每日一篇:《经济学人》读译参考 Day9

  学习英语就像走路，不积跬步无以至千里，想要学好，就要养成日常的学习好习惯。跟着聚英考研网小编每日一篇，一起为考研筑起坚实的地基。

  

  经济学人:科技革命:内燃机迎来末日(1)

  Leaders  Road Kill

  领导者 内燃机之死

  1.The internal combustion engine had a good run. But the end is in sight for the machine that changed the world
  内燃机有着辉煌的过去。但是，对于这种改变了世界的机器来说，末日近在眼前。
  “Human inventiveness…has still not found a mechanical process to replace horses as the propulsion for vehicles,” lamented Le Petit Journal, a French newspaper, in December 1893.Its answer was to organise the Paris-Rouen race for horseless carriages, held the following July.
  译文
  “人类的创新……至今仍未找到一种机械过程来取代马匹作为车辆的推力，”1893年12月，法国报纸《小巴黎人报》哀叹道。它的答案是组织在来年7月举行的巴黎至鲁昂非马拉车大赛。

  2.The 102 entrants included vehicles powered by steam, petrol, electricity, compressed air and hydraulics.Only 21 qualified for the 126km (78-mile) race, which attracted huge crowds.Only 21 qualified for the 126km (78-mile) race, which attracted huge crowds.The clear winner was the internal combustion engine.Over the next century it would go on to power industry and change the world.
  译文
  102辆入围赛车包括了以蒸汽、汽油、电力、压缩空气和液压为动力的车辆。只有21辆车获得了资格参加这场吸引了大批观众的赛程为126公里（合78英里）的比赛。大获全胜的赢家是内燃机。在下一个世纪中，它会继续推动工业前进并将改变世界。

  3.But its days are numbered.Rapid gains in battery technology favour electric motors instead.In Paris in 1894 not a single electric car made it to the starting line, partly because they needed battery-replacement stations every 30km or so.Today's electric cars, powered by lithium-ion batteries, can do much better.The Chevy Bolt has a range of 383km; Tesla fans recently drove a Model S more than 1,000km on a single charge.
  译文
  但是，它的日子已经屈指可数了。电池技术的飞速发展宠幸的是电动车。1984年，在巴黎，没有一辆电动车出现在起跑线上，一部分原因在于它们每30公里左右就需要电池更换站。今天的电动汽车，以锂电池为动力，能够做得好得多。雪佛兰闪电（Chevy Bolt）有382公里的最大行程；特斯拉的粉丝日前单独充了一次电，就让Model S 跑了1000多公里。

  4.UBS, a bank, reckons the “total cost of ownership” of an electric car will reach parity with a petrol one next year—albeit at a loss to its manufacturer.It optimistically predicts electric vehicles will make up 14% of global car sales by 2025, up from 1% today.
  译文
  瑞银测算，一辆电动车的“拥有总成本”将在明年与拥有一辆汽油车持平——尽管这对制造厂商来说是一大损失。它乐观地预测，到2025年，电动车将构成全球汽车销量的14%，比当前的1%大幅上升。

  5.Others have more modest forecasts, but are hurriedly revising them upwards as batteries get cheaper and better—the cost per kilowatt-hour has fallen from $1,000 in 2010 to $130-200 today.Regulations are tightening, too.
  译文
  其他人有着较为保守的预测，但是，随着电池变得越来越便宜和越来越好——每千瓦小时的成本已经从2010年1000美元降至目前的130-200美元，都在匆忙地调高各自的预测。监管也在收紧。

  注释
  1.combustion engine 内燃机
  例句:The invention of the internal combustion engine inaugurated a new era in travel.
  内燃机的发明为旅行开创了新纪元。
  2.electric vehicles 电动车
  例句:China is already thought to have a lead in battery development and electric vehicles.
  业界认为中国已经在蓄电池和电动车领域处于领先地位。
  3.make up 组成；化妆
  例句:They'll have to make up time lost during the strike.
  他们不得不加班弥补罢工耽误的时间。
  4.a range of 一系列的
  例句:The two men discussed a range of issues.
  那两个人讨论了一系列问题。

  推荐阅读：
  1.考研英语：学会精翻，长难句不是难题
  2.每日一篇:《经济学人》读译参考 Day8