2016年12月四级第2套仔细阅读 Passage 1 原文翻译及答案解析

"Sugar, alcohol and tobacco," economist Adam Smith once wrote, "are commodities which are nowhere necessaries of life, which have become objects of almost universal consumption, and which are, therefore, extremely popular subjects of taxation."

经济学家亚当·斯密曾写道：“糖、酒精和烟草并非生活必需品，但已成为几乎普遍消费的对象，因此，它们是极受欢迎的征税对象。”

Two and a half centuries on, most countries impose some sort of tax on alcohol and tobacco. With surging obesity levels putting increasing strain on public health systems, governments around the world have begun to toy with the idea of taxing sugar as well.

两个半世纪过去了，大多数国家对酒精和烟草征收某种形式的税。随着肥胖水平急剧上升，给公共卫生系统带来越来越大的压力，世界各地的政府也开始考虑对糖征税的想法。

Whether such taxes work is a matter of debate. A preliminary review of Mexico's taxation found a fall in purchases of taxed drinks as well as a rise in sales if untaxed and healthier drinks. By contrast, a Danish tax on foods high in fats was abandoned a year after its introduction, amid claims that consumers were avoiding it by crossing the border to Germany to satisfy their desire for cheaper, fattier fare.

此类税收是否有效存在争议。一项对墨西哥税收的初步审查发现，征税饮料的购买量下降，而未征税的更健康饮料的销量上升。相比之下，丹麦对高脂肪食品的税收在实施一年后被废除，原因是消费者通过越境到德国来满足对更便宜、更油腻食物的欲望，从而规避该税。

The food industry has, in general, been firmly opposed to such direct government action. Nonetheless, the renewed focus on waistlines means that industry groups are under pressure to demonstrate their products are healthy as well as tasty.

食品行业总体上坚决反对这种直接的政府行动。然而，重新关注腰围意味着行业集团面临压力，需要证明其产品既健康又美味。

Over the past three decades, the industry has made some efforts to improve the quality of its offerings. For example, some drink manufactures have cut the amount of sugar in their beverages.

在过去三十年中，该行业已做出一些努力以改善其产品质量。例如，一些饮料制造商已减少其饮料中的糖含量。

Many of the reductions over the past 30 years have been achieved either by reducing the amount of sugar, salt or fat in a product, or by finding an alternative ingredient. More recently, however, some companies have been investing money in a more ambitious undertaking: learning how to adjust the fundamental make-up of the food they sell. For example, having salt on the outside, but none on the inside, reduces the salt content without changing the taste.

过去30年中的许多减少是通过减少产品中的糖、盐或脂肪含量，或寻找替代成分来实现的。然而，最近一些公司一直在投资于更雄心勃勃的事业：学习如何调整所售食品的基本构成。例如，将盐放在外部而内部不含盐，可以在不改变口味的情况下减少盐含量。

While reformulating recipes (配方) is one way to improve public health, it should be part of a multi-sided approach. The key is to remember that there is not just one solution. To deal with obesity, a mixture of approaches-including reformulation, taxation and adjusting portion sizes-will be needed. There is no silver bullet.

虽然调整配方（配方）是改善公共卫生的一种方式，但它应该是多方面方法的一部分。关键是要记住没有单一的解决方案。为了应对肥胖，需要多种方法的结合，包括调整配方、征税和调整份量。没有银弹（万能药）。