2014年职称英语 阅读理解(1) ford abandons electric vehicles

第一篇 Ford Abandons Electric Vehicles The Ford motor companys1 abandonment of electric cars effectively signals the end of the road for the technology, analysts say. General Motors2 and Honda3 ceased production of battery-powered cars in 1999, to focus on fuel cell4 and hybrid electric gasoline engines5, which are more attractive to the consumer. Ford has now announced it will do the same. Three years ago, the company introduced the Think City two-seater car and a golf cart called the THINK or Think Neighhor6. It hoped to sell 5,000 cars each year and 10,000 carts. But a lack of demand means only about 1,000 of the cars have been produced, and less than 1,700 carts have been sold so far in 2002. “The bottom line7 is we dont believe that this is the future of environment transport for the mass market,” Tim Holmes of Ford Europe said on Friday. “We feel we have given electric our best shot8.” The Think City has a range of only about 53 miles and up to a six-hour battery recharge time. General Motors EVI electric vehicle also had a limited range, of about 100 miles. The very expensive batteries also mean electric cars cost much more than petrol-powered alternatives. An electric Toyota9 RAV4 EV vehicle costs over $42,000 in the US, compared with just $17,000 for the petrol version. Toyota and Nissan10 are now the only major auto manufacturers to produce electric vehicles. “There is a feeling that battery electric has been given its chance. Ford now has to move on with its hybrid program11, and that is what we will be judging them on,” Roger Higman, a senior transport campaigner at UK Friends of the Earth, told the Environment News Service. Hybrid cars introduced by Toyota and Honda in the past few years have sold well. Hybrid engines offer greater mileage than petrol-only engines, and the batteries recharge themselves. Ford says it thinks such vehicles will help it meet planned new guidelines12 on vehicle emissions13 in the US. However t it is not yet clear exactly what those guidelines will permit. In June, General Motors and Daimler Chrysler14 won a court injunction, delaying by two years Californian legislation requiring car-makers to offer 100,000 zero-emission and other low-emission vehicles in the state by 2003. Car manufacturers hope the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more low-emission, rather than zero-emission, vehicles. 词汇: hybrid / 5haibrid/n.杂种，混合物 adj.杂种 injunction / in5dVQNkFEn/n.命令；指令 mileage / 5maIlIdV/n.英里数， 英里里程 注释: 1. The Ford motor company:福特汽车公司。 Henry Ford (1863-1947)美国汽车制造商，他改进了以汽油为 燃料的汽车，成立了福特汽车公司 (1903 年) ，并大量生产昀早的大众负担得起且广泛使用的 T 型车。 2. General Motors:美国通用汽车公司 3. Honda:日本本田汽车公司 4. fuel cell:燃料电池，一种化学电池。 5. hybrid electric gasoline engines:电池和内燃机混杂使用的发动机，使用这种发动机的汽车被称为 : Hybrid electric vehicles，或 HEVs。 6. the company introduced the Think City two-seater car and a golf cart called the THINK, or Think Neighbor: 福特汽车公司计划在公司内开发一种全新的品牌，建立了 Think Group.该研究机构分为两部分 : Think Mobility 和 Think Technologies。Think Mobility 开发 the Think City (一种电动汽车 )，Think Neighbor (一 种高尔夫车 )，以及 Think Bike (一种电动自行车 )。Think Technologies 开发燃料电池技术。 7. The bottom line is:在此的意思是“ the main or essential point”，即“关键之处是，实质问题是” 。 8. shot: an attempt, a try (尝试) 。 9. Toyota:日本丰田汽车公司 10. Nissan:日本日产汽车公司 11. hybrid program:指上文提到的电池和内燃机混杂使用的新型汽车开发项目。 12. guideline:指导方针，规定 13. vehicle emissions:车辆排放物 14. Daintier Chrysler:戴姆勒克莱斯勒汽车公司。德国戴姆勒奔驰公司集团与克莱斯勒汽车公司合并。练 习: 1. What have the Ford motor company, General Motors and Honda done concerning electric cars? A They have started to produce electric cars. B They have done extensive research on electric cars. C They have given up producing electric cars. D They have produced thousands of electric cars. 2. According to Tim Holmes of Ford Europe, battery-powered cars A will be the main transportation vehicles in the future. B will not be the main transportation vehicles in the future. C will be good to the environment in the future. D will replace petrol-powered vehicles in the future. 3. Which auto manufacturers are still producing electric vehicles? A Toyota and Nissan. B General Motors and Honda. C Ford and Toyota. D Honda and Toyata. 4. According to the eighth paragraph, hybrid cars A offer fewer mileage than petrol driven cars. B run faster than petrol driven cars. C run more miles than petrol driven cars. D offer more batteries than petrol driven cars. 5. Which of the following is true about the hope of car manufacturers according to the last paragraph? A Low-emission cars should be banned. B Only zero-emission cars are allowed to run on motorways. C The legislation will encourage car makers to produce more electric cars. D The legislation will allow more low-emission to be produced. 答案与题解 : 1. C 第一段第一个句子告诉我们福特汽车公司放弃了电动汽年，第二段说通运汽年公司和本田汽车公司 停止生产电动汽车。 2. B 第四段第一个句子是 Tim Holmes 对电动汽车未来的评价，他认为未来的交通运输的大众市场不可 能是电动汽车。 3. A 答案的依据是第六段昀后一句。 4. C 答案的依据是倒数第二段第二句。 5. D 答案的依据是文意的昀后一句 : the legislation will be rewritten to allow for more lowemission. rather than zero-emission, vehicles。 第一篇福特放弃电动汽车 分析人士评论，福特汽车公司放弃电动汽年的举动有力地证明了这种技术是行不通的。 通用汽车公司和日本本田汽车公司早于 1999年就停止了电池动力汽车的生产，转而开发燃料电池和电池 内燃混合机，这对消费者更有吸引力。福特宣布它现在也要做同样的尝试。 3年前，福特推出名为 Think City的双排座汽车和 Think或 Think Neighbor系列高尔夫车，希望能销售 5000辆汽车、 10000高尔夫车。但由于需求不足，截至 2002年仅生产了大约 1000辆汽车，售出的高尔夫 车还不足 1700辆。 “关键是我们认为电动车不能代表大众市场环保交通的未来”，福特欧洲区的 Tim Holmes于周五说，“ 我们 感觉自己对电力车已做了昀好的尝试。” Think City系列的运行里程仅 53英里，电池充电需 6小时。通用公司的 EVI 电力车也仅能运行 100英里。 昂贵的电池也意味着电动汽车的造价比汽油动力车高出许多。日本丰田产的 RAV4EV系列电动车在美国 的售价达 42000美元，而同系列的汽油动力车仅售 17000美元。丰田和日产汽车公司是现在仅存的两大电 动车制造商。 “应该说电池动力车已经获得了充分的机会。福特现已转向电池内燃混合机开发项目，我们应据此评价他 们的发展。” R