VOA慢速英语:Major US City Detroit Files for Bankruptcy

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing had to report some bad news last month. He said Detroit was seeking bankruptcy protection. The move would give the city court protection from creditors.
底特律市长Dave Bing上个月不得不报告一些坏消息。他说，底特律正在寻求破产保护。此举将让全市进入法院破产保护。

"This is very difficult for all of us but if it's going to make the citizens better off, then this is a new start for us."
“这对我们所有人来说是非常困难的。但如果能让市民过得更好，那么这是我们的新起点。”

The decision to declare bankruptcy is an offer to restruction and reduce debt. It comes at a difficult time for Detroit.
宣布破产决定是一个重建和减少债务的前提。该决定出台于底特律市的困难时期。

In March, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder named Kevyn Orr, a bankruptcy expert to oversee the city's financial problems. Detroit has been struggling to reduce a budget deficit of more than $300 million. In addition, the city's long-term debt has increased to at least $18 billion.
在3月份，密歇根州长Rick Snyder任命破产专家Kevyn Orr监督底特律市的财政问题。底特律市一直在努力减少超过3千万美元的预算赤字。此外，该市的长期债务已经上升到至少180亿美元。

Detroit's problems have grown over many years. Michigan State University professor Eric Scorsone says the city depended to much on one-industry.
底特律的问题多年来一直在增长。密歇根大学教授Eric Scorsone 称，该市过度依赖单一产业。

"You know, Unlike Chicago, New York and other cities where had more economic diversity, Detroit really didn't. It had the auto industry, it had suppliers to the auto industry, and so as those went away, the city began a very long decline that's really occurred over 50 years essentially."
“你知道，底特律不像芝加哥、纽约和其它城市具有经济的多样性。它只有汽车产业和汽车行业供应商，而当这些离开之后，该市开始长时间下滑并一直持续了50多年。

Jobs with car manufactures were a big reason why Detroit was one of the country's largest cities half a century ago. In the 1950s, it had a population of about 1.8 million people. Today, the number is down to less than 800,000.
汽车制造的工作是半个世纪前底特律市成为美国最大城市之一的一大原因。在20世纪50年代，它有约为180万的人口。如今，这一数字下降到不足80万。

Robin Boyle is a professor of urban planning at Wayne State University. He says over the years, many Detroit residents moved to areas outside the city, or even left the state. That hurt Detroit's ability to invest in the city.
Robin Boyle是韦恩州立大学的城市规划教授。他说，多年来，许多底特律市的居民搬到了郊外，甚至离开了该州。这伤害了底特律市的投资能力。

"They have so little disposable income to reinvest in their communities, that if they have money they leave, they go to the suburbs or they go to find work elsewhere, putting us into this vicious cycle that drives us further and further down. How you break that is the challenge in Detroit."
“他们再投资于社区的可支配收入太少了，如果有钱他们就搬走了，搬到郊外或到其它地方找工作，这进一步使让我们陷入这种恶性循环并越陷越深。如何打破这些是底特律市面临的挑战。

It is rare for a large city to seek bankruptcy protection. In 1975, New York City came close before the federal government agree to provide money.
大城市寻求破产保护是非常罕见的。1975年，纽约市在联邦政府同意提供资金前，差点寻求破产保护。

Detroit, however, is the largest city to seek bankruptcy. A federal judge will consider Detroit's request. The judge's decision is expected in one to three month.
然而，底特律市是寻求破产的最大城市。一位联邦法官将考虑底特律市的要求。该法官预计将在一到三个月内做出决定。

One of the main issues is what to do about the retirement pay of city workers. Currently, there are many more retired workers than those pay into the pension system.
主要的问题之一是怎样对待城市工人的退休工资。目前，该市的退休工人比缴纳养老保险者多得多。