英语 英语 日语 日语 韩语 韩语 法语 法语 德语 德语 西班牙语 西班牙语 意大利语 意大利语 阿拉伯语 阿拉伯语 葡萄牙语 葡萄牙语 越南语 越南语 俄语 俄语 芬兰语 芬兰语 泰语 泰语 泰语 丹麦语 泰语 对外汉语

美国国家公共电台 NPR--Post pandemic: Return to the office lags — affecting commercial real estate

时间:2023-12-25 03:29来源:互联网 提供网友:nan   字体: [ ]
特别声明:本栏目内容均从网络收集或者网友提供,供仅参考试用,我们无法保证内容完整和正确。如果资料损害了您的权益,请与站长联系,我们将及时删除并致以歉意。
    (单词翻译:双击或拖选)

Post pandemic: Return to the office lags — affecting commercial real estate

Transcript1

There are more empty office spaces now than during the 2008 financial crisis. These vacancies2 could spell trouble for downtown city centers and the broader commercial real estate market.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

For some people in this country, the return to the office has not really happened. The pandemic intensified3 a trend of working from home. And while many people, of course, have long since returned to the office, more than half of Americans now work from home either some days or every day, which has left many corporate4 towers and office spaces empty. NPR's Arezou Rezvani visited one block of downtown Los Angeles.

JAMES WALLACE SEARS: These are pandemic shoes.

AREZOU REZVANI, BYLINE5: For the last few years, 80-year-old James Wallace Sears has kept a collection of what he calls pandemic shoes...

SEARS: Move to left.

REZVANI: ...Drawers full of heels, boots, loafers, all dropped off at his shoe repair shop here in downtown Los Angeles back in 2020 and long forgotten.

SEARS: You know, they were here pre-pandemic, and they've never picked them up.

REZVANI: These shoes mostly belong to lawyers, consultants6 and financial advisers7. They used to leave their broken soles with Sears in this underground plaza8 before heading to work aboveground in nearby corporate towers. That all stopped when Sears shut down his shop for more than a year because of the pandemic. When he reopened, he thought he'd see them all again. But...

SEARS: But I'm very slow. But, hey, you got to start sometime if you want to try to make the comeback. So here I am, waiting and hoping the customers come back.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Are y'all still coming in tomorrow?

REZVANI: Now, here's the thing. Aboveground on this Thursday afternoon, a lot of white-collar workers seem to be here at work.

So it's lunchtime. People have come out of these high-rise buildings. Many are having lunch with colleagues. Some are taking calls. Others are in line for coffee. And I got to say, it looks pretty busy.

But Caleb Brown, a barista at the coffee kiosk, tells me it's not always bustling9 like this.

CALEB BROWN: Most people are only here Tuesday through Thursday, gone Mondays and Fridays.

REZVANI: Many companies here have pumped the brakes on a full-bore return to the office. With high inflation, climbing interest rates and tightening10 credit from recent banking11 turmoil12, companies are assessing whether they need all that pre-pandemic office space at all, says Kenneth Rosen, chair of the real estate research firm Rosen Consulting.

KENNETH ROSEN: The typical building has about half the number of people in it as they normally do. So companies, when their leases are up, they're cutting back their uses of space. And so leasing for office buildings has been very weak.

REZVANI: So weak that about one-fifth of office space across the country is sitting empty. That's even more than the vacancy13 rate following the 2008 financial crisis. Rosen worries that if companies continue to give up their leases, those who own these office spaces won't be able to collect rent and make good on their loans.

ROSEN: Because of this, I'd say the No. 1 implication is going to be defaults and foreclosures.

REZVANI: Those foreclosures could really hurt small banks that are often behind many of these loans, which is why Rosen says the office-based sector14, with so much money tied up in outstanding loans, may be the next shoe to drop.

ROSEN: And it's a big one. It's about a $1.2 trillion shoe. It's going to drop.

REZVANI: That is one shoe cobbler James Wallace Sears hopes he'll never have to see. But that hope is fading day by day.

SEARS: I've had some feelers out to different customers, and they - some of them say they're not going to come back. If they come back, it maybe only three days a week. So you never know.

REZVANI: Sears says, at that rate, his little shop, which his father opened 50 years ago, might be out of business by year's end.

SEARS: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: You're welcome. Thank you.

REZVANI: Arezou Rezvani, NPR News, downtown Los Angeles.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 transcript JgpzUp     
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书
参考例句:
  • A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
  • They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。
2 vacancies f4145c86ca60004968b7b2900161d03e     
n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 );空虚;空白;空缺
参考例句:
  • job vacancies 职位空缺
  • The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》
3 intensified 4b3b31dab91d010ec3f02bff8b189d1a     
v.(使)增强, (使)加剧( intensify的过去式和过去分词 )
参考例句:
  • Violence intensified during the night. 在夜间暴力活动加剧了。
  • The drought has intensified. 旱情加剧了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
4 corporate 7olzl     
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。
5 byline sSXyQ     
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。
6 consultants c6fbb5ca6219111731f9c4c4d2675810     
顾问( consultant的名词复数 ); 高级顾问医生,会诊医生
参考例句:
  • a firm of management consultants 管理咨询公司
  • There're many consultants in hospital. 医院里有很多会诊医生。
7 advisers d4866a794d72d2a666da4e4803fdbf2e     
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
参考例句:
  • a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
  • She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
8 plaza v2yzD     
n.广场,市场
参考例句:
  • They designated the new shopping centre York Plaza.他们给这个新购物中心定名为约克购物中心。
  • The plaza is teeming with undercover policemen.这个广场上布满了便衣警察。
9 bustling LxgzEl     
adj.喧闹的
参考例句:
  • The market was bustling with life. 市场上生机勃勃。
  • This district is getting more and more prosperous and bustling. 这一带越来越繁华了。
10 tightening 19aa014b47fbdfbc013e5abf18b64642     
上紧,固定,紧密
参考例句:
  • Make sure the washer is firmly seated before tightening the pipe. 旋紧水管之前,检查一下洗衣机是否已牢牢地固定在底座上了。
  • It needs tightening up a little. 它还需要再收紧些。
11 banking aySz20     
n.银行业,银行学,金融业
参考例句:
  • John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
  • He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。
12 turmoil CKJzj     
n.骚乱,混乱,动乱
参考例句:
  • His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
  • The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。
13 vacancy EHpy7     
n.(旅馆的)空位,空房,(职务的)空缺
参考例句:
  • Her going on maternity leave will create a temporary vacancy.她休产假时将会有一个临时空缺。
  • The vacancy of her expression made me doubt if she was listening.她茫然的神情让我怀疑她是否在听。
14 sector yjczYn     
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。
本文本内容来源于互联网抓取和网友提交,仅供参考,部分栏目没有内容,如果您有更合适的内容,欢迎点击提交分享给大家。
------分隔线----------------------------
TAG标签:   美国新闻  英语听力  NPR
顶一下
(0)
0%
踩一下
(0)
0%
最新评论 查看所有评论
发表评论 查看所有评论
请自觉遵守互联网相关的政策法规,严禁发布色情、暴力、反动的言论。
评价:
表情:
验证码:
听力搜索
推荐频道
论坛新贴