voa标准英语2008-Auto Industry Executives Renew Appeals for Emerg

U.S. auto¹ company executives returned to Capitol Hill Friday to renew appeals for billions of dollars in emergency loans. They faced skeptical² questions from members of the House Financial Services Committee dissatisfied with the automaker's restructuring proposals.
　 COLLAPSE⁵: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" width="15%" align="left" border="0">

Auto executives from GM, Chrysler and Ford3 testify on Capitol Hill before House Financial Services Committee, 05 Dec 2008

The uncomfortable ride for auto executives continued, as lawmakers considered whether to hand over $34 billion in loans to help companies avert⁴ financial collapse.

Heads of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors repeated statements made to a Senate committee on Thursday, outlining plans for restructuring and efforts to achieve more efficiency and profitability.

Ford's Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said, "You were clear that our business model needs to change. I absolutely agree,"

Pointing to huge revenue losses, Robert Nardelli of Chrysler said the costs for the U.S. economy of saving that company would be far less than the ripple⁶ effects of allowing it to fail.

"I recognize that this is a significant amount of public money, however we believe this is the least costly⁷ alternative considering the depth of economic crisis and options we face," he said.

Richard Wagoner of General Motors said his company has learned from mistakes.

"We are here today because we have made mistakes that we have learned from, because forces beyond our control in the credit markets have pushed us to the brink⁸, and most importantly because saving General Motors and all [that] the company represents is a job worth doing," said Wagoner.
　

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger testifies on Capitol Hill, 04 Dec 2008

United Auto Workers Union [UAW] President Ron Gettelfinger said any form of bankruptcy⁹ for the auto companies would be unacceptable.

"In the present environment a so-called pre-packaged Chapter 11 bankruptcy is simply not a viable¹⁰ option for restructuring the Detroit-based auto companies," he said.

Financial services panel chairman [Democrat¹¹] Barney Frank warned of what he called disastrous¹² consequences of letting the companies fail.

"A permission to these three large entities¹³ to stop paying their debts, that is called bankruptcy, would greatly exacerbate¹⁴ the credit crisis," he said.

Democrat Brad Sherman was among those questioning companies commitment to transforming their operations:

"A careful reading of the written pronouncements of the automobile¹⁵ companies indicates that they themselves are not going to adhere to the kind of tough conditions that the American people expect and that the auto industry needs," Sherman said.

Republican Spencer Bachus suggested that automakers have little choice but to undergo reorganization under some bankruptcy arrangement:

"Short of a protective restructuring of General Motors or Chrysler, the domestic automobile industry will not be successfully re-made and there will be no lasting¹⁶ solution to the considerable challenges that it faces," he said.

President Bush on Friday said companies must make tough choices and demonstrate a plan for viability¹⁷, adding that the government must be able to recover money it gives them.

In a statement on new figures showing the highest monthly job loss figures in 34 years, the president urged Congress to act next week on an automaker rescue plan:

"It is important that Congress act next week on this plan, and it is important to make sure that taxpayer's money be paid back if any is given to the companies," he said.

If lawmakers can reach agreement in coming days, and obtain support from the White House, Congress could come back into session to consider legislation next week.

However, differences remain on where the money should come from. House and Senate Democrats¹⁸ want to use funds from the $700 billion Troubled Assets Rescue Plan Congress approved in October for the financial industry.

President Bush on Friday repeated his insistence¹⁹ that any new money come from funds Congress has already appropriated for automakers to help them improve fuel efficiency.

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 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

3 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。

4 avert   

v.防止，避免；转移(目光、注意力等)

参考例句：

• He managed to avert suspicion.他设法避嫌。
• I would do what I could to avert it.我会尽力去避免发生这种情况。

5 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

6 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 brink   

n.(悬崖、河流等的)边缘，边沿

参考例句：

• The tree grew on the brink of the cliff.那棵树生长在峭壁的边缘。
• The two countries were poised on the brink of war.这两个国家处于交战的边缘。

9 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

10 viable   

adj.可行的，切实可行的，能活下去的

参考例句：

• The scheme is economically viable.这个计划从经济效益来看是可行的。
• The economy of the country is not viable.这个国家经济是难以维持的。

11 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

12 disastrous   

adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的

参考例句：

• The heavy rainstorm caused a disastrous flood.暴雨成灾。
• Her investment had disastrous consequences.She lost everything she owned.她的投资结果很惨，血本无归。

13 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

14 exacerbate   

v.恶化，增剧，激怒，使加剧

参考例句：

• WMO says a warming climate can exacerbate air pollution.世界气象组织说，气候变暖可能会加剧空气污染。
• In fact efforts will merely exacerbate the current problem.实际上努力只会加剧当前的问题。

15 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。

16 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

17 viability   

n.存活(能力)

参考例句：

• What is required to achieve or maintain such viability? 要达到或维持这种生存能力需要什么？
• Scientists are experimenting to find ways to ensure the viability of seeds for even longer periods of time. 正如我们所说，科学家正在试验努力寻找让种子的生命力更加延长的方法。

18 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

19 insistence   

n.坚持；强调；坚决主张

参考例句：

• They were united in their insistence that she should go to college.他们一致坚持她应上大学。
• His insistence upon strict obedience is correct.他坚持绝对服从是对的。