【慢速听力 3 篇 as】Small US Company Moves to Make All-American ...

No.1

AS IT IS

Small US Company Moves to Make All-American Hand Dryer

December 19, 2019

AS IT IS

Small US Company Moves to Make All-American Hand Dryer

December 19, 2019

Excel Dryer sells about $40 million worth of electric hand dryers each year. Excel’s products can be found in airports, restaurants and public restrooms across the United States.

Most of the parts the company uses come from U.S. suppliers. But the motors and controllers have long come from China. No other manufacturer could beat China’s low prices. But this is changing partly because of import taxes that the Trump administration requires on purchases of many Chinese-made products.

Excel plans to release its first completely American-made dryer in a few months. William Gagnon and his family own the company. He spoke with the Reuters news agency about the business and negotiating with suppliers of parts.

“We’d actually be willing to pay a little more for U.S.-made,” Gagnon said. Now, he actually saves money buying American-made parts.

One reason is that the 25 percent tariffs required on many Chinese-made parts make them more costly. Gagnon notes that, by not buying Chinese parts, his company can save money with lower shipping costs.

When faced with a possible price increase because of the tariffs, Excel believed it lacked the resources to get an exemption from the U.S. government to import motors from China. Instead, the company considered the taxes a business opportunity. Excel was already considering improvements to its motor designs. So, the company decided to change the design to increase the life of the machines.

Excel will soon get its motors and controllers from a factory in the state of Tennessee. Adam Finch is director of engineering at the factory, which belongs to investment company Berkshire Hathaway. He told Reuters, “We hope that more customers will be like this – once they see the total costs involved.”

Finch told Reuters that companies can save money by buying smaller orders close to home. The Tennessee factory is in the process of moving some of its operations from China back to the United States.

There also is an ironic turn to the story of Excel’s new all-American hand dryers. The company’s first shipments will be to overseas markets. The new design has a 220-volt motor, meaning it cannot be used in the United States. Most of the new dryers will go to Britain. Gagnon said the next step is to develop a 110-volt version for the U.S. market.

Suppliers change over time

American businesses face a number of difficulties if they want to manufacture products domestically. Suppliers of many parts like electronics and motors have moved overseas in search of lower production costs.

Bringing these suppliers back to the United States is not simple. Many U.S. companies, like Apple, instead try to get tariff exemptions for importing some parts from China. Other manufacturers have switched to low-cost suppliers in other Asian countries.

Gagnon’s father was a former official with the American toy company Hasbro. He bought Excel Dryer in 1997. In 2001, sales increased sharply when the company starting manufacturing a new model that could dry hands in just 10 to 15 seconds. The devices can cost from $400 to $700.

Based in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, the company employs 50 people in its factory.

Worldwide the hand dryer market remains very competitive, with manufacturers in countries including China, Spain and Japan.

In the United States, paper towels are still the most popular way to dry hands in public spaces. Excel would like more businesses to use electric hand dryers. That is one reason why a sign above the company’s office door reads: “Time to Throw in the Towel.”

I’m Mario Ritter, Jr.

The Reuters news agency reported this story. Mario Ritter Jr. adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

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Words in This Story

exemption –n. permission to not be required to do something others are required to do

opportunity –n. a situation in which something can be done

customer –n. a person who buys goods or services from a business

ironic –adj. something that is strange or funny because it is unexpected

domestically –adv. relating to or made in your own country

towel –n. a piece of cloth or paper used to dry things

No.2

AS IT IS

Imaginary Nation Wakanda Appears on US Trade List

December 19, 2019

Black Panther publicity photo. (Marvel Studios)

The name of an imaginary country in the 2018 movie Black Panther appeared this week in an online list of U.S. trading partners.

The fictional country, called Wakanda, was listed among a group of nations that have trade agreements with the United States.

The list was a creation of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA. The USDA told NBC News in a statement that it had used Wakanda during recent testing of the agency’s online publishing system. A USDA spokesman said “the Wakanda information should have been removed after testing and has now been taken down.”

Wakanda is the name of a made-up African nation in the Marvel Comics superhero film Black Panther. The country is home of the Black Panther himself, Prince T’Challa. In the film, Wakanda is a developed, highly technological country.

Francis Tseng, a New York-based computer engineer, discovered Wakanda on the USDA list. He was on the internet and doing research about agricultural tariffs when he came across the unusual listing.

