英译中

　　Foundations are tax- free institutions that are created to give grants to both individuals and nonprofit organizations for activities that range from education, research, and the arts to support for the upkeep of exotic gardens and old mansions. They provide a means by which wealthy people and corporations can in effect decide how their tax payments will be spent, for they are based on money that otherwise would go to the government in taxes. From a small beginning at the turn of the century, they have become a very important factor in shaping developments in higher education and the arts.

　　Think tanks and university research institutes are nonprofit organizations that have been developed to provide settings for experts in various academic disciplines. In this way, they may devote their time to the study of policy alternatives free from the teaching and departmental duties that are part of the daily routine for most members of the academic community. Supported by foundation grants and government contracts, they are a major source of the new ideas that are discussed in the policy- formation groups.

　　【参考译文】

　　基金会是无须纳税的机构，设立基金会是为个人和非赢利性组织从事从教育、研究和艺术到援助人、保护有异国情调的园林和古老宅第等活动提供资助。基金会为富人和大公司提供一个办法，可由他们实际决定怎样去花掉税款，因为基金会靠的是在不设立基金的情况下本应作为税收缴纳给政府的钱。本世纪(20世纪)初，基金会发端时其数量不多，到现在已成为决定高等教育和艺术发展的一个非常重要的因素。

　　智囊团和大学研究所是非赢利性组织，成立这样的组织是为了给各个学科的专家提供舞台，使他们能摆脱教学和系里的工作，集中时间进行政策抉择方面的研究，而对于学术界大部分成员来说，教学和系里的工作是他们日常工作的一部分。智囊团和大学研究所靠基金会的资助和政府合同获得资金，它们是在政策制订小组里讨论的新思想的主要发源地。

　　中译英

　　我总以为，在中国效率最高的会议要数学校召集的家长会。家长会完全符合"廉政建设"的要求，与会的家长绝不会像参加行业、单位的一些会议，先看看会议地点是不是设在风景旅游区，会后发不发纪念品之类，然后方决定是否参加。其他会议都难得准时，惟有家长会绝对正点召开。在家长会上，家长们个个全神贯注地倾听、记录，生怕漏掉一点内容。不少会议都可列入可开可不开之列，但对于学校和家长而言，家长会则是必不可少的。

　　【参考译文】

　　I always believe that the most efficient meeting in China is the parents' meeting called by the school. The parents' meeting, is in full conformity with the requirements for the "building of an honest and clean government". With respect to meetings organized by a certain trade or the unit where one works, the person wants to know whether the venue of a meeting is in a scenic area frequented by tourists and whether gifts of souvenirs will be handed out after the meeting before he decides whether to go or not to go. But for the parents' meeting, nobody will ever think of that. While other meetings are rarely convened on time, the parents' meeting invariably starts with punctuality. At the parents' meeting, every parent listens and takes notes with rapt attention lest he or she might miss anything. For many meetings, it does not really matter whether they are to be held or not, but to the school and the parents, the parents' meeting is absolutely necessary.