为什么我开着一辆旧车_大学英语阅读

为什么我开着一辆旧车

One day, in a quiet moment, Anton mustered the courage to ask, “Dad, why do you drive such an old car?”

I didn’t have to search very far and wide for an answer, because I knew my own heart in the matter. I explained my philosophy of what a car is. “Anton,” I said, “a car is something that gets us from Point A to Point B. What more do I need?” And then it occurred to me that I could better explicate[9] my answer in terms of what I don’t need.

“Anton,” I began, “I don’t need a car that talks to me or entertains me.

“I don’t need a car with a key that costs $250 to replace. (The very idea is an abomination[10].)

“I don’t need a car with remote access, or that beeps at me to assure me that it’s locked. (This is Maine, where I leave my keys in the ignition so that I always know where they are.)[11]

“I don’t need a video system that turns my car into a movie theater or tries to sell me things I don’t need and can’t afford to buy.

“I don’t need a car that is so complicated that I can’t change my own oil.

“I don’t need heated seats. (As a warm-blooded human being, my seat is naturally heated by my circulatory[12] system.)

“I don’t need a car with windshield wipers on the headlights.”[13]

In conclusion, I added, “With the Raider, I can see and get my hands on every part under the hood[14]. In fact, there’s so much room under there that I could rent living space out to a needy student. Do you understand?”