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听力音频
听力原文
We know we have to pay for what we get. If we buy food, we have to pay for it. If a doctor treats us, we know there will be a bill to pay. These are private bills. But there are also public bills to be paid. They are paid by the government. In turn we get the needed services (19-1) We pay for these services through taxes.
What would happen if everyone stopped paying taxes? The water supply would stop; the streets might not be cleaned; schools would be closed. We would not want to live in such a city. (20) The chief duty of every government is to protect persons and property, More than three-fourths of government expenses are used for this purpose. The next largest amount of public money goes to teach and train our citizens. Billions of dollars each year are spent on schools and libraries. Also, a large amount of public funds is spent on roads.
Most of the needed funds is raised by taxes. The law orders us to pay taxes. We have no choice in the matter.
(21) Years ago the government made money by selling public lands. But most of the best public lands have now been sold. There are still some public lands that contain oil, coal and other natural resources. They could be sold, but we want to save them for future years. (19-2) So, we all must pay our share for the services that make our lives comfortable.
未听先知
预览三道题各选项,由选项中出现的 taxes, money, Educating, Improving, Protecting 和 Building等词可以推测,短文内容与税收及其用途有关。
详解详析
19. What does the speaker mainly talk about?
A)。(详解)短文开头提到,我们通过交税来享受这些服务,而短文结尾又提到,我们必须为使我们的生活 变得更加舒适的服务支付一定的费用。由此可知,本文主要谈论的是交税的原因,故答案为A)。
20. What is most of the government money used for?
C)。(详解)短文中提到,每个政府的主要职能都是保护人身和财产安全,超过四分之三的政府开销都用 在这个目的上。因此答案为C)。
21. How did the government raise money to pay public bills in the past?
B)。(详解)短文中提到,许多年以前,政府通过出售公有土地来筹集钱款,故答案为B)。