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VOA慢速英语2014 Small Businesses Make Big 小型企业慢慢做大

时间:2014-01-13 15:04:18

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Small Businesses Make Big 小型企业慢慢做大

Welcome to This is America.  I’m Christopher Cruise. 

And I’m Faith Lapidus.  Many small, family-owned businesses in the United States are struggling to survive.  Along with the sluggish1 economy, they face competition from big box chain stores and restaurants.  This week on our program, we visit a Washington, DC area hardware store, drugstore and restaurant and learn how they are competing successfully for customers. 

The restaurant business is very competitive in the United States and many people choose to eat out at well-known chain restaurants.  So how are small, family-owned restaurants making ends meet?  We visited Primo Family Restaurant in suburban2 Washington.  It is an example of a small, family-owned operation where business is booming. 

It is another busy day at Primo Family Restaurant -- a popular dining spot in Alexandria, Virginia for more than 25 years.  C.A. Savoy says he does not like the atmosphere or food at the chain restaurants.  Instead, he enjoys eating at Primo’s.

“Everything in here is home cooking.  It’s all fresh food and delicious.”

Server Tina Mitrakas has worked at Primo’s since it opened.

“I like the customers.  Everybody is friendly.  I like the people I work with.  It’s like my second home.”

Lynne Sepple’s son Nick is here, celebrating his birthday. 

“My son has been here since he was six days old.  He’s been here once a week since then.”

Mary Wise often stops by Primo’s after work.  She plays the role of Martha Washington, wife of the first United States president, at nearby Mount Vernon.  It is the home and property where George and Martha Washington once lived.  Ms. Wise says she enjoys Primo’s because it feels comfortable. 

“It is a place where you can consistently have good food, not too expensive.  You know you’re never going to be ever confronted with something that’s a surprise.  I think people like that.”

Another appeal, she says, is owner Jim Nicopoulos.

“I like to get involved with my clients.  I find out about them.  I touch them.  I have to be involved with my customers and my staff at the same time.”

Everyone calls him Jimmy, including Mr. Savoy and his wife, who are long-time customers.

“We’ve become part of Jimmy’s family now.  He refers to Joyce and I as his mother and father.”

Primo Family Restaurant is truly a family business -- from the photos on the wall, to the dining area, where his father-in-law seats patrons.  And in the kitchen, Jimmy’s cousin Spiro Routoulas prepares Greek specialties3

“He’s a funny guy.  He comes inside the kitchen and tastes whatever I make.  Oh, it’s fun.”

“It’s quality control, Greek-style.”

Besides the food and friendliness4, Jimmy says Primo’s has another appeal over the chain restaurants.

“Big chains have to go through processes of buying their foods from large industries and distributors.  We can get our produce local.  We can get our meats.”

Elizabeth Bessel notices the difference and stays away from the nearby chains.

“I just don’t find the food to be that great.  When I eat here, Jimmy will come up to the table and tell us that he got that produce from somebody’s farm.”

Jimmy says he thinks there is room in the neighborhood for both family and chain restaurants.  His customers agree.

“It’s been here for 25 years.  I see it being here 25 more years.”

One hundred years ago, Morgan Pharmacy5 opened its doors in Washington.  Through economic ups and downs, the small, family-owned pharmacy has thrived.  But how is it staying in business today with a larger drugstore just down the street?  In the second part of our program on the survival of small businesses in the United States, we learn what Morgan Pharmacy is doing to keep its doors open.

Morgan Pharmacy has an old-fashioned feel, with a display of old prescription6 bottles and the original shelves from when the store opened in 1912.  Pharmacist Barry Deutschman bought the store more than 20 years ago.

“During the time period between then, and the time we stopped carrying tobacco, you can see that people would rest their cigarettes on the counters here.”

The pharmacy is located in a residential7 neighborhood of Washington and most people hear about it through word of mouth. 

“Once somebody who’s never been here comes in here, they love the place and they want to come back.”

Sandra Sugar has been coming to Morgan’s for years. 

“This has nostalgia8 just coming in here.”

Toni Stephens feels a special bond. 

