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Last month Britain joined a lengthening list of electric-only countries, saying that all new cars must be zero-emission by 2050.
上個月，英國加入了一份正變得越來越長的只使用電動車的國家名單，聲稱到2050年，全部新車必須是零排放。
The shift from fuel and pistons to batteries and electric motors is unlikely to take that long.
從燃料和活塞到電池和電力馬達的轉型不可能用這么長的時間。
The first death rattles of the internal combustion engine are already reverberating around the world—and many of the consequences will be welcome.
內燃機的第一聲瀕死哀鳴早已回響在世界各地——這一后果中的許多東西都將是受歡迎的。
To gauge what lies ahead, think how the internal combustion engine has shaped modern life.
要想預測今后的情況，想一想內燃機是如何塑造了當代生活的。
The rich world was rebuilt for motor vehicles, with huge investments in road networks and the invention of suburbia, along with shopping malls and drive-through restaurants.
當初，富裕世界就是為汽車而重建的，具體地說就是道路網的大筆投資和城鎮郊區的發明，以及各種購物中心和免下車餐廳。
Roughly 85% of American workers commute by car.
大約85%的美國工人乘車上下班。
Carmaking was also a generator of economic development and the expansion of the middle class, in post-war America and elsewhere.
在戰后美國和其他各地，汽車制造還是經濟發展和中產階層膨脹的一位締造者。
There are now about 1bn cars on the road, almost all powered by fossil fuels.
如今，大約有1萬億輛車在路上，幾乎全都是由化石燃料驅動。
Though most of them sit idle, America's car and lorry engines can produce ten times as much energy as its power stations.
美國的汽車和卡車發動機盡管大部分處于閑置狀態，但是，它們能夠產生十倍于電站的能量。
The internal combustion engine is the mightiest motor in history.
內燃機是史上最威猛的發動機。
But electrification has thrown the car industry into turmoil.
但是，電動化卻讓汽車行業陷入了危機之中。
Its best brands are founded on their engineering heritage—especially in Germany.
該行業的最佳品牌是建立在它們的工藝傳承之上的——尤其是在德國。
Compared with existing vehicles, electric cars are much simpler and have fewer parts; they are more like computers on wheels.
與現有的車輛相比，電動車簡單得多，而且零部件也少了；它們更像是輪子上的計算機。
That means they need fewer people to assemble them and fewer subsidiary systems from specialist suppliers.
這意味著，它們需要更少的人手來組裝，更少的來自專業供應商的輔助系統。
Carworkers at factories that do not make electric cars are worried that they could be for the chop.
在工廠里不生產電動車的汽車工人擔心他們可能被裁員。
With less to go wrong, the market for maintenance and spare parts will shrink.
由于故障減少，維修和備件市場會萎縮。
While today's carmakers grapple with their costly legacy of old factories and swollen workforces, new entrants will be unencumbered.
就在當今的汽車廠商勉力應付它們代價高昂的舊廠房和臃腫員工的遺產時，新的加入者將會了無牽掛。
Premium brands may be able to stand out through styling and handling, but low-margin, mass-market carmakers will have to compete chiefly on cost.
優質品牌或許有能力通過款式和工藝脫穎而出，但是薄利多銷的廠商將不得不首先在成本方面進行競爭。
Assuming, of course, that people want to own cars at all.
當然，假設人們想擁有自己的汽車的。
譯文來源考研英語時事閱讀
