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The "standard of living" of any country means the average person's share of the goods and services which the country produces.
一个国家的生活水平是指该国居民对社会产品和劳务的消费程度。
A country's, standard of living, therefore, depends first and foremost on its capacity to produce wealth.
因此，一个国家的生活水平首要取决于这个国家创造财富的能力。
"Wealth" in this sense is not money, for we do not live on money but on things that money can buy: "goods" such as food and clothing, and "services" such as transport and entertainment.
这里“财富”并不指金钱，因为我们不能靠金钱为生，而是以金钱购买的东西为生：“产品”包括衣、食等；而“劳务”包括交通、娱乐等。
A country's capacity to produce wealth depends upon many factors, most of which have an effect on one another.
国家创造财富的能力由很多因素决定，而这些因素大多又彼此影响。
Wealth depends to a great extent upon a country's natural resources, such as coal, gold, and other minerals, water supply and so on.
一国财富在很大程度上受其自然资源影响，比如：煤炭、黄金或其他矿物质、水源等等。
Some regions of the world are well supplied with coal and minerals, and have a fertile soil and a favorable climate; other regions possess none of them.
世界上一些地区煤炭、矿藏丰富，土地肥沃，气候条件优越；而另一些地区则一无所有。
Next to natural resources comes the ability to turn them to use.
排在自然资源后面的是利用这些资源的能力。
Some countries are perhaps well off in natural resources, but have suffered for many years from civil and external wars, and for this and other reasons have been unable to develop their resources.
一些国家自然资源丰富，但长年遭受内部和外部战争，以及一些这样或那样的原因导致不能对其自然资源进行开发。
Sound and stable political conditions, and freedom from foreign invasion, enable a country to develop its natural resources peacefully and steadily, and to produce more wealth than another country equally well served by nature but less well ordered.
而有着良好稳定的政治环境并且免受他国侵略的国家可以在和平稳定的大环境下开发它的自然资源，因此这些国家就能够创造出比自然资源方面同样得天独厚但秩序混乱的国家更多的财富。
Another important factor is the technical efficiency of a country's people.
另外一个重要的因素是一个国家人民的技术效率。
Industrialized countries that have trained numerous skilled workers and technicians are better placed to produce wealth than countries whose workers are largely unskilled.
拥有训练有素的工人和技术人员的产业化国家比拥有拙劣技能工人的国家更能创造财富。
A country's standard of living does not only depend upon the wealth that is produced and consumed within its own borders, but also upon what is indirectly produced through international trade.
一个国家的生活水平不仅仅取决于该国境内的生产和消费，还间接受到国际贸易中产品供求的影响。
For example, Britain's wealth in foodstuffs and other agricultural products would be much less if it had to depend only on those grown at home.
比如，英国如果仅仅依靠自己的农业生产，那供国人消费的食品及农产品将少很多。
Trade makes it possible for its surplus manufactured goods to be traded abroad for the agricultural products that would otherwise be lacking.
贸易使英国能够把剩余的制造业产品销往国外来换取农产品，否则它的农产品会十分缺乏。
A country's wealth is, therefore, much influenced by its manufacturing capacity, provided that other countries can be found ready to accept its manufactures.
因此，一国财富的严重受其生产力的影响。但有一个前提，那就是有国家乐于接受该国生产的产品。
Question 23. What does a country's standard of living mainly depend on?
问题23 一个国家的生活水平主要取决于什么？
Question 24. Why do some countries with rich natural resources produce less wealth than others?
问题24 为什么拥有同样自然资源的国家创造的财富值不同？
Question 25. How does Britain solve its problem of insufficient agricultural products?
问题25 英国是如何解决其农产品短缺问题的？
译文属可可原创，仅供学习和交流使用，未经允许不得转载
