If Congress cannot agree on a spending authorisation by midnight on Friday then an ominous-sounding US government shutdown will follow. Pensioners worried about receiving their cheques or baddies hoping to rob an unguarded Fort Knox à la Goldfinger should take note that only non-vital functions, such as national park rangers and passport applications, will be affected. The fact that this still encompasses around 1m employees speaks to the size of the federal government.
如果到周五午夜，美國國會(huì)還未能就支出授權(quán)達(dá)成一致，那么，將會(huì)發(fā)生一件聽上去不太吉利的事：美國政府將關(guān)門大吉。不過，擔(dān)心能否收到支票的養(yǎng)老金領(lǐng)取者、以及希望模仿金手指(Goldfinger)搶劫無人守護(hù)的諾克斯堡(Fort Knox)的壞蛋們應(yīng)注意，只有那些不太重要的職能部門——比如國家公園護(hù)林員與護(hù)照辦理部門——將會(huì)受到影響。盡管如此，這仍然會(huì)牽涉到大約100萬名雇員，足見聯(lián)邦政府的規(guī)模之大。