Dozens of students spilled2 outside Sterling Middle School in Quincy, Mass., on a recent afternoon. Chatting excitedly, they hurried to the parking lot to get a glimpse of one of the country's most sought-after3 cars.
No, it wasn't a Porsche or a Ferrari. It was a Toyota Prius. The Prius is a hybrid—a car that uses two types of power. Like most hybrids, the Prius relies on gasoline and batteries. That combination allows hybrids to go farther using less gas. It's also put them on the fast track to popularity. Thousands of Americans are clamoring4 for the cars.
Auto dealers can hardly keep up with the demand.“Seventy percent of our [hybrid] cars are sold before they reach the store,” Pete Moe, a Wisconsin salesperson, told reporters.
Although hybrids accounted for just 0.5 percent of new car sales in the United States in 2004, experts say that percentage could quickly accelerate to 20 percent. “We believe in 10 years’time, the world will be filled with hybrid cars,” says Kazuo Okamoto, Toyota's head of research and development.
Shifting Gears5
Hybrids are hot because they conserve gasoline. The cars use their gas-powered engines on highways, where less fuel is required to move. Their electric motors kick in6 on hills or in stop-and-go traffic, when regular cars would burn up extra gas.
Hybrids' gas engines also shut off while the cars are stopped. “The car goes silent when waiting at lights, while the other cars around it continue rumbling and rattling,” hybrid driver May Kuroiwa of Havre de Grace, MD., told Senior Edition.
The system lets hybrids travel farther on less fuel. Some hybrids can go about 500 to 600 miles on a single tank of gas. That's about twice as far as a regular gas-powered car.
Hybrid cars also maximize non-gas power by capturing energy that regular cars lose when slowing down or braking. That energy helps recharge the cars' batteries.
The Right Direction
Environmentalists say the cars are exactly what the (Earth) doctor ordered. Hybrids' advanced technology uses less fossil fuel than regular gas-powered vehicles. Fossil fuels are coal, oil, and natural gases that were created millions of years ago. Fossil fuels are not a renewable7 energy source; once they are used up, they are gone forever.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty recently traded in his sport-utility vehicle8 for a more environmentally friendly car. “It's a recipe9 for continued crisis if we don't start changing our ways,” he says.
Hybrids also help the environment by cutting back on10 dangerous emissions, such as carbon dioxide. Those emissions, called greenhouse gases, build up in the atmosphere over time. They create a greenhouse effect, trapping11 heat from the sun and causing Earth's temperature to rise, according to many scientists. Experts say hybrid cars can cut greenhouse gas emissions in half.
Hard Sell12 ?
Despite all the benefits, some people say hybrids aren't worth the hype13 . Hybrids often cost thousands of dollars more than gas-powered cars. Critics say people would have to drive hundreds of miles a week to recoup14 those costs in gas savings.
“All the technology is great,” says David Cole of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. But “that extra $4,000 to $5,000...as a driver, you may never recover that.”
Government officials are trying to make hybrids appealing despite the higher price tags15. Fifteen states and three cities offer incentives16, such as tax breaks17 and free parking, for people who drive hybrids.
Donna Cay Tharpe, a hybrid driver from Tallahassee, Fla., hopes the incentives work. “I feel a huge responsibility to do my infinitesimal18 part to contribute to cleaner air,” she told reporters. “It's going to take more than one car. But one car multiplied by many can make a difference.”
