Taxes, Taxes and More Taxes Americans often say that there are only two things a person can be sure of in life; death and taxes. Americans do not have a corner on the "death" market, but many people feel that the United States leads the world with the worst taxes. Taxes consist of the money which people pay to support their government. There are generally three levels of government in the United States: federal , state, and city; therefore, there are three types of taxes. Salaried people who earn more than a few thousand dollars must pay a certain percentage of their salaries to the federal government. The percentage varies form person to person. It depends on their salaries. The federal government has a graduated income tax, that is, the percentage of the tax (14 to 70 percent) increases as a person's income increases. With the high cost of taxes people are not very happy on April 15, when the federal taxes are due. The second tax is for the state government: New York, California, North Dakota, or any of the other forty-seven states. Some states have an income tax similar to that of the federal government. Of course, the percentage for the state tax is lower. Other states have a sales tax, which is a percentage charged to any item which you buy in that state. For example, a person might want to buy a packet of cigarettes for twenty-five cents. If there is a sales tax of eight percent in that state, then the cost of the cigarettes is twenty-seven cents. This figure includes the sales tax. Some states use income tax in addition to sales tax to raise their revenues . The state tax laws are various and confusing. The third tax is for the city. This tax comes in two forms: property tax (people who own a home have to pay taxes on it) and excise tax, which is charged on cars in a city. The cities use these funds for education, police and fire departments, public works and municipal buildings. Since Americans pay such high taxes, they often feel that they are working one day each week just to pay their taxes.... Why should the American people usually pay three types of taxes? A) There are three levels of government--federal, state and city-to support the United States. B) There are three kinds of taxes to pay--graduated income tax, sales tax and property tax.. C) They earn different salaries: high, middle, and low. D) Tax laws in different states are different.
A
Located along California's San Andreas Fault, the city of San Francisco is likely to take precautions(,) in the event of the next big earthquake. According to aNew York Timesreport, emergency planners in San Francisco are not only thinking of human evacuation(,) plans in the event of an earthquake, but also of how to care for pets during a natural disaster. Ideally, the planners will be able to train pet-disaster responders who work to evacuate dogs, cats and other household pets from the disaster site to one of the 125 temporary animal shelters that will be set up or, if the pet is injured, it will be brought to an emergency animal medical unit where there will be people on hand to tend to the pet's injury. The city's "no-pets-left-behind" policy results from the great number of pet deaths during the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. As emergency responders arrived to rescue people isolated in their homes during Katrina, hurricane victims were told that they could not take their pets along with them when evacuating; thus, many pet owners were forced to make the heart-breaking decision to save themselves while leaving their pets behind to perhaps meet their deaths. Since then, the U.S. has passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006, allocating federal funds for animal disaster planning projects. Yet, not all counties are as progressive as San Francisco has been in the effort to protect pets in the event of a natural disaster. Pets are after all, a large part of San Francisco's population -- overnumbering the number of school age children in the city. Over the last three years, San Francisco has received $350,000 in federal funds _ to animal disaster preparedness efforts in order to protect animals in the case of a disaster such as an earthquake. The city is still working on obtaining $300,000 to pay for an emergency animal unit. Until then, animal lovers in San Francisco will continue to work to ensure that pets are never an afterthought when it comes to rescues during earthquakes or... Which of the following statements is NOT TRUE according to the passage? A) San Fransisco has made great effort to protect pets in a natural disaster. B) The number of school age children in San Fransisco is smaller than that of pets. C) The U.S. government has spent money on animal disaster planning projects. D) All the countries are in the effort to protect pets in a natural disaster.
D
Q: Details of the latest James Bond film Skyfall have been shown to the public. It comes 50 years to the day after actor Sean Connery first played Bond -- the superspy in Dr No. The new film, known at the moment only as Bond 23, will be the third to star Daniel Craig as the secret agent . Other names in the cast include Albert Finney, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes. British film-maker Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for American Beauty, will direct the latest adventure. Ajay Chowdhury, from the James Bond International Fan Club, said, "Daniel Craig's third time as 007 has been looked forward to by Bond fans around the world. The fans have been made to wait extra long for this film since the global economic crisis delayed the film for some time." "Mendes has an unusual way of directing, and with the acting gift and the precedent set by the previous two films in which Craig played Bond, Skyfall promises a Bond film where the sky may not be the limit." It is reported that the film will send 007 to South Africa and India to hunt for a criminal organization. Other reported locations for filming include Duntrune Castle, near Lochgilphead in Argyll, Scotland, which is believed to be the spy's home. The film is set to be released in the UK this October. Craig' s performance as Bond gave new life to the film series, leading to the highest ever 007 box office takings of PS367 million for his role in Casino Royale in 2006. Quantum of Solace, the most recent film in the series released in 2008, made PS353 million. According to the text, who will play Bond in film Skyfall? A) Albert Finney. B) Sean Connery. C) Daniel Craig. D) Sam Mendes.
A: C
There are new findings that not enough sleep may cause people to gain weight.Researchers say a lack of sleep can produce hormonal changes that increase feelings of hunger. In one study,researchers in the United States examined information on more than 1000 people.The people had taken part in a long-term study of sleep disorders. Some people slept less than five hours a night.They had 15 percent higher blood levels of a hormone called ghrelin than people who slept eight hours.And they had 15 percent less of the hormone leptin.Experts say ghrelin helps make people feel hungry;leptin makes you feel full. The scientists say these hormonal changes may be a cause of obesity in Western societies.They note the combination that limitation is common and is widely available. The results were not affected by how much people exercised.People who are awake longer have more time to burn energy.But the researchers say loss of sleep may increase hunger especially for high-calorie foods,so people gain weight.It seems that,for survival,the body may be designed to store more fat during times with less sleep. Researchers from Stanford University in California and the University of Wisconsin did the study.They found that the best amount of sleep for weight control is 7.7 hours a night. The Public Library of Science published the findings in its journal Medicine.Internet users can read the full study,free of charge,at plos.org. When you sleep 7.7 hours a night,you will _ . A) have your ghrelin level rise and leptin level drop B) have your leptin level rise and ghrelin level drop C) have your ghrelin and leptin levels properly balanced D) feel neither hungry nor full
C