考试辅导：2011英语四级阅读之墓地也涨价

会计考友

　　With people in China breaking out their brooms this weekend to get a jump on the upcoming Qingming Festival, or Tomb Sweeping Day, what's grabbing people's attention isn't the mass migration to cemeteries, but the land people will be standing on.
' Y' p% u* e# K8 c# P5 d　　随着本周末中国人准备好扫帚开始即将到来的清明节，人们关注的不是大量去到墓园的人流，而是其即将站上去的地方。
　　Soaring prices for increasingly scarce burial plots are raising eyebrows across the country.
　　稀有坟地价格不断上涨使整个国家都感到惊讶。
1 E0 ~4 @/ M5 Y　　Days before Tomb Sweeping Day, this cemetery in northeastern Jilin Province sees a drastic increase of visitors.
# N0 g, n! \" m8 L- P+ V- p4 |　　清明节前几天，吉林省东北部一个墓地，扫墓的人急剧上升。
3 H7 @9 d8 N: ]/ w" ]' u　　It has also become a place for sales promotion campaigns for tombs.
$ V- A* p! n: w2 U5 {; n3 f* L　　这也使它成为一个墓地促销活动的地方。
4 ]' Q) T; O) R4 }　　Tomb Salesperson, Jinlin Province, said, "The price of our tombs starts from 180 thousand yuan, but it's only one square meter. An extra square meter costs 68 thousand. So this 5-square-meter tomb will cost some 400 thousand yuan."
" G" U! n+ n3 l5 l7 g4 T  e7 @6 `　　吉林省一个墓地销售人员说：“我们的墓地价格从18万元起，但是这仅仅是每平方米的价格。而之外的每平方米要6. 8万元。所以这5平方米的墓地要花费40万元。”
$ ^* d! s: x' B& N) I  R) E　　With this money, one could buy a 70-square-meter apartment in Jilin, according to local real estate prices in March.
　　根据当地3月的房地产价格，这些钱在吉林可以买一套70平方米的房子。
5 G/ l+ f: E& A4 T: m　　The southern province of Guangdong is experiencing the same situation. With the cost of land in its capital Guanzhou already more than most can afford, burial space is quickly becoming the ultimate luxury for the dead.
& F3 v7 E- O: k/ x6 v　　广东南部也面临着同样的情况。在广州，土地费用太高，大部分人买不起，所以安葬空间很快就成为死者的一种顶级奢侈品。
) M; p" v1 J& ^+ e# D1 u0 b　　Local Resident, Guangzhou, said, "A tomb in the city costs about 100 thousand yuan, and it doesn't include additional fees like maintenance or the tombstones. We can't afford to die, literally."
' F5 |$ d, a6 x1 `) Z5 c　　一个广州当地居民说：“市区的一个陵墓大概要花10万元，这还不包括像维修费或墓碑之类的额外费用。实际上，我们死不起。”
" b! G# V% k$ I2 ]+ D　　The increase in prices is directly related to scarcity of land. The graveyard shortage is making burial plots another hot spot for investment, which further fuels the price hike.
　　墓地价格上涨直接跟土地紧缺有关。墓地紧缺使投资坟地成为另一个热点问题，也更进一步推动其价格的上涨。
　　Mrs. Wang, Jiangxi Province Resident, said, "We bought 11 tombs eight years ago. The cemetery had promised us 40 percent profits. But it didn't keep its promise to buy back those tombs."
/ @2 z9 h6 X3 k8 L1 b! p　　江西省王女士说：“8年前我们买了11块墓地。墓园管理人员已经答应给我们40%的利润。但是他并没有遵守承诺买回这些墓地。”
　　Today, 60 percent of tombs in the cemetery are still empty, a result of the investment fever years ago.
% B  U1 T9 \7 g! E" f　　今天，墓园里60%的陵墓是空的，这是多年前的投资热造成的。
　　And only investors can put tombs on the market, because tombs can only be bought with a death or cremation certification according to cemetery administration rules.
　　只有投资商能把陵墓放到市场上，因为根据墓园管理条例，只有有死亡或火化证明才能购买坟墓。