前程百利小编为大家带来托福阅读材料。文章的难词已经标示出来，希望大家可以学习到相关知识，并通过不断的阅读练习提高自己的托福阅读能力。
Say(提到) “underground economy” and what do you think of?
Low-wage workers some of them here illegally toiling away(toil或toil away，意为辛苦工作) in the shadows for bosses who may pay them a less-than-legal wage(低于法定最低标准的工资) under the table and who dodge(躲闪，躲避) paying the taxes on those wages. Right?
But now the headlines are about the other end of the underground economy which isn’t hiding anywhere but flaunting(炫耀;和之前的hiding相对应) itself. Big money is changing hands and it seems that none of it going to pay the taxes and fees that it should.
Ride-sharing room-sharing -- how about responsibility-sharing?
A California state senator a Sonoma County Democrat wants to give cities the authority to collect taxes from people who rent private rooms and even houses through online services like Airbnb. A fellow state senator a Compton Democrat wants full disclosure(揭露) requirements for online house-sharing firms including any fine-print leases banning such subletting(转租).
And across California nearly a score of(a score of 二十家; scores of 大量) taxi companies are suing ride-sharing company Uber over competition and safety questions. Prosecutors(公诉人) in L.A. and San Francisco have already gone after(瞄上了;try to get) Uber on consumer-protection grounds.
I am all for(be for=be in favor of，赞成;前边的all是副词，意为“完全地”，all for并不是一个词组) a sharing economy. It’s innovative exciting nimble(灵活的) and responsive. And because it is the economy of the future all the more reason(all the more是格外、更加的意思;这里指有非常充分的理由) to start putting in some regulatory(监管的) scaffolding(本意为脚手架) for it now. A sharing economy also means paying its fair share too.
Two issues underlie(在……之下) this. The first is unfair competition(不正当竞争) like the wrangling(名词争吵;wrangle with sb. over sth. ) that L.A. did over food carts that operate without without health permits and inspections and licenses and taxes undercutting(冲击，削弱) the brick-and-mortar(实体的) restaurants that do.
Taxis in L.A. do not have the best PR profile. I once joked sort of that the one place you’re be sure to find a cab in L.A. is circling City Hall during a periodic protest over regulations. The taxi biz(生意) hasn’t adapted very adroitly(巧妙地) to Angelenos’ new preferences for getting around. Taxis are not as cheap or as fast as ride-sharing services but at least they don’t do up-pricing during high-demand times.
As for room- and house-sharing services such as Airbnb – caveat emptor? Bedbugs(臭虫) or slippery showers? Online reviewers warn about outright frauds and scams while other users are thrilled with price and flexibility. It’s all so profitable that in the Bay Area landlords are opting for(opt for选择;这里用ing形式表将来，是说房东们更倾向于短期租房者) short-term house and room rentals rather than renting or leasing to long-term tenants and whacking() a housing market that’s already infinitesimally(微乎其微地) limited and enormously expensive.
The second issue: When these online services become freeloaders by not paying taxes they take advantage of(占……的便宜) residents and businesses whose taxes pay for the things that make Uber and Airbnb and their ilk(ilk是“类”的意思;Uber和Airbnb之流) succeed in the first place -- decent roads police-patrolled(警察巡逻的) streets reliable water and sewer services even public utilities.
The old low end of the underground economy already costs taxpayers tens of millions of dollars a year. The new high end shouldn’t be able to do the same.
And official California shouldn’t let the “sharing economy” become the “scofflaw(无视法律的;scoff有嘲笑的意思) economy.”
以上就是前程百利小编为大家带来的托福阅读材料，平时的阅读练习是托福考试阅读备考的重要一环。希望大家利用好每份材料，尽可能多地从中获取知识。预祝大家托福考试取得好成绩。
