This is the VOA Special English Economics Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语经济报道。
Americans gave about two hundred ninety billion dollars to charity last year. That was ten billion dollars more than the amount of charitable giving in two thousand nine. The estimates are from the Giving USA Foundation and its research partner, the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University.
美国人去年向慈善机构捐出了约2900亿美元，比2009年慈善捐赠总额超出100亿美元。这一预估数字来自美国施惠基金会(Giving USA Foundation)及其研究合作伙伴印第安纳大学慈善中心（Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University）。
Charities are nonprofit organizations that raise money to provide social services or other programs. Giving USA has been reporting on charitable donations since nineteen fifty-six. The group estimates that about seventy-five million households gave to at least one charitable organization in the United States last year. A household is one or more people living in a home.
慈善机构是募集资金以提供社会服务和其它项目的非盈利性组织。美国施惠基金会自1956年开始就慈善捐款发布报告。该组织估计，去年美国大约有7500万户家庭至少向一家慈善组织捐过款。
The largest share of charitable giving goes to religious groups. Giving USA says they received thirty-five percent of all donations in twenty-ten. Some people give a percentage of their pay to religious organizations.
慈善捐赠的最大份额流向了宗教组织。美国施惠基金会表示，2010年，宗教组织收到了全部捐赠的35%。一些人向宗教组织捐出了工资的某个百分数。
Schools and other education-related organizations were second on the list. They received an estimated fourteen percent of all charitable giving last year.
学校及其它教育相关组织名列第二。去年他们预计收到了全部捐赠的14%。
The federal tax agency, the Internal Revenue Service, recognizes donations to official charities. Those who give to charity may be able to get tax breaks and reduce the amount of taxes they owe.
作为联邦税务机构的美国国税局认可向法定慈善机构捐出的捐款。向慈善事业捐款的人们可以获得税收减免，从而降低其应纳税总额。
People who give to charity may want to know how their donations are being spent. Organizations like Charity Navigator and the American Institute of Philanthropy look at how charities spend the money they receive. Their reports and ratings offer a measure of how effectively the charities use their money. For example, donors can learn how much a group spends on services, compared to how much it spends on itself in administrative costs.
向慈善事业捐款的人们可能想知道他们的捐款是如何被使用的。美国慈善导航（Charity Navigator）和美国慈善协会（American Institute of Philanthropy）将查看慈善机构如何使用他们收到的捐款。他们的报告和评价对慈善机构如何有效使用捐款提供了一个衡量。例如，捐赠者可以了解到一家组织在社会服务上花了多少钱，并与他们在自身行政费用上花了多少钱做个对比。
Charity Navigator recently asked donors and charities to answer questions about year-end giving trends this year. More than five hundred donors and one hundred charities completed the questionnaire.
美国慈善导航最近要求捐赠者和慈善机构回答今年年终捐赠趋势的相关问题。超过500多名捐赠者和100多家慈善机构完成了调查问卷。
On average, these charities said they received forty-one percent of all their donations in the last few weeks of the year. Charity Navigator also asked donors about the kinds of charities they would likely support this holiday season. Human services rated at the top of the list. Arts, culture and humanities rated at the bottom.
这些接受调查的慈善机构表示，他们在今年最后几周平均收到了其全部捐款的41%。美国慈善导航也问及捐赠者这个假期他们可能会支持的慈善机构类型。公众服务位居首位。艺术、文化和人文垫底。(51VOA.COM对本文翻译享有全部权利，未经授权请勿转载，违者必究！)