大学英语自学教程 上册 un02

[00:00.00]Unit 2   Text A
[00:02.39]第二单元   课文A
[00:04.78]Taxes,Taxes,and More Taxes
[00:07.31]税、税、没完没了的税
[00:09.85]Americans often say that them are only two things a person
[00:13.27]一个人一生中只有两件事
[00:16.69]can be sure of in life death and taxes.
[00:19.67]可以肯定会发生：死亡和纳税。
[00:22.65]Americans do not have a comer on the "death" market,
[00:25.63]美国人并不垄断“死亡”市场，
[00:28.60]but many people feel that the United States
[00:31.58]但许多人感到，美国却以最重的赋税
[00:34.56]leads the world with the worst taxes.
[00:37.43]在世界上名列前茅。
[00:40.31]Taxes consist of the money which people pay to support their government.
[00:44.54]税是人们为支持政府所支付的金钱。
[00:48.77]There are generally three levels of government in the United States:
[00:52.35]在美国，政府大致分三级：
[00:55.93]federal,state,and city; there fore,there are three types of taxes.
[01:00.06]联邦政府、州政府和市政府；因此美国有三类税。
[01:04.18]Salaried people who earn more than a few thousand dollars
[01:07.11]收入数千美元的工薪人员
[01:10.03]must pay a certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government.
[01:13.72]必须按工资的一定比例向联邦政府交税。
[01:17.40]The percentage varies from person to person.
[01:20.03]这个比例因人而异，
[01:22.65]It depends on their salaries.
[01:24.88]视工资数额而定。
[01:27.12]The federal government has a graduated income tax,
[01:29.99]联邦政府实行累进税制，
[01:32.87]that is,the percentage of the tax (14 to 70 percent)
[01:36.65]一般为14%—70%。
[01:40.44]increases as a person's income increases.
[01:43.31]即纳税比例随个人收入的增加
[01:46.19]With the high cost of taxes,
[01:48.77]由于赋税很重，
[01:51.36]people are not very happy on April 15,when the federal taxes are due.
[01:55.24]每年4月台票15日人们便不高兴，因为这一天是缴纳联邦税的日子。
[01:59.12]The second tax is for the state government:
[02:01.69]第二类税是州政府税，
[02:04.26]New York,California,North Dakota,or any of the other forty-seven states.
[02:08.60]例如纽约、加里福尼亚、北达科他或其他47州中任何一州都要征收州政府税。
[02:12.94]Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government.
[02:16.87]有些州征收个人所得税的办法与联邦政府的办法相似。
[02:20.80]Of course,the Fercentage for the state tax is lower.
[02:23.88]当然州政府的征税比例要低些。
[02:26.96]Other states have a sales tax,
[02:29.45]有些州征收销售税，
[02:31.93]which is a percentage charged to any item which you buy in that state.
[02:35.56]也就是对你在该州购买的任何商品征收一定比例的税。
[02:39.19]For example,
[02:40.72]比如，
[02:42.25]a person might want to buy a packet of cigarettes for twenty-five cents.
[02:45.88]某人想要习25美分一包的香烟。
[02:49.51]If there is a sales tax of eight percent in that state,
[02:53.19]如果该州的销售税率为8%，
[02:56.88]then the cost of the cigarettes is twenty-seven cents.
[03:00.21]那么买一包香烟实际要支付27美分。
[03:03.54]This figure includes the sales tax.
[03:06.36]27美分中包括了销售税。
[03:09.18]Some states use income tax in addition to sales tax to raise their revenues.
[03:13.36]还有些州为了增加收入，既征收销售税又征收个人所得税。
[03:17.54]The state tax laws are diverse and confusing.
[03:20.57]各州的税收法很不一样，非常混乱。
[03:23.60]The third tax is for the city.
[03:25.92]第三类税是市政府税。
[03:28.25]This tax comes in two forms:
[03:30.73]市政府税分两种：
[03:33.21]property tax (people who own a home have to pay taxes on it)
[03:37.23]财产税（例如拥有房产的人应缴纳房产税）
[03:41.26]and excise tax,which is charged on cms in a city.
[03:45.03]和执照税（例如对城市里的汽车所征收的税）。
[03:48.81]The cities use these funds for education,police and fire departments,
[03:52.67]城市将这些资金用于教育、公安和消防部门
[03:56.54]public works and municipal buildings.
[03:59.22]以及市征工程和建筑。
[04:01.89]Since Americans pay such high taxes,
[04:04.68]由于赋税重，
[04:07.46]they often feel that they are working one day each week just to pay their taxes.
[04:11.53]美国人常常感到一个星期里有一天的时间是为了纳税而工作的。