日本制造的神话出现裂缝

背景音乐：神田沙也加 - longing

朗读音频&单词跟读音频均在会员课程：英文杂谈。请对照学习。

Wall Street Journal/华尔街日报：

Japan’s manufacturing reputation took another hit as a product-quality scandal spread to Subaru Corp., which said final vehicle checks at two of its domestic factories were performed by uncertified inspectors.

“I feel ashamed that our company is becoming a cause of distrust in Japanese manufacturing quality,” Subaru President Yasuyuki Yoshinaga said at a Friday press conference, after bowing for eight seconds in apology.

A series of product-quality scandals have hit Japan Inc. in the past month, generating government concern about the country’s image as a manufacturer.

网友评论：

Ernest Montague

Once upon a time goods from Japan were junk. That was a twenty-year, post WWII era. Then they got good, and then very very good. And now, it looks like that is changing again.

Chris Marrou

If this problem required an eight-second bow, the CEO of GM should bow for the next month and a half to apologize for the cars they turned out in the 1970s and '80s.

Steven Corcoran

Were any actual defects later discovered? Sounds like a bureaucratic problem rather than a real scandal.

robert patridge

Our 3-year-old Subaru Forester runs perfectly. Zero complaints. It handles well and with excellent economy. Could not be happier regardless of whom might have inspected it from Japan. Sure beats Ford!

take a hit 遭受打击

scandal 丑闻

uncertified 未认证的

inspector 检测员

distrust 不信任

press conference 新闻发布会

bow 鞠躬

goods 商品

turn out 生产

defect 缺陷

bureaucratic 官僚主义的

fuel economy 燃油经济性