聽力原文:

Aston Martin and McLaren Speed merchants
阿斯頓·馬丁和麥克拉倫加速商業布局
How two similar carmakers evolved into a luxury-goods firm and a tech company
兩個相似的汽車制造商分別如何進化成奢侈品公司和科技公司。
FEW countries are as adept at making luxury cars as Britain. Plutocrats and footballers queue to buy Rolls-Royces and Bentleys. Speed freaks in want of a sports car are also well served. At the Geneva Motor Show, which opened on March 1st, two leading British supercar firms launched pricey new models to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Lamborghini: Aston Martin unveiled the DB11 (pictured) while McLaren showed off its 570GT. The two brands offer similarly expensive toys, yet under the bonnet are very different firms.

重點詞匯：

1 adept 內行的；熟練的；擅長的
2 plutocrat 有錢有勢的人；財閥
3 rolls-royce 勞斯萊斯，adj 最佳的
4 Bentleys 賓利
5 Speed freaks 速度崇拜癥
6 Geneva Motor Show 日內瓦城
7 pricey (informal) expensive 昂貴的 Ferrari 法拉利 lamborghini 蘭博尼基
8 unveil 解開
9 bonnet（用帶子系于頦下的）童帽，舊時女帽引擎蓋

聽力原文:

The pair are alike in some respects. Both make only a handful of vehicles. McLaren turned out just 1,650 last year; Aston around double that. An entry-level Aston costs nearly 100,000 pounds($140,000), whereas the cheapest McLaren costs another 30,000 pounds, but their flagship models cost around 150,000-200,000 pounds. Each firm has built hypercars that sold for around 1m pounds. And both have recently announced expansion plans, to take advantage of a sales boom at the top end of the car market (IHS, a consulting firm, reckons that global sales of the priciest cars will triple between 2010 and 2020). Aston will open a new factory in Wales to make SUVs; McLaren plans to spend 1 billion pounds over six years to widen its range to 15 models and 4,000 cars a year. The two have taken different routes to this destination. Aston,103 years old, is well known thanks to the James Bond films but has struggled of late. It was a “basket case” which limped from one car to the next, losing money, according to its boss, Andy Palmer. Since taking over in 2014 Mr Palmer has won backing from private-equity firms to launch four new models and struck a deal to use Mercedes engines.

重點詞匯：

1 flagship 旗艦 （某組織機構的）最重要產品，最佳服務項目，主建筑物，王牌
2 hypercars 超級跑車
3 reckon 估算;估計
4 basket case 經濟狀況極差的國家（或機構).精神失常的人；無適應能力的人
5 limp 瘸著走；跛行；蹣跚
6 private-equity 私募股權
7 mercedes 默西迪絲（女子名）; 梅塞德斯（奔馳）
8 triple三倍的
9 sport utility vehicle 運動型多功能車；運動型多用途車
10 equity 股票的; 股市的

聽力原文:

By contrast, McLaren’s sports-car business took off only six years ago. Though it had made road cars in small numbers it was mostly known as a Formula 1 motor-racing team. McLaren diverted its British engineers, good at the speedy innovation and advanced manufacturing needed for racing, to making sports cars.

重點詞匯：

1 divert使轉向；使繞道；轉移

聽力原文:

A glance at the cars gives a clue that they do things differently. McLarens are wild-looking mid-engined sports machines that harness the firm’s skills in engineering to adapt racetrack materials, such as carbon fibre, and high-tech gizmos to make a car as at home on the circuit as the open road. Aston’s DB11 is more conventional. An aluminium body and engine at the front are typical of a “grand tourer”, designed to whisk drivers in comfort over long distances on public roads.

重點詞匯：

1 clue 線索;提示
2 harness 控制 利用； 給（馬等）上挽具；用挽具把…套到…上 n 背帶，保護帶。
3 racetrack 跑道，賽道。
4 carbon fibre, 碳纖維; 碳化纖維;
5 gizmo 小玩意小裝置
6 aluminium 鋁的
7 grand tourer 高性能豪華旅游車
8 whisk 匆匆帶走；迅速送走 攪打，攪動（液體、雞蛋等）

聽力原文:

Aston is first a “design company”, says Mr Palmer. Performance and handling are important but the aim is to make the “most beautiful car on the road”. To do so Aston has remodelled itself as a luxury-goods firm, emphasising design and craftsmanship that are a British speciality, while trying to extend the brand. The Welsh factory will make the DBX, an SUV that Aston hopes will broaden its appeal, especially among women, who buy few of its cars.

重點詞匯：

1 craftsmanship 手藝；技藝
2 speciality 專業；專長 British speciality 英國特色
3 the abbreviation for sport utility vehicle 運動型多功能車；運動型多用途車
4 appeal 吸引力；感染力；魅力

聽力原文:

McLaren, meanwhile, strives to make its cars the most technically advanced. Last year the firm renamed itself the McLaren Technology Group to emphasise the importance of innovation. Although racing and supercars will remain important, Ron Dennis, the firm’s boss, is convinced that its tech business will be its biggest and most important part in years to come. It already serves oil-and-gas, health-care and financial-services firms. Using skills honed in analysing the vast quantities of data generated by motor racing, it is developing analytics software for the likes of GlaxoSmithKline and KPMG.

重點詞匯：

1 strive 努力；奮斗；力爭；力求
2 hone 磨練，訓練
3 analytic 分析的分析型的

聽力原文:

Both carmakers are in the business of hurtling drivers towards 200mph. Yet with their respective focus on luxury and advanced engineering, they are relying on contrasting British strengths.

重點詞匯：

contrasting 極不相同的，迥異的
hurtle（向某個方向）飛馳，猛沖

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