VOA慢速英语听力：AM电台反对从汽车上拆除AM收音机 AM Radio Stations Oppose Removing AM Radios from Cars.
The move by automobile manufacturers to include radios in cars nearly 100 years ago helped spread AM radio across the United States.
汽车制造商在将近100年前开始在汽车中配备收音机，帮助传播AM无线电广播在美国的普及。
But now, some carmakers want to stop providing AM radio in their new vehicles.
但是现在，一些汽车制造商希望在新车中停止提供AM无线电广播。
The first cars to be sold with radios were introduced in the 1930s. They only received one kind of radio transmission, those that broadcast using AM, or amplitude modulation.
首批配备收音机的汽车是在20世纪30年代推出的。它们只能接收一种无线电传输，即使用AM或幅度调制广播。
After some time, radios could receive transmissions in AM and FM. FM stands for frequency modulation.
过了一段时间，收音机能够接收AM和FM的无线电传输。FM代表调频调制。
For many years, those were the only choices. But after a while, car makers added 8-track players, audio cassette players, compact disc players and eventually Bluetooth connections so people could play music from mobile devices such as an iPhone.
多年来，这些都是唯一的选择。但是过了一段时间，汽车制造商增加了8轨播放器、音频磁带播放器、CD播放器，最终还加入了蓝牙连接，让人们可以从诸如iPhone之类的移动设备播放音乐。
However, cars are no longer sold with 8-track players or compact disc players. And now, some new electric cars are being sold with radios that only receive FM signals. Car makers say the driving systems in electric vehicles interfere with the AM signal.
然而，汽车不再配备8轨播放器或CD播放器。现在，一些新的电动汽车配备只能接收FM信号的收音机。汽车制造商表示，电动车辆的驾驶系统会干扰AM信号。
That concerns the people who own and work at about 4,000 radio stations in the U.S. that broadcast in AM. One of them is in the small town of Dimmitt, Texas. Nancy and Todd Whalen own the radio station KDHN-1470, which has been broadcasting since 1963. They are the only employees, and they talk on the radio every morning. The Whalens have run the station for eight years.
这令大约4000家在美国以AM广播的电台的所有者和工作人员感到担忧。其中一家电台位于德克萨斯州的小镇迪米特。南希和托德·惠伦拥有这家名为KDHN-1470的电台，该电台自1963年以来一直在广播。他们是唯一的员工，并且每天早晨在电台播报节目。惠伦夫妇已经经营这家电台八年了。
They say they do it, so Dimmitt has something to feel good about. “We feel like what we’ve done and continue to do is provide that, not just for Dimmitt, but for all the small towns in the area that no longer have local radio stations.”
他们说他们这样做是为了让迪米特有所值得高兴的地方。“我们觉得我们所做的和将继续做的事情是为了提供这一点，不仅仅是为了迪米特，还为了所有不再拥有本地广播电台的小镇。”
KDHN also runs a translator, or a system that changes the signal so their programs can also be heard on FM. But the AM signal is much stronger. The FM signal covers about a 30-kilometer radius from the transmitter while the AM signal covers 160 kilometers.
KDHN还运行着一个翻译器，或者说一个可以改变信号的系统，这样他们的节目也可以在调频上听到。但是AM信号要强得多。FM信号的覆盖范围从发射器周围约30公里，而AM信号的覆盖范围可达160公里。
Nancy Whalen called the AM signal “our bread and butter since the beginning.”
南希·惠伦称AM信号为“我们的命脉自始至终。”
The reduction in the number of AM stations has many people worried. That includes broadcasters, business owners, farmers and lawmakers. Some broadcasting companies that own AM radio stations are selling their land because it is more profitable than running a radio station.
AM电台数量的减少让很多人感到担忧。这包括广播公司、企业主、农民和立法者。一些拥有AM广播电台的广播公司正在出售它们的土地，因为这比经营广播电台更赚钱。
Amy Klobuchar is a senator from Minnesota. She is concerned about losing AM radio stations. They keep people in her large state informed.
艾米·克洛布彻是明尼苏达州的一名参议员。她对失去AM无线电广播电台感到担忧。这些电台让她所在的大州的人们得以了解消息。
In an online video, Klobuchar said AM radio “gives people the information they need in many of our rural areas…” She noted that “a lot of people drive long distances” in rural areas and listen to the radio in the car. She also said of AM radio: “This is where people find their local news.”
在一段在线视频中，克洛布彻表示AM无线电广播为“我们许多农村地区的人们提供了他们所需要的信息……”她指出在农村地区，“很多人开车行驶长距离”，并在车上收听广播。她还说到AM无线电广播：“这是人们获取本地新闻的来源。”
Klobuchar and others are working on the “AM For Every Vehicle Act.”
克洛布彻和其他人正在推动“每辆车都应有AM收音机法案”。
They want to keep AM radio in cars. The lawmakers say the car makers should find a way to keep AM radio.
