Hi john,


Here is my homework


http://vocaroo.com/i/s0nAxRvlmSW6




China -- the biggest car market in the world. But the smog are becoming a monumental headache. So Beijing's pushing the electric car industry with hefty subsidies and has big dreams of leading the world to a high-tech green future. One problem. Cutting-edge technology e-cars aren't selling. But these are. Chen a teacher in a farming village in Shandong Province, bought one over a year ago. Capped at about 50 kilometers an hour, these little e-machines aren't counted as regular cars and face little in the way of regulation.


They're quickly becoming the farmer's favorite and here's why. The slow e-car costs about 5,000 U.S. dollars - similar to a cheap mini gasoline car. But the gasoline car requires a license, annual insurance and tax. And for 5,000 kilometers, which is how much Chen drives a year, about 500 U.S. dollars in gas. 80 U.S. dollars in electric bills a year is all Chen needs to shell out. "When Beijing said it aimed to have a million electric vehicles on the roads by 2020, it didn't have cars like this in mind."


Across China, an estimated 200,000 of these cheap e-buggies are already on the road, some simpler than others. As for the high-speed electric cars? Less than 2,000, and most of those are part of China's electric taxi pilot programs. This points to a policy mismatch, says Lu, who started up an electric vehicle technology company. "Technology must match the market. Today the high-speed EV market hasn't taken off yet, but there is growing demand for slow e-cars in Shandong. So I am helping those factories."


But these slow e-cars are controversial. Most use polluting lead acid batteries, which has left them in a legally grey area, with Beijing holding back any official approval. "Demand could be really in the multiple millions if there's no government policy to stop it."

And Shandong province is backing its slow-speed electric car makers. "Farmers need a way to get around. In the cities, you have subways and buses, but in the farm people rely on motorcycles and bikes. They need something between a car and a bike that they can afford.” So while these aren't the futuristic clean machines Beijing wants on the roads, China's farmers are just starting an electric future in the slow lane