2011年英語四級閱讀材料：墓地也漲價(jià)型

Days before Tomb Sweeping Day, this cemetery in northeastern Jilin Province sees a drastic increase of visitors.

清明節(jié)前幾天，吉林省東北部一個(gè)墓地，掃墓的人急劇上升。

It has also become a place for sales promotion campaigns for tombs.

這也使它成為一個(gè)墓地促銷活動的地方。

Tomb Salesperson, Jinlin Province, said, "The price of our tombs starts from 180 thousand yuan, but it's only one square meter. An extra square meter costs 68 thousand. So this 5-square-meter tomb will cost some 400 thousand yuan."

吉林省一個(gè)墓地銷售人員說：“我們的墓地價(jià)格從18萬元起，但是這僅僅是每平方米的價(jià)格。而之外的每平方米要6. 8萬元。所以這5平方米的墓地要花費(fèi)40萬元。”

With this money, one could buy a 70-square-meter apartment in Jilin, according to local real estate prices in March.

根據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)?月的房地產(chǎn)價(jià)格，這些錢在吉林可以買一套70平方米的房子。

The southern province of Guangdong is experiencing the same situation. With the cost of land in its capital Guanzhou already more than most can afford, burial space is quickly becoming the ultimate luxury for the dead.

廣東南部也面臨著同樣的情況。在廣州，土地費(fèi)用太高，大部分人買不起，所以安葬空間很快就成為死者的一種頂級奢侈品。

Local Resident, Guangzhou, said, "A tomb in the city costs about 100 thousand yuan, and it doesn't include additional fees like maintenance or the tombstones. We can't afford to die, literally."

一個(gè)廣州當(dāng)?shù)鼐用裾f：“市區(qū)的一個(gè)陵墓大概要花10萬元，這還不包括像維修費(fèi)或墓碑之類的額外費(fèi)用。實(shí)際上，我們死不起。”

The increase in prices is directly related to scarcity of land. The graveyard shortage is making burial plots another hot spot for investment, which further fuels the price hike.

墓地價(jià)格上漲直接跟土地緊缺有關(guān)。墓地緊缺使投資墳地成為另一個(gè)熱點(diǎn)問題，也更進(jìn)一步推動其價(jià)格的上漲。

Mrs. Wang, Jiangxi Province Resident, said, "We bought 11 tombs eight years ago. The cemetery had promised us 40 percent profits. But it didn't keep its promise to buy back those tombs."

江西省王女士說：“8年前我們買了11塊墓地。墓園管理人員已經(jīng)答應(yīng)給我們40%的利潤。但是他并沒有遵守承諾買回這些墓地。”

Today, 60 percent of tombs in the cemetery are still empty, a result of the investment fever years ago.

今天，墓園里60%的陵墓是空的，這是多年前的投資熱造成的。

And only investors can put tombs on the market, because tombs can only be bought with a death or cremation certification according to cemetery administration rules.

只有投資商能把陵墓放到市場上，因?yàn)楦鶕?jù)墓園管理?xiàng)l例，只有有死亡或火化證明才能購買墳?zāi)埂?br />