难度：****

seasoned 经验丰富的 cut a ...figure 显得... grind 令人疲劳的工作 render 使成为 obsolete 过时的

Imaging meeting a seasoned British car thief in 2013. They would probably have cut a sorry figure.

想象一下在 2013 年在英国碰见一个老练的偷车贼，他们很可能显得落魄不堪。

You will cut a sorry figure at the job interview if you wear jeans. 如果你穿牛仔裤去面试，会给别人一种不好的印象。

Every year of their career, the grind had got harder. 他们从事的职业，每过一年，处境会愈发艰难。

The tools of their trade had, slowly but surely, been rendered obsolete, thanks to improved security technology. Business had dried up.

随着安全技术的提升他们作案使用的工具已经默默地、不可逆转地被淘汰了。这门生意已经逐渐消失了。

grasp 领会，理解 vulnerability 弱点，漏洞 trick sb. into doing 欺骗某人做某事

As the technology for providing security, and defeating it, has become better and cheaper, the battle has speeded up.

随着安防技术和破解手段不断提升，以及价格低廉，这场（汽车制造商和盗车贼之间的）较量正在不断加速中。

Modern cars are sometimes called “computers on wheels” ，that brought benefits but also vulnerabilities that carmakers were slow to grasp.

现代的汽车有时被称为轮子上的计算机，这给汽车制造商带来了利润但是也会有汽车制造商没有及时发觉的安防漏洞。