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VOA标准英语2009年-Norwood, Ohio, Moves Beyond Blue Colla

时间:2010-01-13 06:24来源:互联网 提供网友:斗破苍穹   字体: [ ]
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Mike Osborne | Norwood, Ohio 04 December 2009 


Mayor Tom Williams says Norwood survived the closure of its GM plant and is doing well today thanks to a diversified1 economy

Some economists2 say the recession that began in the United States late in 2007 appears to be over. But that's cold comfort for the millions of American workers who lost jobs. The U.S. auto3 industry was especially hard hit. General Motors, alone, eventually will close or idle a third of its 47 manufacturing plants and more than a thousand auto dealerships. The job losses are devastating4, not only for workers and their families, but also for the communities they live in.

A familiar story in Norwood
GM's Norwood assembly plant as it appeared in 1923, the year it opened. It employed 600 workers and was capable of producing 200 cars per day

Norwood, Ohio, suffered through the closing of a General Motors plant in 1987. For more than six decades, the auto assembly plant was the city's heart. The plant sprawled5 over 20 hectares of land in the heart of the city. It employed more than 4000 workers and represented 35 percent of Norwood's tax revenue. Jobs in the plant were hot, dirty and dangerous. But they also paid well, pushing many poor workers firmly into America's middle class.

Current mayor and life-long Norwood resident, Tom Williams, says that while the plant prospered6, so did the city. "You know, on the weekends you couldn't walk down Montgomery Road. It was all crowded with people shopping," he recalls, adding that financially, the city was in great shape. "They did everything for you. At one time, you didn't even have to set out your garbage cans. They would have someone come around in the middle of the night and set 'em out!"

The good times came to an end in 1987 when GM closed the 64-year-old plant.

Could the city survive without GM?

 Ron Rankin worked at the Norwood plant for 31 years, as did many members of his family

Ron Rankin was president of the local chapter of the United Auto Workers union at the time. He remembers watching the last car built at Norwood as it moved through the plant. "We followed it off the line. Of course, there was a big crowd there; a lot of people just milling around talking with each other. Because when they close a plant like that, a lot of those guys, you never see again."  Rankin says the workers were understandably worried about the future.

They weren't the only ones. Steve Kemme is a veteran reporter for the Enquirer7, the area's largest newspaper. Norwood is part of his regular beat. He recalls people in surrounding communities speculating about Norwood's future the day the plant closed. "A lot of people wondered if Norwood could survive as a city. A lot of people wondered if Norwood could continue with any level of services," Kemme says.

It turns out that Norwood did eventually thrive again. All of the land once occupied by GM has been redeveloped. Property values in town stalled briefly8, but have risen steadily9 in the years since.

A plan to diversify10 businesses in town

Kemme attributes much of Norwood's success to strong leadership. The reporter notes that while politics are usually adversarial, when GM pulled out, local political parties buried their differences and worked together. "That unity11 of purpose certainly is very important and they were fortunate enough to have leaders at that time who had a plan, a strong vision and stuck with it," Kemme says.

[mayor] The plan was to develop a more diverse business community and that's just what Norwood did. From the top of a downtown office building, Mayor Williams looks out over a community that's bustling12 in spite of the current economic slowdown.

"We geared ourselves to go mixed use with medical, financial institutions, different types of businesses so we don't depend on one industry. So right now, sure, the economy is affecting a lot of businesses, but just think where we'd be if we just had the General Motors plant. Where would we be?" Mayor Williams asks.

He also notes that Norwood survived largely on its own. Two decades later, he still gets angry talking about the lack of outside assistance from GM, the union and the government.

Not a smooth economic road

Norwood has made some mistakes during its recovery. It got into financial trouble all over again in the mid-1990s. Kemme says the city started spending tax revenues based on growth projections13 that were a bit too optimistic.

 

Medpace is in what used to be GM's "California" Building. After cars came off the end of the line, those headed for California came here to be fitted with special environmental equipment required by that state


"They hadn't spent money for a long time and so there were things that needed their attention. You know, sidewalks and streets and other basic things. Problem is they spent money, a lot of times, based on these future commercial developments,"  Kemme recalls.

Many of those developments were put on hold as the U.S. economy began to slow.

