How much does it cost to change a light bulb? -- "A lot" is the answer if you are a taxpayer in Birmingham. Over 90,000 pounds in fact.

　　更换一个灯泡到底需要花费多少钱？如果你是居住在英国伯明翰市的一位纳税人的话，那你的回答肯定是下面这两个字--"很多"，因为他们每年在每个从事此项工作的工人身上实际支付的费用已经超过9万英镑。

　　A furious row has erupted over the news that a council street and traffic lights engineer received 91,000 pounds for 2005/2006 including overtime bonuses -- even though he was off sick.　　

　　伯明翰市媒体最近披露的一则消息在该市社会各界引起了激烈的争论，受雇于伯明翰市议会的一名专门负责路灯及交通信号灯维护工作的技师在2005到2006财政年度内的收入总额达到了9.1万镑，更让大家感到离谱的是，即使此人因病没来上班却也能照样拿到加班补贴。

　　The average pay in Britain is about 23,000 pounds a year.

　　目前，英国上班族的平均年薪大约为2.3万英镑。

　　Birmingham City Council's Alan Rudge said he intended to stamp out the practice of workers getting bloated pay packets.

　　来自伯明翰市议会的艾伦·拉奇表示，他打算采取相应措施来改变目前这种某些普通工人工资畸高的怪状。　　

　　"This is a throwback to employment practice which is outdated and we cannot just stand still," he added in a statement.

　　拉奇在一份声明中补充说："这种不正常的现象完全应该归因于早已跟不上时代潮流的现行就业体制，而我们对此绝不能视而不见。"

　　Christine Melsom of the Is It Fair? campaign group, which wants to scrap the current council tax system, said she feared the problem might be endemic among local authorities."I really think this is probably just the tip of the iceberg," she told BBC radio. "How many more are there in other councils across the country?"

　　在伯明翰市内有一个名叫"这公平吗？"的旨在改变当地市议会现行税收制度的民间组织，来自该组织的克莉斯汀·迈尔索姆宣称，她十分担心该现象已经在全英国的地方权力机构中变得司空见惯。她在接受英国BBC电台记者的采访时说："我真的认为这或许只是冰山露出水面的一角。"

　　Earlier this month, Birmingham council came under fire when news leaked that some road workers -- whose job was to paint white lines on the city's streets -- earned 1,000 pounds a week.

　　其实伯明翰市议会在10月初时已成为饱受民众抨击的众矢之的，根据媒体当时透露的消息，当地某些只是负责为城市街道刷上白色交通指示线的路政工人竟然每周也可以挣到1000英镑。

　　（国际在线独家资讯 张咏）

width="525" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">

关键字:双语新闻
生词表: