VOA标准英语2011--Little US Companies with Big Impact

Not long ago, a VOA colleague of ours was building a cabinet, and he wanted to put wheels on it so it could be moved easily about the room.
This got us thinking. We hear a lot about the struggles of America's manufacturing sector¹ - automobiles², appliances, textiles, electronics.
What we don't hear much about are the LITTLE businesses that build those casters, the knobs on washing machines, the buttons on blouses, and so on.
katerha, Flickr Creative Commons
Toothpick manufacturing is not a big part of the nation's gross national product. But several companies - including some in Wisconsin, in or close to its many lumber³ plants - make them.
Even though it's a northern state, close to those that have lost jobs to the southern and southwestern "Sun Belt," Wisconsin routinely leads the nation in creating new manufacturing jobs.
Not in heavy industry, or even in its famous cheese factories - rather in an endless assortment⁴ of products made in little plants you see tucked among Wisconsin's green, manicured farms. Riding past them, you might catch the name on a sign, but have no clue what they make.
Well, Curt⁵ Manufacturing in Eau Claire makes metal ball hitches⁶ for trailers. Great White Dental Lab in Lodi fashions enamel⁷ teeth called "crowns." Universal Die & Stampings in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, makes battery caps and other shaped metal parts. And K & B Innovations in Oconomowac creates "Shrinky Dinks," which are little plastic thingies that kids can color and then shrink in the oven.
And somebody, somewhere, builds the vats⁸ and forms, big stirring paddles and conveyor belts without which there'd be no Wisconsin cheese. Americans don't pay much attention when one of these companies wins an award, or loses a contract and closes, or relocates to Mexico or Thailand - unless it's the little plant that's the economic engine of our town.

1 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。

2 automobiles   

n.汽车( automobile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When automobiles become popular,the use of the horse and buggy passed away. 汽车普及后，就不再使用马和马车了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Automobiles speed in an endless stream along the boulevard. 宽阔的林荫道上，汽车川流不息。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

3 lumber   

n.木材，木料；v.以破旧东西堆满；伐木；笨重移动

参考例句：

• The truck was sent to carry lumber.卡车被派出去运木材。
• They slapped together a cabin out of old lumber.他们利用旧木料草草地盖起了一间小屋。

4 assortment   

n.分类，各色俱备之物，聚集

参考例句：

• This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.该店各色货物俱全，任君选择。
• She was wearing an odd assortment of clothes.她穿着奇装异服。

5 curt   

adj.简短的，草率的

参考例句：

• He gave me an extremely curt answer.他对我作了极为草率的答复。
• He rapped out a series of curt commands.他大声发出了一连串简短的命令。

6 hitches   

暂时的困难或问题( hitch的名词复数 )； 意外障碍； 急拉； 绳套

参考例句：

• He hitches a lift with a long - distance truck. 他搭上了一辆长途卡车。
• One shoulder hitches upward in a shrug. 她肩膀绷紧，然后耸了耸。

7 enamel   

n.珐琅，搪瓷，瓷釉；(牙齿的)珐琅质

参考例句：

• I chipped the enamel on my front tooth when I fell over.我跌倒时门牙的珐琅质碰碎了。
• He collected coloured enamel bowls from Yugoslavia.他藏有来自南斯拉夫的彩色搪瓷碗。

8 vats   

varieties 变化，多样性，种类

参考例句：

• Fixed rare issue with getting stuck in VATS mode. 修正了极少出现的VATS模式卡住的问题。
• Objective To summarize the experience of VATS clinic application. 目的总结电视胸腔镜手术(vats)胸外科疾病治疗中的临床应用经验。