# 第四册 Lesson 36 The cost of government 政府的开支

## 一、课文原文

If a nation is essentially disunited, it is left to the government to hold it together. This increases the expense of government, and reduces correspondingly the amount of economic resources that could be used for developing the country. And it should not be forgotten how small those resources are in a poor and backward country. Where the cost of government is high, resources for development are correspondingly low.

This may be illustrated by comparing the position of a nation with that of a private business enterprise. An enterprise has to incur certain costs and expenses in order to stay in business. For our purposes, we are concerned only with one kind of cost — the cost of managing and administering the business. Such administrative overheads in a business are analogous to the cost of government in a nation. The administrative overheads of a business are low to the extent that everyone working in the business can be trusted to behave in a way that best promotes the interests of the firm. If they can each be trusted to take such responsibilities and to exercise such initiative as falls within their sphere, then administrative overheads will be low. It will be low because it will be necessary to have only one man looking after each job, without having another man to check upon what he is doing, keep him in line, and report on him to someone else. But if no one can be trusted to act in a loyal and responsible manner towards his job, then the business will require armies of administrators, checkers, and foremen and administrative overheads will rise correspondingly. As administrative overheads rise, so the earnings of the business after meeting the expense of administration, will fall; and the business will have less money to distribute as dividends or invest directly in its future progress and development.

It is precisely the same with a nation. To the extent that the people can be relied upon to behave in a loyal and responsible manner, the government does not require armies of police and civil servants to keep them in order. But if a nation is disunited, the government cannot be sure that the actions of the people will be in the interests of the nation; and it will have to watch, check, and control the people accordingly. A disunited nation therefore has to incur unduly high costs of government.

— RAYMOND FROST, *The Backward Society*

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| disunited | /ˌdɪsjuˈnaɪtɪd/ | adj. | 分裂的，不团结的 | dis- 否定 + united |
| correspondingly | /ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndɪŋli/ | adv. | 相应地 | rise correspondingly 相应地上升 |
| incur | /ɪnˈkɜː/ | v. | 招致，承担 | incur costs 招致成本 |
| administer | /ədˈmɪnɪstə/ | v. | 管理，执行 | administrative adj. 行政的 |
| overhead | /ˌəʊvəˈhed/ | n. | 管理费用，间接成本 | administrative overheads 行政管理费用 |
| analogous | /əˈnæləɡəs/ | adj. | 类似的，可类比的 | analogous to 与……类似 |
| initiative | /ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/ | n. | 主动性，首创精神 | exercise initiative 发挥主动性 |
| sphere | /sfɪə/ | n. | 范围，领域 | falls within their sphere 在他们范围内 |
| foreman | /ˈfɔːmən/ | n. | 工头，监工 | 复数 foremen |
| dividend | /ˈdɪvɪdend/ | n. | 红利，股息 | distribute as dividends 作为红利分配 |
| unduly | /ʌnˈdjuːli/ | adv. | 过度地，不适当地 | unduly high costs 过高的成本 |

**固定搭配：**
- **hold together**：使团结，使不分裂
- **stay in business**：维持经营
- **to the extent that**：在……程度上
- **keep sb. in line**：使某人守规矩
- **in the interests of**：为了……的利益

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. to the extent that 引导的程度状语从句

> **To the extent that** everyone working in the business can be trusted to behave in a way that best promotes the interests of the firm

to the extent that = 在……程度上，表示程度或条件。

| 结构 | 例句 | 翻译 |
|------|------|------|
| to the extent that | To the extent that he can help, he will. | 在他能帮忙的范围内，他会帮忙 |
| to such an extent that | He was angry to such an extent that he left. | 他气到离开了 |

### 2. as...so... 对应结构

> **As** administrative overheads rise, **so** the earnings of the business...will fall

as...so... 结构表示"随着……，也就……"，前后呼应。

### 3. it is left to sb. to do sth.

> **it is left to** the government **to hold it together**

it 为形式主语，真正主语为 to hold it together。leave sth. to sb. 把……留给某人。

### 4. without + V-ing 伴随状语

> without having another man to check upon what he is doing

without + V-ing 表示否定伴随。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 句型1：类比论证

