VOA标准英语2014--Latina Entrepreneur Makes Mark in Printing Industry

 

Latina Entrepreneur Makes Mark in Printing Industry

LOS ANGELES— 

Starting a business is difficult, and women entrepreneurs can face added obstacles.  But one woman business owner has found success in an industry dominated by men -- industrial-scale printing.

At a facility in central Los Angeles, Carmen Rad said she is one of a handful of women who do large-scale printing in the United States, and one of the few who is Hispanic.  She was born in Puerto Rico, a Spanish-speaking U.S. territory. Her company, called CR&A Custom, creates some of the oversized banners and posters at nearby Staples¹ Center arena² and the surrounding entertainment district called L.A. Live.

She said her corporate³ customers are sometimes surprised when they first meet her.

“They do not usually imagine a Latina woman owning equipment at this scale, so that is an obstacle that I do face,” said Rad.

She said people are impressed at the size of her operation. Printers that cost as much as $1 million can print posters more than three meters wide.

Rad’s company also designs graphics⁴ and creates paper cut-outs for marketing⁵ campaigns. It covered a U.S. government building in San Diego with a printed fabric⁶ and framing.

Rad has faced difficult times in the 20 years since she founded the company. She began by making jerseys⁷ and specialty⁸ clothing, but competition from China led her out of the clothing and into the printing business.

“Like any small business, you have your peaks and your valleys. So I have done really well and then I have been really broke,” said Rad.

She said the job of an entrepreneur brings added responsibility, in her case overseeing a staff of 40 workers.

“People think, oh, you are the boss, you are going to work less. You will work more than anyone else in your company because now you are responsible for so many others,” said Rad.

This is one of three million Hispanic-owned small businesses in the United States, and the number is growing by the decade, said the chairman of the Latino Coalition⁹, Hector Barreto. The organization recently hosted a panel on Latino women in business.

“Those three million Hispanic businesses are scheduled to double every five years, so three million will turn into 12 million Hispanic businesses, not just in California, Texas and Florida, but all across the United States,” said Barreto.

He said many of them are owned by women. Rad said she is working in an industry that she could not have envisioned when she started her company.  

1 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

2 arena   

n.竞技场，运动场所；竞争场所，舞台

参考例句：

• She entered the political arena at the age of 25. 她25岁进入政界。
• He had not an adequate arena for the exercise of his talents.他没有充分发挥其才能的场所。

3 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。

4 graphics   

n.制图法，制图学；图形显示

参考例句：

• You've leveraged your graphics experience into the video area.你们把图形设计业务的经验运用到录像业务中去。
• Improved graphics took computer games into a new era.经改进的制图技术将电脑游戏带进了一个新时代。

5 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

6 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

7 jerseys   

n.运动衫( jersey的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The maximum quantity of cotton jerseys this year is about DM25,000. 平方米的羊毛地毯超过了以往的订货。 来自口语例句
• The NBA is mulling the prospect of stitching advertising logos onto jerseys. 大意：NBA官方正在酝酿一个大煞风景的计划——把广告标志绣上球服！ 来自互联网

8 specialty   

n.(speciality)特性，特质；专业，专长

参考例句：

• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town.贝雕是该城的特产。
• His specialty is English literature.他的专业是英国文学。

9 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。