VOA标准英语2013--US Cities Brace for Mandatory Government Spending Cuts

 

US Cities Brace¹ for Mandatory² Government Spending Cuts

Air traffic controllers at the Frederick, Maryland, municipal airport guide pilots around the busy airspace. But, under the spending cuts known as sequestration, this control tower, like many at smaller airports, is slated³ to close. Mamie Ambrose has been an air traffic controller for 11 years. She's among seven government contractors⁴ who would lose their jobs.

" We are armed service medal veterans, and now we are getting thrown out on the street for political gain and games. That's what it means. It also means no income and being in the unemployment line with so many others," Ambrose said.

More than 20 percent of Frederick's residents are directly or indirectly⁵ employed by the federal government. Its largest employer is the Army's Fort Detrick, a biomedical research facility with nearly 10,000 workers. Frederick and nearby areas are nervously⁶ awaiting the effects of cuts in government spending.

Frederick Mayor Randy McClement and a volunteer deliver hot meals to low-income seniors. The mayor worries federal cuts that cause job losses and salary reductions could indirectly harm charity organizations that help needy⁷ residents.

"If the people who help volunteer for meals-on-wheels for the elderly are now more concerned about trying to find jobs or supplement the days lost by going out and getting a part time job they won't have the ability to volunteer for services like this," McClement said.

The mayor says nobody has a clear idea of the full impact, but he says job losses and salary reductions will affect some Frederick residents.

"They live in our town, they shop in our town, they do their daily business in our town. Well, if they have one less day of pay per week, then we are going to start seeing a decrease in those services being utilized⁸, That's how we believe the outcome is going to hurt our municipality," McClement said.

Richard Griffin, the city's economic development director, says the good news for this city of 65,000 is its improving economy plus 1.5 million people who visit annually⁹.

"We are a diverse economy, and we also have a very strong visitor and tourism sector¹⁰ of our economy here. Our hope is that the furloughs and any layoffs¹¹ that we might see from contractors or the federal side itself would be offset¹² a little bit," Griffin said.

Some local businessmen, like jeweler Jeff Hurwitz, say the government spending cuts will not harm long-term consumer spending.

"I don't believe it is going to affect things because people will see how minor¹³ it is. And it won't be an issue," Hurwitz said.

Frederick was recently given an award as a comeback city, one of a few places across the country that has been able to bounce back well from the recent recession. The people here say, despite sequestration, this community will again be able to come back strong. 

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

3 slated   

用石板瓦盖( slate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Yuki is working up an in-home phonics program slated for Thursdays, and I'm drilling her on English conversation at dinnertime. Yuki每周四还有一次家庭语音课。我在晚餐时训练她的英语口语。
• Bromfield was slated to become U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. 布罗姆菲尔德被提名为美国农业部长。

4 contractors   

n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We got estimates from three different contractors before accepting the lowest. 我们得到3个承包商的报价后，接受了最低的报价。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Contractors winning construction jobs had to kick back 2 per cent of the contract price to the mafia. 赢得建筑工作的承包商得抽出合同价格的百分之二的回扣给黑手党。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 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。

6 nervously   

adv.神情激动地，不安地

参考例句：

• He bit his lip nervously,trying not to cry.他紧张地咬着唇，努力忍着不哭出来。
• He paced nervously up and down on the platform.他在站台上情绪不安地走来走去。

7 needy   

adj.贫穷的，贫困的，生活艰苦的

参考例句：

• Although he was poor,he was quite generous to his needy friends.他虽穷，但对贫苦的朋友很慷慨。
• They awarded scholarships to needy students.他们给贫苦学生颁发奖学金。

8 utilized   

v.利用，使用( utilize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• In the19th century waterpower was widely utilized to generate electricity. 在19世纪人们大规模使用水力来发电。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The empty building can be utilized for city storage. 可以利用那栋空建筑物作城市的仓库。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 annually   

adv.一年一次，每年

参考例句：

• Many migratory birds visit this lake annually.许多候鸟每年到这个湖上作短期逗留。
• They celebrate their wedding anniversary annually.他们每年庆祝一番结婚纪念日。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 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

12 offset   

n.分支，补偿；v.抵消，补偿

参考例句：

• Their wage increases would be offset by higher prices.他们增加的工资会被物价上涨所抵消。
• He put up his prices to offset the increased cost of materials.他提高了售价以补偿材料成本的增加。

13 minor   

adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修

参考例句：

• The young actor was given a minor part in the new play.年轻的男演员在这出新戏里被分派担任一个小角色。
• I gave him a minor share of my wealth.我把小部分财产给了他。