新奇事件簿 德国政府帮助工作家庭做家务

Working families in two towns in Germany will get government help with the housework. The towns are in the German state of Baden-Wuerttemberg. The government decided¹ to test a new project to help people, especially women, who work overtime². The plan is to give vouchers⁴ to employees who work extra hours. The employees can use the vouchers to get help with the housework, such as cleaning, laundry, ironing, vacuuming and dusting. The idea behind the project is to help support family life and to reduce the shadow economy. The shadow economy is when people pay for goods and services in cash but do not pay tax on them. This means the government loses a lot of money.

德国两个小镇的工作家庭将受到政府帮忙做家务。这两个小镇位于德国巴登-符腾堡州。政府决定试行一项新的政策来帮助加班的女性，尤其是女性。该计划给工作超时的人发放凭证。雇员们可以用这个凭证获得家务方面的帮助，比如清洁，洗衣，熨烫，吸尘。该项目的目的是帮助支持家庭生活，减少影子经济。影子经济是指人们用现金来购买货物和服务，但是没有为此纳税。这意味着政府失去了许多钱。

Government spokesman⁵ Christian⁶ Rauch explained more about the project. He said: "Our experience shows that well-qualified women work fewer hours than they would like because they want to carry out household duties in addition to family responsibilities. If these women increase their working hours by five to ten hours and receive a voucher³ from us, they can afford quality help with the housework." He added that the new system would also create more jobs for people in the household-help industry and create more tax for the government. Another spokesman, Dr. Ralf Kleindiek, said: "With professional help in the home, it is easier to balance work and family life."

政府发言人Christian Rauch解释了关于该项目的更多内容。他说：“我们的经验显示，许多有学识的女性工作的时长都低于自己愿意工作的时间，因为她们除了承担家庭责任之外还要做家务。如果这些女性工作时长延长5到10个小时，收到我们发放的凭证，她们在家务方面就能得到帮助。他补充说，新的体系将为家政行业的人提供更多就业岗位，为政府增加税收。”另外一名发言人Ralf Kleindiek表示，“家庭中有了专业的帮助，就更容易平衡工作和家庭生活。”

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 overtime   

adj.超时的，加班的；adv.加班地

参考例句：

• They are working overtime to finish the work.为了完成任务他们正在加班加点地工作。
• He was paid for the overtime he worked.他领到了加班费。

3 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

4 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）

5 spokesman   

n.发言人，代言人

参考例句：

• The government spokesman gave a quick briefing to the reporters.政府发言人向记者们作了情况简介。
• They drew lots to decide who should be their spokesman.他们抽签决定谁是他们的发言人。

6 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。