超酷！勞斯萊斯首款無(wú)人車亮相

超酷！勞斯萊斯首款無(wú)人車亮相

這款車的官方代號(hào)為103EX，是勞斯萊斯品牌誕生以來(lái)推出的首款真正意義上的純概念車型。用現(xiàn)在的審美和常識(shí)來(lái)看，這款車的造型可以用怪異來(lái)形容，但勞斯萊斯告訴世人：這將是未來(lái)百年豪華轎車的發(fā)展趨勢(shì)。

測(cè)試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識(shí)：

unveil 揭開(kāi)；揭幕[?n've?l]

Glimps 一瞥，一看[gl?m(p)s]

Bespoke 定做的；預(yù)定的[b?'sp??k]

chauffeur 司機(jī)['???f?; ???'f??]

utilitarian 功利的[j?,t?l?'te?r??n]

sanctuary 避難所['s??(k)tj??r?]

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3分0秒 母語(yǔ)為英語(yǔ)者的朗讀速度 140

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Rolls-Royce unveils its first driverless car（505words）

By Peter Campbell, Motor Industry Correspondent

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Rolls-Royce Motor Cars on Thursday unveiled its first driverless car, with a “vision vehicle” it hopes will cast a glimpse into the future of luxury transport.

With no steering wheel, a door on one side only and a virtual assistant that can book hotels or advise on your wardrobe selection, the car marks a different direction for a super-luxury marque.

Several carmakers have revealed plans for self-driving vehicles. But Rolls-Royce said its customers, who pay as much as ￡1m for a bespoke, hand-built model, will still demand a luxurious riding experience in an era where everyone will be chauffeured by robots.

“In 25 years from now, when you see commoditised bubbles as cars, there will be our customers who are used to sitting in something that is luxury,” said Torsten Müller-?tv?s, chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.

The design, over a year in the making, is a rejection of “utilitarian and bland future modes of mobility”, he added.

The driverless car, called the 103EX, was unveiled in London at a centenary celebration for BMW, the German carmaker that owns Rolls-Royce. The car shown by the company is a working model, capable of a top speed of 3mph and driven by an operator using a mobile phone.

Gone is the 12-cylinder engine that sits under the hood of Rolls-Royces of today.

The new car is meant to have zero emissions — although the company admitted it has no idea what will power the vehicle when it enters production in the late 2040s.

“We are currently assuming it will be electric”, Mr Müller-?tv?s said.

The door, which will be on one side only, includes a laser projector that will cast a virtual red carpet on to the floor spreading away from the vehicle to create a “grand arrival”.

But patrons of the car will also be saved the indignity of clambering out.

An opening roof, modelled on the clam shell in the Botticelli painting “The birth of Venus”, would allow passengers to stand up and step out of the car.

Chief designer Giles Taylor said: “You won’t have to duck and tuck any more.”

Inside, in an area called the “grand sanctuary”, a silk sofa sits opposite a 1.5 metre screen that can be used for watching films — or can become transparent to reveal the surroundings.

But not every aspect of Rolls-Royce’s current models has been thrown out of the virtual window.

The radiator on the front of the car, and the iconic Winged Lady on the front, will remain “for as long the company exists”.

And despite having no engine, it will also be the length of a current Rolls-Royce Phantom — just shy of six metres.

Where the 12-cylinder engine once lay will be a luggage compartment, which Rolls-Royce designed after consulting the concierge at London’s Dorchester hotel.

The bags will eject automatically when the car is stopped, leaving at hand height to allow the porter to whisk them away to the waiting suite.

“Most Rolls-Royce customers never touch their luggage”, Mr Müller-?tv?s said.

請(qǐng)根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測(cè)題目：

1. Which one of the following is not true for the 103EX?

A. with 12-cylinder engine

B. a door on one side only

C. a virtual assistant

D. with no steering wheel

2. How long have BMW been in the business?

A. 50 years

B. 200 years

C. 100 years

D. not mentioned

3. What is the model of 103EX ‘s opening roof?

A. a photograph

B. a painting

C. a movie

D. the first car of BMW

4. What will happen to luggage compartment when the car is stopped?

A. eject automatically

B. call for the porters

C. connect with Dorchester hotel

D. show movies

[1] 答案 A. with 12-cylinder engine

解釋：103EX沒(méi)有方向盤，為它提供動(dòng)力的并非是傳統(tǒng)的12缸發(fā)動(dòng)機(jī)，而是位于輪轂中或汽車地板下的電動(dòng)機(jī)。

[2] 答案 C. 100 years

解釋：勞斯萊斯在母公司寶馬成立100周年紀(jì)念活動(dòng)上展示了這款“終極概念車”。

[3] 答案 B. a painting

解釋：開(kāi)放的屋頂靈感來(lái)源于一幅畫(huà)，是波提切利（文藝復(fù)興早期的著名意大利畫(huà)家）的作品“The birth of Venus”（ 維納斯的誕生）。

[4] 答案 A. eject automatically

解釋：103EX行李箱在設(shè)計(jì)時(shí)咨詢了英國(guó)倫敦多爾切斯特賓館的服務(wù)員。停車后行李能自動(dòng)彈出來(lái)，方便服務(wù)員取出行李，因?yàn)榇蠖鄶?shù)勞斯萊斯客戶不會(huì)自己動(dòng)手取行李。