听力原文:

Aston Martin and McLaren Speed merchants
阿斯顿·马丁和麦克拉伦加速商业布局
How two similar carmakers evolved into a luxury-goods firm and a tech company
两个相似的汽车制造商分别如何进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.

重点词汇：

1 adept 内行的；熟练的；擅长的
2 plutocrat 有钱有势的人；财阀
3 rolls-royce 劳斯莱斯，adj 最佳的
4 Bentleys 宾利
5 Speed freaks 速度崇拜症
6 Geneva Motor Show 日内瓦城
7 pricey (informal) expensive 昂贵的 Ferrari 法拉利 lamborghini 兰博尼基
8 unveil 解开
9 bonnet（用带子系于颏下的）童帽，旧时女帽引擎盖

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

1 flagship 旗舰 （某组织机构的）最重要产品，最佳服务项目，主建筑物，王牌
2 hypercars 超级跑车
3 reckon 估算;估计
4 basket case 经济状况极差的国家（或机构).精神失常的人；无适应能力的人
5 limp 瘸着走；跛行；蹒跚
6 private-equity 私募股权
7 mercedes 默西迪丝（女子名）; 梅塞德斯（奔驰）
8 triple三倍的
9 sport utility vehicle 运动型多功能车；运动型多用途车
10 equity 股票的; 股市的

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

1 divert使转向；使绕道；转移

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

1 clue 线索;提示
2 harness 控制 利用； 给（马等）上挽具；用挽具把…套到…上 n 背带，保护带。
3 racetrack 跑道，赛道。
4 carbon fibre, 碳纤维; 碳化纤维;
5 gizmo 小玩意小装置
6 aluminium 铝的
7 grand tourer 高性能豪华旅游车
8 whisk 匆匆带走；迅速送走 搅打，搅动（液体、鸡蛋等）

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

1 craftsmanship 手艺；技艺
2 speciality 专业；专长 British speciality 英国特色
3 the abbreviation for sport utility vehicle 运动型多功能车；运动型多用途车
4 appeal 吸引力；感染力；魅力

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

1 strive 努力；奋斗；力争；力求
2 hone 磨练，训练
3 analytic 分析的分析型的

听力原文:

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.

重点词汇：

contrasting 极不相同的，迥异的
hurtle（向某个方向）飞驰，猛冲

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