美国国家公共电台 NPR Caught In The Extended Stay Motel Trap

 

NOEL KING, HOST:

This summer, millions of vacationers are expected to visit Branson, Mo., to see acts like Tony Orlando and the Oak Ridge¹ Boys. Summer is a boom time for Branson, but for many of the people who keep the good times rolling there, life is far from a holiday. Alex Smith reports from member station KCUR.

ALEX SMITH, BYLINE²: The main strip of Branson is an old Ozark highway lined with miles and miles of miniature golf, bumper³ cars, fudge shops, custard stands and music venues⁴.

UNIDENTIFIED SINGERS: (Singing) There's a bathroom on the right.

SMITH: Shannon Cronin is a waitress here and says she loves being part of the action.

SHANNON CRONIN: You get to know them even just with five minutes of talking. Where are you from? Why are you here? You kind of get to escape when you go to work.

SMITH: At the end of the day, Cronin returns to a musty extended-stay motel where she and her three children and pets live. Their one room has a single king-sized bed where the family sleeps together. For a kitchen, they have a mini fridge and a microwave. Outside, drug dealers⁵ and prostitutes stalk the parking lot. Cronin says raising her kids in seedy motels like this for the last six years has changed the way she thinks about parenting.

CRONIN: You get scared about whether they should even not be in your hands for fear of what they could find or see.

SMITH: Branson's motel trap starts with the promise of a better life in a rural region where jobs are scarce. In the summer, when the vast majority of tourists visit, businesses can't find enough workers to fill all the seasonal⁶, low-wage positions. But because almost any apartment or house is rented for top dollar by tourists, there's little low-cost housing for workers. Once the seasonal jobs dry up in the winter, so do paychecks. Unemployment rates rise to three or four times the state average, so workers like Carla Perry have to stay in motels that run about $500 a month.

CARLA PERRY: You get stuck in, like, this big whirlwind that's going down the toilet, and it's just sucking you down.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOG BARKING)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hi, would you like a meal?

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Hey, killer⁷.

SMITH: One rainy evening, volunteers with the nonprofit group Jesus Was Homeless are knocking on motel doors to hand out free sack lunches. Since the group was started 10 years ago, average hospitality wages have barely budged⁸ from $10 an hour. Now that tourism has swelled⁹ to more than 8 million people a year, worker advocates say the city should provide low-income housing and employers should increase wages, but there's little incentive¹⁰ for that to happen in a town that bends over backwards¹¹ to accommodate businesses. Stan Dobbins is Branson's city administrator¹².

STAN DOBBINS: The employees have to understand that the employer is running a business, and they're trying to keep the doors open.

SMITH: Dobbins thinks one solution to Branson's poverty is to attract new industry, but that remains¹³ a struggle.

PERRY: Hey, buddy¹⁴. How y'all doing?

SMITH: On a muggy¹⁵ summer afternoon, Carla Perry is greeting kids playing outside Shannon Cronin's motel. Perry has moved on from motel life and now works to help others transition out. But Perry says that even for the most motivated people, the stain of motel life can be hard to wash away.

PERRY: When you do go to get a job or do something different, you're tattered¹⁶, you're broken, and the smell of poverty is very relevant around here. And so it's really hard for people to see past the outer shell to know that that person just needs a chance.

SMITH: With Perry's help, Shannon Cronin and her kids are leaving this motel. They got a government housing voucher¹⁷ and found an apartment to rent for the next two years. For NPR News, I'm Alex Smith. *

(SOUNDBITE OF GIANTS' "FISHERMAN'S PRAYER")

1 ridge   

n.山脊；鼻梁；分水岭

参考例句：

• We clambered up the hillside to the ridge above.我们沿着山坡费力地爬上了山脊。
• The infantry were advancing to attack the ridge.步兵部队正在向前挺进攻打山脊。

2 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。

3 bumper   

n.(汽车上的)保险杠；adj.特大的，丰盛的

参考例句：

• The painting represents the scene of a bumper harvest.这幅画描绘了丰收的景象。
• This year we have a bumper harvest in grain.今年我们谷物丰收。

4 venues   

n.聚集地点( venue的名词复数 )；会场；（尤指）体育比赛场所；犯罪地点

参考例句：

• The band will be playing at 20 different venues on their UK tour. 这个乐队在英国巡回演出期间将在20个不同的地点演出。
• Farmers market corner, 800 meters long, 60 meters wide livestock trading venues. 农牧市场东北角，有长800米，宽60米的牲畜交易场地。 来自互联网

5 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

6 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

7 killer   

n.杀人者，杀人犯，杀手，屠杀者

参考例句：

• Heart attacks have become Britain's No.1 killer disease.心脏病已成为英国的头号致命疾病。
• The bulk of the evidence points to him as her killer.大量证据证明是他杀死她的。

8 budged   

v.（使）稍微移动( budge的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）改变主意，（使）让步

参考例句：

• Old Bosc had never budged an inch--he was totally indifferent. 老包斯克一直连动也没有动，他全然无所谓。 来自辞典例句
• Nobody budged you an inch. 别人一丁点儿都算计不了你。 来自辞典例句

9 swelled   

增强( swell的过去式和过去分词 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情）

参考例句：

• The infection swelled his hand. 由于感染，他的手肿了起来。
• After the heavy rain the river swelled. 大雨过后，河水猛涨。

10 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

11 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

12 administrator   

n.经营管理者，行政官员

参考例句：

• The role of administrator absorbed much of Ben's energy.行政职务耗掉本很多精力。
• He has proved himself capable as administrator.他表现出管理才能。

13 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

14 buddy   

n.（美口）密友，伙伴

参考例句：

• Calm down,buddy.What's the trouble?压压气，老兄。有什么麻烦吗？
• Get out of my way,buddy!别挡道了，你这家伙！

15 muggy   

adj.闷热的；adv.（天气）闷热而潮湿地；n.（天气）闷热而潮湿

参考例句：

• We may expect muggy weather when the rainy season begins.雨季开始时，我们预料有闷热的天气。
• It was muggy and overcast.天气闷热潮湿，而且天色阴沉。

16 tattered   

adj.破旧的，衣衫破的

参考例句：

• Her tattered clothes in no way detracted from her beauty.她的破衣烂衫丝毫没有影响她的美貌。
• Their tattered clothing and broken furniture indicated their poverty.他们褴褛的衣服和破烂的家具显出他们的贫穷。

17 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。