“The people who work here, they’re helpful.  They’re like family.”

Some customers enjoy the new products in old-fashioned packaging.   

“It smells so good.”

Others, Mr. Deutshman says, like items that are old-fashioned. 

“Grandpa’s Pine Tar9 Soap.”

After prescriptions10, chocolate is the big seller. 

“People who take medicine occasionally need a treat and they really want good candies.”

The number of independent pharmacies11 has been decreasing.  The National Community Pharmacists Association says about 20 thousand exist today -- down by half from 20 years ago.  They are being replaced by drug and supermarket chains, which often open up in the same neighborhood, and offer a wider selection of products.

But customer Abby Griffin says the chain stores are impersonal12, so she comes to Morgan’s. 

“It’s the friendliness, and you feel you trust the pharmacist, and you trust their advice.”

Independents like Morgan Pharmacy often provide services the chain stores do not, such as compounding certain drugs and creams by hand and delivering prescriptions.  Mr. Deutshman says the pharmacists also take the time to talk with customers and get to know them.

“So it’s more than just being the neighborhood pharmacist, it’s being part of the community.  You don’t get treated like this in chain drugstores.”

Mr. Deutshman hopes Morgan Pharmacy will be around for a long time. 

“I have the most wonderful clientele in the world.  I have no plans on retiring.  Our plan is to hang in there as long as we can.”

The popularity of large home improvement stores in the United States has made many neighborhood hardware stores a memory.  But one family-owned hardware store near Washington is beating the odds13 and business is better than ever.  Next we take you to a hardware store that has been around for more than one hundred years.

Welcome to Browns Hardware in Falls Church, Virginia, where you can find a wide variety of hardware and other items.  Browns brings back memories for customer Dennis Kraft.

“The thing that reminds me the most of the stores that I was in as a kid is that the shelves are just stacked to the ceiling.”

Hugh Brown has owned the store for more than 50 years.

“Hi, Mr.  Brown.  How are you?”

Everyone calls him Mr.  Brown, even John Taylor, the store manager for more than 15 years.

“He’s a great guy to work for.  It’s almost like working with your dad.”

Mr. Brown is the third generation to run this family business.  It was founded by his grandfather in the late 1800s, then handed down to Mr. Brown’s father. 

The current store, built in the 1950s, has kept its old gumball machines.  And Mr.  Brown still uses his grandfather’s safe. 

He thinks the store has been successful because the customers come first.

“We try to take care of them when they come in.  Try to have the merchandise that they want.”

Bobbi Beck has been coming in for 30 years to buy items for her jewelry14 business called “Hard Wear.”

“The people who work here, we’re like family to me.”

Mr.  Taylor says customers keep coming back because they trust Browns. 

“They know we won’t sell them something that they don’t need.  Some people will come in and talk to us for 20 and 30 minutes after a sale if it’s not busy.  We have a good time.”

Despite its success, this neighborhood landmark15 could disappear.  Competition from large, national home improvement warehouses16, known as big box stores, is driving many small hardware stores out of business.  Browns’ customers say they do not want that to happen here. 

“You can find things that you can’t find in a gigantic store that’s ten times as big.”

“You can always find someone to help you here, and someone who knows what you need.  It’s a personal touch and you cannot find that at a big box store.”

Many big box stores also do not provide services like fixing screens.  And, instead of having to buy a box of nails at the big box stores, Mr.  Brown sells individual nails that are weighed on a scale made in 1912.

“They just want a few, and they love to come back here, and just pick out what they want.”

The store also carries soap that Mr. Brown remembers from his youth.

“There’s no perfume or anything in it.  It’s just like a heavy laundry soap.”

Mr. Taylor says some people come in just to look around, and find unusual items like an owl17 that scares birds out of gardens.

And this fly zapper.

With no family of his own, Mr. Brown plans to pass the store on to Mr.  Taylor.  When that happens, a new family tradition may begin.

“My son works here.  He’s been working here since he was in high school.”

Our program was produced by Brianna Blake, with reporting by Deborah Block.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

And I’m-------- Christopher Cruise.


