Jobs, jobs, jobs. As political rhetoric intensifies in tough economic times, everybody’s talking about jobs and job creation.

　　A trip to the small Midwest state of Wisconsin might be instructive. It routinely finishes at or near the top in job creation, especially in the manufacturing sector.

　　That’s the part of the economy - automobiles, appliances, textiles, electronics - that has seen the steepest job losses.

　　But not in bustling Wisconsin, at least not to an alarming degree.

　　We’re not talking heavy industry or even the state’s famous cheesemaking. Rather, Wisconsin produces an endless assortment of products in little factories you see tucked among its green, manicured farms. Riding past, you may catch their names on a little sign, but have no clue what the places make.

　　They make things like the water jugs a delivery person hauls down our hall every few weeks. And not just the bottles, but also their pop-off tops, the metal cart that carries them, and the plastic cartons into which the bottles of water fit snugly.

　　Carol M. Highsmith

　　Wisconsin has always been an industrious place. Beginning in 1854, Dells Mill gristmill in little Augusta, ground the wheat that fueled Wisconsin’s economy. It’s now a museum.

　　Curt Manufacturing in Eau Claire makes metal ball hitches for trailers. Great White Dental Lab in Lodi fashions enamel teeth called “crowns.” Universal Die & Stampings in Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin, makes battery caps.

　　And K & B Innovations in North Lake creates “Shrinky Dinks,” which are little plastic thingys that kids can color and then shrink in the oven.

　　And somebody, somewhere in the Badger State builds the vats and forms, and the big stirring paddles and conveyor belts without which there’d be no wisconsin chees.

　　We don’t pay much attention when these companies win an award, add workers, or come out with a new product.

　　But taken together, they’re a big part of the nation’s economic engine that people are always talking about.

　　词汇讲解：

　　1. intensify v. (使)增强, (使)加剧

　　例句：The drought has intensified.

　　旱情加剧了。

　　2. instructive adj. 有教育意义的;有启发性的

　　例句：The lecture was instructive and interesting.

　　那次讲演既有益又有趣。

　　3. finish v. 结束, 完成

　　例句：We'll never finish if we go on at this rate.

　　以这样的速度, 我们永远也完不成。

　　4. assortment n. 各种各样

　　例句：This shop has a good assortment of goods to choose from.

　　该店各色货物俱全,任君选择。

　　5. tuck vt.塞进;翻折

　　例句：He tucked his shirt into his trousers.

　　他把衬衫塞进裤子里。

　　6. fit v. (使)适合

　　例句：The hat fits perfectly.

　　这顶帽子挺合适的。

　　7. hitch vt. (用环、钩等)套住, 钩住(某物)

　　例句：He hitched the horse's rope over the pole.

　　他把马缰绳拴在柱子上。

　　8. shrink v. 收缩; (使)缩水, 收缩, 缩小, 皱缩

　　例句：Washing wool in hot water will shrink it.

　　在热水中洗毛织品会使其缩水。

　　9. award n. 奖,奖品;奖状

　　例句：The novel earned him a literary award.

　　这部长篇小说为他赢得文学奖。

　　10. add v. 加, 加入; 增加, 添加

　　例句：She tasted her lemonade,  then added more sugar.

　　她尝尝柠檬水，然后又往里加了点糖。