(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
This summer, the latest version of Google's self-driving car will make its first appearance on public roads. The two-seat vehicle does not need a gas pedal or steering wheel. The prototype can drive, brake and recognize road dangers without human involvement. Google says the car is the first vehicle built for the purpose of self-driving.
However, the new vehicle is not designed for long trips. It does not have air bags or other safety devices required by the federal government. It cannot go more than 40 kilometers per hour. The vehicle is electric and has to be recharged after 130 kilometers. And it can only drive in areas that have been thoroughly mapped by Google.
Current California laws require all vehicles to have a steering wheel to guide the car and a gas pedal to control fuel use. The laws also require a driver to be able to take back control of a vehicle at any time. But, Google is working to change those laws.
Google will first build and test 25 driverless vehicles in areas around the company's headquarters in Mountain View, California. Then, the company plans to build more and expand testing to areas that have more hills and more rain.
Eliminating human error
Sergey Brin is a co-founder of Google. He says the computer-controlled cars can eliminate, or end, driving mistakes made by humans. Experts say 90 percent of the 1.2 million yearly road deaths are caused by human error. Self-driving cars could also improve areas of high traffic and especially help older people and disabled people.
Google first announced that it was working on a driverless car in 2010. Mr. Brin says Google does not want to be a car company, but wants automakers to use its technology.
Critics worry about the safety of having cars without human drivers. And, Google admits there have been minor accidents in the six years it has been testing autonomous cars.
Chris Urmson says Google is proud of that record. Mr. Urmson is director of Google's self-driving car project. He says that Google's vehicles have completed about three million kilometers of testing. He says drivers in traditional cars caused all but one of the accidents.
Can it be trusted?
Critics also question the dependability of self-driving cars. They wonder if the cars can be trusted to work all the time. They also ask if such cars appeal to people.
In 2013, J.D. Power and Associates did a study of U.S. drivers. It found that only one in five was interested in a fully autonomous car.
Mr. Urmson says Google needs to do a better job of educating people about self-driving technology. He also says Google needs to better inform the public about its progress with the technology.
The company is building a website to do that. The site will include a monthly report that will include details of any accidents involving Google cars. It will also permit people to comment on any experiences they might have with the cars.
Still a long way to go
Google is not the only company developing self-driving cars. Mercedes-Benz, Infiniti and others already have highly developed driver assistance systems that require little help from a driver. But other automakers think self-driving cars will be made available feature-by-feature instead of all at once. They say this gives people time to adapt to self-driving technology.
Mr. Brin says Google is still improving its plans for self-driving cars, but he's excited about their possibility.
Google hopes to have its driverless cars available in the next five years.
I'm Jonathan Evans.
词汇解释
1.gas pedal （美）油门；加速器；汽车加速踏板
The driver had to let off the gas pedal to slow down.
驾驶员必须放开油门以使车速放慢。
2.brake vi. 刹车 n. 闸，刹车；阻碍 vt. 刹车
He braked the car slightly.
他稍稍刹车。
3.recharge vt. 再充电；再袭击；再控告 n. 再袭击；再装填 vi. 再袭击
The device can recharge a battery in about 25 minutes.
该充电器可在约25分钟内完成给电池充电。
4.dependability n. 可靠性；可信任
Superiors would evaluate a plainclothesman on his dependability.
上级评价一个便衣人员的标准，是看他是否忠诚可靠。
内容解析
1.He says drivers in traditional cars caused all but one of the accidents.
all but one 除了一个以外的所有的…
The trial resulted in acquittals on all but one count.
审判结果是除一项罪名之外其他罪名都不成立。
I knew them all but one.
除了一个我不认识之外，其余的人我都认识。
2.They wonder if the cars can be trusted to work all the time. They also ask if such cars appeal to people.
appeal to 呼吁；上诉；要求；对…有吸引力
The company is appealing to everyone to save power and water.
公司正呼吁大家节约水电。
He doesn't appeal to her.
她并不喜欢他。
参考译文
今年夏天，谷歌最近版本的无人驾驶汽车将首次在公共道路上，这款两座汽车无需油门或方向盘，这台原型车能够在无人操作的情况下驾驶、刹车和识别道路危险。谷歌称这是首款以无人驾驶为目的的汽车。
然而，这款新车并非用于长途旅行，它没有气囊和联邦政府要求的其他安全设备，时速不超过40公里。这款车是电动的，必须在行驶130公里后充电，而且只能在谷歌完全勘测过的地区行驶。
目前加州法律要求所有汽车必须有方向盘来引导汽车，还要有能控制燃油消耗的油门。该法还要求驾驶员能随时对汽车进行控制，但谷歌正努力修改这一法律。
谷歌将首先在加州山景城公司总部附近地区建造并测试25辆无人驾驶车，然后计划制造更多，并将测试推广到有更多丘陵和雨水的地区。
谢尔盖·布林是谷歌的联合创始人，他说这款电脑控制的汽车能消除或杜绝人所犯下的驾驶错误，专家称每年120万起道路死亡中有90%的是由人为错误导致。无人驾驶车还能改善交通量大地区的路况，还能帮助老年人和残疾人。
谷歌是2010年最早宣布将开发无人驾驶车的，布林称谷歌不希望成为一家汽车公司，但希望汽车制造商能使用这一技术。
批评者担心无人驾驶车的安全性，谷歌承认过去6年测试无人驾驶车期间发生过轻微事故。
克里斯·厄姆森称谷歌对此记录感到自豪，厄姆森是谷歌无人车项目主任，他说谷歌的汽车已经完成了约300万公里的测试，他说除了一起事故外，所有事故都是由传统汽车的驾驶员所致。
批评者还质疑无人驾驶车的可靠性，他们想知道这种汽车是否一直值得信赖，他们还想知道这种车是否受人喜欢。
2013年，J.D. Power and Associates公司对美国驾驶者做过一项调查，发现每五个人中只有一人对完全自动驾驶车感兴趣。
厄姆森说谷歌需要在无人驾驶技术方面更好地教育人们，他还说，谷歌需要更好地告知人们其在技术上的进步。
该公司正在建立一个网站来实现这一点，该站点将包括月度报告，包括有关谷歌汽车任何事故的细节，还将允许人们就与该车有关的经验进行评论。
谷歌并不是开发无人驾驶车的唯一一家公司，奔驰、英菲蒂尼等公司已经拥有非常先进的驾驶员辅助系统，对驾驶者所要求的帮助甚少。但其他汽车制造商认为无人驾驶车应该逐步推出各种功能，而不是一步到位，他们称这能给人们以适应无人驾驶技术的时间。
布林说谷歌仍在改进其无人驾驶车计划，但他对其可能性感到激动。
谷歌希望未来五年内让无人驾驶汽车上市。
我是乔纳森·伊万斯。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
