Toyota Motor Corp.'s five-decade march to the top of the global auto industry was driven by success in the U.S. market. What happens to that legacy could depend on how the company fares during congressional hearings that start this week.
　　在丰田汽车公司成为全球最大汽车生产商的50年征途中，它在美国市场取得的成功是推动力量。美国市场能否继续为丰田提供增长动力，有可能取决于该公司在本周开始的美国国会听证会上表现如何。
　　Toyota acknowledges the looming tension. 'I don't know whether it's 'The Scream,' or that Japanese artist who does the wave that's as big as a house, but that's what it feels like right now,' said Josephine Cooper, the auto maker's main Washington lobbyist.
　　丰田承认存在迫在眉睫的紧张局面。该公司在华盛顿的主要游说人士库珀(Josephine Cooper)说，我不知道这是否像日本艺术家画得像房子那么大的“惊涛”，但我现在感觉它是。
　　U.S. lawmakers who will be grilling Toyota officials say they plan to dig into why the world's largest car maker didn't respond sooner to its safety problems, and whether pushback from the company's corporate chiefs in Japan contributed to any delays.
　　将在国会听证会上盘问丰田公司管理人士的美国议员们说，他们计划追查为何丰田汽车公司没能对其安全问题作出更快的回应，以及该公司日本管理层的推诿塞责是否对这种迟缓的应对负有责任。
　　Congress is also seeking any evidence that Toyota, or U.S. regulators, may have ignored early signs of trouble with the car maker's acceleration and braking systems.
　　美国国会还希望能找到证据，以证明丰田或美国监管部门可能忽视了显示丰田车的加速和刹车系统存在问题的早期迹象。
　　The main event promises to be company President Akio Toyoda's scheduled appearance before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. Mr. Toyoda, a member of the company's founding family, agreed to testify only after days of waffling and mounting pressure in Japan and Washington.
　　听证会的重头戏将是丰田汽车公司总裁丰田章男(Akio Toyoda)定于本周三在国会众议院监管和政府改革委员会(House Oversight and Government Reform Committee)的露面。身为丰田汽车公司创始家族一员的丰田章男是在连续几天对是否出席听证会一事含糊其词且日本和华盛顿方面要他出席听证会的压力不断增大的情况下，才同意出席的。
　　Toyota officials and dealers want to add another issue to the agenda: What happens to thousands of jobs if Toyota's sales suffer long-lasting damage? At least 100 Toyota dealers plan to fly into Washington on Monday to meet lawmakers, including members of the committees that will question Toyota officials and U.S. regulators.
　　丰田的管理人士和经销商们想给听证会增加一个议题：如果丰田的销售遭受长期损害，美国数千就业岗位的命运将会如何？至少有100位丰田汽车的经销商计划周一飞往华盛顿，与国会议员们举行会晤，其中包括那些将在听证会上质询丰田管理人士和美国监管机构的议员。
　　'Everyone is coming armed with their economic-impact data: number of employees, taxes paid, health care covered, investments made, all of that,' said Tammy Darvish, a Toyota dealer based in Washington, D.C., who is helping organize the dealer visits. Toyota has said in recent ads that the company and its dealers employ 172,000 people in the U.S.
　　居住在华盛顿的丰田汽车经销商达维什(Tammy Darvish)说，大家带着与其相关的经济影响数据前来华盛顿，如就业数据、税收数据、医疗保险数据以及投资数据，等等。达维什参与组织了丰田汽车经销商们对国会议员的拜访。丰田汽车公司最近在其打出的广告中说，该公司及其经销商在美国雇佣了172,000人。
　　Meanwhile, the auto maker has given 133 briefings over the past two months to members of the two House of Representatives committees examining the issue. Nearly half of those briefings, Toyota officials say, have been sessions in which company technicians demonstrated how the auto maker had moved to fix its accelerator problems.
　　与此同时，在过去两个月中，丰田汽车公司已向美国众议院两个委员会的成员就汽车安全问题进行了133次情况介绍。该公司管理人士说，在近半数的这些介绍会中，丰田的技术人员向与会者说明了该公司如何已采取措施来解决汽车油门存在的问题。
　　Toyota officials say they hope to use the hearings to persuade lawmakers and the public that the company has its safety problems in hand and that the spate of recent recalls isn't markedly out of the ordinary for the auto industry. Toyota has had to recall eight million vehicles in recent months, including top-selling models such as the Corolla, the Camry and the Prius hybrid.
　　丰田的管理人士说，他们希望利用国会听证会让议员们及美国公众相信，该公司的安全问题在可控范围内，公司最近大规模的产品召回在汽车行业并不属于特别不正常的情况。丰田最近几个月已被迫召回800万辆汽车，其中包括卡罗拉(Corolla)、凯美瑞(Camry)和普锐斯(Prius)等畅销车型。
　　'Recalls happen,' said Ms. Cooper, encapsulating the company's message leading up to the hearings. 'These recalls are no different from many, many others.'
　　库珀概括了丰田汽车公司为即将到来的国会听证会准备的说辞。他说，汽车召回经常发生，但这次的一系列召回行动与许多其他召回事件没有什么不同。
　　Members of Congress say they are eager to hear how Toyota plans to overcome management problems that appear to have allowed safety concerns to fester and grow.
　　国会议员们说，他们急于听到丰田汽车公司计划如何克服管理中存在的问题，管理不力似乎使得丰田的产品安全问题逐步加重。
　　Toyota officials and U.S. regulators are scheduled to face questioning from three congressional committees: the House Energy and Commerce Committee on Tuesday, the House oversight committee on Wednesday and the Senate Commerce Committee on March 2.
　　丰田的管理人士和美国监管机构按计划将接受国会三个委员会的质询，众议院能源和商业委员会(House Energy and Commerce Committee)将于本周二、众议院监管和政府改革委员会将于本周三、参议院商业委员会(Senate Commerce Committee)将于3月2日分别展开质询。