美国国家公共电台 NPR As Log Trucks And Fishing Boats Leave, Gold Beach Tries To Remake Its Identity

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This summer, NPR reporters are going home, back to the communities where they grew up, to see how their hometowns may have changed. The rural Pacific coast town of Gold Beach, Ore. is where Jeff Brady lived until 1985. On his trip home this summer, Jeff found a changed economy.

JEFF BRADY, BYLINE¹: Despite the name Gold Beach, there is no gold on the beach. There was, but it was mined in the late 1800s. A century later when I was growing up, logging dominated the economy and seemed like it always would.

TAMIE KAUFMAN: Well, it was our number-one employer at the time. People came from everywhere to work at the mill.

BRADY: Tamie Kaufman is a friend, a former classmate and now a Gold Beach City Council member. We're walking where a plywood mill once stood. A lot of our friends' parents worked here. The mill closed after logging slowed down in nearby federal forests. One factor was environmental concerns and efforts to preserve the spotted² owl³. Tamie says the mill burned down in 1991.

KAUFMAN: Now people struggle - a lot of poverty.

BRADY: So do you think most people around here would like to see a mill like this come back, if not this one specifically?

KAUFMAN: Definitely the old-timers. I don't know about the people that have moved here in the last 10 years or so. They're probably used to our quiet, sleepy town and have moved here to retire in a quiet place.

BRADY: When Tamie and I were growing up, Gold Beach was a blue-collar town. Now it's a retirement⁴ destination, thanks to relatively⁵ cheap homes, a new hospital, low taxes and stunning⁶ natural beauty. It's easy to find solitude⁷ on beaches that stretch for miles. The mountains reach down to the coastline. And in town, you can see osprey nesting in giant fir trees.

Plus there's the Rogue⁸ River, famous for its salmon⁹ fishing. Down at the harbor, one-time commercial fisherman John Wilson (ph) says his business has changed a lot since I left.

JOHN WILSON: What we used to have here was a fairly robust¹⁰ ocean trawl fishery.

BRADY: The cannery that processed fish went out of business. And Wilson says there are fishing restrictions¹¹ designed to restore depleted¹² salmon runs.

WILSON: This is my little craft here. It's the last in a line of boats I've had.

BRADY: When was the last time you were out?

WILSON: Last year.

BRADY: Oh, so you haven't been out this year yet?

WILSON: No, no, no. There has been no salmon season.

BRADY: On the other side of the harbor, there is one business that's thriving.

SCOTT MCNAIR: All right, jet boat people. Are you guys ready for a day on the Rogue River?

UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Yes.

MCNAIR: All right.

BRADY: Scott McNair's family owns Jerry's Rogue Jets. They take groups of tourists on boat trips up the Rogue River.

MCNAIR: Three of you? Excellent.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Take care.

MCNAIR: Take your time there on that ramp¹³ and you'll find Sean (ph).

BRADY: Without logging and fishing, tourism is a bigger part of Gold Beach's economy. But tourists only come in the summer.

MCNAIR: You know, businesses that survive off a three-month season have to be careful in their expenses.

BRADY: McNair says tourism can't provide the steady paychecks timber and fishing did. Across the river, there's a controversial industry emerging. Oregon voters legalized recreational marijuana in 2014. Pot was always for sale here, but it's strange to see it marketed openly now.

EARL CRUMRINE: The building is white, and we have green crosses to show the people that it is a place that's cannabis friendly.

BRADY: Earl Crumrine co-owns the business and says, marijuana is seasonal¹⁴, too.

CRUMRINE: We're doing about 50, 60,000 a month.

BRADY: Crumrine employs about 30 people, most of them part-time. Wages are low, close to the local minimum of $10 an hour. His business is a new source of revenue for Curry¹⁵ County, though.

CRUMRINE: They are now collecting 3 percent taxes. And that's over 14,000 a year that the county's going to get from my taxes.

BRADY: The county needs all the money it can get. Voters rejected a series of tax increases designed to make up for lost logging revenue. Republican County Commissioner¹⁶ Court Boice says it's a challenge to maintain even basic services like law enforcement.

COURT BOICE: When you were growing up here, we had 16 road deputies. Now we have about six or seven depending on what the circumstances are.

BRADY: That's for a county the size of Rhode Island where the population is small - 23,000 - but growing. Conservative political leaders here argue that reviving the timber industry will help. President Trump¹⁷ promised to do that during a campaign stop last year. Still, the economic prospects¹⁸ for my hometown of Gold Beach Oregon look dim.

Fortunately, there's always the beautiful beach, the river and the forest to console those who still live here. Jeff Brady, NPR News.

SIMON: NPR would like to hear from you about your hometown and how it's changed. You can email us at [email protected].

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 spotted   

adj.有斑点的，斑纹的，弄污了的

参考例句：

• The milkman selected the spotted cows,from among a herd of two hundred.牛奶商从一群200头牛中选出有斑点的牛。
• Sam's shop stocks short spotted socks.山姆的商店屯积了有斑点的短袜。

3 owl   

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。

4 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

5 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

6 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

7 solitude   

n. 孤独; 独居,荒僻之地,幽静的地方

参考例句：

• People need a chance to reflect on spiritual matters in solitude. 人们需要独处的机会来反思精神上的事情。
• They searched for a place where they could live in solitude. 他们寻找一个可以过隐居生活的地方。

8 rogue   

n.流氓；v.游手好闲

参考例句：

• The little rogue had his grandpa's glasses on.这淘气鬼带上了他祖父的眼镜。
• They defined him as a rogue.他们确定他为骗子。

9 salmon   

n.鲑，大马哈鱼，橙红色的

参考例句：

• We saw a salmon jumping in the waterfall there.我们看见一条大马哈鱼在那边瀑布中跳跃。
• Do you have any fresh salmon in at the moment?现在有新鲜大马哈鱼卖吗？

10 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 depleted   

adj. 枯竭的, 废弃的 动词deplete的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• Food supplies were severely depleted. 食物供应已严重不足。
• Both teams were severely depleted by injuries. 两个队都因队员受伤而实力大减。

13 ramp   

n.暴怒，斜坡，坡道；vi.作恐吓姿势，暴怒，加速；vt.加速

参考例句：

• That driver drove the car up the ramp.那司机将车开上了斜坡。
• The factory don't have that capacity to ramp up.这家工厂没有能力加速生产。

14 seasonal   

adj.季节的，季节性的

参考例句：

• The town relies on the seasonal tourist industry for jobs.这个城镇依靠季节性旅游业提供就业机会。
• The hors d'oeuvre is seasonal vegetables.餐前小吃是应时蔬菜。

15 curry   

n.咖哩粉，咖哩饭菜；v.用咖哩粉调味，用马栉梳，制革

参考例句：

• Rice makes an excellent complement to a curry dish.有咖喱的菜配米饭最棒。
• Add a teaspoonful of curry powder.加一茶匙咖喱粉。

16 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

17 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

18 prospects   

n.希望，前途(恒为复数)

参考例句：

• There is a mood of pessimism in the company about future job prospects. 公司中有一种对工作前景悲观的情绪。
• They are less sanguine about the company's long-term prospects. 他们对公司的远景不那么乐观。