VOA慢速英语20061020a

ECONOMICS REPORT - Making International Trade HappenBy Mario Ritter

Broadcast: Friday, October 20, 2006

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.

International trade does not just happen. It is the result of developing relationships and processes to ease the flow of goods and services.


David Good

This week, we spoke¹ with David Good in Washington, D.C. He is the chief representative for Tata Sons in North America. The Indian company Tata Sons is part of the Tata Group, India's largest and best-known company.

Tata wants to increase economic ties with the United States. That is what David Good's job is all about. He describes his office as an embassy for Tata Sons in Washington. Mister Good explains Tata's products and services to American businesses and government officials. He seeks to build trust and understanding. He also advises Tata on American laws and policies and provides information on business conditions.

Mister Good learned the skills he uses every day working for the Department of State and the United States Information Agency. He spent thirty-four years in government before joining Tata.

The Tata Group is made up of ninety-six companies that employ more than two hundred thousand people. Tata operates in more than fifty-four countries. Its companies run hotels, provide engineering services and business advice. They also make cars and steel, among other things.

The group's yearly sales are about twenty-two thousand million dollars, or almost three percent of India's total economic productivity.

Tata has expanded in the United States mainly by buying ownership shares in other companies. For example, Tata Sons bought thirty percent of a New York-based company that makes Vitaminwater products. Expanding in America is good business for Tata. It also creates American jobs. Mister Good says Tata employs about ten thousand people in this country.

Tata continues to grow internationally. This week, Tata Steel proposed to buy the British steel maker² Corus Group. Tata also plans major investments in South Africa.

Tata also is proud of its tradition of giving money to important causes. Two-thirds of Tata Sons is owned by charitable trusts that are part of the Tata Group. The Group says it gives about one hundred million dollars a year to support science, health and education in India.

And that's the VOA Special English Economics Report, written by Mario Ritter. Transcripts³ and archives are at www.unsv.com. I'm Bob Doughty⁴.

1 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

2 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

3 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

4 doughty   

adj.勇猛的，坚强的

参考例句：

• Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质：脾气倔强，性格刚强。
• The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。