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：

这篇文章讲述了一些新型汽车的情况。第一段讲述了Aptera在推出其最新产品;第二、三段讲述这一新产品的特点;第四段讲述Aptera公司目前的研发优势;第五段讲述许多公司现在都开始进军该领域。

词汇注释：

scuttle v. 仓皇奔逃;匆匆跑走 eponymous adj. 齐名的

swarm v. 挤满t ricycle n. 三轮车

onerous adj. 麻烦的 aerodynamic adj. 空气动力的

protuberance n. 凸起 valve n. 阀门

lithium n. 锂 litter v. 乱丢，弄乱

hatchback n. 有仓门式后背的车

难句突破：

(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.

[主体句式] But Steve Fambro hopes …

[结构分析] 这是一个复合句，the boss of…是做主语的同位语;该同位语中that引导的是定语从句，用来修饰company。

[句子译文] 但是计划用这个名字来制造并销售电动汽车的齐名的加利福尼亚公司老总Steve Fambro希望它们很快就能挤满加州的高速公路。

(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.

[主体句式] Besides Aptera and Tesla, Venture Vehicles …is proposing… while…

[结构分析] 这是一个复合句。while引导的是句子的伴随状语。

[句子译文] 除了Aptera和Tesla这两个最有名的例子，洛杉矶的冒险汽车公司也在计划制造德国Carver三轮摩托车式的电动车，而加州安大略的凤凰汽车公司已经制造了一种运动型载重卡车。

题目分析：

1.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the common characterists of Tesla and Aptera? 1. 关于Tesla 和Aptera共同的特点，下列哪项陈述是错误的?

[A] Both of them are envioroment-friendly. [A] 它们都是环保的。

[B] Both of them are from small companies of California and then expand outwards. [B] 它们都是从加州的小公司开始做起，后来向外扩张。

[C] Both of them are originated from the marginal status of the industry. [C] 它们原先都处于该产业的边缘地位。

[D] Both of them are created by green hands of automobile business. [D]它们都是由汽车行业中的新手制造的。

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。第一段中提到了它们之间的共同点有三个“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”，体积小，创始人都是该行业的新手，环保;而且这两个公司都是小公司，后来渐渐向主流发展，可见原先是出于行业的边缘。选项中只有B不是共同点，因为不存在“expand outwards”。

2. The petrol-electric hybrid version of Aptera is different from its other versions in that_____ 2.Aptera的汽油电力混合版和它其他的版本区别在于_____

[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长途高速驾驶能力更强。

[C] The hybrid has a special generator that is characterized by a sole cylinder. [C] 混合版有一种独特的单气缸发动机。

[D] The hybrid generate more turbulence than the other versions. [D] 混合版比其他版本生产的动荡大。

[答案] B

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。根据第三段“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”，可见混合版本可以将行程延长200到1130公里，这就是区别之处，因此答案为B选项。A、D选项都不是混合版的特征。C选项的表述虽然符合混合版的特征，但是却不是它区别于其他版本车的主要原因。

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] 推动力。

[答案] A

[难度系数] ☆

[分析] 猜词题。根据第三段“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”，讲述该特征时举的例子——比如风镜由180度视角的朝后的摄像机代替，可以看出主要为了避免有突出的部分。选项中A最为符合。

4. Firms such as Aptera are growing up because of the following reasons except_____ 4. Aptera这样的公司成长起来是因为以下除了____之外的原因。

[A] Technologies of metal bashing simulation are well developped. [A] 金属撞击模拟的技术发展得很好

[B] The cost of making cars is greatly reduced. [B] 制造车的费用大大降低了

[C] Some specialized parts are available to them. [C] 他们可以拿到 一些特别的部分

[D] Large venture investment is devoted to such business. [D]大型的投资活动被投入到了这样的商业中

[答案] D

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 细节题。根据第四段。这样的公司能成长起来是因为模拟演习已经发展起来，这样就可以节约试验成本;先前那些专门的配件随处都可以买到;选项中，A、C选项是正确的，B选项是A、C选项的结果;D选项在文章没有提到。因此，答案为D选项。

5. Towards to the future of the electric cars, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____ 5.对于电气汽车的未来，作者的态度是_____

[A] optimistic. [A] 乐观的。

[B] lukewarm. [B] 冷淡的。

[C] wait-and-see. [C] 观望的。

[D] enthusiastic. [D] 热心的。

[答案] A

[难度系数] ☆☆☆

[分析] 态度题。根据最后一段，都是一些成功的案例，因此，作者对电气汽车的未来的态度是乐观的，因此正确答案为A选项。D选项有一定的干扰性，但是从文中可以看出作者的语气一直比较平淡客观，虽然持支持的态度但是没有表现出“热心”的层面，该选项过于夸张，因而是错误的。

参考译文：

Aptera 肯定不是传统汽车制造商会给新产品起的名字。生物学家会认为这是一种行色匆匆走路的无翼昆虫的名字，比如蠹虫等。但是计划用这个名字来制造并销售电动汽车的加利福尼亚公司老总Steve Fambro希望这种车很快就能挤满加州的高速公路。

Tesla 是金色之州(加州)的另一家流行电动汽车制造商，但Aptera与前者不同，其目标是低端市场。一辆Tesla运动跑车得花九万八千美元(或者说你如果能亲自开上一辆就得花这么多钱，因为Tesla第一批的50辆车推迟到明年才能到货)。而一辆Aptera起步价仅为两万六千九百美元，而且明年的这个时候应该就可以提货了。你拿到的并不是法拉利的缩版，而是太空时代的三轮车。但是Aptera和Tesla也有相似之处，两种车体积都很小，两家创始人都是这个行业的新手，目标都是要从环保理念盛行的加州起步，然后再逐渐扩展到主流市场。

起Aptera这个名字是因为这种汽车像小小的无翼飞机。三轮的造型使其免受繁琐的联邦检测法规的约束。车的外壳是碳类合成物，而不是金属。其设计为风道空气动力，且尽可能避免凸出部分，比如风镜由180度视角的向后摄像机代替，排气阀凹进去从而将气流减到最小。在插入式车型中，这些阀门是用来为电器散发出来的废热而设计的。还有一种汽油和电力混合汽车，只有一个气缸加速器，可以将行程延长200到1130公里，最高时速为150公里/小时。

像Aptera这样的公司之所以能够兴起，其中一个原因就是设计新型汽车的软件模拟演习几乎能与金属(甚至碳材料)撞击演习相媲美。这就使得公司的工程师可以在电脑上进行大量的研发工作，甚至是碰撞试验，要比制造无数个汽车模型再撞墙测试廉价得多。另外一个原因就是随着先前那些专门供应的部件、比如锂电池已随处可得，这意味着像Aptera这样的新秀可以将精力集中于汽车的电子脑和最终的装配上，而不是所有的东西都得从头来过。它相信这样一来，不用很大的制造量就可以获利了。

在汽车制造历史上有许多制造电动汽车失败的故事，一些怀疑论者可能认为这批最新汽车也差不多。但是现在制造这种汽车的风气正盛，这是无法否认的。除了Aptera和Tesla这两个最有名的例子，洛杉矶的冒险汽车公司也在计划制造德国Carver三轮摩托车式的电动车，而加州安大略的凤凰汽车公司已经制造了一种运动型载重卡车。同时，印度REVA公司和挪威的思想全球公司也在制造双门有仓门式后背的汽车。据《风险资本期刊》称，过去的一年半中有大约两亿两千万美元注入到了这样的小公司中。