英译汉
HIGUERADELASERENA，Spain—Itdidn’ttakelongforManuelGarcíaMurillo，abricklayerwhotookoverasmayorherelastJune，torealizethathistownwasintrouble.Itwas800，000euros，alittlemorethan$1million，inthered.Therewasnocashonhandtopayforanything—andtherewasworkthatneededtobedone.
Butthenanamazingthinghappened，hesaid.Justasthehealthdepartmentwasabouttoclosedownthedaycarecenterbecauseitdidn’thaveaproperkitchen，BernardoBenítez，aconstructionworker，offeredtoputupthewallsandthetilesfree.Then，MariaJoséCarmona，anadulteducationteacher，steppedintocleantheplaceup.
Andsomehow，thevolunteersjustkeptcoming.EverySundaynow，theresidentsofthistowninsouthwestSpain—youngandold—dowhatneedstobedone，whetheritiscleaningthestreets，rakingtheleaves，uncloggingculvertsorplantingtreesinthepark.
“Itwasaninitiativefromthem，”saidMr.García.“Daytodaywetalkedtopeopleandwetoldthemtherewasnomoney.Ofcourse，theycouldseeit.Thegrassinbetweenthesidewalkswasuptomythigh.“
HigueradelaSerenaisinmanywaysamicrocosmofSpain’stroubles.JustasSpain’snationalandregionalgovernmentsarestrugglingwiththecollapseoftheconstructionindustry，overspendingonhugecapitalprojectsandapileupofunpaidbills，thesameproblemsafflictmanyofitssmalltowns.
ButwhathasbroughtHigueradelaSerenaameasureoffameinSpainisthattheresidentshavesteppedupwheretheirgovernmenthasfailed.Mr.Garcíasayshisphoneringsregularlyfromothertownofficialswhowanttoknowhowtodothesamething.Heisservingwithoutpay，asarethetown’stwootherelectedofficials.Theyarealsoforgoingthecarsandphonesthatusuallycomewiththejob.
“Welivedbeyondourmeans，”Mr.Garcíasaid.“Weinvestedinpublicworksthatweren’tsensible.Weareintechnicalbankruptcy.”EvensomemoneyfromtheEuropeanUnionthatwassupposedtobeusedforroutineoperatingexpensesandlastuntil2013hasalreadybeenspent，hesaid.
HigueradelaSerena，aclusterofabout900housessurroundedbyfarmland，andtraditionallydependentonpigfarmingandolives，gotsweptupinthegiddydaysoftheconstructionboom.Itbuiltaculturalcenterandinvestedinasmallnursinghome.Buttheprojectswereplaguedbydelaysandcostoverruns.
Theculturalcenterstillhasnobathrooms.Thenursinghome，awhitewashedbuildingsitsontheedgeoftown，stillunopened.Together，theyaccountforsome$470，000ofdebtowedtothebank.Buttherestofthedebtismostlytheunpaidbillsofatownthatwasnotkeepingupwithitsexpenses.Itowesformedicalsupplies，fordieselfuel，forroadrepair，forelectricalwork，formusicianswhoplayedduringholidays.
HigueradelaSerenaisnotcompletelywithoutworkers.Itstillhasahalf-timelibrarian，twohalf-timestreetcleaners，someonepart-timeforthesportscomplex，asecretaryandanadministrator，allofwhomarepaidthroughvariousfinancingstreamsapartfromthetown.Butthetownoncehadaworkforcetwicethesize.Andwhensomeoneisill，volunteershavetostepinorthegymandsportscomplex—openfourhoursaday—mustclose.