2017考研英语拓展阅读：英国不平等严重 贫富差距大

　　考研英语阅读能力提升需要不断地积累练习，通过阅读来积累词汇量，提升阅读速度和理解能力。暑期强化复习，阅读强度要加大，新东方在线继续分享一些有关政治、经济、文化、生活、体育、科技等方面的文章，大家要多多拓展。下面一篇文章是英国是世界上不平等最严重国家之一。

2017考研英语拓展阅读：英国是世界上不平等最严重国家之一

　　That made Britain one of the most unequal countries in the developed world and contributed to the vote for Brexit, the charity said.

　　乐施会表示，这使得英国成为了发达国家中不平等最严重的国家之一，还导致了英国投票退出欧盟。

　　Its analysis found that about 634,000 Britons were worth 20 times as much as the poorest 13 million people.

　　乐施会通过分析发现，63万4000不列颠人的身家是最贫穷的130万英国人的20倍。

　　Oxfam has urged Prime Minister Theresa May to help close the gap between the "haves" and the "have-nots".

　　乐施会敦促首相特丽萨·梅帮助缩小“富人”和“穷人”之间的贫富差距。

　　The charity’s report analysed data from Credit Suisse and found that the richest 10% of the UK population own over half of the country’s total wealth, with the top 1% owning nearly a quarter (23%). The poorest 20% share just 0.8% of the UK’s wealth between them.

　　乐施会的报告分析了来自瑞士信贷的数据，发现英国最富有的10%人口掌握着全国超过半数的财富，其中最富有的1%人口所掌握的财富大约占到了全国财富总额的四分之一(23%)。而最贫穷的20%人口所拥有的财富只占到了全国财富总额的0.8%。

　　The report said many people in the UK felt locked out of politics and economic opportunity.

　　这份报告指出，许多英国人感觉自己完全没有政治和经济上的机会。

　　"Whatever your views on Brexit, the referendum brought divisions within our country to a head, with many people expressing distrust and disconnection with political processes and voting for change in the hope that it would improve their economic position," Oxfam said.

　　英国乐施会表示：“不管你对脱欧持什么样的看法，这场公投使得我国的分歧达到了顶点，许多人都不信任政治程序、也没有多少参与，因此他们投票想要改变这一现状，希望这将会改善他们的经济地位。”

　　The charity welcomed Mrs May’s recognition of the need to reform corporate culture and proposed a series of measures for the government to adopt.

　　特丽萨·梅意识到了企业文化需要改革的必要性、并且提出了一系列政府需要采取的措施，乐施会对此表示欢迎。

　　Rachael Orr, head of Oxfam’s UK Programme, said: "Inequality is a massive barrier to tackling poverty and has created an economy that clearly isn’t working for everyone. While executive pay soars, one in five people live below the poverty line and struggle to pay their bills and put food on the table."

　　乐施会“英国计划”负责人蕾切尔·奥尔表示说：“不平等是解决贫困问题的巨大障碍，并且产生了一个很明显不是为所有人服务的经济。尽管高管的薪酬得到了飙升，五分之一的人口依然生活在贫困线以下，他们在挣扎着支付账单、养家糊口。”

　　Ending unscrupulous practices must be a central element of the government’s plans to reform the economy, she said.

　　蕾切尔·奥尔指出，结束不法行为必须是政府改革经济计划中的一个核心因素。

　　"That means closing wage gaps, incentivising investment in companies’ staff and making sure they pay their fair share of taxes," Ms Orr said.

　　蕾切尔·奥尔说道：“那意味着要缩小贫富差距、激励企业员工投资、确保他们支付的税份额收公平合理。”

　　A Downing Street spokesperson said the government had made changes such as bringing in the National Living Wage and reforming the welfare system, but admitted that more needed to be done to help both the poorest in the UK as well as families struggling to make ends meet.

　　唐宁街一名发言人指出，英国政府已经做出了一些改变，例如引进全国最低生活工资和改革福利制度，但是也承认政府必须要付出更多的努力，来帮助英国最贫穷的、以及那些入不敷出的家庭。

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