VOA慢速英语：通用携手Lyft测试自动驾驶出租车

通用携手Lyft测试自动驾驶出租车

The American car-maker General Motors and Lyft Incorporated, a ride-sharing service, reportedly will start testing GM automobiles as driverless taxis.

美国汽车生产商通用汽车(General Motors)携手Lyft开始测试无人驾驶的通用电动出租车车队。

The Wall Street Journal says the companies could be offering service “within a year.”

华尔街日报说两家公司将会在一年内提供该项服务。

The newspaper said the tests will involve GM’s electric-powered Chevrolet Bolt. But it did not say where the first test will take place.

报道称该测试所用汽车将为通用旗下的雪佛兰Bolt电动车，但并未表明该测试将会在哪里举行。

GM has reportedly invested $500 million in Lyft Inc. The partnership is seen as a way to compete against Uber, another ride-sharing company.

据报道，通用汽车曾向Lyft投资5亿美元。两公司合作被看做是与另一打车软件公司优步竞争的一种方式。

GM also is planning to buy Cruise Automation Inc. for a reported $1 billion. The California-based company has been developing self-driving car technology for two years, the newspaper reported.

据报道，通用还计划以10亿美元的价格购买克鲁斯自动化公司。报纸上还说，这家位于加利福尼亚的公司已经发展了两年的无人驾驶技术。

The move is seen as a way for the automaker to sell the Bolt. It will be available later this year in a market for electric cars that the Journal described as “soft.”

这一举措被看做是汽车制造商销售Bolt的一种方式。这款电动汽车将于今年晚些时候面市。华尔街日报将电动车市场描述为“疲软”。

It is also seen as a way for GM to compete with U.S. technology companies interested in building driverless cars.

该举措也可被看做是通用汽车与美国致力于研究无人驾驶汽车的科技公司竞争的一种手段。

Both Tesla Motors and Alphabet Inc. have been developing such vehicles for years. Alphabet is part of the U.S. technology company Google.

特斯拉汽车和谷歌旗下名为Alphabet Inc.的母公司多年来致力于发展无人驾驶汽车。

Lyft reportedly is also developing driverless cars at its own research center in Pennsylvania. The company “is preparing for autonomous vehicles in its fleet by 2020,” the Wall Street Journal reported.

据报道，Lyft在其宾夕法尼亚州的研究中心也在研究无人驾驶汽车。华尔街日报报道说该公司准备在2020年研制出自动驾驶的汽车。

It added that improvements in driverless cars are hurt by “a patchwork of regulations that govern the use of autonomous vehicles and liabilities.”

报道还称，无人驾驶汽车技术的发展受到形形色色是有关自动汽车和债务问题的阻碍。

The Wall Street Journal said Lyft will have drivers in the cars “ready to intervene” should something go wrong.

华尔街日报表示 在测试时Lyft将派司机坐在车内以防万一。