Income

    Income may be national income and personal income. Whereas national income is defined as the total earned income of all the factors of production—namely 1, profits, interest, rent, wages, and other compensation for labor, personal income may be defined as total money income received by individuals before personal taxes are paid. National income does not equal GNP(Gross National Product)because the factors of production do not receive payment for either capital consumption allowances or indirect business taxes, both of which are included in GNP. The money put aside for capital consumption is for replacement and thus is not counted as income 2. Indirect taxes include sales taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes that are paid by businesses directly to the government and so reduce the income left to pay for the factors of production. Three-fourths of national income goes for 3 wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation to employees.

    Whereas national income shows the income that the factors of production earn, personal income measures the income that individuals or households receive. Corporation profits are included in national income because they are earned. Out of these profits, however, corporation profit taxes must be paid to government, and some money must be put into the business for expansion. Only that part of profits distributed as dividends goes to the individual; therefore, out of corporation profits only dividends count as personal income. The factors of production earn money for social security and unemployment insurance contributions, but this money goes to government(which is not a factor of production), not to individuals. It is therefore part of national income but not part of personal income.

    On the other hand, money received by individuals when they collect social security or unemployment compensation is not money earned but money received. Interest received on government bonds 4 is also in this category, because much of the money received from the sale of bonds went to pay for war production and that production no longer furnishes a service to 5 the economy.

    The money people receive as personal income may be either spent or saved. However, not all spending is completely voluntary. A significant portion of our income goes to pay personal taxes. Most workers never receive the money they pay in personal taxes, because it is withheld from their paychecks 6. The money that individuals are left with 7 after they have met their tax obligations is disposable personal income. Disposable income can be divided between personal consumption expenditures and personal savings. It is important to remember that personal saving is what is left after spending.

词汇：

GNP(Gross National Product)国民生产总值 indirect taxes 间接税

sales taxes 销售税 property taxes 财产税 excise taxes 消费税

corporation profit taxes 公司利润税 dividend ["dɪvɪdend]红利;股息;债息

social security (美国的)社会保障制度;社会保险(制度);社会保险金

withhold [wɪð"həʊld] 使停止;阻挡;拒给;隐瞒;克制

disposable [dɪˈspəʊzəbl]可自由使用的;可任意处理的

 

注释：

1.namely：即；也就是。例如：Only one boy was absent，namely Harry.只有一个男孩缺席，那就是哈里。
2.…thus is not counted as income…：……因此不能算收入……count可作动词和不及物动词。例如：There will be ten guests，not counting the children.孩子不算，将有10个客人。
3.go for…：用于
4.interest received on government bonds…：政府债券所得利息……
5.furnishes a service to…：对……提供服务
6.…because it is withheld from their paychecks.：……因为它从他们的工资卡上被扣除了。
7.The money that individuals are left with…：个人余留下来的钱……

This passage is mainly about________．

A:the difference between national income and GNP B:the difference between national income and personal income C:the concept of income D:the difference between disposable income and nondisposable income

Income

    Income may be national income and personal income. Whereas national income is defined as the total earned income of all the factors of production—namely 1, profits, interest, rent, wages, and other compensation for labor, personal income may be defined as total money income received by individuals before personal taxes are paid. National income does not equal GNP(Gross National Product)because the factors of production do not receive payment for either capital consumption allowances or indirect business taxes, both of which are included in GNP. The money put aside for capital consumption is for replacement and thus is not counted as income 2. Indirect taxes include sales taxes, property taxes, and excise taxes that are paid by businesses directly to the government and so reduce the income left to pay for the factors of production. Three-fourths of national income goes for 3 wages, salaries, and other forms of compensation to employees.

    Whereas national income shows the income that the factors of production earn, personal income measures the income that individuals or households receive. Corporation profits are included in national income because they are earned. Out of these profits, however, corporation profit taxes must be paid to government, and some money must be put into the business for expansion. Only that part of profits distributed as dividends goes to the individual; therefore, out of corporation profits only dividends count as personal income. The factors of production earn money for social security and unemployment insurance contributions, but this money goes to government(which is not a factor of production), not to individuals. It is therefore part of national income but not part of personal income.

    On the other hand, money received by individuals when they collect social security or unemployment compensation is not money earned but money received. Interest received on government bonds 4 is also in this category, because much of the money received from the sale of bonds went to pay for war production and that production no longer furnishes a service to 5 the economy.

    The money people receive as personal income may be either spent or saved. However, not all spending is completely voluntary. A significant portion of our income goes to pay personal taxes. Most workers never receive the money they pay in personal taxes, because it is withheld from their paychecks 6. The money that individuals are left with 7 after they have met their tax obligations is disposable personal income. Disposable income can be divided between personal consumption expenditures and personal savings. It is important to remember that personal saving is what is left after spending.

词汇：

GNP(Gross National Product)国民生产总值 indirect taxes 间接税

sales taxes 销售税 property taxes 财产税 excise taxes 消费税

corporation profit taxes 公司利润税 dividend ["dɪvɪdend]红利;股息;债息

social security (美国的)社会保障制度;社会保险(制度);社会保险金

withhold [wɪð"həʊld] 使停止;阻挡;拒给;隐瞒;克制

disposable [dɪˈspəʊzəbl]可自由使用的;可任意处理的

 

注释：

1.namely：即；也就是。例如：Only one boy was absent，namely Harry.只有一个男孩缺席，那就是哈里。
2.…thus is not counted as income…：……因此不能算收入……count可作动词和不及物动词。例如：There will be ten guests，not counting the children.孩子不算，将有10个客人。
3.go for…：用于
4.interest received on government bonds…：政府债券所得利息……
5.furnishes a service to…：对……提供服务
6.…because it is withheld from their paychecks.：……因为它从他们的工资卡上被扣除了。
7.The money that individuals are left with…：个人余留下来的钱……

Which of the following statements is true according to the first paragraph?