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 sluggish VEgzS     
adj.懒惰的,迟钝的,无精打采的
参考例句:
  • This humid heat makes you feel rather sluggish.这种湿热的天气使人感到懒洋洋的。
  • Circulation is much more sluggish in the feet than in the hands.脚部的循环比手部的循环缓慢得多。
2 suburban Usywk     
adj.城郊的,在郊区的
参考例句:
  • Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
  • There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。
3 specialties 4f19670e38d5e63c785879e223b3bde0     
n.专门,特性,特别;专业( specialty的名词复数 );特性;特制品;盖印的契约
参考例句:
  • Great Books are popular, not pedantic. They are not written by specialists about specialties for specialists. 名著绝不引经据典,艰深难懂,而是通俗易读。它们不是专家为专业人员撰写的专业书籍。 来自英汉 - 翻译样例 - 文学
  • Brain drains may represent a substantial reduction in some labor force skills and specialties. 智力外流可能表示某种劳动力技能和特长大量减少。 来自辞典例句
4 friendliness nsHz8c     
n.友谊,亲切,亲密
参考例句:
  • Behind the mask of friendliness,I know he really dislikes me.在友善的面具后面,我知道他其实并不喜欢我。
  • His manner was a blend of friendliness and respect.他的态度友善且毕恭毕敬。
5 pharmacy h3hzT     
n.药房,药剂学,制药业,配药业,一批备用药品
参考例句:
  • She works at the pharmacy.她在药房工作。
  • Modern pharmacy has solved the problem of sleeplessness.现代制药学已经解决了失眠问题。
6 prescription u1vzA     
n.处方,开药;指示,规定
参考例句:
  • The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
  • The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。
7 residential kkrzY3     
adj.提供住宿的;居住的;住宅的
参考例句:
  • The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
  • The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。
8 nostalgia p5Rzb     
n.怀乡病,留恋过去,怀旧
参考例句:
  • He might be influenced by nostalgia for his happy youth.也许是对年轻时幸福时光的怀恋影响了他。
  • I was filled with nostalgia by hearing my favourite old song.我听到这首喜爱的旧歌,心中充满了怀旧之情。
9 tar 1qOwD     
n.柏油,焦油;vt.涂或浇柏油/焦油于
参考例句:
  • The roof was covered with tar.屋顶涂抹了一层沥青。
  • We use tar to make roads.我们用沥青铺路。
10 prescriptions f0b231c0bb45f8e500f32e91ec1ae602     
药( prescription的名词复数 ); 处方; 开处方; 计划
参考例句:
  • The hospital of traditional Chinese medicine installed a computer to fill prescriptions. 中医医院装上了电子计算机来抓药。
  • Her main job was filling the doctor's prescriptions. 她的主要工作就是给大夫开的药方配药。
11 pharmacies a19950a91ea1800ed5273a89663d2855     
药店
参考例句:
  • Still, 32 percent of the pharmacies filled the prescriptions. 但仍然有32%的药剂师配发了这两张药方。 来自互联网
  • Chinese herbal pharmacies, and traditional massage therapists in the Vancouver telephone book. 中药店,和传统的按摩师在温哥华的电话簿里。 来自互联网
12 impersonal Ck6yp     
adj.无个人感情的,与个人无关的,非人称的
参考例句:
  • Even his children found him strangely distant and impersonal.他的孩子们也认为他跟其他人很疏远,没有人情味。
  • His manner seemed rather stiff and impersonal.他的态度似乎很生硬冷淡。
13 odds n5czT     
n.让步,机率,可能性,比率;胜败优劣之别
参考例句:
  • The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
  • Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗?
14 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
15 landmark j2DxG     
n.陆标,划时代的事,地界标
参考例句:
  • The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
  • The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。
16 warehouses 544959798565126142ca2820b4f56271     
仓库,货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
  • Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。
17 owl 7KFxk     
n.猫头鹰,枭
参考例句:
  • Her new glasses make her look like an owl.她的新眼镜让她看上去像只猫头鹰。
  • I'm a night owl and seldom go to bed until after midnight.我睡得很晚,经常半夜后才睡觉。

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