商务英语中级阅读资料(2)

　　Still, Hyundai executives returned home with growing fears that their Chinese rivals are closing the technological and design gap with South Korea - a development that could be disastrous for the company.

　　The sense of crisis in South Korea's automotive industry was heightened last month when it emerged that some of Kia's workers had been arrested for allegedly selling car technology to China. They?were accused of stealing crucial information on the Sorento and a new model that will be launched in December. It is not known who the alleged buyers of the technology were.

　　"We believe that we are ahead of China on quality and technology, although we are relatively weak on the cost side," says Kim Hyun-soo at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. "But the belief is being shaken as technology leaks may allow China to quickly catch up on our strengths."

　　The fear that Chinese manufacturers are fast catching up has generated a sense of siege among many industrialists and lawmakers, even though South Korea itself grew into the world's 11th largest economy by replicating Japanese and US technology, at least in its initial development stage.

　　然而，现代汽车的高管回到韩国后，越来越担心中国竞争对手正在科技和设计方面缩小与韩国的差距，对该公司而言，这种发展可能是灾难性的。

　　上月，起亚汽车发生了部分工人因涉嫌向中国出售汽车技术而被捕的事情，突显出韩国汽车业的这种危机感。他们被指控盗窃了索兰托以及一款将于12月推出的新车型的关键信息。目前尚不清楚是谁涉嫌购买了这些技术。

　　"尽管我们在成本方面相对较弱，但我们认为，我们在质量和科技方面领先中国，"韩国商工会议所(Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry)的Kim Hyun-soo表示，"但是，当技术外泄可能使中国迅速追赶我们的优势时，这种信心受到了动摇。"

　　对中国制造商可能迅速赶上的担忧，已在许多实业家和立法者中间造成了一种被围攻的感觉--尽管韩国自己也是通过复制日本和美国的技术(至少在其发展初期是这样)，成长为世界第11大经济体的。