News Report 2（第一套）音频、真题、答案、听力原文、答案解析、参考译文、重点词汇与表达
【音频】
【真题】
Questions 3 to 4 are based on the news report you have just heard.
3.
A) Budgeted $56.7 million for the coming school year.
B) Requested to raise teachers’salaries by 3 percent.
C) Proposed a spending increase by 5.99 percent.
D) Kept raising funds for at least 8 budget cycles.
4.
A) Decrease in salaries for school administrators.
B) Reduction in federal and state funding.
C) Firing of less qualified faculty members.
D) Closing down of some less competitive schools.
【答案】
3. C) Proposed a spending increase by 5.99 percent.
4. B) Reduction in federal and state funding.
【听力原文】
[3] The Wilton School Board has proposed a 5.99% spending increase. If approved, it would be the largest jump in at least eight budget cycles. The 5.99% request more than doubles the highest previous year-over-year increase in the last eight years, which was 2.99% for the 2021-2022 school year. The biggest driver of the $91.8 million proposed budget remains teacher salaries. These account for 64% of the total request at $59 million. The $59 million is up from the $56.7 million budgeted for the current school year.
There are some factors that could affect the budget moving forward. One of those is total enrollment. The district will have a total enrollment of 3,742 students. Almost all of these students will be in kindergarten through high school, but 66 will be in prekindergarten and other programs. This represents 47 fewer students than the current year. [4] Fewer students mean less federal and state funding.
【答案解析】
3. What does the news report say the Wilton School Board has done?
新闻报道中提到威尔顿学校董事会做了什么？
答案：C) Proposed a spending increase by 5.99 percent.
提议增加5.99%的开支。
解析：
新闻开头就提到，“The Wilton School Board has proposed a 5.99% spending increase.”威尔顿学校董事会提议增加5.99%的开支。由此可知，选项C为正确答案。
干扰项分析：
A) Budgeted $56.7 million for the coming school year.
为下一学年编制了5670万美元的预算。
新闻中提到$56.7 million是本学年（the current school year）的预算金额，而非下一学年。故排除。
B) Requested to raise teachers’salaries by 3 percent.
要求将教师工资提高3%。
新闻中提到教师工资是预算增长的主要驱动因素，但并未提及具体的3%涨幅要求。故排除。
D) Kept raising funds for at least 8 budget cycles.
为至少8个预算周期持续筹集资金。
新闻中提到“If approved, it would be the largest jump in at least eight budget cycles.”是说如果获批，这将是至少八个预算周期中最大的增幅，而非持续筹集资金。故排除。
4. What will a decline in the total enrollment lead to?
总入学人数的减少将导致什么？
答案：B) Reduction in federal and state funding.
联邦拨款和州拨款减少。
解析：
新闻最后一句提到，“Fewer students mean less federal and state funding.”学生人数的减少意味着联邦拨款和州拨款的减少。由此可知，选项B为正确答案。
干扰项分析：
A) Decrease in salaries for school administrators.
学校行政人员的工资减少。
新闻中未提及行政人员工资会减少。故排除。
C) Firing of less qualified faculty members.
解雇资质较差的教职员工。
新闻中未提及解雇教职员工的内容。故排除。
D) Closing down of some less competitive schools.
关闭一些竞争力较弱的学校。
新闻中未提及关闭学校的内容。故排除。
【参考译文】
威尔顿学校董事会提议增加5.99%的开支。如果获得批准，这将是至少八个预算周期中最大的增幅。这一5.99%的要求是过去八年来最高的同比增幅的两倍多，此前最高增幅是2021-2022学年的2.99%。在拟议的9180万美元预算中，最大的驱动因素仍然是教师工资。这些工资占总要求的64%，即5900万美元。这5900万美元比本学年预算的5670万美元有所增加。
有一些因素可能会影响未来的预算。其中之一是总入学人数。该学区的总入学人数将为3742名学生。几乎所有这些学生都将就读于幼儿园至高中，但66名将就读于学前班和其他项目。这比本学年减少了47名学生。学生人数减少意味着联邦和州拨款的减少。
【重点词汇与表达】
propose 提议，建议，提出
spending increase 开支增加，支出增长
budget cycle 预算周期
driver 驱动因素
account for 占（比例），解释，说明
budget 为……编制预算； 预算
enrollment 入学人数，注册人数