Tseng told Reuters news agency that at first he did not know what to think of the listing. He later decided to publish a screenshot of his finding on Twitter.

“I was very confused at first and thought I misremembered the country from the movie and got it confused with something else,” Tseng told Reuters.

He tweeted: “Wakanda is listed as a US free trade partner on the USDA website??”

The USDA list provided information on examples of the goods traded between Wakanda and the United States. These included “live animals, dairy goods, tobacco and alcohol.” There was no USDA entry for vibranium, a fictional metal from space that is the source of Wakanda’s power.

After the list was corrected, Tseng tweeted: “Well, the USDA took Wakanda off the list. Guess we’re in a trade war with them too.”

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture showed some humor in admitting to its Wakanda mistake. The USDA tweeted: “While we removed the Kingdom of Wakanda from our list of US free trade partners, our relationship will always be strong #WakandaForever.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English, with additional information from NBC News. George Grow was the editor.

We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

fictional – adj. imaginary

tariff – n. a tax on goods coming into or leaving a country

screenshot – n. an image of what is shown on a computer screen

confused – adj. unable to think clearly or understand something

dairy – adj. containing or made from milk

source – n. a person, place or thing from which something comes

guess – v. to suppose or estimate

No.3

AS IT IS

Johnson Refuses Call for Scottish Independence Vote

December 19, 2019

Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon attends First Minister's Questions in the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain, December 19, 2019. (REUTERS/Russell Cheyne)

The British government has refused a call by Scotland’s First Minister for a special election on Scottish independence.

The refusal came as a note written on the government’s legislative agenda. It said that a new vote would be “damaging.”

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson told Parliament Thursday that the Scottish government should not be concerned with “breaking up our United Kingdom.”

The disagreement came as Queen Elizabeth II arrived at the Parliament in London to set out the policies of Johnson’s new government.

Earlier in the day, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon demanded the British government give Scotland the power to hold a new vote for independence.

In general elections last week, Sturgeon’s Scottish National Party won 80 percent of the seats representing Scotland. She says that majority gives her the right to make the demand.

Speaking in Edinburgh, Sturgeon said the message from the election was that Scotland “does not want a Tory government led by Boris Johnson, taking us out of the European Union (EU)."

Johnson has said the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 settled the question. More than half of those voting wanted to stay part of Britain.

The British will remove Scotland from the EU “against its will,” Sturgeon said.

Scotland had the country’s highest percentage of voters opposed to a British withdrawal from the EU, a move politicians are calling Brexit. Sixty-two percent of the voters want to remain part of the EU.

The Scottish parliament is devolved and needs British permission to hold a new independence referendum. However, Sturgeon said there are still paths to independence.

Legal action

The Scottish parliament was established under British legislation known as the Scotland Act 1998. It says “the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England” is an issue to be decided by Britain’s parliament.

This is understood to mean that any referendum on Scottish independence can only be approved with the permission of lawmakers in London.

However, the issue has never been tested in court. Some lawyers and experts have argued that the Scottish parliament could have the power to call a referendum.

Scotland’s Constitutional Secretary Mike Russell did not rule out such a legal effort, saying “everything is on the table.” But he added that such a move was “not an argument for this week.”

Illegal action

Sturgeon has said she would only seek to separate from the United Kingdom through legal referendum. She is, however, under pressure from some nationalists to call for a vote without the British parliament’s permission.

An unapproved referendum in Scotland could cause a lot of problems, as recent history suggests.

Two years ago, the Spanish state of Catalonia held an independence referendum that led to anger in the country. Spain’s government considered the vote illegal.

Sturgeon’s former adviser, Kevin Pringle, recently wrote that Scotland might hold an illegal referendum.

“The legality…of such a move has never been tested,” he noted in a report in The Sunday Times newspaper.

However, an illegal vote might hurt Scotland’s chances of joining the EU, which most Scots support.

Spain might veto admission by Scotland if its uses an illegal independence process -- fearful that Catalonia might do the same.

I’m Susan Shand.

The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

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Words in This Story

agenda – n. a list of things to be discussed at a meeting

Tory – n. a member of Britain’s Conservative Party

devolved – adj. becoming less powerful

mandate – n. the power to act that voters give to their elected leaders

on the table – phrase. a thing that is being considered