VOA标准英语2008年-World's Cheapest Car Unveiled in India

By Steve Herman
New Delhi
10 January 2008

India's booming economy has created a middle class of people eager to take to the road in a car of their own. Hundreds of millions currently have to make do with walking, cycling or using three-wheeled taxis or overcrowded buses. As VOA's Steve Herman reports from the Indian Auto¹ Expo in New Delhi, aspiring² motorists are finding that auto ownership has just come a lot closer.

Hundreds of vehicles are vying³ for attention at the Indian Auto Expo here, from exotic imports to feature-laden domestic models. But it is a barebones, all-sheet-metal-bodied vehicle from Tata Motors that is stealing the show.

Tata's Nano, dubbed⁴ the "people's car," was introduced amid much fanfare⁵.

Tata intends to sell the four-door, pod-shaped car for the equivalent of $2,500, the lowest price in the world for any conventional four-wheeled automobile⁶. In Indian terms the price is one lakh, or 100,000 rupees.

For that price, the buyer will get a car three-meters long, with a two-cylinder, 624-cubic centimeter engine mounted in the rear, an analog⁷ speedometer, and trunk able to hold nothing much larger than a briefcase⁸. Forget about air conditioning or power steering⁹ in the standard model.

But the car is being heralded¹⁰ as an engineering triumph, with 34 patents applied¹¹ for. Tata says the vehicle will be very fuel-efficient, traveling 20 kilometers on a single liter of gasoline.

Company chairman Ratan Tata promises that the Nano will put millions of Indians in the driver's seat for the first time, in the spirit of Ford¹²'s Model T and Volkswagen's Beetle¹³ of generations past. He acknowledges the modest vehicle will not be to everyone's taste, however.

"I am sure in the next few months there will be many analyses of the performance of the car, which will decide whom it will cater¹⁴ to best," he said.

Imitation is said to be the sincerest form of flattery, and some of Tata's competitors are trying to steal a bit of limelight here this week with similar announcements.

Bajaj, best known for building India's ubiquitous three-wheeled taxi scooter known as the "auto," is displaying its own prototype. But it is not expected to be on sale for another two years. Ford and Renault are also making noises about a similar cheap vehicle for the Indian market.

The general manager for India of the Indo-Japanese automaker Maruti Suzuki, K.D. Singh, congratulates Tata for its coup¹⁵, but he says Maruti Suzuki will continue to target Indian's growing middle class.

"We have sold cars to about 6.5 million Indian people who bought cars [at] two lakh [200,000 rupees] and above," he said. "The incomes of those people are growing, their lifestyles are improving. They need bigger and better cars with more features, and we are ready to provide those to them."

Not everyone here is enthusiastic about the prospect¹⁶ of many millions of new cars hitting the road, whatever the price. City planners and environmentalists say an explosion of ultra-cheap vehicles will further crowd India's already congested urban streets, and substantially increase air pollution.

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 aspiring   

adj.有志气的；有抱负的；高耸的v.渴望；追求

参考例句：

• Aspiring musicians need hours of practice every day. 想当音乐家就要每天练许多小时。
• He came from an aspiring working-class background. 他出身于有抱负的工人阶级家庭。 来自辞典例句

3 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

4 dubbed   

v.给…起绰号( dub的过去式和过去分词 )；把…称为；配音；复制

参考例句：

• Mathematics was once dubbed the handmaiden of the sciences. 数学曾一度被视为各门科学的基础。
• Is the movie dubbed or does it have subtitles? 这部电影是配音的还是打字幕的？ 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

6 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。

7 analog   

n.类似物，模拟

参考例句：

• The analog signal contains high-frequency video information,which helps make up the picture.模拟信号包括有助于构成图像的高频视频信息。
• The analog computer measures continuously,without proceeding step by step.模拟计算机不是一步一步地进行，而是连续地进行量度。

8 briefcase   

n.手提箱，公事皮包

参考例句：

• He packed a briefcase with what might be required.他把所有可能需要的东西都装进公文包。
• He requested the old man to look after the briefcase.他请求那位老人照看这个公事包。

9 steering   

n.操舵装置

参考例句：

• He beat his hands on the steering wheel in frustration. 他沮丧地用手打了几下方向盘。
• Steering according to the wind, he also framed his words more amicably. 他真会看风使舵，口吻也马上变得温和了。

10 heralded   

v.预示( herald的过去式和过去分词 )；宣布（好或重要）

参考例句：

• The singing of the birds heralded in the day. 鸟鸣报晓。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King. 嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

12 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。

13 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

14 cater   

vi.(for/to)满足，迎合；(for)提供饮食及服务

参考例句：

• I expect he will be able to cater for your particular needs.我预计他能满足你的特殊需要。
• Most schools cater for children of different abilities.大多数学校能够满足具有不同天资的儿童的需要。

15 coup   

n.政变；突然而成功的行动

参考例句：

• The monarch was ousted by a military coup.那君主被军事政变者废黜了。
• That government was overthrown in a military coup three years ago.那个政府在3年前的军事政变中被推翻。

16 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。