TEXT ONE

　　Aptera is certainly not the sort of name an old-school carmaker would give to its newest creation. Biologists will recognise it as the term for scuttling wingless insects—silverfish and suchlike. But Steve Fambro, the boss of the eponymous Californian company that plans to make and sell electric vehicles under this name, hopes they will soon be swarming over the state's highways.

　　Unlike Tesla, another boutique electric-vehicle maker from the Golden State, Aptera is aiming for the bottom end of the market. A Tesla sports car will set you back $98,000 (or it would if you could get your hands on one: Tesla has delayed shipment of its first 50 cars until next year). An Aptera, by contrast, starts at $26,900, and should be available this time next year. And instead of a Ferrari knock-off, you get a space-age tricycle. But Aptera and Tesla have things in common. They are both small. They were both started by people with no experience in the motor industry. And they are both aiming to start by roping in the eco-fashionistas of California, and then work outwards to the mainstream.

　　The name Aptera was chosen because the vehicle resembles a small, wingless aircraft. Its three-wheel design exempts it from onerous federal testing regulations. The outer shell is made of a carbon-fibre composite, rather than metal. The lines are wind-tunnel aerodynamic. And protuberances are kept to a minimum. Wing mirrors, for example, are replaced by a rear-facing camera with a 180° field of view and the exhaust valves are recessed to minimise turbulence. In the pure plug-in version, those valves are for waste heat from the electronics. There is also a petrol-electric hybrid, with a single-cylinder generator that extends the range from 200km to 1,130km. Top speed is 150kph.

　　One reason for the emergence of firms such as Aptera is that designing a new vehicle has become as much an exercise in software simulation as in metal (or even carbon-fibre) bashing. That enables the firm's engineers to do extensive development work—even things like crash-testing—on a computer. This is much cheaper than building endless prototypes and driving lots of them into walls. Another reason is the widespread availability of previously specialised components such as lithium-ion batteries. That means that an upstart such as Aptera can focus on the electronic brains of the vehicle and its final assembly, rather than having to make everything from scratch. It can thus, it believes, turn a profit without having to produce large volumes.

　　Automotive history is littered with failed attempts to build electric cars, and sceptics might think the latest batch will be no different. That there is a fashion for such vehicles, though, is hard to deny. Besides Aptera and Tesla—which are, in their different ways, the most conspicuous examples—Venture Vehicles of Los Angeles is proposing an electric version of the Dutch Carver three-wheeled motorbike, while Phoenix Motorcars of Ontario, California, has produced a sports-utility truck. Meanwhile, REVA, an Indian firm, and Think Global, a Norwegian one, are making two-door hatchbacks. Indeed, according to the Venture Capital Journal, about $220m has been invested in such small firms over the past year and a half.

　　1.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the common characterists of Tesla and Aptera?

　　[A] Both of them are envioroment-friendly.

　　[B] Both of them are from small companies of California and then expand outwards.

　　[C] Both of them are originated from the marginal status of the industry.

　　[D] Both of them are created by green hands of automobile business.

　　2. The petrol-electric hybrid version of Aptera is different from its other versions in that_____

　　[A] Top speed of the hybrid is higher than than of the other versions.

　　[B] The hybrid possesses a stronger capacity of long-distance drive with rapid speed.

　　[C] The hybrid has a special generator that is characterized by a sole cylinder.

　　[D] The hybrid generate more turbulence than the other versions.

　　3.The word “protuberance” (Line 4, Paragraph 3) most probably means_____

　　[A] protrusion.

　　[B] accessory.

　　[C] adjunct.

　　[D] impetus.

　　4. Firms such as Aptera are growing up because of the following reasons except_____

　　[A] Technologies of metal bashing simulation are well developped.

　　[B] The cost of making cars is greatly reduced.

　　[C] Some specialized parts are available to them.

　　[D] Large venture investment is devoted to such business.

　　5. Towards to the future of the electric cars, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____

　　[A] optimistic.

　　[B] lukewarm.

　　[C] wait-and-see.

　　[D] enthusiastic.

