This is the VOA Learning English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Toyota Motor Corporation agreed to a record fine of $1.2 billion on March 19th. The fine brought to a close a United States criminal investigation into safety problems with some Toyota vehicles.
3月19日，丰田汽车同意接受一笔创纪录的12亿美元罚款。这笔罚款也意味着美国对一些丰田汽车安全问题刑事调查的中止。
Toyota is the world's largest carmaker. The head of the Justice Department, Attorney General Eric Holder said the company will admit to misleading the public about two safety issues. The problems cause some vehicles to gain speed uncontrollably.
丰田是全球最大的汽车制造商。美国司法部部长埃里克·霍尔德（Eric Holder）表示，该公司将会承认在两大安全问题上误导公众。这些问题导致一些车辆的速度失去控制。
"Today, we can say for certain that Toyota intentionally concealed information and misled the public about the safety issues behind these recalls," said Holder.
霍尔德说，“今天我们可以肯定地说，丰田在召回事件背后的安全问题上故意隐瞒信息并误导公众。”
The settlement ends a four-year investigation into how much information Toyota withheld from safety officials. The problems involved poorly made floor coverings and gas pedals that could become stuck in position. The affected vehicles could speed up unexpectedly as a result.
该和解协议结束了就丰田对安全官员隐瞒了多少信息为期四年的调查。涉及的问题包括劣质的地毯以及油门可能卡住。受影响的车辆可能会因此而意外加速。
The company recalled about 10 million Toyota and Lexus vehicles. But it did not describe the full extent of the problems and said drivers were to blame. Attorney General Holder said Toyota agreed to have an independent group look at how the company deals with safety issues.
该公司召回了大约1千万辆丰田和雷克萨斯汽车。但它并未公开问题的范围程度，而声称是司机的责任。美国司法部长霍尔德表示，丰田同意由一家独立组织审查该公司如何处理安全问题。
"The company will submit to rigorous review by an independent monitor that will examine and assess the manner in which Toyota regularly reports safety issues to the public and its regulator," said Holder.
霍尔德说，“该公司将接受一家独立监督机构的严格复审。该机构将审查和评估丰田向公众及监管机构定期报告安全问题的方式。”
Mr Holder said the fine was the largest criminal penalty against a car company in US history. He said the amount was right, because of Toyota's actions in the case.
霍尔德说，这笔罚款是美国历史上针对一家汽车公司的最重刑罚。他说，因为丰田在这起案件上的行为，这一罚款数额非常合理。
Toyota owners have brought hundreds of private legal cases against the company in connection with the acceleration issue. Last year, the carmaker agreed to pay more than $1 billion to buyers who said their vehicles lost value after the announcement of the recall.
丰田车主就有关加速问题对该公司发起了数百起私人诉讼。去年，丰田同意向声称自己的车辆在召回信息公布后贬值的车主支付了10亿美元。
Toyota released a statement saying it has made "major changes" to its operations to become a more "responsive" company.
丰田发表声明称，该公司在经营上作出了重大改变，使得自己反应更加迅速。
The world's second largest carmaker, General Motors is also under federal investigation. GM has recalled more than 1.5 million vehicles. Federal officials are investigating problems with the starting mechanisms in some GM models from 2003 to 2007. A number of deadly accidents have been linked to the problems.
全球第二大汽车制造商通用汽车也面临联邦调查。通用汽车已经召回超过150万辆汽车。联邦官员正在调查2003年到2007年期间通用汽车某些车型启动装置的问题。一系列致命事故都和该问题有关。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译保留全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)