A:GNP equals national income plus indirect business taxes B:GNP excludes both capital consumption allowances and indirect business taxes C:Personal income is regarded as the total money income received by an individual after hisor her taxes are paid D:The money that goes for capital consumption is not regarded as income

In Paragraph 2, several studies have shown that the more______ , the more personal‘secrets’ one person will divulge.

A:intimate their relationship is B:ordinary their conversation is C:quick the other's response is D:personal' secrets' the other person reveals

Personal interviewing is most effective when all the people to be interviewed are located in a relatively small geographical area. Otherwise, the time and expense spent in travelling from one person to another makes this type of interviewing economically impractical. Personal inter viewing is usually used when the information needed is too complex to be gathered by another technique. For example, a problem being studied may require the interviewer to probe beyond the more superficial answers that might be obtained with another method.
It is sometimes assumed that personal interviewing is the most accurate of all survey re search techniques. Although personal interviewing may be accurate in many cases, human errors may prevent a researcher from obtaining valid results. Questions perceived by the interview wee as an invasion of privacy or threatening in any way will probably produce false of partially true answers. Also, since the interviewer must interpret the respondent’s statements, a certain amount of information loss results even though the respondent may be answering truthfully.
In spite of the problems, at least two major advantages are provided by this research technique. First, the alert interviewer can generally tell if the respondent is being truthful of if he or she is giving superficial or untrue responses. Second, the interviewer can rephrase questions, give more explanation, or probe more deeply if the initial questions do not produce the information desired. As a result, the information gleaned should be more accurate than that provided by interviews where no one is present to clarify questions or to interpret answers.

It can be concluded from the passage that when all the people to be interviewed are located in a relatively big geographical area （）

A:personal interviewing is most effective B:personal interviewing is economically impractical C:personal interviewing is the only technique to get information D:telephone interviewing may not be used

Personal interviewing is most effective when all the people to be interviewed are located in a relatively small geographical area. Otherwise, the time and expense spent in travelling from one person to another makes this type of interviewing economically impractical. Personal inter viewing is usually used when the information needed is too complex to be gathered by another technique. For example, a problem being studied may require the interviewer to probe beyond the more superficial answers that might be obtained with another method.
It is sometimes assumed that personal interviewing is the most accurate of all survey re search techniques. Although personal interviewing may be accurate in many cases, human errors may prevent a researcher from obtaining valid results. Questions perceived by the interview wee as an invasion of privacy or threatening in any way will probably produce false of partially true answers. Also, since the interviewer must interpret the respondent’s statements, a certain amount of information loss results even though the respondent may be answering truthfully.
In spite of the problems, at least two major advantages are provided by this research technique. First, the alert interviewer can generally tell if the respondent is being truthful of if he or she is giving superficial or untrue responses. Second, the interviewer can rephrase questions, give more explanation, or probe more deeply if the initial questions do not produce the information desired. As a result, the information gleaned should be more accurate than that provided by interviews where no one is present to clarify questions or to interpret answers.

In the first sentence of the last paragraph, the pronoun "this" refers to（）

A:survey B:question C:answering D:personal interviewing

The concept of personal choice in relation to health behaviors is an important one. An estimated 90 percent of all illnesses may be preventable if individuals would make sound personal health choices based upon current medical knowledge. We all enjoy our freedom of choice and do not like to see it restricted. The structure of American society allows us to make almost all our own personal decisions that may concern our health. If we so desire, we can smoke, drink excessively, refuse to wear seat belts, eat whatever foods we want, and live a completely sedentary lifestyle without any exercise. The freedom to make such personal decisions is a fundamental aspect of our society, although the wisdom of these decisions can be questioned. Personal choices relative to health often cause a difficulty. As one example, a teenager may know the facts relative to smoking cigarettes and health but may be pressured by friends into believing it is the socially accepted thing to do.
A multitude of factors, both inherited and environmental, influence the development of health-related behaviors. However, the decision to adopt a particular health-related behavior is usually one of personal choices. There are healthy choices and there are unhealthy choices. In discussing the morals of personal choice, Fries and Crapo drew a comparison. They suggested that to knowingly give oneself over to a behavior that has a statistical probability of shortening life is similar to attempting suicide. Thus, for those individuals who are interested in preserving both the quality and quantity of life, personal health choices should reflect those behaviors that are associated with a statistical probability of increased vitality(活力)and longevity(寿命).

The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because （）

A:personal health choices help cure most illnesses B:it helps raise the level of our medical knowledge C:it is essential to personal freedom in American society D:wrong decisions could lead to poor health

The concept of personal choice concerning health is important because ______.

A:personal health choices help cure most illnesses B:it helps raise the level of our medical knowledge C:it is essential to personal freedom in American society D:wrong decisions could lead to poor health

According to the last paragraph, one of the advantages of the personal interviewing is ______.

A:the interviewer can ask the interviewee questions again in different ways B:the interviewer can ask the interviewee some personal questions C:the initial question do not produce the information desired D:no one is present to clarify questions