VOA标准英语2010年-Not Your Father's Electric Car

You're in the market for a new car. You want something environmentally responsible, but you don't want to give up fun. Now you don't have to. But it comes at a cost.

Rebecca Ward¹ | Washington DC 24 March 2010
 

Hot. Hot and green. That's because the Tesla is an all-electric car.

"I think people feel really good about driving a vehicle that is also very socially responsible," says Tari Cash, a Tesla Motors spokesperson.  "Something that's fun, something that looks good, but also something that can make them feel like they're really contributing to making the world a better place."

The Tesla Roadster doesn't just look great.  It can go more than 400 kilometers on a charge, and has all the torque of a 500-horsepower Corvette.  The Tesla rockets from 0 to 100 kilometers per hour in less than four seconds.  By any measure, that's one fast car. 

"The car is made out of carbon fiber," says Cash.  "That's unique to this vehicle, it makes the vehicle very light, which helps out with the performance.  The hardest thing is not to get a speeding ticket."

The back end of the Tesla Roadster
The Tesla takes its name from inventor Nikola Tesla, one of the early pioneers of electrical power.  In addition to being a great looking car, the Roadster - despite its size - has ample storage room for a weekend getaway.

"You have enough storage space to fit actually two golf bags, one on top of the other, so you can absolutely fit weekend bags and travel with this vehicle for the weekend," says Cash. 

The Roadster does have its drawbacks, though, starting with the price: more than 100-thousand dollars.  But starting in 2011, Tesla Motors will offer a roomier, more family friendly car at half the price, the Model S.  "It's a very practical sedan for a family," says spokesperson Tari Cash.  "It's a 7-seater and will seat five adults and two children."

Experts say electric cars are destined² to play an important part in the global push to ease carbon emissions³.  But in some cases, electric power just does not have the long distance hauling capacity needed by truckers.

"25 percent of the energy we use on the road in the United States is for big trucks and buses," notes Richard Kolodziej, president of the International Association for Natural Gas Vehicles.  "We really have to get those trucks and buses to use something other than petroleum⁴."

Natural gas vehicles are not new.  Vehicles running on compressed natural gas have been around for decades, just not in large numbers as compared to gasoline-powered cars.  However, Kolodziej says that's changing.

The fueling nozzle at one of the U.S. few gas stations offering compressed natural gas, or CNG.
"The leading country is Pakistan, they have got 225-thousand natural gas vehicles.  Nigeria has a huge natural gas resource base."

Natural gas is cleaner than petroleum and can be less expensive.  But Honda is the only car manufacturer to offer a natural gas sedan to consumers in America, and in only a few states.  Public natural gas fueling stations are few and far between, so most people would need to refuel such a vehicle at home.

Says Kolodziej, "America has 180-thousand gasoline stations.  To replicate⁵ that would an impossibility in the short term.  Our focus is on fleets that are called 'return to home' vehicles.  Vehicles that go out in the morning, do their business, and come back."

Experts say it is difficult to predict which vehicle, natural gas, electric, or some other alternatively fueled vehicle, will come to dominate the roadways of the world.  But engineers such as those at Tesla are working on a next generation of transportation.
 

1 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

2 destined   

adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的

参考例句：

• It was destined that they would marry.他们结婚是缘分。
• The shipment is destined for America.这批货物将运往美国。

3 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。

4 petroleum   

n.原油，石油

参考例句：

• The Government of Iran advanced the price of petroleum last week.上星期伊朗政府提高了石油价格。
• The purpose of oil refinery is to refine crude petroleum.炼油厂的主要工作是提炼原油。

5 replicate   

v.折叠，复制，模写；n.同样的样品；adj.转折的

参考例句：

• The DNA of chromatin must replicate before cell division.染色质DNA在细胞分裂之前必须复制。
• It is also easy to replicate,as the next subsection explains.就像下一个小节详细说明的那样，它还可以被轻易的复制。