VOA标准英语2012--US Furniture Capital Holds Annual Showcase

US Furniture Capital Holds Annual Showcase

 

Hundreds of U.S. towns and cities call themselves the capital of something or another. Even the world capital of this or that.

Many of these titles are just for fun - a bit of promotion¹ for the area. Tarpon Springs, Florida, for instance, calls itself the “Sponge Capital of the World.” Reedsburg, Wisconsin, believes it is the “Butter Capital of America.” Pickerington considers itself the “Violet Capital of Ohio.”

And sometimes these so-called capitals have the sales receipts to prove their boasts.

High Point, North Carolina, for instance, refers to itself as “The Furniture Capital of the United States.” And to emphasize the point, it painted a downtown building to look like a chest of drawers.

Just down the road, High Point’s sister city, Thomasville, also makes a lot of furniture. Since it calls itself “Chair City,” there’s a chair the size of a small barn sitting right in the middle of the Thomasville town square.

Together, these two small cities really do produce more furniture than any other place in America. 

This happened because, over the past century, a lot of factories moved from northern states to North Carolina for its 11 different species of wood, its warmer weather, its direct rail lines to big East Coast markets, and its non-union labor² pool. 

High Point is holding its annual “furniture market” this month. It’s an event in which manufacturers display their latest designs in 51 showrooms, and buyers from most states and as many as 100 countries show up and walk the aisles³.

Down the street, at the High Point Museum, they can watch as skilled carpenters, upholsterers, and other craftspeople show how some of the nation’s finest furniture is assembled - from the cutting of trees to the making of frames, to the gluing and application of veneers⁴ and stains and polishes.

After all that, perhaps the visitors can drive over to Thomasville and check out the workmanship on a chair. A really, really big chair.

1 promotion   

n.提升，晋级；促销，宣传

参考例句：

• The teacher conferred with the principal about Dick's promotion.教师与校长商谈了迪克的升级问题。
• The clerk was given a promotion and an increase in salary.那个职员升了级，加了薪。

2 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

3 aisles   

n. (席位间的)通道, 侧廊

参考例句：

• Aisles were added to the original Saxon building in the Norman period. 在诺曼时期，原来的萨克森风格的建筑物都增添了走廊。
• They walked about the Abbey aisles, and presently sat down. 他们走到大教堂的走廊附近，并且很快就坐了下来。

4 veneers   

n.饰面薄板( veneer的名词复数 )；虚假的外表；虚饰；牙罩冠

参考例句：

• In plywood the wood has been cut into veneers. 在制胶合板时，把木材切成单板。 来自辞典例句
• Glues for veneers, plywood, interior woodwork such as panels and so on. 用来粘合美耐板、三夹板，或是壁板、门板等室内木制品的粘胶。 来自互联网