VOA标准英语2010年-US Recession Marks Historic Cut in Flo

The economic recession is forcing some areas of the United States to reconsider ambitious growth plans. In the southern state of Florida, the population has actually fallen for the first time in more than 60 years.

A bad economy has left a hole in Lehigh Acres. Houses sit empty in neighborhoods that until recently saw growth. Construction workers and other laborers¹ in search of affordable² housing helped to build the community near Tampa. But jobs are now scarce.

"We're still seeing many people - as many as 50 or 60 people every day - coming to get assistance with food or financial assistance. They still don't have jobs," said Rae Nicely, who directs the charity Lehigh Community Services.

Nearby food banks echo the concern. They say demand for supplies to help struggling families is soaring.

Nicely says she still hopes for an economic recovery and new job creation. But she says some people are not waiting for Florida to recover. "There are a good number of people who have moved away from here because they had to move to another place to get a job. You hear about people going to Texas for construction, Tennessee, North Carolina," she said.

For the first time in 63 years, the state's population has declined. There are 31,000 fewer people, with fewer job seekers and retirees arriving, and more people leaving.

Abraham Lavender, a sociologist³ at Florida International University, says the state is struggling with the new reality. "Florida was built on the premise⁴ that it would always continue to grow, so everything is planned on that. So when that growth slows or stops or maybe even reverses, like we're seeing now, that changes all the plans," he said.

A key source of growth in Florida has long been retirees arriving from other parts of the country. Tony Gazdecki and his wife left Detroit more than a decade ago, mainly to escape the harsh winters there. "More than anything else, it's the weather. Anything to just get rid of the snow," he said.

Gazdecki says he has no plans to leave his retirement⁵ community where the sun shines most of the year. But he says he knows several people who have left, including one of his neighbors in Venice.  "They moved away three years ago and they are very happy living in Tennessee," he said.

Realtors say some retirees are leaving the state because of rising costs or overcrowding. Others are having trouble just getting to Florida.

Marian Metz is a realtor in Venice, a hotspot for retirees. She says she has several clients struggling to sell their homes in northern states. "We need a better economy nationally so they can sell that house in Michigan and come to Florida," she said.

Metz says recent business is up, and she remains⁶ hopeful the state will recover.  "I don't have any qualms⁷ about the future of Venice," she said.

The recent crash in home prices could even help to reverse the decline in population. Lavender says lower prices could also help construction workers and others who are struggling to make do in Florida. "Those who are lucky to hold on to a job, many of them can actually afford a house now and they wouldn't have been able to afford a house a few years ago," he said.

For many residents, that message could not come soon enough.

1 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

2 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

3 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

4 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

5 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

6 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。

7 qualms   

n.不安；内疚

参考例句：

• He felt no qualms about borrowing money from friends.他没有对于从朋友那里借钱感到不安。
• He has no qualms about lying.他撒谎毫不内疚。