VOA慢速英语:美国纺织业焕发新生
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American Textile Industry Shows New signs of Life
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语科技报道。
The textile and clothing industry in the United States is growing again after many years of decline. Many of the factories are competing against factories that pay low wages in countries like China.
美国的纺织服装行业经过多年萎缩后又开始增长。这些工厂的很多开始和中国等低工资国家的工厂开始竞争。
VOA visited the southern state of North Carolina. The textile industry there was once one of the most important businesses in the state. It has reinvented itself using technology and employing fewer people than before.
美国之音探访了南部的北卡罗莱纳州。这里的纺织业曾经是该州最重要的产业之一。如今它通过采用科学技术和雇佣更少人工彻底改造了自己。
Robots do most of the work at the National Spinning Company factory in Burlington, North Carolina. The factory dyes more than 110,000 kilograms of yarn every week in many different colors. The yarn is sent to clothing and furniture makers both in the U.S. and around the world.
在北卡莱来纳州伯灵顿市的全美纺纱公司工厂，机器人完成了大部分的工作。该工厂每周染出超过11万公斤各种颜色的纱线。这些纱线被送往美国和世界各地的服装和家具制造商。
Michael Hankensen is one of only two workers who take care of the dye producing machines.
迈克尔·汉肯森(Michael Hankensen)是维护该染料生产机器的两名员工之一。
"As you see, most of this is extremely heavy, cumbersome, and trying to move it around in the order that these robots do it, it would take an army of men to accomplish what these robots do," said Hankensen.
汉肯森表示，“如你所见，这些东西大部分都极其笨重。如果像机器人这样按顺序移动它们，会把工人胳膊都累断的。”
Technology is helping the company compete with factories in other countries that pay workers only a few dollars a day. The National Spinning Company factory pays its 100 employees between $10 and $20 an hour.
科技正帮助该公司与其它国家每天只付给工人几美元工资的工厂竞争。全美纺纱公司工厂给它100名员工支付的工资是10到20美元每小时。
Ed Atkins manages the factory. He says it is important for the company to limit labor costs, but he says, it must also make high quality products, and he says, the company must provide good customer service to compete in the international market place.
埃德·阿特金(Ed Atkins)管理者这家工厂。他说，限制劳动力成本对该公司很重要，但他表示，公司还必须生产出高质量的产品，他还表示，该公司必须提供良好的客户服务以在国际市场上竞争。
"We've diversified ourselves, looked for markets that depended on the quick response that you can provide from American-made products, little niche markets. I mean we don't try to compete in the generic cotton business or anything like that, because it's not where our strengths are," said Atkins.
阿特金表示，“我们已经成功多元化，寻找到依赖快速反应的市场，我们可以提供小众市场的美国制造产品。我的意思是，我们不要试图在一般棉花交易或类似东西上竞争，因为那不是我们的优势。”
Deborah Wince-Smith is the president of the Council on Competitiveness, she says the textile industry must continue to develop technology.
德博拉·文斯-史密斯(Deborah Wince-Smith)是美国竞争力委员会的主席。她表示，纺织工业必须继续发展技术。
"Companies and enterprises are really bringing their core activities to where they have a skilled workforce, where they have innovation talent and where they're actually able to develop the next generation of innovation that drives manufacturing," said Wince-Smith.
文斯-史密斯说，“公司和企业的核心业务是熟练劳动力、技术创新人才以及能够开发出推动制造业发展的下一代技术创新。”
The textile industry has built 23 factories in the last three years, it has also increased its exports by 30 percent. To the surprise of many, the American textile industry is showing new signs of life.
在过去三年里，纺织业已经建成了23家工厂。它还将其出口提高了30%。令许多人惊讶的是，美国纺织业正焕发新生。
American Textile Industry Shows New signs of Life
By VOA
09 February, 2014
From VOA Learning English, this is the Technology Report.
The textile and clothing industry in the United States is growing again after many years of decline. Many of the factories are competing against factories that pay low wages in countries like China.
VOA visited the southern state of North Carolina. The textile industry there was once one of the most important businesses in the state. It has reinvented itself using technology and employing fewer people than before.
Robots do most of the work at the National Spinning Company factory in Burlington, North Carolina. The factory dyes more than 110,000 kilograms of yarn every week in many different colors. The yarn is sent to clothing and furniture makers both in the U.S. and around the world.
Michael Hankensen is one of only two workers who take care of the dye producing machines.
"As you see, most of this is extremely heavy, cumbersome, and trying to move it around in the order that these robots do it, it would take an army of men to accomplish what these robots do," said Hankensen.
Technology is helping the company compete with factories in other countries that pay workers only a few dollars a day. The National Spinning Company factory pays its 100 employees between $10 and $20 an hour.
Ed Atkins manages the factory. He says it is important for the company to limit labor costs, but he says, it must also make high quality products, and he says, the company must provide good customer service to compete in the international market place.
"We've diversified ourselves, looked for markets that depended on the quick response that you can provide from American-made products, little niche markets. I mean we don't try to compete in the generic cotton business or anything like that, because it's not where our strengths are," said Atkins.
Deborah Wince-Smith is the president of the Council on Competitiveness, she says the textile industry must continue to develop technology.
"Companies and enterprises are really bringing their core activities to where they have a skilled workforce, where they have innovation talent and where they're actually able to develop the next generation of innovation that drives manufacturing," said Wince-Smith.
The textile industry has built 23 factories in the last three years, it has also increased its exports by 30 percent. To the surprise of many, the American textile industry is showing new signs of life.
And that's the Technology Report from VOA Learning English. Have a question or comment about this show? Email us at learningenglish@voanews.com. For more of our programs, visit our website at chinavoa.com. We are also on Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, iTunes and Twitter at VOA Learning English. I'm June Simms.
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