答案：

The poverty line is the minimum income that people need for an acceptable standard of living. People with incomes below the poverty line are considered poor.

Economists study the causes of poverty in order to find solutions to the problem.

贫穷线是指维持一般生活水准所需的最低收入。收入低于这个标准的人被bai认为是贫困的。经济学家研究产生贫困的原因来找出解决这个问题的方法。

As the general standard of living in the country rises,the poverty line does,too.由于国内一般生活水平上升，贫困线同样在上升。Therefore,ever with today’s relatively high standard of living ,about 10 percent of the people in the United States are below the poverty line.因此，以如今相对较高的生活水平来说，约10%的美国人在贫困线以下。However,if these people had stable jobs,they could have an acceptable standard of living.但是，如果这些人能有份稳定的工作，他们就能有个可接受的生活水平。Economists suggest several reasons why poor people do not have jobs经济学家提出了几点为什么穷人没有工作的原因。

For one thing,more than half of the poor people in the United States are not qualified to work. 一方面，在美国多于一半穷人达不到工作的标准。Over 40 percent of the poor people are children. 大于百分之四十的穷人是儿童。By law,children less than 16 years old cannot work in many industries.法律规定，不到16岁的儿童不能在许多行业内工作。A large number of poor people are old. 大量的穷人是老人。Many companies do not hire people over 65 years old,the normal retirement age. 许多公司不雇用超过一般退休年龄65的人。

Some poor adults do not look for jobs for a variety of personal reasons:they are sick,they do not have any motivation(动力)，they have family problems,or they do not believe that they can find a job. 一些成年的穷人因为不同的个人原因而不找工作：他们有病，他们一点动力都没有，他们又家庭问题，又或者他们不相信他们能找到工作。

Other poor people look for a job but cannot find one.Many poor adults never went to high school.Therefore,when they look for jobs,they have few skills that they can offer.另一些穷人去找工作但是找不到。许多贫穷的成年人从来没上过中学。所以当他们找工作时，他们没有很多的技能去提供。

At the present time,the government thinks it can reduce poverty in the country in the following ways.First,if the national economy grows,businesses and industries will hire more workers.Some of the poor who are qualified to look for jobs may find employment.Then they will no longer be below the poverty line.

目前，政府认为可以用以下方法来削减国内贫困。首先，如果国家经济增长，商业和工业会雇用更多的工人。一些达到招收标准的穷人也许会找到工作。那么这些人就不会继续处在贫困线以下了。

Second,if society invests in the poor,the poor will become more productive.If the government spends money on social programs,education,and training for poor people,the poor will have the skills to offer,and then it is more likely that they can find jobs.

第二，如果社会投入在贫困人口。这些贫困人口会更有生产力。如果政府在社会的项目(社会保障)，教育和培训贫困人口上花钱。这些贫困人口就会有技能去提供，这样他们就更有可能找到工作。

Finally,if the government distributes society’s income differently,it will raise some poor people above the poverty line.The government collects taxes from the non—poor and gives money to the poor.These payments to the poor are called welfare.In 1975 over 18 million people in the United States received welfare.

最后，如果政府用不同的方法分配社会收入，就会提升一些贫困人口到贫困线之上。政府从非贫困人群中收税并补助穷人。这些补助穷人的款项被称为救济金。在1975年在美国超过1.8亿人领到了救济金。

Some economists are looking for better solutions to the poverty problem.However,at the present time,many people depend on welfare for a minimally acceptable standard of living.

一些经济学家正在寻找更好的解决贫困的方法。但是，目前许许多多人靠着救济金才能过上最低标准的生活。