365个英语简短小故事-324. US Passports Outsourced

The federal government has decided¹ that it’s too expensive to print US passports in the US. Starting later this year, the government will send all passports to Thailand. A printing company in Thailand will print all US passports at a significant savings² to the US taxpayer³.

A radio ad in Los Angeles proclaims that a citizen’s identity is stolen every 3 seconds. “Outsourcing our passports is only going to make identity theft a bigger problem,” said an angry citizen. “What’s next? Before we know it, they’ll be printing driver’s licenses⁵, birth certificates, and social security cards in Thailand. This will result in total chaos⁶. Fifty people will have the same passport and driver’s license⁴.”

A US Senator said that outsourcing is necessary because of the Iraq War. “To pay for the war, we have to reduce our spending elsewhere,” he said. He said that passports were only the beginning; money was next. Starting two years from now, he said that all US cash would be printed overseas. Starting three years from now, he said, military vehicles and weapons would be made overseas.

“The good news,” he said, “is that we are going to also outsource our military troops. Two undeveloped countries have agreed to replace our soldiers starting four years from now. Our American soldiers will gradually return to America, and these foreign soldiers will do all the fighting in Iraq. This will reduce our military costs in Iraq 90 percent, from $10 billion monthly to only $1 billion. To further reduce spending, of course, all the returning American soldiers will be laid off.”

 

 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

3 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

4 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

5 licenses   

n.执照( license的名词复数 )v.批准，许可，颁发执照( license的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Drivers have ten days' grace to renew their licenses. 驾驶员更换执照有10天的宽限期。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Jewish firms couldn't get import or export licenses or raw materials. 犹太人的企业得不到进出口许可证或原料。 来自辞典例句

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。