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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
ECONOMICS REPORT - U.S. States and Gambling1
By Mario Ritter
Broadcast: Friday, July 16, 2004
This is Bob Doughty2 with the VOA Special English Economics Report.
Graphic3 Image
Some form of gambling is legal in all fifty American states except two, Hawaii and Utah. Some states increasingly see games of chance as a good chance to help pay for services.
A new law in Pennsylvania will permit as many as sixty-one thousand slot machines in that state. Players put in money and hope to win more money.
Pennsylvania expects to earn as much as one thousand million dollars a year. Governor Ed Rendell says some money will go to reduce property taxes.
In Maryland, some lawmakers and Governor Robert Ehrlich want to make slot machines legal in their state as well. Maryland is next to Pennsylvania. Gambling on horse races is already legal in Maryland. Now, officials worry that Maryland will lose gambling money to Pennsylvania.
Some people in Washington, D.C., want slot machines in the nation's capital.
States with big budget deficits4, like New York and California, also want to increase their gambling money. New York Governor George Pataki wants to put machines called "video lottery5 terminals" at horse races throughout the state. He says his plan would raise lots of money for education.
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger recently signed deals with five Native American tribes. The tribes can now operate as many slot machines as they want. Gambling has become a major industry on tribal6 lands in the United States. Tribal governments do not pay taxes. But many states have agreements with tribes over gambling rights.
Governor Schwarzenegger hopes California will receive one thousand million dollars for its current budget.
But some people say public officials are taking too much of a chance on gambling. Religious leaders call it a social evil that ruins lives. Opponents say it brings crime and other problems. They argue that it does not create new wealth, but serves as a tax on the poor, who are more likely to gamble.
In two-thousand, the General Accounting7 Office of Congress released a report on the economic and social effects of gambling. The writers noted8 a finding that eighty-six percent of Americans reported having gambled at least once in their lives.
But the report said that while it is easy to know how much money gambling raises, it is difficult to know how gambling affects society.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.
1 gambling | |
n.赌博;投机 | |
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2 doughty | |
adj.勇猛的,坚强的 | |
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3 graphic | |
adj.生动的,形象的,绘画的,文字的,图表的 | |
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4 deficits | |
n.不足额( deficit的名词复数 );赤字;亏空;亏损 | |
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5 lottery | |
n.抽彩;碰运气的事,难于算计的事 | |
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6 tribal | |
adj.部族的,种族的 | |
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7 accounting | |
n.会计,会计学,借贷对照表 | |
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8 noted | |
adj.著名的,知名的 | |
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