College
English
It is that time of year again,when the cherry trees are blooming and Americans are stuck indoors wrestling with their taxes.Forget,for a moment,whether marginal rates are too high or too low.The most serious problem facing taxpayers is complexity,says Nina Olson,who is the national taxpayer advocate
—the head of a watchdog service created by
Congress in 1996and ignored ever since.1
又到了每年一度的报税日。室外樱花烂漫，而美国人却无暇赏花，因为他们已经被税表搞得焦头烂额，困在室内动弹不得。边际税率太高还是太低一时半会儿就甭管了。诚如全国纳税人维权律师妮娜·奥尔森所言，纳税人眼下所面临的最严重问题是繁琐的报税程序。奥尔森女士是全国纳税益监察办主任，该机构由国会创建于1996年，之后却没人理会。
The federal tax code has swollen to about 70,000.Americans now spend 7.6billion hours a year grappling with an incomprehensible tangle of deductions,loopholes and arcane reporting requirements.That is the equivalent of 3.8m skilled workers toiling full -time,year -round,just to handle the paperwork.By this measure,the tax -compliance industry is six times larger than car -making.2
联邦税法如今已激增至约七万个条款。美国人现在每年总共要花费76亿小时来研究令人费解的课税减免条例、各种可钻的漏洞和晦涩难懂的报税要求，相当于380万技术工人全职工作一整年，这还仅仅是处理书面材料。如此算来，税收行业的规模比汽车制造业大六倍。
Every year,the national taxpayer
advocate issues a report begging Congress to simplify the system.In her most recent one,published on December 31st,Ms Olson frets that she is repeating herself.She refers Congress to what she said the previous year.An incredible 82%of taxpayers are so flummoxed that they pay for help.Some 60%hire an accountant or tax preparer,while another 22%use tax software.She might have added that even the head of the Internal Revenue Service,Douglas Shulman,gets someone else to do his taxes.3
作为全国纳税人维权律师，奥尔森女士每年都会发表一份报告，恳求国会简化报税系统。在12月31日发表的最新一份报告中，奥尔森女士对自己的老调重弹深感烦恼：她再次向国会提及去年那番话。高达82%的纳税人被繁琐的报税系统弄得狼狈不堪，不得不花钱求助，这真令人难以置信。其中约60%
The Federal Tax Code
美国联邦税法
笤考试专栏笤
63
College English
2011.10
本句注意代词neither （两者之中无一个）的用法；neither 亦可为neither side ，此时neither 作形容词修饰side ；change 可用shift 或give up 替代；stance 可用position 替代。
84.should have cured the cancer patient
本句注意should have done something （过去本该发生的事而未发生）的使用；此处should
have done 亦可用同属虚拟语气的could have done 替代。85.kind of you to give me so much help
本句注意it is kind of someone to do something （感谢某人做某事）的使用；kind 亦可用
nice 替代。
86.before they got reunited
本句注意连词before 的用法，it was thirty years before...译为“直到30年后……”。
大学英语
的纳税人雇佣了会计或专业报税人，其余的
22%则使用报税软件。她或许还添了这样一
句：甚至连国家税务局道格拉斯·舒尔曼本人的纳税申报也得请人代劳。
Every wrinkle in the tax code represents a favour to some group.It could be a small group,such as loggers,or a huge one,such as homeowners.Politicians use the tax code to encourage things they like,such as driving hybrid cars,and to discourage things they don ’t like,such as work.A typical loophole has passionate defenders but no opponents.Those who benefit from it,benefit a lot.Those who would gain from its repeal,have never heard of it.So the mess gets ever messier.4
税法中的每一处改动都意味着对某些群体的优惠：小至伐木工，大到房产业主。政客们利用税法来促其所好，例如混合动力汽车；也利用它阻其所恶，例如工作。任何一个典型的漏洞都不乏热情的拥护者，却没有反对者。从中获利者盈利匪浅，而能从废除这些漏洞中获利的人却毫不知情，由此造成情况越来越混乱。
翻译要点注解：
本文就美国联邦税法的复杂繁琐内容做了报道与简评。作者指出，美国联邦税法多达七万个条款，纳税人往往被连篇累牍的税表搞得焦头烂额。尽管有人不断呼吁简化报税机制，但此举收效甚微，情况越来越混乱。全文共4段，翻译时需注意专有词语的遣词用字、结构调整等翻译技巧，尤其需要注意定语从句的恰当处理。
1.wrestle with 全力对付，努力解决；marginal rates 边际税率，亦称之marginal tax rates ；watchdog service 监
察服务，监察办；watchdog 看门狗，监察人。
2.grapple with 扭打，努力克服；incomprehensible tangle of deduction 费
解的课税减免条例；loopholes 漏洞；
arcane 神秘的，晦涩难解的。3.
fret 使烦恼，使焦急；flummox 使混乱，
使狼狈不堪；the Internal Revenue
Service （美国）国家税务局。4.
wrinkle 皱纹，利好因素；hybrid car
混合动力汽车；repeal 废除，撤销。
大学
英语
笤考试专栏笤
(上接第62页)
