时间:2019-01-12 作者:英语课 分类:VOA标准英语2008年(三月)


英语课
By Tony Budny
Washington
27 March 2008
 

An upstart car company in the United States is seeking to take advantage of rising oil prices.  Aptera has produced a three-wheeled vehicle that can reach speeds of 136 kilometers per hour and operate on little gasoline.  VOA's Tony Budny has the story in today's Searching for Solutions report.


The vehicle looks like it comes from outer space, but Aptera executive Chris Anthony says, fear not. His company's new Typ-1 car runs on common household electricity, not jet fuel.  "It doesn't require a special charger,” Anthony said.  "We got a charger installed in every home in America.  Just plug it in to your 110 [volt electrical] outlet 1."


Aptera has already received deposits from some 1,100 customers wanting an electric Typ-1, and deliveries begin later this year.  Aptera plans to produce another Typ-1 model, a gas-electric hybrid 2 that the company says could get nearly 131 kilometers per liter of gasoline. 


Aptera founder 3 Steve Fambro says, "It'll give around 300 miles per gallon [127 kilometers per liter] for the first 100 miles [62 kilometers].  And it goes down to around 130 miles per gallon [34 kilometers per liter] as you deplete 4 the batteries."


The car looks fragile, but it is made out of a molded composite material that the company says is half the weight of steel and 10 times as strong.  "It's very, very, very strong and can stand up to the durability 5 of a Formula One style crash," explains Chris Anthony.


Aptera also uses space-age design inside the car.  It has a touch screen system for navigation, a climate control system powered by solar panels, and a relatively 6 large storage area.  Recycled plastic makes up much of the interior. And cameras aid the driver's view around the car instead of mirrors.


So how much does a car that can do all this cost?  Around $30,000 - but, if it performs to expectations, Aptera hopes customers will consider it worth the price.




n.出口/路;销路;批发商店;通风口;发泄
  • The outlet of a water pipe was blocked.水管的出水口堵住了。
  • Running is a good outlet for his energy.跑步是他发泄过剩精力的好方法。
n.(动,植)杂种,混合物
  • 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。
n.创始者,缔造者
  • He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
  • According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说,罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。
v.弄空,排除,减轻,减少...体液,放去...的血
  • Most native mammal species have been severely depleted.大多数本地哺乳动物的数量都已经大大减少了。
  • Elastic collisions deplete very little of the electron's energy.弹性碰撞中电子减少的能量非常少。
n.经久性,耐用性
  • Nylons have the virtue of durability.尼龙丝袜有耐穿的优点。
adv.比较...地,相对地
  • The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
  • The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。
学英语单词
abrupt deceleration vehicle
achromachia
apacked
Auricularia auricula
australian pitcher plants
Avast hauling!
bepuff
beslabbered
buffered filter paper
Bulgarevo
buoyancy curve
cadmium sulphide
Catalpa L.
chrysandiol
Congo floor maggot
DC electric propulsion plant
defilippis
ecomil
eelworms
egg-white protein
engineering geological classification of rock mass
engraftment
eusebia
Evangelista Torricelli
evasion error
exponential expansion
fallopiuss
field-sequential system
fight up to the last ditch
final-year
fotp
geard
get a cold reception
guide block
hangava
hansler
harbo(u)r operational zone
Hemitrichia
heteragraft
high velocity liquid jet machining
high-voltage glow tube
hormone culture-medium
hydnocarpus wightiana bl.
hytners
I fear
illtempered
Indosasa patens
information given in a questionnaire
information retrieval system evaluation
initial steam admission
insoluble solides
irrigated soil
Kinnitty
Kolomonyi
lactic-acid
Lithocarpus
LVTR
magnetohydrodynamic propulsion plant
manganese(iv) silicide
marmalade trees
mattings
mesengium
microvoltmeter
monetizability
nanocavity
Newry Canal
non-zero restriction
oil lubricating system
onishi
optic integrated circuit
pellet mouldings
PGS (program generation system)
plesiotrochus acutangulus
prepacked with grease
prevailing price
prunus mume sieb.et zucc.var.tonsa rehd.
prunus mume var.bungo mak.
purplestreak alstroemeria
rag out
residentiaries
reverse pinocytosis
rizzle
ruscombe
sample grid reference
Sandnessjφen
sandy mushrooms
secondary process
sent out
sound intensity decay
sprawlings
statistical weights
strapped multiresonator circuit
subfraction
Suttsu
the top of
tightness of stitches
top-fired boiler
triangulation balloon
unconquering
unfamiliarity
uredo cryptogrammes
Voidable Civil Act