每日英語 #070: Gambling During an Economic Slump

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When a country is in an “economic slump” (a sudden and bad fall in prices, value, and more; bad economic situation), the U.S. “federal” (national) government, as well as state governments, look for ways to raise their “revenues” (income; money collected). In the recent economic slump of the 2000’s, several states decided to try the same thing: opening casinos.

當一個國家處於“經濟蕭條”（價格、價值等突然且嚴重的下跌；糟糕的經濟狀況）時，美國“聯邦”（全國）政府以及州政府會尋找增加“收入”（收入；收取的錢）的方法。在2000年代最近的經濟蕭條中，幾個州決定嘗試同樣的事情：開設賭場。

“Casinos” are places where people can go to “gamble,” or play games of chance for money. In the U.S., each state decides whether casinos are legal. Most states have decided not to allow “legalized” (allowed by law) gambling in casinos.

“賭場”是人們可以去“賭博”或玩機會遊戲賺錢的地方。在美國，每個州決定賭場是否合法。大多數州已經決定不允許賭場內的“合法”（法律允許的）賭博。

There are “notable” (important; worthy of attention) exceptions, of course. The state of Nevada allows legalized gambling and that’s why many people visit the popular city of Las Vegas. Similarly, New Jersey allows gambling, and as a result, Atlantic City is well known for its casinos.

當然，有一些“顯著”（重要的；值得注意的）例外。內華達州允許合法賭博，這就是為什麼許多人訪問受歡迎的拉斯維加斯市。同樣，新澤西州允許賭博，因此，大西洋城因其賭場而聞名。

However, most other states do not allow legalized gambling, but this may be changing. In 2010, the states of Delaware, Pennsylvania, and Maryland legalized casinos, allowing games such as “blackjack” (a card game where the goal is to have cards totaling 21 without going over that number) and “roulette” (where a wheel is spun and a ball lands on numbers that people can bet on). According to the American Gaming Association, the 500 existing casinos in 22 states earned about $7.5 billion in taxes for state and local governments in 2010.

然而，大多數其他州不允許合法賭博，但這可能會改變。在2010年，特拉華州、賓夕法尼亞州和馬里蘭州合法化了賭場，允許像“二十一點”（一種紙牌遊戲，目標是擁有總數為21的牌而不超過該數字）和“輪盤”（轉動輪盤，球落在可供下注的數字上）等遊戲。根據美國博彩協會的數據，2010年22個州的500個現有賭場為州和地方政府賺取了約75億美元的稅收。

Legalizing gambling to increase revenues is not a new “strategy” (plan). Nevada first legalized gambling in 1931 during the Great Depression, a time of major economic “crisis” (with major problems), and Atlantic City “came into being” (was started) during the poor economic times of the 1970s.

合法化賭博以增加收入並不是一個新的“策略”（計劃）。內華達州在1931年大蕭條期間（重大經濟“危機”時期）首次合法化了賭博，而大西洋城則在1970年代的經濟困境中“誕生”（開始）。

重點單字

• Economic slump 經濟蕭條 /ˌɛkəˈnɑmɪk slʌmp/
• Federal 聯邦的 /ˈfɛdərəl/
• Revenues 收入 /ˈrɛvəˌnuz/
• Casinos 賭場 /kəˈsinoʊz/
• Gamble 賭博 /ˈɡæmbl/
• Legalized 合法的 /ˈliɡəˌlaɪzd/
• Notable 顯著的 /ˈnoʊtəbəl/
• Blackjack 二十一點 /ˈblækˌʤæk/
• Roulette 輪盤 /ruˈlɛt/
• Strategy 策略 /ˈstrætəʤi/
• Crisis 危機 /ˈkraɪsɪs/
• Came into being 誕生 /keɪm ˈɪntu ˈbiɪŋ/