他们希望保留汽车中的AM收音机。立法者表示汽车制造商应该找到一种方式来保留AM收音机。
When Klobuchar talks about people in rural areas, she is talking about people like Rodney Hunter. He supervises two grain storage structures, called silos, in Texas. He said farmers will listen to the radio on their way to sell grain. Without the news on AM radio, they would not know if grain prices were up or down.
当克洛布彻谈到农村地区的人们时，她谈论的是像罗德尼·亨特这样的人。他在德克萨斯州监督着两个谷物存储结构，称为筒仓。他说农民在去卖谷物的路上会听收音机。如果没有AM收音机上的新闻，他们将不知道谷物价格是涨还是跌。
“Farmers are in their (trucks or tractors) going up and down the road,” Hunter said. He added it is easier for them to listen to the agriculture news on AM radio than to try to find the information online.
亨特说：“农民们开着(卡车或拖拉机)在路上来回奔波。”他补充说，对他们来说，在AM收音机上听农业新闻比试图在网上寻找信息更容易。
But the people who run AM radio stations are not just farmers and small-town business people with a sense of civic pride.
但是经营AM收音机电台的人不仅仅是有着公民自豪感的农民和小镇商人。
About five hours southeast of the grain-storage building, Joann Whang is a pharmacist who listens to KKDA-730 in Dallas, Texas. It is a Korean-language station. At first, Whang said she thought listening to a Korean station was only for old people.
在谷物存储建筑东南约五个小时的地方，乔安·黄是一名药剂师，她在德克萨斯州达拉斯市收听KKDA-730的广播。这是一家韩语电台。起初，黄说她以为收听韩语电台只是老年人的选择。
“But it actually was pretty interesting,” she said. She said she got a lot of information and even heard Korean pop songs, known as K-pop.
“但实际上非常有趣，”她说。她表示她从中获得了很多信息，甚至听到了韩国流行音乐，即K-pop。
The station is owned by DK Media Group. The company also runs two Korean-language newspapers. Stephanie Min Kim is the president. She said removing AM from cars would hurt small companies like hers that broadcast in languages other than English. It is too costly to buy a license, or government permission, to broadcast in FM, she said.
这家电台是DK Media Group所有的。该公司还经营着两份韩语报纸。斯蒂芬妮·敏·金是公司的总裁。她说，从汽车中移除AM将会伤害像她这样使用非英语语言广播的小公司。购买FM广播的许可证或政府许可证成本太高，她表示。
Kim once worked for the Korean broadcaster KBS. She said, “We feel that it is our duty to help and support our Korean immigrants integrate into American society.” She said her radio station hosts discussions with experts in law, healthcare, and education that help people from Korea learn about life in the U.S.
金曾在韩国广播公司KBS工作。她说：“我们觉得帮助和支持我们的韩国移民融入美国社会是我们的责任。”她说，她的电台主持与法律、医疗和教育专家的讨论，帮助来自韩国的人了解美国的生活。
She said if AM is removed from cars, the transmissions face an “existential threat.” That means the existence of the stations is threatened.
她说，如果从汽车中移除AM，无线电传输将面临“生存威胁”。这意味着这些电台的存在受到了威胁。
Radio Caravan is another small broadcaster in Dallas. It broadcasts in Hindi, Tamil, and English on AM 700. Aparna Ragnan is a radio host. She said carmakers should find a way to keep AM.
无线电大篷车(Radio Caravan)是达拉斯的另一家小型广播公司。它在AM 700上用印地语、泰米尔语和英语进行广播。阿帕尔纳·拉格南(Aparna Ragnan)是其中一名主持人。她说汽车制造商应该设法保留AM。
Vaibhav Sheth is the station manager. He said the sound quality of the AM stations is not a problem. He said the information that the stations provide is more important than sound quality. In addition, he notes that AM stations are important in emergencies. The emergency signals go off to alert listeners about bad weather, like a tornado, or a child who is in danger.
Vaibhav Sheth是该电台的经理。他表示AM电台的音质并不是问题。他说电台提供的信息比音质更重要。此外，他指出AM电台在紧急情况下很重要。紧急信号会发出警报，提醒听众有关恶劣天气（如龙卷风）或处于危险中的儿童的情况。
“Whatever it is that’s happening,” he said, “it goes to the AM frequency.”
“不管发生什么事情，”他说，“都会通过AM频率传达出去。”
I’m Steve Herman. And I’m Dan Friedell.
我是史蒂夫·赫尔曼(Steve Herman)。我是丹·弗里德尔(Dan Friedell)。
Words in This Story
transmission –n. (broadcasting) the sending of a specific radio signal for broadcast
8-track, cassette, compact disc –n. different kinds of devices that store information to play back sound
rural –adj. in the countryside and not in the city or suburbs
bread and butter –adj. (idiomatic) very basic and necessary
pharmacist –n. a person whose job it is to prepare and provide drugs and medicines called for by a medical doctor’s orders
integrate –v. to make a person part of a large group, organization or community
frequency –n. (broadcasting) a measure of a radio wave signal that is received by a radio
