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US Small Businesses Cautiously Optimistic About Economy 美国小企业对经济前景谨慎乐观
NEW YORK—
The U.S. Small Business Administration classifies a business with less than 500 employees as small. Right now, there are 23 million small businesses across the United States and together they account for 54 percent of all U.S. sales.
根据美国联邦小企业管理局的分类，雇员不到500人的公司属于小企业。美国现在有2千3百万小企业，其销售总额占美国全国的54%。VOA 卫视记者舒斯曼在下面的报道中介绍了三个小企业，我们它们在目前的经济形势下生意如何。
Mark Zwerdling started Generation Z, a youth sports marketing1 company, seven years ago. He has three employees and lists cash flow, responsibility to employees, and being nimble as keys to success.
马克·兹维尔丁7年前创办了“Z一代”公司。这是一个青年体育用品销售公司，有三名雇员。兹维尔丁说，注重现金流、对雇员负责和灵活是成功的关键。
“I think people are looking to do business with small companies, again I hate using the world nimble, but I think that’s something businesses are looking for from some of their vendors2 is being nimble. So, I think people are very excited about where the economy is and where opportunities lie and I think that’s kind of a unique thing," said Zwerdling.
兹维尔丁说，“我想，人们想和小企业做生意。我不喜欢用‘灵活’这个词儿，但是，一些企业希望供货商能够灵活。人们都为目前的经济形势和机会感到兴奋。”
At Snowdonia, a Welsh-style restaurant in Queens, New York, owner Carrie Spiller says she is now barely making a profit two years after opening. In addition to the high cost of electricity, Spiller was surprised by the extent government involvement in her business.
在纽约皇后区这家叫做“斯诺多尼亚”的威尔士风味餐馆，店主凯利·斯皮勒说，开张两年以来，几乎没赚到什么钱。除了房租昂贵之外，政府干预的程度也令她吃惊。
"Basically, I think it was taxes that was my biggest lesson. Employee tax, you have to pay unemployment, sales tax, naturally. Just all these little elements that go into what your monthly responsibility is and it, especially in the beginning, is overwhelming," she said.
她说，“最大的问题是税收，你必须得交雇佣税，当然还得交销售税。
The small business owners VOA spoke3 with cite health care costs as one of the biggest expenses and risks. Small businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not required to offer health insurance, but to attract and keep employees - it’s basically a necessity.
美国之音采访的一些小企业主都认为医疗保险是他们目前最大的支出和风险。法律不要求雇员少于50人的小企业向员工提供医疗保险，但是，为了吸引和留住雇员，提供医疗保险却成为必须。
David Rosini, who owns an engineering company, says providing health care is almost the biggest and most frustrating4 issue he faces.
大卫·罗西尼 （David Rosini）经营着一家工程公司。他说，提供医疗保险是他面临的最大，也是最令他沮丧的事情。
“We cover most of their health care expenses and since I’ve been doing this for 10 years, every single year health care goes up 20 to 25 percent," he said. "And every year we shop around to try and get the best coverage5 for the most reasonable rates and it’s just something that we cannot control."
“我开这家公司十年了，我们一直为员工提供大部分的保险。医疗保险每年上涨20%到25%， 每年我们都得到处寻找价格最合理，又提供最好服务的保险，这件事我们无法控制。”
A recent economic forecast from Bank of America/CFI Group says small businesses are doing well. But according to Sue Lonergan, the bank’s small business executive, there is caution with the optimism.
美国银行和科罗思咨询集团最近的一份经济预测报告说，小企业目前的状态不错，但是，美国银行负责小企业的主管苏·罗纳根说，他们对此谨慎乐观。
“Small businesses are still hesitant to spend and expand, and that includes hiring and they’re very nervous about the fact that there could be turnover6 because there is potentially some wage inflation on the forefront," she said.
“小企业对支出和扩展业务还是犹疑不决，包括雇佣新员工，他们非常担心经济形势逆转，因为过一段时间有可能出现工资上涨。
The survey also showed the American entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in millenials, those who were born in the 1980s and 1990s. Many of them are looking forward to owning their own small businesses and are very optimistic about the economy.
这项调查还显示，80后和90后出生的人充满了美国的创业精神。他们中的大部分人在试图创建自己的小企业，他们对经济也很乐观。
收听单词发音 |
1
marketing
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| n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西 | |
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vendors
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| n.摊贩( vendor的名词复数 )；小贩；（房屋等的）卖主；卖方 | |
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spoke
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| n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说 | |
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frustrating
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| adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧 | |
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coverage
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| n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖 | |
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turnover
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| n.人员流动率，人事变动率；营业额，成交量 | |
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