安全气囊存有隐患 本田再召回450万辆车

随着汽车的普及，驾驶及乘坐汽车的安全隐患也逐渐暴露出来。为了消除人们对汽车安全性的顾虑，汽车厂商已经在车的各个方面增添了加强安全性能和保护作用的部件。谁曾想，本意为安全考虑的添加配置，竟然成了安全隐患。本田汽车的召回规模再一次扩大，意味着汽车配件安全问题再一次进入人们的视野。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

recall 召回

Takata 日本高田株式会社

propellant 推进剂

pellet 颗粒

shrapnel 飞溅的碎片

Honda recalls another 4.5m vehicles for Takata airbag faults（423words）

By Kana Inagaki

Honda is expanding its recall to include newer vehicles fitted with potentially faulty airbags made by Takata,bringing the total for Japan's third-largest carmaker to some 24.5m vehicles.

The company said on Thursday that it would recall an additional 4.5m vehicles manufactured between 2007 and 2011,of which 1.63m are in Japan,to replace driver-side air bag inflators.

Vehicles in the US and Canada are not included in the latest measure. So far,recalls have affected vehicles manufactured in years before 2006.

Honda,which had the closest ties with Takata,has been hardest hit by one of the worst recall crises in automotive history,affecting more than 10 carmakers worldwide.

It decided to expand its recall as a preventive measure after it discovered density problems with propellant pellets inside inflators,which could lead to improper deployment of the airbags.

Takata,regulators and automakers have been unable to pin down the cause of incidents in which some Takata airbags have exploded when deploying,scattering shrapnel inside the car. But the material used inside some inflators is thought to degrade under persistently high heat and humidity,raising the risk of ruptures.

The problems have killed at least eight people and injured more than 100 people worldwide.

A day earlier,Nissan disclosed that an X-Trail sport utility vehicle installed with a Takata airbag exploded in June on a Japanese highway,causing a fire.

The inflator on the passenger side,which was empty at the time,exploded and the driver's left cheek was lightly burnt. It was unclear whether the injury was linked to the explosion or the car crash.

The vehicle had been recalled in April 2013 and the carmaker had sent five reminders to the driver to replace the airbag. Nissan said it would step up measures to ensure drivers bring in vehicles that are included in its recall campaigns.

Last month,Shigehisa Takada,the reclusive chief executive of Takata,issued his first personal apology for the faulty airbags but defended the company's handling of the safety crisis that dates to the mid-2000s. Mr Takada also declined to answer questions on where the responsibility lies for the cost of recalls.

Takahiro Hachigo,Honda's new chief executive,recently said the carmaker had no plans to provide financial support to help Takata cope with the recall costs.

The expanding recalls have led to substantial costs that contributed to Honda's reporting a 14 per cent year-on-year decline in annual net profit. Takata also booked a net loss of Y29.6bn（$243m）for the fiscal year that ended in March.

1.What's the main cause of Honda's recall?

A.Low quality tire

B.Self-combust（自燃）engine

C.Potential airbag defect

D.Defect on car door design

[1] 答案

2.Which company is responsible for producing the flawed airbag?

A.Honda

B.Takata

C.Nissan

D.Toyota

[2] 答案

3.What's author's opinion on the affect of this incident on Honda's financial status?

A.Negative

B.No affect

C.Little impact

D.Destructive

[3] 答案

4.What is the result of such airbag defect in accident?

A.Causing a fire

B.Unclear

C.Does not do anything

D.Explode under impact

[4] 答案

[1]答案：C.Potential airbag defect

解释：文章一开头就讲了本田召回汽车是因为存在安全隐患的问题安全气囊。

[2]答案：B.Takata

解释：文中讲到高田（Takata）是安全气囊的生产商，而其他三个选项其实是日本三大汽车厂，均受到了此次高田安全气囊问题的影响。

[3]答案：A.Negative

解释：文章中明确虽然本田自称不会承担任何损失，但作者放出了数据显示该事件还是对本田的资产有一定影响，只是并不巨大。

[4]答案：B.Unclear

解释：作者在文章里也表示了，虽然安全气囊存在问题是肯定的，但到底在事故中起了怎样的作用尚不明确。