(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
Manufacturing is an important industry in the United States. However, for many years, Americans have expressed fear that the industry is in decline.
In the late 19th to middle 20th century, America stood as the industrial powerhouse of the world. Consumers sought the latest American-made products, from cars to refrigerators to televisions.
But, things began to change in the late 1970s. Japan and China caught up with the U.S. in the production of many consumer goods. Today, China is a manufacturing powerhouse itself. It produces about 80 percent of the world's air conditioners, 70 percent of its mobile phones and 60 percent of its shoes. Chinese products represent almost half of all the goods made in the world.
And, now in the United States, it can be difficult to find a manufacturer to help develop a product.
Matthew Burnett knows this all too well. The American businessman started a watch company in 2007. At first, he had overseas manufacturers make all his products. As a result, Burnett often faced shipping delays, a lack of quality control, and time zone issues.
Later, he expanded into leather goods. Still, he struggled to find domestic factories to make the wallets, belts, and other products of his new brand.
And he was not alone. Many American entrepreneurs found it easier to go out of the country for manufacturing. There was no central marketplace for the industry.
So, Matthew Burnett, and his business partner Tanya Menendez, created one. They called it Maker's Row.
Since 2012, the online marketplace has been connecting entrepreneurs with American manufacturers.
Matthew Burnett explains.
"What we try to do at Maker's Row is to encourage the brands to start producing in the United States so that you see more made in America products on the shelves. We used to produce 97 percent of the apparel that we consume here in the United States, today it's less than three percent. So it makes it very challenging to find sometimes made in America products, but that's the narrative we're trying to shift, by bringing these brands back home to produce."
Makersrow.com also helps brands and businesses find and organize their supply chains.
A manufacturer pays a monthly fee to be listed on the site. It includes project planning software and a search feature. Manufacturers can also receive factory bids through the site.
For an additional cost, entrepreneurs get additional support.
Maker's Row can be especially helpful to new or part-time entrepreneurs. The site can provide a plan for turning an idea into a business.
And co-founder Tanya Menendez says Maker's Row offers classes and training.
"We have an online academy so people can take free online courses. They're designed for people with busy lifestyles.
A lot of people that come to Maker's Row start off working 9-to-5 and having this become like their side hustle so we cater to those entrepreneurs too and then we have project software where established businesses can organize all of their ideas in one place."
Today, the Maker's Row website has 80,000 registered users.
The registration and fee structure to access the site helps ensure the users are serious about their business, Menendez says.
The BCG company in Boston advises businesses around the world. It estimates the average cost to manufacture goods in the U.S. is only five-percent higher than in China. And the company predicts that by 2018 the cost difference will narrow further, to as little as two percent higher.
Maker's Row and other similar efforts could play a big part in making that prediction come true.
重点解析
1.in decline在衰退中
The oddity is that almost everywhere the European left is in decline.
稀奇的是，几乎欧洲每个角落的左派势力都在衰退。
2.catch up with赶上，追上；
Out of the Asia 10, Singaporeans already have income levels similar to Americans. But some nations (the Philippines and India) will take around 50 years before they catch up with the US.
亚洲10强经济体中，新加坡的国民已经有接近美国人的收入水平。但有些国家（菲律宾和印度）将需要约50年才能赶上美国。
3.As a result 结果
As a result, the bad thing has been turned into a good one.
结果坏事变成了好事。
4.be designed for 为……设计的
'It was designed for people like him,' she said.
她说：“这种花盆就是为了像他一样的人设计的。”
5.cater to 迎合；为…服务
He also said that despite the importance of the Asian market, the company does little to alter design to cater to Asian tastes.
他还说，虽然亚洲市场很重要，但是江诗丹顿公司很少会为迎合亚洲顾客的品位而更改其设计风格。
6.struggle to do 竞争；努力
A quarter struggle to manage money and to live independently, says the survey for the technology firm Olympus.
奥林巴斯公司的调查说，四分之一的人在为赚钱和独立生活而努力奋斗。
参考译文
制造业是美国的一个很重要的行业。然而，多年以来，美国人一直在表达对这个行业衰退的担忧。
19世纪末至20世纪中叶，美国是世界工业强国。从汽车到冰箱，到电视，那时的消费者会寻求美国最新制造的产品。
但是，事情在20世纪70年代末开始改变。日本和中国在许多消费品的生产上赶上了美国。今天，中国本身就是一个制造业大国。中国生产了世界上80%的空调，70%的手机和60%的鞋子。中国制造的产品几乎占了全世界制造产品的一半。
现在，在美国，人们很难找到生产商来生产产品。
马修·博内特很了解这个情况。这个来自美国的商人成立了一个钟表公司。起初，他让全球的生产商来制造他的所有产品。结果就是，伯内特经常面临运输延误、缺乏产品质量控制和时差的问题。
后来，他开始经营皮革制品。他还是不容易找到国内工厂来生产他新品牌的钱包、皮带和其他产品。
他不是唯一一个面临这个情况的人。许多美国企业家发现他们更容易在国外找到生产商。这个行业没有中心市场。
所以，马修·博内特和他的合伙人坦尼娅·梅内德斯一块创办了一个网站。他们给网站起名为Maker'sRow。
自2012年以来，他们这个在线市场一直将企业家与美国制造商联系在一起。
马修·博内特解释道，“我们这个网站要做的事情就是鼓励众品牌开始选择美国的制造商生产产品。这样，人们在店面里就能看到更多美国生产的产品了。曾经，我们消费的97%的衣服都是美国生产的。但今天这个比例只有3%。因此，有时人们很难找到美国制造的产品但是这就是我们想要改变的情况，通过让这些品牌回来与国内的制造商合作来实现。”
”Makersrow.com网站也帮助品牌和企业发现和组织它们的供应商。
制造商如果想出现在这个网站上，需每月支付一定的费用。它包括项目规划软件和搜索功能。制造商也可以通过该网站接收工厂投标。
企业支付额外费用可获得网站更多的支持。Maker'sRow对新创业者或兼职创业者尤其有帮助。这个网站可以提供一个将想法转化为商业的计划。
联合创始人坦尼娅·梅内德斯说，Maker'sRow也提供课程和培训。
“我们有一个在线学院，人们可以免费学习在线课程。它们是为生活忙碌的人设计的。
很多来到Maker'sRow的人一开始都是朝九晚五工作，现在使用我们的网站就像是他们的副业，所以我们也为这些企业家服务，然后我们有项目软件，在那里，成熟的企业可以把他们所有的想法组织在一个地方。”
今天，该网站已拥有80000个注册用户。
梅内德斯说，网站需要注册登录和付费使用的结构有助于确保用户认真对待他们的业务。
波士顿的波士顿咨询公司为世界各地的企业提供咨询服务。据该公司估计，美国制造商品的平均成本只比中国高5%。该公司预计，到2018年，这一成本差距将进一步缩小，仅高出2%。
Maker'sRow网站和其他类似的努力可能在实现这一预测方面发挥重要作用。
译文为翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
