Aptera is certainly not the sort of name an old-school carmaker would give to its newest creation. Biologists will recognise it as the term for scuttling wingless insects—silverfish and suchlike. But Steve Fambro, the boss of the eponymous Californian company that plans to make and sell electric vehicles under this name, hopes they will soon be swarming over the state's highways.

　　Unlike Tesla, another boutique electric-vehicle maker from the Golden State, Aptera is aiming for the bottom end of the market. A Tesla sports car will set you back $98,000 (or it would if you could get your hands on one: Tesla has delayed shipment of its first 50 cars until next year). An Aptera, by contrast, starts at $26,900, and should be available this time next year. And instead of a Ferrari knock-off, you get a space-age tricycle. But Aptera and Tesla have things in common. They are both small. They were both started by people with no experience in the motor industry. And they are both aiming to start by roping in the eco-fashionistas of California, and then work outwards to the mainstream.

　　The name Aptera was chosen because the vehicle resembles a small, wingless aircraft. Its three-wheel design exempts it from onerous federal testing regulations. The outer shell is made of a carbon-fibre composite, rather than metal. The lines are wind-tunnel aerodynamic. And protuberances are kept to a minimum. Wing mirrors, for example, are replaced by a rear-facing camera with a 180° field of view and the exhaust valves are recessed to minimise turbulence. In the pure plug-in version, those valves are for waste heat from the electronics. There is also a petrol-electric hybrid, with a single-cylinder generator that extends the range from 200km to 1,130km. Top speed is 150kph.

　　One reason for the emergence of firms such as Aptera is that designing a new vehicle has become as much an exercise in software simulation as in metal (or even carbon-fibre) bashing. That enables the firm's engineers to do extensive development work—even things like crash-testing—on a computer. This is much cheaper than building endless prototypes and driving lots of them into walls. Another reason is the widespread availability of previously specialised components such as lithium-ion batteries. That means that an upstart such as Aptera can focus on the electronic brains of the vehicle and its final assembly, rather than having to make everything from scratch. It can thus, it believes, turn a profit without having to produce large volumes.

　　Automotive history is littered with failed attempts to build electric cars, and sceptics might think the latest batch will be no different. That there is a fashion for such vehicles, though, is hard to deny. Besides Aptera and Tesla—which are, in their different ways, the most conspicuous examples—Venture Vehicles of Los Angeles is proposing an electric version of the Dutch Carver three-wheeled motorbike, while Phoenix Motorcars of Ontario, California, has produced a sports-utility truck. Meanwhile, REVA, an Indian firm, and Think Global, a Norwegian one, are making two-door hatchbacks. Indeed, according to the Venture Capital Journal, about $220m has been invested in such small firms over the past year and a half.

　　1.Which one of the following statements is NOT true of the common characterists of Tesla and Aptera?

　　[A] Both of them are envioroment-friendly.

　　[B] Both of them are from small companies of California and then expand outwards.

　　[C] Both of them are originated from the marginal status of the industry.

　　[D] Both of them are created by green hands of automobile business.

　　2. The petrol-electric hybrid version of Aptera is different from its other versions in that_____

　　[A] Top speed of the hybrid is higher than than of the other versions.

　　[B] The hybrid possesses a stronger capacity of long-distance drive with rapid speed.

　　[C] The hybrid has a special generator that is characterized by a sole cylinder.

　　[D] The hybrid generate more turbulence than the other versions.

　　3.The word “protuberance” (Line 4, Paragraph 3) most probably means_____

　　[A] protrusion.

　　[B] accessory.

　　[C] adjunct.

　　[D] impetus.

　　4. Firms such as Aptera are growing up because of the following reasons except_____

　　[A] Technologies of metal bashing simulation are well developped.

　　[B] The cost of making cars is greatly reduced.

　　[C] Some specialized parts are available to them.

　　[D] Large venture investment is devoted to such business.

　　5. Towards to the future of the electric cars, the author’s attitude can be said to be _____

　　[A] optimistic.

　　[B] lukewarm.

　　[C] wait-and-see.

　　[D] enthusiastic.

　　参考答案：BBADA

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