美国的教育制度
美国学生在高中的最后一年， 常常要申请 好几所大学或学院。大学(university)通常 比学院(college)大， 往往包括几所学院。 美国没有统一的大学入学考试。各所大学 或学院招生的标准不一。
Income taxes 个人所得税
税，指人们所上交的用以支持政府的钱。美国大 体上有三级政府：联邦政府、州、市；因此，税 收也分为向以上三级政府上交的三种税。薪水超 过几千美元的人必须向联邦政府缴纳一定比例的 税，联邦政府的税率是累进的，税率为14%-17%， 随着个人的收入的增加而增加，每年的4月15日 为缴纳税款的日子，随着税收的增加人们这一天 很不愉快。尽管美国人在许多问题上持不同意见， 但他们在一个问题上的意见是一致的：税收太高， 他们常常觉得每一周都有一天纯粹是为了交税而 工作的。
(Para.1) It can be argued such a response may not mean much.
该句等于“People can argue that such an answer maybe isn’t very meaningful”(人们 可以反驳说, 这样的回答恐怕没有什么意义)
all but…
①= all except 除了…都 e.g. All but Liping were here just now. (刚才除了李平，所有人都在这儿。) ②= nearly, almost 几乎 e.g. We all but finished here. (做到这儿我们几乎要完成了。) It’s all but impossible. (这几乎是不可能的。)
Olympic Games. (这位运动员在上届运动会期间处于鼎盛时期。)
正式英语考试名称：
托福考试(Test of English as a Foreign Language, TOEFL) 研究生考试(Graduate Record Examination,GRE) 商务英语证书(Business English Certificate, BEC) 大学英语四级考试(College English Test Band 4, CET4) 智力测验(an intelligence test) 资质测验(an aptitude test) 口试(an oral test) 笔试(a written test)
Unit Eight
Honesty: Is It Going Out of Style?
admit: v. state or agree to the truth of; confess 承认，供认
① admit用作vt.时，其后可以接名词、动名词或 从句；e.g. He admitted his error frankly. He admitted that his comprehension was weak. Jack admitted having broken the window. ② admit用作vi.时，其后接介词to再接宾语。 e.g. He admitted to having taken the money.
think of … as = regard as, consider …as 把…看作 E.g. We all think of the treaty as of great importatnce. （我们都认为这个条约很重要。）
in the case of =as for, in a particular occasion of 至于…, 就…而言
be faced with: 面临，面对
face也可作v. 常用于主动语态，意为“面临” e.g. The new government faced many problems. (新政府面临许多难题。) We are all faced with the same problem of rising costs. (我们都面临着物价上涨问题。)
track down= find someone or something by hunting or searching 追捕到…, 对…追查到底 e.g. The dogs are tracking down the game. (注： game: u.n. 猎物，野味) 译文： 猎狗正在追踪猎物。
out of style= no longer fashionable, unfashionablne out of style. (这种裙子已经变得不时髦了。) 而in style= in a grand way 豪华地，体面地 e.g. The millionaire isn’t used to live in style. (这位百万富翁不习惯过豪华的生活。) She dresses in style.(她穿着很时髦。) 注： out of表示“过”，“不再”，也可以与其他名词构成 类似意义的词组。e.g. The machine has gone out of use a long time ago. (这台机器很久以前已经淘汰了。) A lot of words go out of date very quickly. (许多词很快就不再用了。)
on the other hand= from the opposed point of view另一方面，反过来说
该词组一般与on the one hand(一方面)连用，也 可单独使用。 e.g. He is clever, but on the other hand, he makes many mistakes. (他很聪明，但从另一方面讲，他也犯了不少错 误。)
(Line49)Would a check-out person at a large supermarket return money to a customer? 该句中， “a check-out person” means “a salesclerk whose job is to receive the bill for the goods a customer has chosen.” “商店里的结账人员”
a case in point= a very good example, one example regarding the subject in question 一个恰当的例子
e.g.
①Many hit-and-run automobile drivers were seized at last. Smith is a case in point. (许多闯了祸就逃跑的汽车司机最后被逮住了，史 密斯就是这方面的例子。) ② China has the world’s most remarkable athletes, a case in point is Deng Yaping, who won numerous world titles. (中国有很多世界上最优秀的运动员，例如邓亚萍， 她获得过许多比赛的荣誉。)
5. be faced with:面临 There are indications that many/numerous factories are faced with a very difficult situation. 6. under the charge of… 以…(罪)控告 The police arrested the criminal under the charge of armed robbery several hours after they found an important clue to his identity.

3. lie in:在于 It is true that success lies in diligence. 4. 受诱惑： be tempted to do (sth.) They have a high moral standard and will never be tempted to receive such expensive presents.
7. 造成…问题： cause…problem The investigation indicates that, to some people, retirement will cause psychological problems. 8. more than: 不只是； complain about: 抱怨… The medical team did more than complain about the comparatively bad working conditions in the local hospital. For example, quite a few doctors used their own money to buy some simple medical equipments.
on表示正处于何种状态或形势下。 在on the rise 中， rise可以为increase所代替， 其反义词是 on the decline/decrease. e.g. ①In our city, interest in sports is on the decline/rise. (在我们城市里, 对体育的兴趣正在下降/上升.) ② The demand for tea is on the decrease. (对茶叶的需求量正在减少。) ③ Crime in big cities is on the increase. (在大城市里，犯罪率正在上升。)
Ex.15. Translation:
1. lead to: 使得，导致，引起 Large investment has led to rapid economic development in this area. 2. 开展运动: launch a campaign; 筹款：raise money They have launched a campaign to raise money for the building of a new hospital.