美国国家公共电台 NPR Cities Try Convincing Amazon They're Ready For Its New Headquarters

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Amazon wants to find a home for a second headquarters. The Seattle-born company put out the word about two weeks ago and has set a deadline of mid-October. We'll find out who's in the running on this week's All Tech Considered.

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CHANG: And our guide to the bidding cities is NPR business reporter Alina Selyukh. Hey, Alina.

ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE¹: Hi.

CHANG: OK, so before we jump into the competition, remind us what is at stake here.

SELYUKH: What you've got one of the world's wealthiest companies essentially² soliciting³ bids for a new corporate⁴ location super publicly.

CHANG: Yeah.

SELYUKH: We're talking about a company that employs more than 341,000 people in the U.S. And it's promising⁵ to invest $5 billion in whatever community it picks and to bring up to 50,000 new jobs. And we're talking on average pay of six figures.

CHANG: Fifty thousand new jobs. I can imagine that a lot of the local communities vying⁶ for their cities are not being at all shy about touting⁷ their assets right now.

SELYUKH: Certainly no shortage of pitches. Here's a small sampling.

YURIY GORLOV: Amazon should locate its second headquarters in Aurora⁸, Colo., because Colorado is perfectly⁹ aligned¹⁰ with the company's culture.

RONNIE BRYANT: The Charlotte Regional Partnership¹¹. We are the fastest-growing community for millennials in the country.

SCOTT LEVITAN: North Carolina is a state that has worked very hard to create a friendly environment for business.

A J ROBINSON: Downtown Atlanta. We have a lot to offer in terms of our talent base. And most of all, people like to live and work here.

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COMPUTER-GENERATED VOICE: Obviously, Washington, D.C.

MURIEL BOWSER: They have the West Coast Washington and the East Coast Washington.

SELYUKH: The folks you just heard from are Yuriy Gorlov of the Aurora Colorado Economic Development Council, Ronnie Bryant of the Charlotte Regional Partnership, Scott Levitan of North Carolina's Research Triangle Foundation, A.J. Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress and Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser.

CHANG: And that is just a very, very small sample...

SELYUKH: Indeed.

CHANG: ...Of a very, very long list of cities that are vying for this, right?

SELYUKH: Yes.

CHANG: What is Amazon asking for from these cities? What does it take to make a bid?

SELYUKH: They've issued essentially a call for bids that's super detailed¹². A major factor is the size of the community. They're looking for a metro¹³ area with more than 1 million people, a business-friendly tax structure, something close to an international airport and right near major highways, a place with mass transit¹⁴ and coverage¹⁵ by multiple cell phone carriers - a fine point - but also a place that would support a diverse population and has, quote, "excellent higher education."

CHANG: Does it feel like every major city wants an Amazon headquarters at this point?

SELYUKH: I mean, we heard from some. Others in the running are New York, Boston, Chicago, D.C./Baltimore, Ottawa and Toronto up in Canada. One official there actually called this the Olympics of the corporate world.

CHANG: The Olympics. Well, I guess I can see the Olympics parallel. But this also feels a little bit different from the Olympics.

SELYUKH: Definitely. I mean, the biggest difference is that the Olympics come and go while the Amazon skyscrapers¹⁶ and thousands of office workers are here to stay. But I did ask A.J. Robinson of Central Atlanta Progress about the lessons his city learned from hosting the Olympics.

ROBINSON: Having survived the Olympics and grown exponentially since the Olympics, we know that post winning you have to deliver.

SELYUKH: And what he specifically named was infrastructure¹⁷, transportation and housing, as in it's one thing to attract thousands of new workers, and it's a whole other thing to make sure that they actually fit in your city.

CHANG: That's something we've heard about in Seattle. You know, Amazon's been blamed there for the rising housing prices, traffic congestion¹⁸, gentrification - a whole host of problems. So do you get the sense that there are some applicants¹⁹ that are concerned about the potential downsides of this?

SELYUKH: We talked to economic development folks from different communities, and I asked them specifically about this. Has anyone in your group raised their hand and said, maybe this isn't such a great idea for us? And not one person admitted to that. Here's Yuriy Gorlov from the Denver area in Aurora, Colo.

GORLOV: There's no downside to this. Headquarters always boost the economy. In general, they attract a lot of good people. They only drive the economy forward. And that's what we're all about.

