关于汽车英语的文章

Cars in America(美国的汽车)

Cars in America

Cars are an important part of life
in the United States. The car made the United
States
a
nation
on wheels.
And
it helped to make the United States what it is today.

There are three main reasons why the car became so popular in the United States. First of all the country is a huge one and Americans like to move around in it. The cars provide the most comfortable and cheapest form of transportation.

The second reason that cars are popular is the fact that the United States never really developed an efficient and inexpensive form of public transportation. Long-distance trains have never been as common in the United States as they are in other parts of the world. Nowadays there is a good system of air service provided by planes. But it is too expensive to be used frequently.

The third reason is the most important one, though. The American spirit of independence is what really made cars popular. Americans don't like to wait for a bus, or a train or even a plane. They don't like to have to follow an exact timetable.And the freedom a car gives them is what Americans want most to have.

The decrease of gas supplies has caused a big problem for Americans. But the answer will not be a bigger system of public transportation. The real solution will have to be a new kind of car, one that does not use so much gas.

美国的汽车

汽车是美国生活的重要组成部分。汽车使得美国成为轮子上的国家，它也帮助美国成为现在的样子。

汽车在美国如此盛行有三个主要原因。首先这个国家地域辽阔，而美国人喜欢在其间来回走动。汽车提供了最舒适最便宜的交通方式。

汽车如此盛行的第二个原因是美国从未真正发展过有效廉价的公共交通这一事实。美国的长途火车从未像世界上其它地方那么普及。如今飞机提供了空中服务的良好体系。但是飞机太贵了，不能频繁使用。

而第三个原因是最为重要的。
美国人的独立精神是使得汽车盛行的真正原因。
美国人不喜欢等公共汽车、火车甚至飞机。他们不喜欢必须遵循精确的时间表。汽车给予他们的自由正是美国人最想得到的。

汽油供给的减少已经给美国人带来了巨大的问题。但答案不是发展更大型的公交体系。真正的解决方式必须是一种新型的汽车，那种不需要使用很多燃料的汽车。

Car Pollution

Each year there is an increasing number of cars on the roads as millions of new cars are produced. One out of six Americans works at making cars, driving trucks, building roads or filling up gas. Americans couldn't live without cars!

Most Americans would find it hard to imagine life without a car. However, some have realized the serious problem of air pollution caused by cars. The polluted air becomes poisonous and dangerous to health.

One way to get rid of the polluted air is to make a car without pollution. But to build a clean car is easier said than done. Progress in this field is slow.

Another way is to replace car engines with something else. Inventors are now working on steam cars as well as electric cars. Many makers believe that it will take years to develop a practical model for us.

To prevent the world from being polluted by cars, we have to make some changes in our lives. Americans, for example, have to cut down on the number of their total cars.They are encouraged to use bicycles, which are thought to help keep the air clean.

But this change does not come easily. A large number of workers may find themselves without jobs if a car factory cioses down. Thus the problem of air pollution would become less important than that of unemployment. Although cars have led us to a better life, they have also brought us new problems.

汽车污染

上路的汽车数量逐年增长，同时，每年都会生产出几百万辆新车。在美国，每六个人中就有一个从事与汽车相关的工作：造车、开车、修路、加油等等。
离开汽车，美国人无法生活!

大部分美国人简直无法想象没有车的生活会是什么样子。但是一些人也已经意识到汽车造成的空气污染已成为严重的问题。被污染的空气具有毒性，并且危害健康。

解决空气污染的方法之一就是制造无污染汽车。但是生产清洁汽车说来容易做来难。
目前，这一领域的进展十分缓慢。

另一个方法就是使用其他东西替代汽车发动机。发明家正在研制蒸汽汽车和电车。但是许多厂家认为我们可以使用的实用型汽车的诞生可能还需要几年时间。

要想阻止全球化的汽车污染，我们需要对自己的生活方式做出适当的改变。例如，在美国，需要缩减汽车总量。鼓励人们使用有助空气清洁的自行车。

但这种改变不能一蹴而就。一旦汽车工厂关闭，就会有大量工人失去工作。与失业相比，空气污染似乎就不再那么重要了。尽管汽车为我们带来了更加舒适的生活，同时，它也带来了新的问题。

-- Scott Perl, Albuquerque, N.M.

A: Auto racers have told us the main advantage in filling tires with nitrogen instead of ambient air is that nitrogen tends to maintain more consistent tire pressure over a wide range of temperatures. As friction between the tire and pavement drives up the temperature, air with varying amounts of moisture content responds differently and can cause inconsistencies in tire pressure. While racing drivers are more likely to notice the advantages of nitrogen than everyday drivers, we haven't heard of any disadvantages to using it.

Skeptics question the practice, noting that ambient air is about 80% nitrogen and that it expands and contracts at the same rate as pure nitrogen. A number of readers say there's no appreciable difference in how the tires will react if filled with nitrogen, especially in everyday use.

Q: Is it safe to use cruise control in rain or on wet pavement?

-- Scott Brake, Westminster, Calif.

A: Car makers often warn that cruise control should be used only in light traffic on open roads and in good weather. There have been reports of accidents involving cruise control when the car lost traction -- or hydroplaned -- in slippery conditions. Some car makers warn that the steady throttle of cruise control -- like keeping one's foot on the gas -- could cause the wheels to spin when they hit a wet or icy patch of road. Car-company representatives say the cruise- control warnings reflect the fact that drivers should be particularly vigilant when conditions are less than ideal, and cruising along on what amounts to partial autopilot tends to lull some drivers into a false sense of security.

Q: If an automobile manual suggests a certain weight oil (such as, 5W-30), would adding a quart of a different weight oil (say, 10W-40) between complete oil changes damage the car's engine?

-- Gil Ehrenkranz, Potomac, Md.

A: Probably not. But today's engines generally are more precisely engineered than those of 20 or 30 years ago. Many of us at some point have topped off our cars with whatever oil happened to be available without causing damage -- at least not that we know of. Auto makers, however, say modern engines can be more sensitive to a change in oil weight, and using the wrong oil, even in small amounts, can hurt an engine's performance and even cause harm.

Q: What is a sequential manual transmission? How does it differ from an automatic or a standard manual transmission?

-- Harry J. Jaffe, Germantown, Tenn.

A: A sequential manual transmission is a gearbox that requires gear changes to be made in order (first to second to third), instead of having a shift pattern with a lever that allows the driver to skip gears. Motorcycles have used such transmissions for decades and racing cars began using them years ago because they allow quicker shifts. Shifting is usually done through levers, buttons or switches.

The sequential transmissions advertised today -- mainly in high- performance cars such as Ferraris, Aston Martins and some BMWs -- are technically manual transmissions, except that the clutch and the gear changes are controlled electronically. The advantage is that gear changes can be made more quickly and precisely than a human shifting the old-fashioned way. Traditionalists say the downside is that they simply aren't as much fun to drive and require less driver skill.