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来自英语口语朗读听力
When I met them, many years later, Hawker and Jude were about seventy years old. They lived very quietly, in a little white house on a Greek island. They went walking, swimming, fishing; they sat in the sun, and slept a lot.
At first, they didn't want to talk about their work.
"We can't,' said Jude. 'Our work was secret. It's all in the government files, and nobody can read them.
After thirty years,' I said, 'people can read all secret government files.
"Not these files,' Hawker said. "It's a hundred years be ore people can read the EDI files.
I looked at them. "But I don't need to read the files,' 1 said. ‘I can get the stories from you
And I did. Here are some of them....
OMEGA FILE 349
London, England
There is a young man in London called Johnny Cook,' Arla said. He's about eighteen. He doesn't have a home, but he goes clubbing nearly every night. Those all-night dance clubs for young people.
Here's a photograph of him.,
He put the photograph on the table, and Jude and Hawker looked at it
And?' Hawker said
He wants to sell a story to a newspaper,' Arla said.
"Some story about a drug company. Find him. Talk to him. What's his story? I want to know.
Jude and Hawker took an afternoon plane from Brussels to London, and then went to a hotel.
What are you going to wear tonight?' said Jude. Not those old jeans, please!
What's wrong with them?' Hawker said. We're going clubbing, not out to dinner at the Ritz Hotel.
"Well, wear a different shirt, then. That one's dirty.
You can wash it for me,' Hawker said.
Get lost!' said Jude.
They had dinner, watched television for an hour or two, and then went out. It was a warm night, with a little rain now and then.
多年以后,当我遇到霍克和祖德时,他门已是七旬老人了,恬静地生活在希腊一个岛上的一座白色的小房子里。他们散步、游泳、钓鱼；他们晒晒太阳，睡睡觉。
起初，他们不愿谈论他们的工作。
“我们不能说,”祖德说,“我们做的是保密工作。它们都记在政府的文件中,没人能看到。”
"30年后,”我说,“人们就可以看政府所有的保密文件了。”
“这些文件可不行,”霍克说,“可能要等到100年后人们才能看EDI的文件呢。”
我看着他们。“可我并不想看这些文 ,"我说,“我只想听你们讲其中的故事。”
ロロ
他们给我讲了，以下是其中的几个……
奥米茄文件第349号:英国,伦敦
“伦敦有个青年叫约翰尼·库克,"阿拉说 “18岁左右。他没有家,几乎每晚都泡在俱乐部里,就是那些专为年轻人开设的通宵舞厅。这是他的照片。
s 他将照片放在桌上,霍克和祖德看了
“还有呢?"霍克问
“他想向一家报社出卖个故事,"阿拉说,“是有关一个药品公司的。找到他,和他谈谈。他要讲一个什么样的故事呢?我想知道。”
祖德和霍克坐下午的班机从布鲁塞尔飞往伦敦。他们到达之后先去了一家旅馆。
“今晚你准备穿什么呢?"祖德问霍克, “拜托,别再穿那些旧牛仔服了!"
“旧牛仔服怎么啦?"霍克说,“我们要去俱乐部,又不是去里茨饭店赴晚宴。
最近几期阅读经济类书籍——《认识商业》
《认识商业》财政政策
财政政策（fiscal policy）指政府通过增减赋税或政府支出来维持经济稳定。财政政策的第一项重要工具就是课税。理论上，高税率会减缓经济的增长速度。由于高税率能将民间资金移向政府部门，因此，它会抑制小企业发展，因为他们努力所带来的回报减少了，这也就打击了他们的积极性。也就是说，降低税率在理论上可以催化经济繁荣发展。
美国政府各级别（联邦、州与当地政府）的征税总量大约是国内生产总值的28%。如果你把所有费用、销售税以及其他支出都计算在内，你会发现高收入公民近来的税率将会超过50%。你是否认为这个比率过高了呢？原因是什么？
财政政策的第二项工具就是政府支出。政府支出用于高速公路、社会项目、教育以及安全防御等。当政府支出超过课税所得，就会产生政府预算赤字，这种现象在财政年度内就是财政赤字。未来几年，美国的赤字预计将达1万亿美元。长期而言，赤字的累积将会增加政府的债务。国债（national debt）是政府赤字随着时间积累的总额。近年来，美国的国债总额超过14万亿美元。这个数字并不准确，光是医疗保险的短期债务就达34万亿美元，除此之外尚有社会保险的短期债务。如果政府的税收收入超过支出，就会产生国家盈余。不过美国近期是无法实现的。
缩减赤字的一项方法就是降低政府支出。例如，许多政府首脑和国会议员都承诺精简政府组织；换言之，就是努力降低政府支出，不过这种情况很少发生。反之，我们可以发现，社会福利需求与国防支出逐年提高（如投入伊拉克、阿富汗和利比亚战争），造成政府赤字及国家债务持续增加。有些人相信，政府支出可以促进经济成长；同样有些人抱持反对态度，认为政府支出会掏空消费者和企业主的口袋，进而减缓经济成长。你认为呢？