SELYUKH: Of course, I don't think communities are being naive²⁰ about what happens when - to a city when it gets flooded with high-net-worth office workers. But for right now we're in a competition, so it's not a great conversation starter.

CHANG: But are you seeing some pushback in communities from people who really do not want an Amazon to be there?

SELYUKH: Mostly newspaper opinion sections. For example, Denver came out as the winner in an analysis by The New York Times recently in part because it has a high quality of life, a growing labor²¹ pool. But of course, a huge consideration is financial incentives²². Part of the competition is who can offer Amazon the most appealing tax break or fee reduction? And so The Denver Post has now come out with an editorial warning against a huge cost to taxpayers²³. They write, we'd love to see Amazon located here as long as we're not left feeling like we've given away the store.

CHANG: All right, that's NPR's Alina Selyukh. Thank you.

SELYUKH: Thank you.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

3 soliciting   

v.恳求( solicit的现在分词 )；（指娼妇）拉客；索求；征求

参考例句：

• A prostitute was soliciting on the street. 一名妓女正在街上拉客。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• China Daily is soliciting subscriptions. 《中国日报》正在征求订户。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

5 promising   

adj.有希望的，有前途的

参考例句：

• The results of the experiments are very promising.实验的结果充满了希望。
• We're trying to bring along one or two promising young swimmers.我们正设法培养出一两名有前途的年轻游泳选手。

6 vying   

adj.竞争的；比赛的

参考例句：

• California is vying with other states to capture a piece of the growing communications market.为了在日渐扩大的通讯市场分得一杯羹，加利福尼亚正在和其他州展开竞争。
• Four rescue plans are vying to save the zoo.4个拯救动物园的方案正争得不可开交。

7 touting   

v.兜售( tout的现在分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• He's been touting his novel around publishers for years. 他几年来一直到处找出版商兜售自己的小说。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Technology industry leaders are touting cars as a hot area for growth. 科技产业领袖吹捧为增长热点地区的汽车。 来自互联网

8 aurora   

n.极光

参考例句：

• The aurora is one of nature's most awesome spectacles.极光是自然界最可畏的奇观之一。
• Over the polar regions we should see aurora.在极地高空,我们会看到极光。

9 perfectly   

adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The witnesses were each perfectly certain of what they said.证人们个个对自己所说的话十分肯定。
• Everything that we're doing is all perfectly above board.我们做的每件事情都是光明正大的。

10 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

13 metro   

n.地铁；adj.大都市的；(METRO)麦德隆(财富500强公司之一总部所在地德国，主要经营零售)

参考例句：

• Can you reach the park by metro?你可以乘地铁到达那个公园吗？
• The metro flood gate system is a disaster prevention equipment.地铁防淹门系统是一种防灾设备。

14 transit   

n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过

参考例句：

• His luggage was lost in transit.他的行李在运送中丢失。
• The canal can transit a total of 50 ships daily.这条运河每天能通过50条船。

15 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

16 skyscrapers   

n.摩天大楼

参考例句：

• A lot of skyscrapers in Manhattan are rising up to the skies. 曼哈顿有许多摩天大楼耸入云霄。
• On all sides, skyscrapers rose like jagged teeth. 四周耸起的摩天大楼参差不齐。

17 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

18 congestion   

n.阻塞，消化不良

参考例句：

• The congestion in the city gets even worse during the summer.夏天城市交通阻塞尤为严重。
• Parking near the school causes severe traffic congestion.在学校附近泊车会引起严重的交通堵塞。

19 applicants   

申请人，求职人( applicant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• There were over 500 applicants for the job. 有500多人申请这份工作。
• He was impressed by the high calibre of applicants for the job. 求职人员出色的能力给他留下了深刻印象。

20 naive   

adj.幼稚的，轻信的；天真的

参考例句：

• It's naive of you to believe he'll do what he says.相信他会言行一致，你未免太单纯了。
• Don't be naive.The matter is not so simple.你别傻乎乎的。事情没有那么简单。

21 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

22 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

23 taxpayers   

纳税人，纳税的机构( taxpayer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Finance for education comes from taxpayers. 教育经费来自纳税人。
• She was declaiming against the waste of the taxpayers' money. 她慷慨陈词猛烈抨击对纳税人金钱的浪费。