ and America's dependence⁶ of foreign oil. VOA's Paul Sisco has today's Searching for Solutions report.

GM representatives say there are only two like it in the world, and one of the automakers joked that you could probably get this one for $5 million or so. The Chevy Volt is a concept car, dependent in part on technology under development.

Bob Boniface is one of the chief designers of the car.

The electric plug that charges the Chevy Volt

"This is really the heart and soul of the Chevy Volt, the plug that you see here,” says Boniface. “It is primarily an electrically driven vehicle and it has an electric traction⁷ motor and it has a large lithium battery pack down the center of the vehicle. So just by simply plugging your car in a standard 110 volt outlet⁸, you can drive 40 miles on pure electricity. No gas at all."

To go beyond that there is a very small gas engine that does not drive the car, as it does in increasingly popular hybrid⁹ vehicles. Instead, it recharges the battery.

"It doesn't matter what the motor is in the car,” explains Boniface. “It's just something up there that generates electricity. It can be a fuel cell, it can be bio-diesel, it can be a squirrel on a treadmill¹⁰. It doesn't really matter. A hybrid vehicle, it's a very important distinction, a hybrid vehicle still has a gas engine that drives the wheels. This car does not have that."

graphic11, has not been approved yet" hspace="2" src="/upimg/allimg/070728/1110241.jpg" width="210" vspace="2" border="0" />

The Volt is not currently available because its battery, represented above by a 3D graphic, has not been approved yet

GM hopes to have the Chevy Volt on the market in 2010. As with most electric cars the hang up is the battery. GM did not showcase that for the simple reason it is not yet available.

"We can't just buy the battery and stick it in the car. It requires testing, engineering validation¹² to make sure everything works right. All the things that make the car move are ready. We know how we are going to build the car -- we just have to make sure that the battery meets all our requirements."

 

U.S. Department of Transportation data show that 78 percent of commuters drive 40 miles or less to and from work. The GM representatives are quick to point out that commuting¹³ in a Concept Chevy Volt would be gas and emission⁴ free.

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 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。

3 commute   

vi.乘车上下班；vt.减(刑)；折合；n.上下班交通

参考例句：

• I spend much less time on my commute to work now.我现在工作的往返时间要节省好多。
• Most office workers commute from the suburbs.很多公司的职员都是从郊外来上班的。

4 emission   

n.发出物，散发物；发出，散发

参考例句：

• Rigorous measures will be taken to reduce the total pollutant emission.采取严格有力措施，降低污染物排放总量。
• Finally,the way to effectively control particulate emission is pointed out.最后，指出有效降低颗粒排放的方向。

5 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。

6 dependence   

n.依靠，依赖；信任，信赖；隶属

参考例句：

• Doctors keep trying to break her dependence of the drug.医生们尽力使她戒除毒瘾。
• He was freed from financial dependence on his parents.他在经济上摆脱了对父母的依赖。

7 traction   

n.牵引；附着摩擦力

参考例句：

• I'll show you how the traction is applied.我会让你看如何做这种牵引。
• She's injured her back and is in traction for a month.她背部受伤，正在作一个月的牵引治疗。

8 outlet   

n.出口/路；销路；批发商店；通风口；发泄

参考例句：

• The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
• Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。

9 hybrid   

n.(动，植）杂种，混合物

参考例句：

• That is a hybrid perpetual rose.那是一株杂交的四季开花的蔷薇。
• The hybrid was tall,handsome,and intelligent.那混血儿高大、英俊、又聪明。

10 treadmill   

n.踏车；单调的工作

参考例句：

• The treadmill has a heart rate monitor.跑步机上有个脉搏监视器。
• Drugs remove man from the treadmill of routine.药物可以使人摆脱日常单调的工作带来的疲劳。

11 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

12 validation   

n.确认

参考例句：

• If the countdown timer ever hits zero, do your validation processing. 处理这种情况的方法是在输入的同时使用递减计时器，每次击键重新计时。如果递减计时器变为零，就开始验证。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Although the validation control is a very widespread idiom, most such controls can be improved. 虽然确认控件是非常广泛的习惯用法，但还有很多有待改进的地方。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

13 commuting   

交换（的）

参考例句：

• I used the commuting time to read and answer my mail. 我利用上下班在汽车中的时间来阅读和答复给我的函电。
• Noncommuting objects are as real to the mathematicians as commuting objects. 对于数学家来说，不可交换的对象与可交换的对象是一样真实的。