VOA慢速英语2016--戏剧探究汽车产业没落后的工人生活

Play Looks Into Workers' Lives When Car Industry Failed 戏剧探究汽车产业没落后的工人生活

Detroit, Michigan has been the center of America’s automobile² industry since the early 20th century.

Detroit, the “Motor City” as it is known, is home to the “Big Three” U.S. automakers: General Motors, Chrysler and Ford⁴.

This year, U.S. automakers are expected to sell a record number of vehicles. And Michigan produces more cars and trucks than any other state.

But it is hard to forget 2008. That year, the U.S. government rescued GM and Chrysler from failure. Ford also received help, a government line of credit.

During that period, hundreds of thousands of workers lost their jobs as auto¹ factories and their supply companies shrank or closed.

Now, a new play in New York looks at four auto workers struggling in hard economic times.

“Skeleton Crew” is the latest play by Detroit native Dominique Morisseau. It is her third play about her hometown.

“Skeleton Crew” received a special honor at this year's Obie awards. The Obies recognize plays performed at New York area theaters with fewer than 500 seats.

The play takes place at a factory that makes car parts for the Big Three auto makers³. But times are difficult. The factory has dismissed a lot of workers. Those who remain are the skeleton crew, the fewest workers required to keep the factory operating.

Morriseau spoke⁵ about the play earlier this year to radio station WNYC.

“It’s exploring a group of workers, a family of workers, who sort of have to deal with the different impacts that this potential closing will have on them."

A hometown tale

The story is all very personal for Morriseau, who was born and raised in Detroit. She said she wanted to learn more about the people that lived through some of the city’s crises.

So she went home to talk to people about what it felt like to be in Detroit in 2008, when the auto industry was on the edge of collapse⁶.

For the workers in "Skeleton Crew," it was an earth-shaking moment. Ruben Santiago-Hudson is the play’s director. He says Morisseau is able to create her characters with empathy.

"This play is really important, in the sense that you come into the world of blue-collar life. So, to go and see the integrity of these people and also how they feed off each other – they’re so, all different and they all need each other."

Nikiya Mathis plays the part of Shanita in “Skeleton Crew.” At one point, Shanita is talking to co-worker Faye Davis, played by Lynda Gravatt.

"You gotta make yourself irreplaceable. That’s what I’m doing."

"How you figure you irreplaceable? I been from stampin’ doors to installing shocks to them seven years I spent sewing interiors. Ain’t nobody in this plant more irreplaceable than Faye Davis is!"

Everyone's replaceable

But, as "Skeleton Crew" goes on, all the workers learn just how replaceable they are. The supervisor⁷ could lose his house in the economic downturn. The worker might have to take a lower-paying job, as she prepares to have her first baby. And, shop leader Faye has been making cars her entire life, but now, she lives in one.

Lynda Gravatt says Faye is both strong and defenseless.

"And life has beaten her, and she hasn’t quite figured out how to negotiate or how life has beaten her or why it has beaten her. So, she, you know, spends her money going to casinos … which many people do."

In a way, "Skeleton Crew" examines how the financial crisis in Detroit, and in the country, creates personal crises.

Santiago-Hudson says those crises feel and sound real.

"Dominique hears the language of her life, of her community. And she not only hears it, she relays it just the way she heard it."

“She’s just trying to let you experience them,” he says.

Words in This Story

skeleton crew – n. the fewest number of workers needed to continue operation at a workplace

impact – n. a powerful or major influence or effect

potential – adj. capable of becoming real; possible

empathy – n. the ability to share someone else's feelings

blue-collar – adj. requiring physical work

integrity – n. the quality of being honest and fair

irreplaceable – adj. too valuable or rare to be replaced; not replaceable

casino – n. a building or room that has games of chance (such as roulette or blackjack) for gambling

1 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

2 automobile   

n.汽车，机动车

参考例句：

• He is repairing the brake lever of an automobile.他正在修理汽车的刹车杆。
• The automobile slowed down to go around the curves in the road.汽车在路上转弯时放慢了速度。

3 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

5 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。

6 collapse   

vi.累倒；昏倒；倒塌；塌陷

参考例句：

• The country's economy is on the verge of collapse.国家的经济已到了崩溃的边缘。
• The engineer made a complete diagnosis of the bridge's collapse.工程师对桥的倒塌做了一次彻底的调查分析。

7 supervisor   

n.监督人，管理人，检查员，督学，主管，导师

参考例句：

• Between you and me I think that new supervisor is a twit.我们私下说，我认为新来的主管人是一个傻瓜。
• He said I was too flighty to be a good supervisor.他说我太轻浮不能成为一名好的管理员。