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The New Clean Machines 崭新节约环保车

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The New Clean Machines  崭新节约环保车

With the price at the pump climbing ever higher, the U.S. government and the auto industry are looking to expand sales of more environmentally friendly vehicles.

随着石油价格节节调涨，美国政府及汽车工业希望能增加环保车辆的销售量。

They are introducing new lines that are more economical and pollute less. These vehicles include hybrids, which run on gasoline and electricity, and diesels, which run on diesel fuel that has greater fuel efficiency.

他们引进节约且污染较少的新型车种，包括动力来源为汽油及电力的油电混合车，以及使用燃料效能更大的柴油汽车。

Toyota plans to have one million hybrids on the road by 2010. By 2008, Chrysler expects to have half a million cars on the road fueled by E85, a mixture of ethanol and gasoline. Still, it’s likely that traditional gasoline engines will dominate sales for at least 10 to 20 more years. The reason is that new hybrid vehicles are known for being noisy and smelly.

丰田汽车计划在2010年前能卖出一百万辆油电混合车。克赖斯勒则希望在2008年前，有50万辆燃料来源为E85的车辆能上路，E85是混合乙醇及汽油的一种燃料。但在未来至少10到20几年间，传统汽车很可能仍是市场主流，因为新型的油电混合车还十分昂贵，而柴油车辆则相当吵杂且气味不佳。

That’s Quite a Trade!  绝对划算的交易

Like many young people, Kyle MacDonald dreamed of one day owning his own home. However, the way he realize that dream sets him apart from the others. The Montreal native started out with a single red paper clip, and through the Internet, he began to barter his way up. He gradually exchanged items for bigger and better ones in the hope of one day trading for a house.

如同许多年轻人，凯尔．麦当劳梦想有一天能拥有自己的房子。但是他实现的方式与别人大不相同。这位蒙特娄老兄追寻梦想的开端是一枚红色回形针。透过网络，他开始用以物易物的方式朝梦想迈进。他换来的东西变得越大、越好，希望有天能换到一栋房子。

The 26-year-old writer obviously had to start small. The paper clip was exchanged for a fish-shaped pen, which was then traded for a ceramic knob, and so on. As his trading picked up stream and gained more publicity, the small town of Kipling, Canada took notice. Eager to trade MacDonald a house in exchange for the fame the town would receive, they got in touch with MacDonald. They told him that his year-long quest had finally ended!

这位26岁作家显然必须从小东西开始着手。回形针换来鱼形笔。鱼形笔换成陶制门把，接着继续交换下去。当他的交易益发活络、出名时，加拿大的吉普林小镇也注意到了。吉普林镇民连络凯尔，急切想与他交易好让小镇出名。他们告诉凯尔，他多年的追寻可以告一段落了！

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Vocabulary

expand [ɪkˋspænd] v. 扩张；发展

dominate [ˋdɑmə͵net] v. 支配，统治

pick up stream 渐入佳境 to start to be much more effective or successful

publicity [pʌbˋlɪsətɪ] n. 宣传

quest [kwɛst] n. 寻找；追求；探索

More Information

pump: [pʌmp] n. 加油枪; 打气筒〔将气体或液体注入或汲出某物的机器〕a pump in a service station that draws gasoline from underground storage tanks

line [laɪn] n.（货物等的）种类

economical [͵ikəˋnɑmɪk!] adj. 经济的，节约的

hybrid [ˋhaɪbrɪd] n.（电池、马达）双动力

run on 以....为动力来源

diesel [ˋdiz!] n. 柴油引擎

efficiency [ɪˋfɪʃənsɪ] n. 效率；效能

ethanol [ˋɛθə͵nol] n. 乙醇，酒精

smelly [ˋsmɛlɪ] adj. 【口】有使人难受的气味的；臭的

realize [ˋrɪə͵laɪz] v. 实现

clip [klɪp] n. 回形针

barter [ˋbɑrtɚ] v. 作物物交换

ceramic [səˋræmɪk] adj. 陶器的

knob [nɑb] n. 球形把手

take notice 注意

eager [ˋigɚ] adj. 渴望的，急切的