VOA标准英语2011--Population Reflects Economic Woes in One

Population Reflects Economic Woes¹ in One US Town

The city of Gary, Indiana, was founded in 1906 by the head of the United States Steel Corporation, Elbert H. Gary. U.S. Steel continues to operate a massive plant along the shores of Lake Michigan, though a dramatic loss of jobs in the steel industry over several decades has brought economic hardship and blight² to a once prospering³ city. But regional development initiatives are bringing some hope to a town that needs a boost.
In many sections of Gary, Indiana, time has stood still. The remnants of prosperity are now decaying examples of Gary's decline.
The steel mills made the town, and provided a job directly or indirectly⁴ for almost everyone who lived here.
Now, those mills produce more steel than ever before, but with far fewer employees.
"We can make a lot more steel with less people. It's a high-tech⁵ manufacturing operation," explained Jill Ritchie, director of public policy for the United States Steel Corporation. Their plant in Gary, Indiana, now employs about 6,000 people, down from about 35,000 in the 1960s.
"Those were the days when you were carting things around by hand," Ritchie added. "We had our own blacksmith operation at the plant. So you know we've come a long way since those days."
As the steel industry modernized⁶ and downsized, the exodus⁷ from Gary began. In 1970, the city's population was just above 175,000. The latest 2010 census⁸ figures show a 20 percent decline in Gary's population in the last decade. Now there are officially about 80,000 people.
That figure has Mayor Rudy Clay concerned. "We have more than that," said Clay. "A lot of people didn't fill out those forms so we are appealing that."
If the appeal fails, the city would not be eligible⁹ for as much federal funding because of its decreased size.
Gary lost a similar appeal of the 2000 census numbers. More than a quarter of Gary's population lives in poverty, twice the national average. Everyone who lives here is looking for a way back to prosperity.
"When you become a one-horse town, you sort of live by the sword and die by the sword. In this case, steel was our sword," noted¹⁰ Karen Freeman-Wilson, the Democratic nominee¹¹ in Gary's mayoral race. Without strong Republican opposition¹², she will likely become the city's first female mayor in November's election. She hopes to use the city's location to bring jobs and prosperity back to Gary.
"We are in the midst of four interstate highways," Freeman-Wilson added. "We are in the midst of three international train lines. We are also on one of the largest Great Lakes. We have an airport. All of those factors can work together to make Gary the transportation Mecca of the Midwest. It would rival Chicago because Chicago is so congested now."
Leaders in northwest Indiana broke ground in May on a $153 million expansion project at the Gary Chicago International Airport. Officials hope expanding the runway will attract more freight and passenger airlines that currently use other congested Chicago airports.
There is also a plan to build a large museum honoring Gary's most famous resident, Michael Jackson. Developers hope the $300 million project will eventually draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to Gary each year.
But those plans remain on the drawing board. With no groundbreaking date in site, city officials are becoming increasingly pessimistic the project will actually take off.

1 woes   

困境( woe的名词复数 )； 悲伤； 我好苦哇； 某人就要倒霉

参考例句：

• Thanks for listening to my woes. 谢谢您听我诉说不幸的遭遇。
• She has cried the blues about its financial woes. 对于经济的困难她叫苦不迭。

2 blight   

n.枯萎病；造成破坏的因素；vt.破坏，摧残

参考例句：

• The apple crop was wiped out by blight.枯萎病使苹果全无收成。
• There is a blight on all his efforts.他的一切努力都遭到挫折。

3 prospering   

成功，兴旺( prosper的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Our country is thriving and prospering day by day. 祖国日益繁荣昌盛。
• His business is prospering. 他生意兴隆。

4 indirectly   

adv.间接地，不直接了当地

参考例句：

• I heard the news indirectly.这消息我是间接听来的。
• They were approached indirectly through an intermediary.通过一位中间人，他们进行了间接接触。

5 high-tech   

adj.高科技的

参考例句：

• The economy is in the upswing which makes high-tech services in more demand too.经济在蓬勃发展，这就使对高科技服务的需求量也在加大。
• The quest of a cure for disease with high-tech has never ceased. 人们希望运用高科技治疗疾病的追求从未停止过。

6 modernized   

使现代化，使适应现代需要( modernize的过去式和过去分词 )； 现代化，使用现代方法

参考例句：

• By 1985 the entire railway network will have been modernized. 等到1985年整个铁路网就实现现代化了。
• He set about rebuilding France, and made it into a brilliant-looking modernized imperialism. 他试图重建法国，使它成为一项表面华丽的现代化帝业。

7 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。

8 census   

n.(官方的)人口调查，人口普查

参考例句：

• A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
• The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。

9 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

10 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

11 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

12 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。