The Backpack Tax
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Molly stared and stared at the amazing pink backpack.
莫莉主演并主演了神奇的粉红色背包.
It had a delightful design of an elephant on the back.
背上有一头大象的美妙设计
It had big gray ears that stuck out on the sides and a long trunk that hung from its face.
它有大灰色的耳朵 粘出两侧 和长长的树干 从它的脸上挂起。
Elephants were Molly’s favorite animals in the whole wide world.
大象是莫莉最喜欢的动物 在整个世界。
Every Saturday afternoon, Molly and her parents went together to the shopping mall to watch a movie at the theater.
每周六下午,莫莉和父母一起去购物中心,在剧院看电影.
After the movie, Molly would ask her parents for permission to drop by the toy store.
电影上映后,莫莉会向她的父母请求允许去玩具店.
Once inside, she would rush to the elephant backpack to stroke its plush, fuzzy ears and pull its long trunk.
进去后,她会匆忙地去大象背包去抚摸它的厚重而模糊的耳朵并拉出它的长干.
Each Saturday morning, Molly’s mother paid her an allowance for completing her chores: five dollars.
每周六早上,莫莉的母亲付给她一份完成家务的津贴:5美元.
Afterward, Molly would total up the money she had saved in her elephant-shaped piggy bank.
之后,莫莉会将她存在大象形小猪庄的钱加起来.
Did she have enough to buy the backpack yet?
她有足够的钱买下背包了吗?
The elephant backpack cost thirty dollars.
大象背包花了三十块
One week Molly counted fifteen dollars in her bank.
一个星期 Molly在银行里算了15美元
The next week she counted twenty dollars, and the next, twenty-five dollars.
下个礼拜她数了20美元 下个25美元
And then one beautiful Saturday, she counted again.
然后一个美丽的星期六,她又数起。
She had thirty dollars!
她有三十块!
Molly sang with delight and danced around her room, “I’m going to buy the backpack!”
Molly在她房间周围欢快地唱歌并跳舞,
That afternoon, her family went to watch another movie at the shopping mall.
当天下午,她的家人去购物中心看另一部电影.
The movie was hilarious, but Molly barely even noticed.
电影很搞笑,但莫莉几乎没注意到.
Once the movie had ended, Molly marched straight to the toy store.
电影结束后,莫莉直接走入了玩具店.
Molly carefully took the elephant backpack from the rack.
莫莉小心地从架子上取出大象背包.
Her mom asked, “How much does it cost, Molly?”
她妈妈问,“这要花多少钱,莫莉?” “
Molly said, “The tag says thirty dollars, and that’s exactly how much money I have!”
Molly说:“标签上写着30美元, “
“ But Molly, you’ll also have to pay sales tax on top of that price,” said Mom.
“...... Molly, 妈妈说,
“The sales tax adds six cents for every dollar something costs.
“销售税每美元增加六分钱,
That means you’ll need thirty-one dollars and eighty cents to purchase the backpack.”
这意味着购买背包需要31美元和80分钱。 “
“ What?
“什么?
That’s not fair!”
这不公平。
cried Molly.
哭着莫莉。
“What’s a sales tax?”
“什么是销售税? “
“ Every time we buy something, we pay a little bit extra for the sales tax,” Dad explained.
“...... 我们每次买东西,都要多付一点销售税。
“ But why do I have to pay a tax?”
“...... 但我为什么要交税? “
asked Molly.
问莫莉。
“I’m just a kid!”
“我只是个孩子!”
“ Taxes pay for things that help the people who live in a community,” said Mom.
“...... “妈妈说,
“Let’s put the backpack back on the shelf, and I’ll explain on the way home.”
「让我们把背包放回架上, “
They walked outside to the crowded parking lot and got into the car.
他们走出去到拥挤的停车场并上车.
Mom asked, “Do you remember how we got to the mall today?”
妈妈问, “你还记得我们今天是怎么到商场的吗? “
“We drove here in this car,” said Molly.
Molly说:“我们坐这辆车来的。”
“ That’s right,” said Mom.
“...... 妈妈说,
“And what is the car driving on?”
“这辆车开着什么车? “
“A road?”
“一条道路? “
Molly asked.
莫莉问.
“ Exactly,” said Mom.
" 正是,"妈妈说。
“We use roads every day.
