1、标题：voa慢速英语:丰田总裁向美国国会致歉对应音频：0226a.mp3听力内容：I Am Deeply Sorry, Toyota Chief Tells US CongressThis is the VOA Special English Economics Report.In Washington, Congress will again discuss the safety problems at Toyota. On Tuesday, a Senate committee will examine the recent safety recalls and the governmen
2、ts response.The House of Representatives held two days of hearings this week. On Wednesday lawmakers questioned Akio Toyoda, the head of the company since June.AKIO TOYODA: I am deeply sorry for any accident that Toyota drivers have experienced.Defects have been linked to at least thirty-nine deaths
3、 over the past several years. Toyota has recalled more than eight million vehicles worldwide over a risk of gaining speed suddenly and uncontrollably.Toyota is Japans biggest company and in two thousand eight it passed General Motors as the worlds biggest carmaker. But Akio Toyoda said his company p
4、aid too much attention to growth and not enough to safety.AKIO TOYODA: Toyota has, for the past few years, been expanding its business rapidly. Quite frankly, I fear the pace at which we have grown may have been too quick.The grandson of the companys founder rejected the possibility that the acceler
5、ation problem is related to the electronic controls in his vehicles. The company has blamed problems with the accelerator pedal and badly positioned floor mats.But this week, lawmakers released a company document showing Toyota had saved one hundred million dollars by negotiating a limited recall ov
6、er the issue. The document listed that deal among several wins for Toyota.The document added to criticisms that federal officials did not act aggressively enough against Toyota. But others say Toyota is being treated unfairly because the government now owns sixty percent of General Motors.Transporta
7、tion Secretary Ray LaHood was questioned earlier in the day and dismissed that idea. He praised the agency that deals with auto industry recalls, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, or NHTSA.RAY LAHOOD: Over just the last three years, NHTSA’s defect and compliance investigation
8、s have resulted in five hundred twenty-four recalls involving twenty-three million vehicles. We havent been sitting around on our hands. When people complain, we investigate.Rhonda Smith of Tennessee described how in two thousand six her Toyota-made Lexus sped up for a time to one hundred sixty kilo
9、meters an hour.RHONDA SMITH: And I prayed to God to help me.NHTSA blamed a floor mat, but she blames the electronics and says Toyota dismissed her concerns.Ray LaHood says his department will investigate the electronics used by Toyota and other automakers. And Akio Toyoda promised a new level of ope
10、nness and speed in dealing with safety issues.And thats the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Im Steve Ember.这里是VOA特别英语经济报道。在华盛顿，国会将再次讨论丰田汽车的安全问题。周二，参议院委员会将对最新的安全召回和政府反应进行检查。本周，众议院召开了为期两天的听证会。周三，立法者对丰田汽车总裁丰田章男(Akio Toyoda)进行了提问。丰田章男自6月份以来一直担任丰田公司总裁。丰田章男：“对于驾驶丰田车的人遭遇的任何事故
11、，我表示深切的歉意。”丰田汽车的缺陷造成过去几年至少39人死亡。由于汽车存在突然加速和失去控制的危险，丰田汽车在全世界范围内召回800多万辆汽车。丰田是日本最大的公司，2008年，丰田超过通用成为世界上最大的汽车制造商。但是丰田章男表示，丰田公司过多的注重公司发展，而忽略了安全问题。丰田章男：“在过去的几年，丰田的业务快速增长。坦白说，我担心我们的增长速度过快。”丰田章男是丰田公司创始人的孙子。他否认加速问题与车辆的电子控制有关。该公司指责加速问题是由于油门踏板和脚垫位置不当。但是，本周立法者发表了一份公司文件，丰田汽车通过协商有限的召回节约了1亿美元。该文件将这笔交易列为丰田的“胜利”之一。
12、该文件增加了人们对联邦官员的批评，指责他们没有对丰田采取足够措施。但是其他人则表示，丰田没有受到公平的对待，因为政府现在持有通用汽车60%的股权。美国运输部长拉胡德(Ray LaHood)今天早些时候被提问到这个问题，他反驳了这种观点。他称赞了处理汽车行业召回的部门，国家公路交通安全管理局，NHTSA。拉胡德(Ray LaHood)：“仅在过去的三年，NHTSA的检查和调查供促成524次召回，其中包括2300万辆汽车的召回。我们并不是无所事事。人们投诉的时候，我们进行了调查。”田纳西州的Rhonda Smith描述了2006年她的丰田雷克萨斯突然加速至每小时160千米的情况。RHONDA SMITH：“我祈祷上帝保佑我。”NHTSA谴责是脚垫造成的，但是她认为是电子元件的问题，丰田驳回了她的担忧。拉胡德(Ray LaHood)表示，运输部将对丰田和其他汽车制造商使用的电子元件进行调查。丰田章男承诺，在处理安全问题方面将更加公开，更加迅速。