> Such administrative overheads in a business **are analogous to** the cost of government in a nation

- 企业管理费用 ≈ 政府管理开支
- 通过类比使抽象概念具体化

### 句型2：条件对比

> **If** they can each be trusted...then administrative overheads will be **low**.
> **But if** no one can be trusted...then the business will require **armies of** administrators

- 信任→低成本
- 不信任→高成本（"armies of"强调数量庞大）

### 句型3：因果链

> A disunited nation → government cannot be sure → has to watch, check, and control → unduly high costs

- 分裂→不信任→监控→高成本
- 与企业类比完全对应

## 五、课文翻译

如果一个国家本质上是不团结的，就只能由政府来维持其统一。这增加了政府的开支，相应地减少了可用于发展国家的经济资源。而且不应忘记，在一个贫穷落后的国家中，这些资源是多么有限。政府开支高的地方，发展资源就相应地少。

这可以通过把一个国家的地位与私营企业的地位相比较来说明。企业为了维持经营必须承担某些费用和开支。就我们的目的而言，我们只关心一种成本——管理和经营企业的成本。企业的这种行政管理费用类似于一个国家的政府开支。企业中每个工作人员都可以被信赖以最能促进公司利益的方式行事，在这种程度上，企业的行政管理费用就低。如果每个人都可以被信赖承担属于其范围内的责任和发挥主动性，那么行政管理费用就会低。费用低是因为每项工作只需要一个人负责，而不需要另一个人来检查他的工作、使他守规矩和向别人汇报。但如果没有人可以被信赖以忠诚和负责任的态度对待自己的工作，那么企业就需要大批的管理员、检查员和工头，行政管理费用就会相应地上升。随着行政管理费用的上升，企业在支付管理费用后的收益就会下降；企业用来分配红利或直接投资于未来进步和发展的钱就会减少。

国家的情况完全一样。在人民可以被信赖以忠诚和负责任的方式行事的程度上，政府不需要大批的警察和公务员来维持秩序。但如果一个国家是不团结的，政府就不能确定人民的行动会符合国家的利益；因此它就必须相应地监视、检查和控制人民。因此，一个不团结的国家不得不承担过高的政府开支。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 写作手法：类比论证

- 企业 vs 国家：管理费用 vs 政府开支
- 信任→低成本；不信任→高成本
- 类比使抽象的政治经济学概念变得易于理解

### 2. 逻辑结构

| 段落 | 主题 | 论证方式 |
|------|------|----------|
| 第一段 | 国家不团结→政府开支高 | 因果分析 |
| 第二段 | 企业管理费用类比 | 类比论证 + 条件对比 |
| 第三段 | 回到国家层面 | 与第二段对应 |

### 3. 文化背景

- Raymond Frost：经济学家，研究发展中国家问题
- "The Backward Society"探讨落后国家的发展困境
- 行政管理费用（administrative overheads）是企业管理学的重要概念

### 4. 修辞分析

- "armies of administrators"——夸张，强调数量之多
- as...so... 对应结构——使论述严谨有力
- correspondingly 反复使用——强化因果对应关系

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **词汇练习**：掌握 disunited、incur、overhead、analogous、initiative、dividend 等核心词
2. **语法练习**：to the extent that 程度状语从句；as...so... 对应结构
3. **翻译练习**：注意类比论证的翻译；administrative overheads 的处理
4. **写作练习**：模仿类比论证法，比较两种制度的优劣

## 八、本课小结

本课论证国家团结与政府开支的关系。核心观点：**国家越不团结，政府开支越高，发展资源越少**。作者用企业管理费用作类比，指出信任程度决定管理成本——企业和国家都如此。文章逻辑严密，类比恰当。语法重点为 to the extent that 程度状语从句和 as...so... 对应结构。