“我们每天使用公路。
But roads are very expensive to build.
但道路建造费用非常昂贵.
How much money do you think a road costs?”
你觉得公路要多少钱? “
Molly thought for a moment.
莫莉想了一会儿
She looked at the road as it went by.
她看着路过时
“A thousand dollars!”
"一千块!"
she guessed.
她猜对了
“ That’s a lot of money,” Mom agreed.
“...... 妈妈同意,
“But roads cost even more than that.
“但道路成本甚至更大。
Roads cost millions of dollars to build.”
道路建设耗资数百万. “
Molly gasped.
Molly被毒气冲昏了头
“ Do you have millions of dollars?”
“...... 你有数百万美元吗? “
Mom asked.
妈妈问的
“No way!”
绝对不行!
Molly said.
莫莉说。
“ Neither do I,” laughed Mom.
“...... 我也一样,”
“Most people don’t have enough money to build a road on their own.”
“大多数人没有足够的钱自己去修路。 “
“ But if everyone pays a little extra money for the tax,” said Dad, “we can build a new road together.”
“...... 但是,如果每个人都付一点额外的税费,“爸爸说,“我们可以一起建造一条新的道路。 “
“ So we pay a tax when we buy things?”
“...... 买东西的时候要交税? “
Molly asked.
莫莉问.
“ Yes, that’s one kind of tax—a sales tax.
“...... 对,这是一种税收——一种销售税。
We also pay a tax because we own our house,” said Dad.
也因为我们拥有房子,
“That’s called a property tax.”
“这叫做财产税。 “
“ And I get paid a salary for doing my job,” said Mom.
“...... ”妈妈说。
“The government takes some taxes out of every paycheck I receive.
“政府从我收到的每笔薪水中抽取一些税款。
That’s called an income tax.”
这叫做所得税。 “
“ That’s a lot of taxes!”
“...... 税费很多! “
Molly said.
莫莉说。
“Do all those taxes build roads?”
“所有这些税收是否都修筑了道路? “
“ Taxes pay for roads and lots of other things,” Dad said.
“...... 课税者为道路和其他许多东西付费,
“Look out the window.
“看窗外。
Taxes pay for that park and its swimming pool.”
那公园和游泳池的税费 “
“ Taxes pay for the library over there,” Mom said, pointing.
“...... “妈妈说,
“Taxes pay for the town to have police officers and firefighters.
“Taxs支付该镇的警察和消防员的费用。
And guess what?
你猜怎么着?
Taxes even pay for you to go to school.”
税收甚至支付你上学。 “
“Really?”
“真的吗? “
asked Molly.
问莫莉。
“ Yes.
“对。
Taxes pay for the school building, and the books you use, and your teacher’s salary,” said Dad.
校舍、书本、教师工资都由税费支付。”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean that everyone wants to pay them.”
“当然,这并不意味着每个人都想付钱。 “
“What do you mean?”
“你是什么意思?” “
asked Molly.
问莫莉。
“ People don’t always agree on how much money we should pay in taxes,” Mom said.
“...... 民众并不总同意我们应缴多少税。
“They also have different ideas about how the money collected from taxes should be spent.”
“对于如何使用从税收中收取的资金,他们也有不同的想法。 “
At home, Molly changed into her pajamas and climbed into bed.
在家里,莫莉换了睡衣并爬上床.
She thought about the elephant backpack again.
她又想起了大象背包
“ So my backpack costs thirty dollars, plus tax?”
“...... 我的背包要花三十美元,加税? “
she asked.
她问。
“ That’s right,” Dad said.
“...... 对,
“The tax is one dollar and eighty cents.
“税收为一美元八十分。
Do you have thirty-one dollars and eighty cents?”
你有三十一元八十分吗? “
“ No,” said Molly.
“...... 不,"莫莉说。
“But next week I’ll have thirty-five dollars.
“但下星期我将有35美元。
Will that be enough?”
够了吗? “
“ Yes, it will!”
“...... 是的,它会的!”
Mom said.
妈妈说。
“Are you sad that the tax will make you wait another week to get your backpack?
“你感到悲哀的是,税收会让你再等一个星期才得到你的背包?
“ A little bit,” Molly nodded.
"一点点",莫莉点头。
“But maybe my tax money will help build a park.”
“但也许我的税金将有助于建造一个公园。 “