VOA标准英语2010年-Sometimes it's Hard to Find Little Del

The Du Pont chemical corporation and several insurance companies, banks, and credit-card firms are among those with corporate¹ headquarters on or near Wilmington's Rodney Square.

Unless they live there or quite nearby, most people would be hard-pressed to tell you 10 things - or even 5 - about Delaware, America's second-smallest state and the sixth-smallest in population.

Delaware is dwarfed² by the larger, surrounding states of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New Jersey³. It has a couple of nice Atlantic Ocean beaches, tasty beans and corn and berries, and millions of chickens.

And Delaware gets at least one mention in history books, because it was the first state to approve the U.S. Constitution in 1787. Delaware also makes the news every once in awhile because the U.S. military returns the remains⁴ of service men and women killed in combat to a mortuary in the tiny capital city of Dover.

 

This is an aspect of Delaware life that is most appealing. Its Rehoboth Bay and Atlantic Ocean beaches along Cape⁵ Henlopen are family destinations.

But Delaware - which was founded by Swedes and is named for a British earl, Lord de la Warr - is a really big deal in financial circles. In fact, it's America's corporate capital.

More than half of the top 500 corporations, and thousands of smaller ones, are incorporated there. They keep their official, if not actual, headquarters in Wilmington - Delaware's largest city. Most are only token offices. Some are strictly⁶ on paper. Still, Delaware makes 22 percent of its annual revenue from them by charging incorporation⁷, annual and legal fees.

Little Delaware: first in the nation, literally⁸ and corporately⁹.

And what does a corporation get? It saves a lot of money because Delaware has no state income tax. And the special court that handles corporate disputes and transactions has been friendly to business interests.

So companies are quite comfortable planting their corporate flags in Delaware.

 

1 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

2 dwarfed   

vt.（使）显得矮小（dwarf的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• The old houses were dwarfed by the huge new tower blocks. 这些旧房子在新建的高楼大厦的映衬下显得十分矮小。
• The elephant dwarfed the tortoise. 那只乌龟跟那头象相比就显得很小。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

4 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。

5 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

6 strictly   

adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地

参考例句：

• His doctor is dieting him strictly.他的医生严格规定他的饮食。
• The guests were seated strictly in order of precedence.客人严格按照地位高低就座。

7 incorporation   

n.设立，合并，法人组织

参考例句：

• The incorporation of air bubbles in the glass spoiled it.玻璃含有气泡，使它质量降低。
• The company will be retooled after the incorporation.合并之后的公司要进行重组。

8 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

9 corporately   

adv.团结地，共同地

参考例句：