2006年高考英语北京卷 - 阅读理解C

Why I Don't Spare "Spare Change"
我为什么不给零钱

“Poor but honest.” “The deserving poor.”There words always come to my mind when I think of “the poor.” But I also think of people who, perhaps through alcohol or drugs, have ruined not only their own lives but also the lives of others in order to give way to their own pleasure. Perhaps alcoholism and drug addiction really are “diseases” as many people say, but my own feeling-based, of course, not on any serious study - is that most alcoholics and drug addicts belong to the “undeserving poor.” And that is largely why I don’t give spare change to beggars.
“贫穷但诚实。”“值得帮助的穷人。”每当我想到“穷人”时，脑海中总会浮现出这样的字眼。但我也想到那些也许是因为酒或者毒品，为了满足自己的快乐，不仅毁了自己的生活，也毁了别人的生活的人们。也许正如许多人所说，酗酒和吸毒真的是“疾病”，但我自己的感觉是，当然不是严肃的研究，大多数酗酒者和吸毒者属于“不值得帮助的穷人”。这就是我不给乞丐零钱的主要原因。

But surely among the street people there are also some who can rightly be called “deserving.” Deserving what? My spare change? Or simple the govement’s assistance? It happens that I have been brought up to believe that it is proper to make contributions to charity, but if I give some change to a beggar, am I making a contribution to charity and thereby helping someone, or, am I perhaps simply encouraging someone not to get help? Or, maybe even worse, am I supprting a cheat?
当然街头人群中也有一些人可以应该被称为“值得帮助”。值得什么？我的零钱？还是政府的援助？碰巧我从小就相信应该捐款给慈善机构，但如果我给乞丐一些零钱。我是在为慈善机构捐款，从而帮助别人吗？或者也许我只是在鼓励某人不要寻求帮助？或者，也许更糟糕的是我在支持一个骗子？

If one believes in the value of private charity, one can either give to needy people or to charitable organizations. In giving to a beggar one may inded be helping a person who baly needs help, but one cannot be certain that one is giving to a needy person. In giving to an organization, on the other hand, one can feel that one’s money is likely to be used wisely. True, facing a beggar one may feel that this particular unfortunate person needs help at this moment - a cup of coffee or a sandwich - and the need will not be met unless I put my pocket right now. But I have come to think that the beggars whom I meet can get along without my spare change, and indeed perhaps they are actually better off for not having money to buy alcohol or drugs.
如果一个人相信私人慈善的价值，那么他就捐赠给有需要的人，或者慈善机构。给乞丐施舍可能意味着帮助一个需要帮助的人，但不能确定自己是否在给一个需要帮助的人。另一方面，在给一个组织捐款时，人们会觉得自己的钱可能会被理智地使用。诚然，面对一个乞丐，你可能会觉得这个特别不幸的人此刻需要帮助——一杯咖啡或一个三明治，除非我正好从口袋里掏钱，否则这个愿望不会得到满足。但我开始认为，我遇到的乞丐没有我给的零钱可能也会过得很好，事实上，也许他们没钱买酒或毒品会过得更好。

I know nothing about these beggars, but it’s my impression that they simply prefer begging to working. I am not generalizing about street people. I am talking about the people whom I actually meet. That’s why I do not give “spare change, “ and I don’ think I will in the future.
我对这些乞丐一无所知，但我的印象是，他们只是以乞讨为生的人。我不是指所有街头人士，我说的是我真实遇到的人。这就是我为什么不给“零钱”的原因，我想我将来也不会给。