When he heard that GM had filed for bankruptcy14, Ron Rankin, a former union official remembered watching the demolition15 of the Norwood plant. "It was a little tough to watch them at first when they started knocking it down. I even took some bricks that was in the old plant," he admits with a grin. He has advice for workers and their communities facing the current round of closings. "Progress moves on and you gotta go with it," he says.

In late September, General Motors announced that a plan to sell its Saturn16 car brand had fallen through, meaning still more workers and their communities will be forced to deal with mass layoffs17 and plant closings. Perhaps some of those workers will take heart from Norwood's experience.
 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 diversified eumz2W     
adj.多样化的,多种经营的v.使多样化,多样化( diversify的过去式和过去分词 );进入新的商业领域
参考例句:
  • The college biology department has diversified by adding new courses in biotechnology. 该学院生物系通过增加生物技术方面的新课程而变得多样化。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Take grain as the key link, develop a diversified economy and ensure an all-round development. 以粮为纲,多种经营,全面发展。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
2 economists 2ba0a36f92d9c37ef31cc751bca1a748     
n.经济学家,经济专家( economist的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
  • Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 auto ZOnyW     
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。
4 devastating muOzlG     
adj.毁灭性的,令人震惊的,强有力的
参考例句:
  • It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
  • Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。
5 sprawled 6cc8223777584147c0ae6b08b9304472     
v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的过去式和过去分词);蔓延;杂乱无序地拓展;四肢伸展坐着(或躺着)
参考例句:
  • He was sprawled full-length across the bed. 他手脚摊开横躺在床上。
  • He was lying sprawled in an armchair, watching TV. 他四肢伸开正懒散地靠在扶手椅上看电视。
6 prospered ce2c414688e59180b21f9ecc7d882425     
成功,兴旺( prosper的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • The organization certainly prospered under his stewardship. 不可否认,这个组织在他的管理下兴旺了起来。
  • Mr. Black prospered from his wise investments. 布莱克先生由于巧妙的投资赚了不少钱。
7 enquirer 31d8a4fd5840b80e88f4ac96ef2b9af3     
寻问者,追究者
参考例句:
  • The "National Enquirer" blazoned forth that we astronomers had really discovered another civilization. 《国民询问者》甚至宣称,我们天文学家已真正发现了其它星球上的文明。
  • Should we believe a publication like the national enquirer? 我们要相信像《国家探秘者》之类的出版物吗?
8 briefly 9Styo     
adv.简单地,简短地
参考例句:
  • I want to touch briefly on another aspect of the problem.我想简单地谈一下这个问题的另一方面。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group.他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
9 steadily Qukw6     
adv.稳定地;不变地;持续地
参考例句:
  • The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
  • Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。
10 diversify m8gyt     
v.(使)不同,(使)变得多样化
参考例句:
  • Our company is trying to diversify.我们公司正力图往多样化方面发展。
  • Hills and woods diversify the landscape.山陵和树木点缀景色。
11 unity 4kQwT     
n.团结,联合,统一;和睦,协调
参考例句:
  • When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结,并非一团和气。
  • We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前,我们必须加强团结。
12 bustling LxgzEl     
adj.喧闹的
参考例句:
  • The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
  • This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。
13 projections 7275a1e8ba6325ecfc03ebb61a4b9192     
预测( projection的名词复数 ); 投影; 投掷; 突起物
参考例句:
  • Their sales projections are a total thumbsuck. 他们的销售量预测纯属估计。
  • The council has revised its projections of funding requirements upwards. 地方议会调高了对资金需求的预测。
14 bankruptcy fPoyJ     
n.破产;无偿付能力
参考例句:
  • You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产,就必须节省开支。
  • His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。
15 demolition omezd     
n.破坏,毁坏,毁坏之遗迹
参考例句:
  • The church has been threatened with demolition for years. 这座教堂多年来一直面临拆毀的威胁。
  • The project required the total demolition of the old bridge. 该项目要求将老桥完全拆毁。
16 Saturn tsZy1     
n.农神,土星
参考例句:
  • Astronomers used to ask why only Saturn has rings.天文学家们过去一直感到奇怪,为什么只有土星有光环。
  • These comparisons suggested that Saturn is made of lighter materials.这些比较告诉我们,土星由较轻的物质构成。
17 layoffs ce61a640e39c61e757a47e52d4154974     
临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 ); 停工,停止活动
参考例句:
  • Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
  • Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时,股票价格便大跌
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TAG标签:   VOA标准英语  VOA2009年  VOA2009年
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