油门踏板:汽车(或其他机动车)上用脚踩下以增加发动机动力、提高车速的踏板。(也常称 accelerator;在英式英语中常说 accelerator pedal。)
/ˈɡæs ˌpɛdəl/
I pressed the gas pedal gently.
我轻轻踩下油门踏板。
When the light turned green, she hit the gas pedal and the car surged forward, but she quickly eased off to avoid speeding.
绿灯一亮,她猛踩油门踏板,车子猛地向前冲;但她很快松了些,以免超速。
gas 原指“气体”,在北美英语里也常指 gasoline(汽油),与汽车燃料相关;pedal 来自拉丁语 pes/pedis(“脚”),指用脚操作的装置。合起来 gas pedal 字面意思是“汽油(动力)踏板”,即控制加速的踏板。