今天我们要学的词是 afloat. [əˈfləʊt]

Afloat is spelled A-F-L-O-A-T, afloat.

afloat的原意是浮在水面，漂浮，引申出来是指经济上能够周转，维持经营。（形容词）

California's economy has largely been kept afloat by Silicon Valley and industries built around it. Outside of these bubbles, the state has the highest poverty rate and the largest homeless population in America.
加利福尼亚州的经济在很大程度上是靠硅谷及其周边产业维持。而在这些泡沫之外，该州是美国贫困率最高、无家可归人口最多的地区。

Tens of millions of Americans have lost their jobs while thousands of small businesses are trying to stay afloat due to the shutdown imposed by state governments to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
由于美国各州政府为制止冠状病毒的传播而下令企业关门，数千万美国人失去了工作，成千上万的小企业只能勉强维持经营。