2021年06月六级第1套仔细阅读 Passage 2 原文翻译及答案解析

Nicola Sturgeon's speech last Tuesday setting out the Scottish government's legislative programme for the year ahead confirmed what was already pretty clear. Scottish councils are set to be the first in the UK with the power to levy charges on visitors, with Edinburgh likely to lead the way.

尼古拉·斯特金上周二发表的演讲阐述了苏格兰政府未来一年的立法计划，这证实了已经相当明确的事情。苏格兰地方政府将成为英国首个有权向游客收费的机构，爱丁堡可能会率先采取行动。

Tourist taxes are not new. The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan has a longstanding policy of charging visitors a daily fee. France's tax on overnight stays was introduced to assist thermal spa (温泉) towns to develop, and around half of French local authorities use it today.

旅游税并非新鲜事物。喜马拉雅王国不丹长期实行向游客收取每日费用的政策。法国的过夜税是为了帮助温泉小镇发展而引入的，如今约有一半的法国地方政府使用该税。

But such levies are on the rise. Moves by Barcelona and Venice to deal with the phenomenon of "over-tourism" through the use of charges have recently gained prominence. Japan and Greece are among the countries to have recently introduced tourist taxes.

但此类征税正在增加。巴塞罗那和威尼斯通过收费来应对“过度旅游”现象的举措最近备受关注。日本和希腊是最近引入旅游税的国家之一。

That the UK lags behind is due to our weak, by international standards, local government, as well as the opposition to taxes and regulation of our aggressively pro-market ruling party. Some UK cities have lobbied without success for the power to levy a charge on visitors. Such levies are no universal remedy as the amounts raised would be tiny compared with what has been taken away by the central government since 2010. Still, it is to be hoped that the Scottish government's bold move will prompt others to act. There is no reason why visitors to the UK, or domestic tourists on holiday in hot spots such as Cornwall, should be exempt from taxation-particularly when vital local services including waste collection, park maintenance and arts and culture spending are under unprecedented strain.

英国落后的原因在于，按照国际标准，我们的地方政府较为薄弱，以及我们激进支持市场的执政党对税收和监管的反对。一些英国城市曾游说争取向游客收费的权力，但未成功。此类征税并非万能药，因为筹集的金额与自2010年以来中央政府削减的金额相比微不足道。尽管如此，希望苏格兰政府的大胆举措能促使其他人采取行动。没有理由让来英国的游客，或在康沃尔等热点地区度假的国内游客免税——尤其是在包括垃圾收集、公园维护和艺术文化支出在内的关键地方服务面临前所未有压力的情况下。

On the contrary, compelling tourists to make a financial contribution to the places they visit beyond their personal consumption should be part of a wider cultural shift. Westerners with disposable incomes have often behaved as if they have a right to go wherever they choose with little regard for the consequences. Just as the environmental harm caused by aviation and other transport must come under far greater scrutiny, the social cost of tourism must also be confronted. This includes the impact of short-term lets on housing costs and quality of life for residents. Several European capitals, including Paris and Berlin, are leading a campaign for tougher regulation by the European Union. It also includes the impact of overcrowding, litter and the kinds of behaviour associated with noisy parties.

相反，迫使游客在个人消费之外对他们访问的地方做出经济贡献，应该是更广泛文化转变的一部分。拥有可支配收入的西方人常常表现得好像他们有权随心所欲地去任何地方，而很少考虑后果。就像航空和其他交通方式造成的环境危害必须受到更严格审查一样，旅游的社会成本也必须面对。这包括短期租赁对居民住房成本和生活质量的影响。包括巴黎和柏林在内的几个欧洲首都正在领导一场要求欧盟加强监管的运动。它还包括过度拥挤、垃圾和与喧闹派对相关的行为的影响。

There is no "one size fits all" solution to this problem. The existence of new revenue streams for some but not all councils is complicated, and businesses are often opposed, fearing higher costs will make them uncompetitive. But those places that want them must be given the chance to make tourist taxes work.

这个问题没有“一刀切”的解决方案。为一些而非所有地方政府提供新收入来源的情况很复杂，企业常常反对，担心更高的成本会使他们失去竞争力。但那些想要实施的地方必须有机会让旅游税发挥作用。