VOA标准英语2013--Detroit’s Financial Slide Linked to Exodus of Auto Industry

 

Detroit’s Financial Slide Linked to Exodus¹ of Auto² Industry

At the height of Detroit’s boom in the mid³ 20th century, this plant manufactured Packard automobiles⁵, employing about 40,000 people.  

The promise of good pay and plenty of work at similar plants around the city attracted people like Tennessee native George McGregor in the 1960s. Today, he's president of the United Auto Workers Local 22 in Detroit.

“When I first came here, in the automobile⁴ factory, they were begging people to come.  The hour rate was something like $3.25 an hour,” he recalled.

But the auto industry stopped begging when demand for American cars slowed and interest in foreign automobiles increased.

The Packard brand became extinct, and the hum of its once mighty⁶ factory is silent.

Crumbling⁷ buildings are part of one of the largest vacant industrial complexes in the world. They symbolize⁸ Detroit’s boom-to-bust story.

“There were about a dozen auto factories, and you know very large employers, and over time those have been shut down to now there’s only one left,” Scorsone said.

Economist⁹ Eric Scorsone, at Michigan State University, said although General Motors boasts the most prominent set of buildings in downtown Detroit, the auto industry plays a much smaller role in the city's economy.

“In fact, health care is the biggest employer now in the city,” he said.

There were about 300,000 auto factory jobs in Detroit in the 1950s, when the population was around 1.8 million.

Today, there are fewer than 27,000 jobs in plants operated by Chrysler and GM, and the overall population is just above 700,000.

“We got three casinos and two auto factories," McGregor explained. "We went from manufacturing to gaming for jobs.”

McGregor's UAW Local 22 Detroit represents workers at the GM Hamtramck plant still in operation here. He said many of those who work there don’t live in the city.  “In my facility I’m going to say its about fifty. Fifty stay in the city of Detroit and the other 50 percent stay in the surrounding neighborhoods,” he stated.

McGregor said he had the opportunity to leave when others fled Detroit, but decided¹⁰ to stay.  He doesn't regret it even in the wake of news that the city is bankrupt. 

"I made a living in this city, and I plan on staying in this city, and hopefully it will come back,” he added.

Economists¹¹ say Detroit’s population most likely will never reach its former peak. And if the city is to come back, it will need to redefine itself post-bankruptcy as something different than “Motor City.” 

1 exodus   

v.大批离去，成群外出

参考例句：

• The medical system is facing collapse because of an exodus of doctors.由于医生大批离去，医疗系统面临崩溃。
• Man's great challenge at this moment is to prevent his exodus from this planet.人在当前所遇到的最大挑战，就是要防止人从这个星球上消失。

2 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。

3 mid   

adj.中央的，中间的

参考例句：

• Our mid-term exam is pending.我们就要期中考试了。
• He switched over to teaching in mid-career.他在而立之年转入教学工作。

4 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。

5 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 mighty   

adj.强有力的；巨大的

参考例句：

• A mighty force was about to break loose.一股巨大的力量即将迸发而出。
• The mighty iceberg came into view.巨大的冰山出现在眼前。

7 crumbling   

adj.摇摇欲坠的

参考例句：

• an old house with crumbling plaster and a leaking roof 一所灰泥剥落、屋顶漏水的老房子
• The boat was tied up alongside a crumbling limestone jetty. 这条船停泊在一个摇摇欲坠的石灰岩码头边。

8 symbolize   

vt.作为...的象征，用符号代表

参考例句：

• Easter eggs symbolize the renewal of life.复活蛋象征新生。
• Dolphins symbolize the breath of life.海豚象征着生命的气息。

9 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 economists   

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》