北美国际汽车展上的阴霾

Dan Harris: It's been called the Oscars of the auto¹ industry. You will find marching bands, elaborate stage shows, even a star of 'Desperate Housewives'.

Eva Longoria (Actress, Desperate Housewives): I'm desperate for one of these cars.

Dan Harris: Desperation despite the pop is definitely in the air here.

William Ford² (Chmn/CEO, Ford Motor Company): We've got a lot to do, and some of it will be painful.

Dan Harris: The Big Three automakers lost more than six billion dollars in North America last year, as they deal with stiffer competition from the Germans, Japanese and Koreans, adding to the angst, a Chinese company is displaying a cheap new car here for the first time ever.

Dan Harris: A few miles from the convention in the shadow of General Motors' headquarters, the best and brightest at Martin Luther King High School show little interest in Detroit's biggest business.

Dan Harris: How many people here have family members who work in the auto industry? How many of you think that there is a good future for you in the auto industry?

Dan Harris: That's because in the last ten years, Michigan has lost more than a quarter of its auto industry jobs, nearly 79,000 of them gone. Ryan Daleo, a fourth generation autoworker says he does not want his children entering the business.

Ryan Daleo (Autoworker): I can go on tomorrow, and they can say, you know, we don't need you anymore.

Dan Harris: American companies are struggling because they have to spend billions on health care for retirees; they have aging, inefficient³ plants, and because SUVs, their bread and butter, became much less popular when gas prices spiked⁴.

Dan Harris: There is real speculation⁵ here that in the not-too-distant future, an American automaker could either go bankrupt or go out of business.

Dan Harris: Hence this mantra from Ford's new turnaround men: "...change or die".

Dan Harris: Change is coming in the form of layoffs⁶ and plant closings. Optimists⁷ say, in the long term, this will lead to a stronger industry, but in the short term, all this pageantry will be followed by pain.

Dan Harris: Dan Harris, ABC News, Detroit.

Note------------
in the air: if a feeling is in the air, a lot of people feel it at the same time; 广泛的,流行的.
angst: strong feelings of anxiety and unhappiness because you are worried about your life, your future, or what you should do in a particular situation; 焦虑, 担心.
bread and butter: 支柱,主要的支撑要素.
pageantry: impressive ceremonies or events, involving many people wearing special clothes; 壮观, 华丽.

1 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。

2 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

3 inefficient   

adj.效率低的，无效的

参考例句：

• The inefficient operation cost the firm a lot of money.低效率的运作使该公司损失了许多钱。
• Their communication systems are inefficient in the extreme.他们的通讯系统效率非常差。

4 spiked   

adj.有穗的；成锥形的；有尖顶的

参考例句：

• The editor spiked the story. 编辑删去了这篇报道。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They wondered whether their drinks had been spiked. 他们有些疑惑自己的饮料里是否被偷偷搀了烈性酒。 来自辞典例句

5 speculation   

n.思索，沉思；猜测；投机

参考例句：

• Her mind is occupied with speculation.她的头脑忙于思考。
• There is widespread speculation that he is going to resign.人们普遍推测他要辞职。

6 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

7 optimists   

n.乐观主义者( optimist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Even optimists admit the outlook to be poor. 甚至乐观的人都认为前景不好。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Optimists reckon house prices will move up with inflation this year. 乐观人士认为今年的房价将会随通货膨胀而上涨。 来自辞典例句