workhorse

音标发音

While the processor might be the workhorse of a machine, graphical capability is essential for games.
处理芯片是一台机器的马达，对于游戏来讲，图像处理功能是必需的。
Yao may never again be the 37-minute workhorse he was two years ago, and the Rockets are prepared to live with this new reality.
姚明也许永远也不可能做到两年前那样，进行37分钟艰苦比赛，而火箭队准备好面对这个新的现实。
Their bacterial platform is E. coli, the workhorse species of microbial genetics. But their version has had genes from several other bacteria spliced into it.
他们用来做平台的是大肠杆菌——微生物遗传过程中的“苦力”，其变体能把其它细菌的基因拼接到自己身上。

They will replace the telescope's 15-year-old workhorse camera with one that sees deeper into the universe.

The workhorse military vehicles used in Iraq and Afghanistan are not a part of the deal.
NPR: GM Sells Hummer Brand To Chinese Company
Super fortunate to have been aligned with great complementary defensive players and a workhorse running back.
FORBES: Joe Flacco Owns Major Assist to Ravens Defense, Ray Rice, and Fortunate Timing for His New Fortune
Central banks are busy bolting crude analyses of financial markets onto their workhorse models.
ECONOMIST: Economics

a person who does a lot of work, especially of a type that is necessary but not interesting

A workhorse is a horse which is used to do a job, for example, to pull a plow.
If you describe a person or a machine as a workhorse, you mean that they can be relied upon to do a large amount of work, especially work that is dull or routine.