Houston is an oil town. It is not pretty,but it thrives.
但是现在全球油价在大幅下降这必然对这座石油之城造成影响。
With reduced demand, many small manufacturers and suppliers are sure to go bust, says Patrick Jankowski, an economist with the Greater Houston Partnership, a local lobby. But the real question is whether a more general slump follows. If high-paying corporate posts go, the effect on the rest of the Houston economy could be dramatic. Yet there are signs that, this time,Houston’s spectacular growth will be slowed rather than stopped by the oil slump.
词汇突破:
1.Bust:衰退,破产;反义词 boom (描述宏观经济的时候常这样说:boom and bust 兴衰)
2.Lobby :游说团体
3.Slump:衰退;oil slump 油价下跌
4.Spectacular:辉煌的
5.Dramatic: 严重的同义词:drastic / dreadful ; dreadful headline 负面报道
结构分析:
第一句:
With reduced demand, many small manufacturers and suppliers are sure to go bust, says Patrick Jankowski, an economist with the GreaterHouston Partnership, a local lobby.
主干:many small manufacturers and suppliers are sure to go bust.
其他成分:, says Patrick Jankowski, 主谓做插入语
With reduced demand, 状语
an economist with the Greater Houston Partnership,
alocal lobby同位语
参考译文:Patrick Jankowski是当地一家游说团体the Greater Houston Partnership的经济学家,他说随着需求的减少,很多小的制造商和供应商一定会破产。
第二句:
But the real question is whether a more general slump follows.
但是真正的问题是会不会产生更大范围的衰退。
第三句:
If high-paying corporate posts go, the effect on the rest of the Houston economy could be dramatic.
如果高薪的公司职位没有了,那么对于休斯顿经济的其他方面的影响会很严重。
第四句:
Yet there are signs that, this time, Houston’s spectacular growth will be slowed rather than stopped by the oil slump.
但是有迹象表明,这一次,休斯顿辉煌的增长会由于油价下跌放缓而不是停止。
这就是整个文章的主题句!
接了下来的句子就会讲为什么这次的石油价格下跌不会对休斯顿带来非常严重的影响。
文章的结尾有这样一句话:
Sprawl may not be pretty—but it seems to work.
Sprawl:城市杂乱无章的扩张。