VOA标准英语2014--Washington Auto Show Highlights New Technologies 华盛顿车展突出新技术

 

Washington Auto¹ Show Highlights New Technologies 华盛顿车展突出新技术

WASHINGTON — At this week's annual Washington Auto Show, manufacturers are featuring their standard models along with cars that point to the future, both in terms of propulsion and multi-material body structures.

Besides old concepts, repackaged in newly designed bodies, many manufacturers are showing models that are test beds for new technologies that point to the industry's future.

One model attracting a lot of attention is Toyota’s hydrogen-powered FCV Concept, which may be offered to consumers as soon as next year.

Its fuel cell converts hydrogen’s energy to electricity that charges the car’s battery.  Hydrogen is abundant and cheap, and the only byproduct of its use is clean water.

The head of Vehicle System Design at South Carolina’s Clemson University, Zoran Filipi, says that fuel cells are the long-term environmental solution.

“Recent announcements about this technology becoming available to consumers are great because it’s going to allow for real-world experience, evaluation² of this technology, and will prepare us for the future where, at some point, the infrastructure³ might become available too,” he said.

Toyota claims the car has a range of at least 500 kilometers and that filling the tank takes no longer than refueling a gasoline vehicle tank.

But cars with regular engines, still the most affordable⁴ for ordinary consumers, are also becoming more environmentally friendly, especially diesel⁵ engines, which are again making their way into the luxury department.

Clemson University professor Zoran Filipi says internal combustion⁶ engines, IC for short, are fighting back.

"What we see is that the near term combination of these very advanced IC engine concepts - downsizing, turbocharging, direct injection and 7, 8, 9, 10-speed advanced transmissions, does allow 10, 15 even 20 percent improvement of fuel economy,” he said.

Hybrid⁷ engines are also making their way into the luxury car market. U.S. manufacturer Cadillac won this year’s prize for Green Car Technology for its ELR model, with an electric motor for driving and a small turbocharged gas engine for recharging the battery, thus extending its range.

The other new technology on the rise is recycled and composite materials for the car chassis⁸ - like BMW’s i3 - whose passenger compartment⁹ is completely made of carbon fiber¹⁰-reinforced plastics, making it much lighter¹¹.

Filipi says lightweight materials and structures are absolutely critical for vehicles with heavy batteries.

“We might actually see a future with multi-material body structures - steel, aluminum¹², carbon fiber - all being used for the same vehicle, and a lot of welding replaced by gluing,” he said.

Filipi says that there is also active research on bio-based and biodegradable composites for automotive interiors that can take us to a sustainable future.

 

Judging by the models exhibited at this year’s Washington Auto Show, cars of the future will be increasingly cheaper to drive while their environmental impact will continue to drop.

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 evaluation   

n.估价，评价；赋值

参考例句：

• I attempted an honest evaluation of my own life.我试图如实地评价我自己的一生。
• The new scheme is still under evaluation.新方案还在评估阶段。

3 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

4 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

5 diesel   

n.柴油发动机，内燃机

参考例句：

• We experimented with diesel engines to drive the pumps.我们试着用柴油机来带动水泵。
• My tractor operates on diesel oil.我的那台拖拉机用柴油开动。

6 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

7 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。

8 chassis   

n.汽车等之底盘；（飞机的）起落架；炮底架

参考例句：

• The new parts may include the sheet metal,the transmission,or the chassis.新部件可能包括钢壳，变速器或底盘。
• Can chassis and whole-vehicle manufacturers co-exist peacefully?底盘企业和整车企业能相安无事吗？

9 compartment   

n.卧车包房，隔间；分隔的空间

参考例句：

• We were glad to have the whole compartment to ourselves.真高兴，整个客车隔间由我们独享。
• The batteries are safely enclosed in a watertight compartment.电池被安全地置于一个防水的隔间里。

10 fiber   

n.纤维，纤维质

参考例句：

• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。
• The material must be free of fiber clumps.这种材料必须无纤维块。

11 lighter   

n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级

参考例句：

• The portrait was touched up so as to make it lighter.这张画经过润色，色调明朗了一些。
• The lighter works off the car battery.引燃器利用汽车蓄电池打火。

12 aluminum   

n.(aluminium)铝

参考例句：

• The aluminum sheets cannot be too much thicker than 0.04 inches.铝板厚度不能超过0.04英寸。
• During the launch phase,it would ride in a protective aluminum shell.在发射阶段，它盛在一只保护的铝壳里。