VOA标准英语2011--Home Construction Industry Suffers in Di

Home Construction Industry Suffers in Dismal¹ US Housing Market

In 2010, about 323,000 new homes were sold in the United States. That’s the worst year on record since 1963. The dismal housing market in the United States, flooded with abandoned properties and foreclosures, has forced many out of the home construction industry. The building suppliers and construction workers who remain in the U.S. Midwest are trying to deal with the worst economic environment their industry has seen in decades.
Builder Hal Stembridge started his construction business in 1979, during a recession, when interest rates were high and fewer new homes were constructed. Nothing he learned then could prepare him for what he’s dealing² with now. “People say that it’s a recession when your neighbor gets laid off, it’s a depression when you get laid off, well this is just devastation," he said. "This is just coming out and wiping everybody in the trades… it’s just wiping everybody out.”
Stembridge is one of the few home builders in suburban³ Chicago still actively⁴ seeking the few customers who want to build new homes. He is fighting to say afloat, and directs some of his anger at the government.
“They’ve bailed⁵ out the banks. They’ve bailed out Wall Street. They’ve bailed out the car companies. But the largest employer in the United States is still suffering and that’s homebuilding,” Stembridge noted⁶.
About 54,000 new homes were built in the Chicago area in 2005. So far this year, only about 3,000 building permits have been issued to start construction on new housing.
Brandon Weiss got into the new home construction business at the height of the boom. Now in the bust⁷, he is surviving by retooling⁸. “But kind of as the market dissipated in new construction, we had to find other ways and alternative measures of making ourselves relevant today. So we definitely went into remodeling as kind of a focus point for a while. We’re still there,” he stated.
Weiss purchased his recent remodeling project in a foreclosure. Now completely renovated⁹, this house is one of the most energy-efficient homes on the market in Elgin, Illinois. It’s still for sale. “It’s tough right now. Showings are really slow. But I think that’s just market wide, not specifically on this house. It’s just the market in general right now.“
The dismal housing market has a ripple¹⁰ effect all the way up the supply chain to independent retailers¹² like the Edward Hines Lumber¹³ Company. “Hines at their peak was at 27 locations," he explained. We’re down to four.”
Doug Jones is the President of Hines Lumber. “At the high point of Hines, they had over 1,200 employees. We’re a little over 100,” Jones said.
Jones says the low point for Hines in 2008 was 60 employees, but hiring has picked up, thanks to new investment in the company.
But Jones’s small, independent building supply company still competes with bigger retail¹¹ stores and other small suppliers for the business that remains¹⁴. “The new home construction, at least in Chicago, is down over 90 percent from where it was in 2007. So there are still enough suppliers out there but not enough people building homes. It just makes it tough. There’s not enough to keep them going,” he said.
Builder Stembridge says there would be enough to keep them going if the government stepped in to help. “The bottom line is each new home provides three jobs for one year in the U.S. and creates about $90,000 in tax revenue. I don’t understand why the government doesn’t get behind new home construction [and help them get] back up on its feet,” he stated.
Even interest rates at record lows (below five percent) have not encouraged people to buy or build new homes. And with unemployment rate in the U.S. at over nine percent, potential buyers are concerned about their jobs, and whether or not they can afford the mortgage that comes with home ownership.

1 dismal   

adj.阴沉的，凄凉的，令人忧郁的，差劲的

参考例句：

• That is a rather dismal melody.那是一支相当忧郁的歌曲。
• My prospects of returning to a suitable job are dismal.我重新找到一个合适的工作岗位的希望很渺茫。

2 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

3 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

4 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

5 bailed   

保释，帮助脱离困境( bail的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Fortunately the pilot bailed out before the plane crashed. 飞机坠毁之前，驾驶员幸运地跳伞了。
• Some water had been shipped and the cook bailed it out. 船里进了些水，厨师把水舀了出去。

6 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。

7 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

8 retooling   

v.（给…）更换工具， （给…）更换机械设备( retool的现在分词 )；改组，革新

参考例句：

• The factory is retooling to start making the new line of cars. 工厂正在重新装备以便开始制造新系列车型。 来自辞典例句
• Among her suggestions: retooling factories to focus on rebuilding America's transportation system. 她的建议包括围绕重新建设美国交通系统这个重心来重组汽车工业。 来自互联网

9 renovated   

翻新，修复，整修( renovate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He renovated his house. 他翻修了房子。
• The house has been renovated three years earlier. 这所房子三年前就已翻新。

10 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

11 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

12 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

13 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。

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。