　　篇章剖析：

　　這篇文章講述了一些新型汽車的情況。第一段講述了Aptera在推出其最新產(chǎn)品;第二、三段講述這一新產(chǎn)品的特點(diǎn);第四段講述Aptera公司目前的研發(fā)優(yōu)勢(shì);第五段講述許多公司現(xiàn)在都開始進(jìn)軍該領(lǐng)域。

　　詞匯注釋：

　　scuttle v. 倉(cāng)皇奔逃;匆匆跑走 eponymous adj. 齊名的

　　swarm v. 擠滿t ricycle n. 三輪車

　　onerous adj. 麻煩的 aerodynamic adj. 空氣動(dòng)力的

　　protuberance n. 凸起 valve n. 閥門

　　lithium n. 鋰 litter v. 亂丟，弄亂

　　hatchback n. 有倉(cāng)門式后背的車

　　難句突破：

　　(1) But Steve Fambro, the boss of the eponymous Californian company that plans to make and sell electric vehicles under this name, hopes they will soon be swarming over the state's highways.

　　[主體句式] But Steve Fambro hopes …

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)復(fù)合句，the boss of…是做主語(yǔ)的同位語(yǔ);該同位語(yǔ)中that引導(dǎo)的是定語(yǔ)從句，用來(lái)修飾company。

　　[句子譯文] 但是計(jì)劃用這個(gè)名字來(lái)制造并銷售電動(dòng)汽車的齊名的加利福尼亞公司老總Steve Fambro希望它們很快就能擠滿加州的高速公路。

　　(1) Besides Aptera and Tesla—which are, in their different ways, the most conspicuous examples—Venture Vehicles of Los Angeles is proposing an electric version of the Dutch Carver three-wheeled motorbike, while Phoenix Motorcars of Ontario, California, has produced a sports-utility truck.

　　[主體句式] Besides Aptera and Tesla, Venture Vehicles …is proposing… while…

　　[結(jié)構(gòu)分析] 這是一個(gè)復(fù)合句。while引導(dǎo)的是句子的伴隨狀語(yǔ)。

　　[句子譯文] 除了Aptera和Tesla這兩個(gè)最有名的例子，洛杉磯的冒險(xiǎn)汽車公司也在計(jì)劃制造德國(guó)Carver三輪摩托車式的電動(dòng)車，而加州安大略的鳳凰汽車公司已經(jīng)制造了一種運(yùn)動(dòng)型載重卡車。

　　題目分析：

　　1.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the common characterists of Tesla and Aptera? 1. 關(guān)于Tesla 和Aptera共同的特點(diǎn)，下列哪項(xiàng)陳述是錯(cuò)誤的?

　　[A] Both of them are envioroment-friendly. [A] 它們都是環(huán)保的。

　　[B] Both of them are from small companies of California and then expand outwards. [B] 它們都是從加州的小公司開始做起，后來(lái)向外擴(kuò)張。

　　[C] Both of them are originated from the marginal status of the industry. [C] 它們?cè)榷继幱谠摦a(chǎn)業(yè)的邊緣地位。

　　[D] Both of them are created by green hands of automobile business. [D]它們都是由汽車行業(yè)中的新手制造的。

　　[答案] B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。第一段中提到了它們之間的共同點(diǎn)有三個(gè)“But Aptera and Tesla have things in common. They are both small. They were both started by people with no experience in the motor industry. And they are both aiming to start by roping in the eco-fashionistas of California, and then work outwards to the mainstream”，體積小，創(chuàng)始人都是該行業(yè)的新手，環(huán)保;而且這兩個(gè)公司都是小公司，后來(lái)漸漸向主流發(fā)展，可見原先是出于行業(yè)的邊緣。選項(xiàng)中只有B不是共同點(diǎn)，因?yàn)椴淮嬖凇癳xpand outwards”。

　　2. The petrol-electric hybrid version of Aptera is different from its other versions in that_____ 2.Aptera的汽油電力混合版和它其他的版本區(qū)別在于_____