最近某个下午，几十名学生从马萨诸塞州昆西市的斯特林中学蜂拥而出，一边兴奋地交谈，一边匆匆赶往停车场去一睹时下美国最受追捧的一种汽车。
不，它不是保时捷或法拉利，而是丰田普锐斯。普锐斯是一款混合动力车——即采用两种动力的汽车。与大多数混合动力车一样，普锐斯由汽油和电池驱动。这种组合使混合动力车跑得更远，耗油却更少，同时也使得它们迅速走俏。成千上万的美国人纷纷抢购这款汽车。
经销商的这款车几乎供不应求。“百分之七十的混合动力车还没进店就销售一空。”威斯康星州的推销员皮特·牟告诉记者。
尽管混合动力车仅占2004年美国新车销量的0.5%，但专家们说这个数字很快就会飙升到20%。“我们相信，再过10年，混合动力车将遍布全球。”丰田公司研发部主任和夫冈田说。
换档
混合动力车之所以走俏，是因为它们能节省汽油。在公路上行驶时用汽油引擎耗油较少；在山地或走走停停的交通条件下，就换成电动引擎，而普通汽车此时却要消耗额外的汽油。
混合动力车刹车时，其汽油引擎也会关闭。“这种车在等红绿灯时悄然无声，而周围的其它汽车还在隆隆轰鸣。”马里兰州格雷丝港的混合动力车车主梅·科洛瓦对《读者周刊》高中版如是说。
混合动力车的特有系统使它用较少的燃料跑更多的路。一些混合动力车在使用单箱汽油的情况下可以行驶500至600英里，差不多相当于普通汽油引擎车两倍的行程。
通过捕捉普通汽车在减速或刹车情况下损失的能量，混合动力车还能最大限度地发挥其非汽油动力，因为这部分能量可以用来给汽车电池充电。
正确的方向
环保主义者说这种汽车正是（地球）“医生”定购的。同普通汽油引擎车相比，混合动力车采用了先进工艺，其耗费的矿物燃料比普通汽油动力车更少。矿物燃料指几百万年前形成的煤、石油和天然气，是不可再生能源，一旦耗尽就不可复得。
明尼苏达州州长提姆·保伦蒂最近用他的那辆运动型多功能车抵价购买了一辆更利于环保的混合动力车。“如果我们不想改变固有的出行方式，那么这倒不失为对付持续危机的一剂良药。”他说。
混合动力车还通过减少有毒气体如二氧化碳的排放来促进环保。这些被称为温室气体的排放物会在大气中不断聚积。很多科学家认为，温室气体产生温室效应：它们通过截留太阳散发的热量，使地球温度升高。专家们说混合动力车可以把温室气体的排放量减少一半。
强行推销？
虽然有这么多的益处，但仍有些人说混合动力车与天花乱坠的广告不符。混合动力车往往比汽油动力车贵几千美元。批评者说如果要弥补在节油上的开销，人们每周就得跑几百英里的路程。
“这项技术太棒了，”密西根州安阿伯市汽车研究中心的大卫·科尔说，不过“那额外的4,000到5,000美元开支……对车主来说，你可能永远也弥补不了。”
政府官员正努力提高混合动力车的吸引力，虽然其价格不菲。美国15个州和3个城市给驾驶混合动力车的人们提供了奖励措施，如税务减免和免费停车等。
佛罗里达州塔拉哈西市的混合动力车车主凯·萨普女士希望这些鼓励措施能够奏效。“一种巨大的责任感驱使着我为净化空气尽自己的绵薄之力，”她对记者说，“一辆车远远不够，但推而广之结果就会大不一样。”
1. hybrid n. 混合物。文中指混合动力车。
2. spill [spil] v. 涌流，蜂拥
3. sought-after 很吃香的，很受欢迎的
4. clamor v. 喧嚷，吵闹着要求
5. gear n. （汽车排）档
6. kick in （口语）分担一部分
7. renewable adj. 可再生的，可更新的
8. sport-utility vehicle 运动型多功能车
9. recipe n. 处方，秘方
10. cut back on 削减
11. trap v. 捕获，诱捕
12. hard sell 硬行推销
13. hype [haip] n. 大肆宣传
14. recoup v. 补偿，弥补
15. price tag 价格标签
16. incentive n. 刺激，鼓励
17. tax break税务减免
18. infinitesimal adj. 极小的，无穷小的