(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
From VOA Learning English, this is the Economics Report.
Automobile manufacturing in Australia is in trouble. Japanese automaker Toyota recently decided to stop manufacturing cars in the country. Industry experts and trade unions are worried the decision could push parts of Australia into recession.
Last May, Ford Motor company said it would stop manufacturing in Australia. General Motors announced late last year that it also plans to suspend factory operations in the country.
Toyota says more than two thousand of its workers will lose their jobs, but trade unions say the company's decision to end production could leave 50,000 Australians jobless. They say the decision could take $19 billion away from the Australian economy, the states of Victoria and South Australia would be hurt the most.
Australia's car manufacturing industry was once very strong. In recent years, Australia produced about 200,000 vehicles a year for sales at home and for export. The industry spent more than $540 million on research and development.
John Spoehr is executive director of the Australian Workplace, Innovation and Social Research Center at the University of Adelaide. He says carmakers have found it difficult to operate in Australia.
"We now have one of the most competitive auto markets in the world with at least sixty different models here. In addition, we had declining demand internationally as a consequence of the global financial crisis, and the rise of low-cost manufacturing in India, China and Thailand," said Spoehr.
The collapse of Australia's car industry has also raised concerns in the Australian parliament. The opposition has accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of not doing enough to persuade Toyota not to close down its factories.
Mr Abbott has argued that he cannot be blamed for the industry's long-term decline, because he has been in office for only a few months.
Traditionally, Australia's car industry has received billions of dollars in government assistance. The government has asked its productivity commission to investigate public support for the automotive industry. The commission carries out research, and makes suggestions on economic, social and environmental issues.
The group has noted that big changes are taken place in Australia's car industry. It says the changes are affecting both industry employees and manufacturers of car parts. The commission is planning to give its final report to the government by the end of March.
And that's the Economics Report from VOA Learning English. For more VOA Learning English programs, visit our website, learningenglish.voanews.com. I'm Mario Ritter.
文本来自51voa，译文属可可原创，仅供学习交流使用，未经许可请勿转载
词汇解释
1.suspend vt. 延缓，推迟；使暂停；使悬浮 vi. 悬浮；禁赛
The union suspended strike action this week.
工会本周暂停了罢工行动。
2.declining adj. 下滑的；衰退的；倾斜的 v. 下降；衰退；婉谢（decline的ing形式）
Hourly output by workers declined 1.3% in the first quarter.
工人每小时的产量在第1季度下降了1.3%。
3.productivity n. 生产力；生产率；生产能力
The third-quarter results reflect continued improvements in productivity.
第三季度的结果反映了生产率的持续提高。
内容解析
1.In addition, we had declining demand internationally as a consequence of the global financial crisis,
as a consequence of 由于 ; 因此 ; 因为 ; 结果
This fact has been fully appreciated as a consequence of airborne surveys.
这一事实经过航空普查完全弄清楚了。
As a consequence of smoking, my father coughs frequently.
因为吸烟的缘故, 我父亲经常咳嗽。
参考译文
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
澳大利亚汽车制造业陷入困境，日本汽车制造商丰田最近决定停止在该国制造汽车。汽车行业专家和公会都担心该决定将使澳大利亚部分地区陷入衰退。
去年5月份，福特汽车公司称将停止在澳大利亚制造汽车。通用汽车去年晚些时候宣布也将暂停在该国的工厂运作。
丰田称2000多名员工将失去工作，但公会称该公司停产的决定将导致5万名澳大利亚人失业，称该决定使得澳大利亚经济损失190亿美元，维多利亚州和南澳洲的损失最严重。
澳大利亚的汽车制造业一度很强大，最近几年，澳大利亚生产了供在国内销售和出口的约20万辆汽车。该行业在研发上花费了5.4亿美元之多。
约翰·施珀尔是阿德莱德大学的澳大利亚职场、创新和社会研究中心执行董事，他说汽车制造商发现在澳大利亚制造汽车很困难。
“澳大利亚曾是全世界最具竞争力的汽车市场，拥有至少60个不同型号的汽车。另外，由于经济危机的影响，印度、中国和泰国这样的低成本制造业的崛起，我们在国际市场上的需求量在下降。”
澳大利亚汽车行业的衰落还引起了澳大利亚议会的担忧，反对派指责总理托尼·阿伯特没有做足够的工作来劝说丰田不要关闭工厂。
阿伯特称汽车行业的长期衰退并不怪自己，因为他刚上任几个月。
按照传统，澳大利亚的汽车业要获得数十亿美元的政府援助，政府请求其生产力委员会调查公众对汽车业的支持度。委员会做了调查并提出经济、社会和环保方面的建议。
该组织指出，澳大利亚汽车业已发生巨大变化，称这种改变不仅影响着该行业的雇员，也影响着汽车零部件的制造商。委员会计划在3月底将最终报告递交给政府。
这就是美国之音慢速英语经济报道，登陆learningenglish.voanews.com获得更多节目，我是马里奥·利特。