　　[A] Top speed of the hybrid is higher than than of the other versions. [A] 混合版的速度要比其他版本高。

　　[B] The hybrid possesses a stronger capacity of long-distance drive with rapid speed. [B] 混合版比其他版本的長(zhǎng)途高速駕駛能力更強(qiáng)。

　　[C] The hybrid has a special generator that is characterized by a sole cylinder. [C] 混合版有一種獨(dú)特的單氣缸發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)。

　　[D] The hybrid generate more turbulence than the other versions. [D] 混合版比其他版本生產(chǎn)的動(dòng)蕩大。

　　[答案] B

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第三段“There is also a petrol-electric hybrid, with a single-cylinder generator that extends the range from 200km to 1,130km. Top speed is 150kph”，可見混合版本可以將行程延長(zhǎng)200到1130公里，這就是區(qū)別之處，因此答案為B選項(xiàng)。A、D選項(xiàng)都不是混合版的特征。C選項(xiàng)的表述雖然符合混合版的特征，但是卻不是它區(qū)別于其他版本車的主要原因。

　　3.The word “protuberance” (Line 4, Paragraph 3) most probably means_____ 3. “protuberance” (第三段第四行)最有可能的意思是_____

　　[A] protrusion. [A] 突出。

　　[B] accessory. [B] 零件。

　　[C] adjunct. [C] 附件。

　　[D] impetus. [D] 推動(dòng)力。

　　[答案] A

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆

　　[分析] 猜詞題。根據(jù)第三段“And protuberances are kept to a minimum. Wing mirrors, for example, are replaced by a rear-facing camera with a 180° field of view and the exhaust valves are recessed to minimise turbulence”，講述該特征時(shí)舉的例子——比如風(fēng)鏡由180度視角的朝后的攝像機(jī)代替，可以看出主要為了避免有突出的部分。選項(xiàng)中A最為符合。

　　4. Firms such as Aptera are growing up because of the following reasons except_____ 4. Aptera這樣的公司成長(zhǎng)起來(lái)是因?yàn)橐韵鲁薩___之外的原因。

　　[A] Technologies of metal bashing simulation are well developped. [A] 金屬撞擊模擬的技術(shù)發(fā)展得很好

　　[B] The cost of making cars is greatly reduced. [B] 制造車的費(fèi)用大大降低了

　　[C] Some specialized parts are available to them. [C] 他們可以拿到 一些特別的部分

　　[D] Large venture investment is devoted to such business. [D]大型的投資活動(dòng)被投入到了這樣的商業(yè)中

　　[答案] D

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 細(xì)節(jié)題。根據(jù)第四段。這樣的公司能成長(zhǎng)起來(lái)是因?yàn)槟M演習(xí)已經(jīng)發(fā)展起來(lái)，這樣就可以節(jié)約試驗(yàn)成本;先前那些專門的配件隨處都可以買到;選項(xiàng)中，A、C選項(xiàng)是正確的，B選項(xiàng)是A、C選項(xiàng)的結(jié)果;D選項(xiàng)在文章沒有提到。因此，答案為D選項(xiàng)。

　　5. Towards to the future of the electric cars, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____ 5.對(duì)于電氣汽車的未來(lái)，作者的態(tài)度是_____

　　[A] optimistic. [A] 樂(lè)觀的。

　　[B] lukewarm. [B] 冷淡的。

　　[C] wait-and-see. [C] 觀望的。

　　[D] enthusiastic. [D] 熱心的。

　　[答案] A

　　[難度系數(shù)] ☆☆☆

　　[分析] 態(tài)度題。根據(jù)最后一段，都是一些成功的案例，因此，作者對(duì)電氣汽車的未來(lái)的態(tài)度是樂(lè)觀的，因此正確答案為A選項(xiàng)。D選項(xiàng)有一定的干擾性，但是從文中可以看出作者的語(yǔ)氣一直比較平淡客觀，雖然持支持的態(tài)度但是沒有表現(xiàn)出“熱心”的層面，該選項(xiàng)過(guò)于夸張，因而是錯(cuò)誤的。

