英语阅读带翻译校园小故事mp3在线听天下没有免费的午餐
No Such Thing as Free Lunch天下没有免费的午餐
Ever since Mary moved to the United States one year ago, she often heard the phrase "no such thing as free lunch". While she understood this to mean that you can't get something for nothing, she heard other mothers at her child's school talking about the free lunch program.
自从玛丽一年前搬到美国，她经常听到“天下没有免费的午餐”。她明白这意思是你没有付出就不会有收获，她听到其他母亲在她孩子的学校谈论免学费的事情。
"How much does it cost to enroll?" Mary asked the secretary at her child's school. The secretary smiled and told Mary that it didn't cost anything except a little bit of time. In order to find out if Mary's child was qualified to get free lunch at school, she had to fill out a form. The form was available in many languages besides English. It asked Mary basic questions like where she lived, how many children she had, and what her annual income was.
“要参加这个需要多钱？”玛丽问她孩子的学校秘书。秘书笑着对玛丽说，除了一点点的时间，不用任何花费。为了找出玛丽的孩子是否有资格在学校得到免学费，她必须填写一个表格。除了英语之外，这种形式在许多种语言中都会用到。它问玛丽的基本问题，如她住的地方，她有多少孩子，以及她的年收入是多少。
Filling out the form was easy, and Mary didn't have to include proof of her income. She was worried though if the information on the form would be shared with other agencies. The secretary told her that the information was not shared. If Mary made below a certain amount annually, her child could get free lunch not just during the school year, but also even during the summer, when there was no school.
填写表格很简单，玛丽没有填写她的收入证明。她担心的是，如果该表格上的信息将被其他机构看到。秘书告诉她，这些信息是不共享的。如果玛丽填下了确切的数额，她的孩子在学校不仅可以得到一年的免学费，即使放暑假，她不在学校。
Mary knew this would help her family. While Mary did work, she only worked part-time. Giving her child money for lunch every day did add up and impact the family budget.
玛丽知道这她的家庭将有帮助。虽然玛丽做了工作，但只是兼职工作。也只够每天给孩子吃午饭的和家里的支出。
After filling out and submitting the form back to the school secretary, Mary had to wait a month or two before finding out if she was qualified. A few weeks after she submitted the form, a letter arrived in the mail. The letter informed her that her child was qualified. The letter also told her that her child could also get free breakfast in school.
填写并递交表格后，交给了学校秘书，玛丽不得不等上一两个月才知道她是否合格。她递交了表格的几周后，就收到了一封邮件。这封信告诉她，她的孩子是符合条件的。信中还告诉她，她的孩子在学校也能得到免学费。
