Reading Comprehension Text 4
States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states.
The Supreme Court’s opinion Thursday overruled a pair of decades-old decisions that states said cost them billions of dollars in lost revenue annually. The decisions made it more difficult for states to collect sales tax on certain online purchases.
The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence such as a warehouse or office, the business didn’t have to collect sales tax for the state. Customers were generally responsible for paying the sales tax to the state themselves if they weren’t charged it, but most didn’t realize they owed it and few paid.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the previous decisions were flawed. “Each year the physical presence rule becomes further removed from economic reality and results in significant revenue losses to the States,” he wrote in an opinion joined by four other justices. Kennedy wrote that the rule “limited States’ ability to seek long-term prosperity and has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field.”
The ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states, since they usually collect sales tax on online purchases already. Now, rivals will be charging sales tax where they hadn’t before. Big chains have been collecting sales tax nationwide because they typically have physical stores in whatever state a purchase is being shipped to. Amazon.com, with its network of warehouses, also collects sales tax in every state that charges it, though third-party sellers who use the site don’t have to.
Until now, many sellers that have a physical presence in only a single state or a few states have been able to avoid charging sales taxes when they ship to addresses outside those states. Sellers that use eBay and Etsy, which provide platforms for smaller sellers, also haven’t been collecting sales tax nationwide. Under the ruling Thursday, states can pass laws requiring out-of-state sellers to collect the state’s sales tax from customers and send it to the state.
Retail trade groups praised the ruling, saying it levels the playing field for local and online businesses. The losers, said retail analyst Neil Saunders, are online-only retailers, especially smaller ones. Those retailers may face headaches complying with various state sales tax laws. The Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council advocacy group said in a statement, “Small businesses and internet entrepreneurs are not well served at all by this decision.”
36. The Supreme Court decision Thursday will
37. It can be learned from Paragraphs 2 and 3 that the overruled decisions
38. According to Justice Anthony Kennedy, the physical presence rule has
39. Who are most likely to welcome the Supreme Court ruling?
40. In dealing with the Supreme Court decision Thursday, the author
答案与解析 (Answers)
36. [C] make more online shoppers pay sales tax.
解析：第一段首句明确指出最高法院的裁决“will be able to force more people to pay sales tax when they make online purchases”，即迫使更多在线购物者缴纳销售税。
37. [D] were considered unfavorable by states.
解析：第二段指出旧裁决“cost them [states] billions of dollars in lost revenue annually（每年让各州损失数十亿美元的税收）”，并使各州征税变得困难。因此各州认为旧裁决是不利的。
38. [C] harmed fair market competition.
解析：第四段大法官肯尼迪指出，实体存在规则阻止了市场参与者“competing on an even playing field（在公平的环境中竞争）”，即损害了公平的市场竞争。
39. [B] Big-chain owners.
解析：第五段首句明确写道“The ruling is a victory for big chains with a presence in many states（这项裁决是在许多州有实体店的大型连锁店的胜利）”，因为这消除了它们之前相较于纯电商的价格劣势。
40. [A] gives a factual account of it and discusses its consequences.
解析：文章首段至第四段客观陈述了最高法院周四裁决的事实及其背景，从第五段开始讨论该裁决对大型连锁店（获胜方）和小型电商（输家）产生的影响（后果）。因此选A。
核心长难句精解 (Highlighted Sentences)
1. 介词短语与定语从句嵌套：
"States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax... under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states."
【解析】under... decision 意为“根据...裁决”。that 引导定语从句修饰 decision，从句中由 but 连接了两个并列谓语（will leave 和 is），清晰对比了该裁决对购物者和州政府的不同影响。
【翻译】根据最高法院周四的一项裁决，各州将能够迫使更多人在网购时缴纳销售税，这会让购物者的钱包缩水，但对各州来说却是一个巨大的财务胜利。
"States will be able to force more people to pay sales tax... under a Supreme Court decision Thursday that will leave shoppers with lighter wallets but is a big financial win for states."
【解析】under... decision 意为“根据...裁决”。that 引导定语从句修饰 decision，从句中由 but 连接了两个并列谓语（will leave 和 is），清晰对比了该裁决对购物者和州政府的不同影响。
【翻译】根据最高法院周四的一项裁决，各州将能够迫使更多人在网购时缴纳销售税，这会让购物者的钱包缩水，但对各州来说却是一个巨大的财务胜利。
2. 宾语从句与条件状语从句：
"The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence... the business didn’t have to collect sales tax..."
【解析】said that 引导宾语从句解释被推翻案件的规定。宾语从句内部包含一个 if 引导的条件状语从句，且条件句中还嵌套了 where 引导的定语从句，修饰 state。
【翻译】法院推翻的案件曾规定，如果一家企业将顾客购买的商品运送至一个该企业没有实体营业点（如仓库或办公室）的州，该企业就不必为该州代收销售税。
"The cases the court overturned said that if a business was shipping a customer’s purchase to a state where the business didn’t have a physical presence... the business didn’t have to collect sales tax..."
【解析】said that 引导宾语从句解释被推翻案件的规定。宾语从句内部包含一个 if 引导的条件状语从句，且条件句中还嵌套了 where 引导的定语从句，修饰 state。
【翻译】法院推翻的案件曾规定，如果一家企业将顾客购买的商品运送至一个该企业没有实体营业点（如仓库或办公室）的州，该企业就不必为该州代收销售税。
3. 被动语态与习语运用：
"Kennedy wrote that the rule... has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field."
【解析】prevent... from... 意为“阻止/妨碍”。even playing field 是考研高频习语，意为“公平竞争的环境/平整的比赛场地”。
【翻译】肯尼迪写道，这项规则限制了各州寻求长期繁荣的能力，并阻碍了市场参与者在公平的环境中进行竞争。
"Kennedy wrote that the rule... has prevented market participants from competing on an even playing field."
【解析】prevent... from... 意为“阻止/妨碍”。even playing field 是考研高频习语，意为“公平竞争的环境/平整的比赛场地”。
【翻译】肯尼迪写道，这项规则限制了各州寻求长期繁荣的能力，并阻碍了市场参与者在公平的环境中进行竞争。