　　參考譯文：

　　Aptera 肯定不是傳統(tǒng)汽車制造商會(huì)給新產(chǎn)品起的名字。生物學(xué)家會(huì)認(rèn)為這是一種行色匆匆走路的無(wú)翼昆蟲的名字，比如蠹蟲等。但是計(jì)劃用這個(gè)名字來(lái)制造并銷售電動(dòng)汽車的加利福尼亞公司老總Steve Fambro希望這種車很快就能擠滿加州的高速公路。

　　Tesla 是金色之州(加州)的另一家流行電動(dòng)汽車制造商，但Aptera與前者不同，其目標(biāo)是低端市場(chǎng)。一輛Tesla運(yùn)動(dòng)跑車得花九萬(wàn)八千美元(或者說(shuō)你如果能親自開上一輛就得花這么多錢，因?yàn)門esla第一批的50輛車推遲到明年才能到貨)。而一輛Aptera起步價(jià)僅為兩萬(wàn)六千九百美元，而且明年的這個(gè)時(shí)候應(yīng)該就可以提貨了。你拿到的并不是法拉利的縮版，而是太空時(shí)代的三輪車。但是Aptera和Tesla也有相似之處，兩種車體積都很小，兩家創(chuàng)始人都是這個(gè)行業(yè)的新手，目標(biāo)都是要從環(huán)保理念盛行的加州起步，然后再逐漸擴(kuò)展到主流市場(chǎng)。

　　起Aptera這個(gè)名字是因?yàn)檫@種汽車像小小的無(wú)翼飛機(jī)。三輪的造型使其免受繁瑣的聯(lián)邦檢測(cè)法規(guī)的約束。車的外殼是碳類合成物，而不是金屬。其設(shè)計(jì)為風(fēng)道空氣動(dòng)力，且盡可能避免凸出部分，比如風(fēng)鏡由180度視角的向后攝像機(jī)代替，排氣閥凹進(jìn)去從而將氣流減到最小。在插入式車型中，這些閥門是用來(lái)為電器散發(fā)出來(lái)的廢熱而設(shè)計(jì)的。還有一種汽油和電力混合汽車，只有一個(gè)氣缸加速器，可以將行程延長(zhǎng)200到1130公里，時(shí)速為150公里/小時(shí)。

　　像Aptera這樣的公司之所以能夠興起，其中一個(gè)原因就是設(shè)計(jì)新型汽車的軟件模擬演習(xí)幾乎能與金屬(甚至碳材料)撞擊演習(xí)相媲美。這就使得公司的工程師可以在電腦上進(jìn)行大量的研發(fā)工作，甚至是碰撞試驗(yàn)，要比制造無(wú)數(shù)個(gè)汽車模型再撞墻測(cè)試廉價(jià)得多。另外一個(gè)原因就是隨著先前那些專門供應(yīng)的部件、比如鋰電池已隨處可得，這意味著像Aptera這樣的新秀可以將精力集中于汽車的電子腦和最終的裝配上，而不是所有的東西都得從頭來(lái)過(guò)。它相信這樣一來(lái)，不用很大的制造量就可以獲利了。

　　在汽車制造歷有許多制造電動(dòng)汽車失敗的故事，一些懷疑論者可能認(rèn)為這批最新汽車也差不多。但是現(xiàn)在制造這種汽車的風(fēng)氣正盛，這是無(wú)法否認(rèn)的。除了Aptera和Tesla這兩個(gè)最有名的例子，洛杉磯的冒險(xiǎn)汽車公司也在計(jì)劃制造德國(guó)Carver三輪摩托車式的電動(dòng)車，而加州安大略的鳳凰汽車公司已經(jīng)制造了一種運(yùn)動(dòng)型載重卡車。同時(shí)，印度REVA公司和挪威的思想全球公司也在制造雙門有倉(cāng)門式后背的汽車。據(jù)《風(fēng)險(xiǎn)資本期刊》稱，過(guò)去的一年半中有大約兩億兩千萬(wàn)美元注入到了這樣的小公司中。