新闻英语精解【74】难道喝咖啡也要缴税？

Espresso tax alarms Seattle

【参考译文】西雅图将公投咖啡税

Seattle is known for its devotion to coffee .Recently, citizens prepare to vote in a referendum on taxing espresso drinks.

【参考译文】西雅图居民嗜喝咖啡广为人知。近来西雅图市民将为是否同意咖啡税而进行公民投票表决。

【讲解】referendum, The submission of a proposed public measure or actual statute to a direct popular vote.对拟通过或已通过的法案进行的直接公民投票。
espresso ,A strong coffee brewed by forcing steam under pressure through darkly roasted, powdered coffee beans. 浓咖啡、爱斯普利索咖啡，把粉末状的咖啡豆用蒸汽加压煮出来的浓咖啡。

At issue is whether the city will slap a 10-cent tax on every cup of espresso or espresso-based coffee in to fund better child day care for low-income families. Regular drip coffee would not be taxed under the proposal.

【参考译文】西雅图打算向购买espresso（或以其为底咖啡）的消費者上收每杯10美分的咖啡税，税收将用来资助低收入家庭儿童的白天看护费用，普通咖啡将不在收税之列。

For many espresso lovers in a city which helped to push the gourmet coffee revolution, the proposal is nothing short of heresy. Seattle has a reputation as a tax-friendly bastion of liberalism. But scratch a lefty espresso addict on this issue, and you might get a tax-hating conservative.

【参考译文】正是espresso咖啡的众多爱好者推进了美食咖啡革命，对于他们来说，这项提案完全是离经叛道。西雅图在缴税问题上是开明友好之邦，但是喝咖啡课税的话，嗜喝espresso的左派保守人士将成为提案的反对者。

【讲解】gourmet ，A connoisseur of fine food and drink. 美食家，美食和美酒的品尝家。经常用来修饰另一个名词：gourmet cooking, 美食烹调法；gourmet restaurants.美食馆。

nothing short of除...外; 别无...; 完全是; 简直可以说。

bastion，One that is considered similar to a defensive stronghold. 精神堡垒，被看作类似防御堡垒的人。You are a bastion of strength.你是一座有力的堡垒。

It is estimates that the tax could raise 700 million dollars annually.

【参考译文】预计，这项咖啡课税方案每年可为西雅图筹集七百万美元的经费。