Constitution
美音、自然拼读、分级阅读与词汇复习
Table of Contents The Need for a Constitution.
目录 宪法的必要性。
4 A Historic Meeting.
4 历史会议。
5 What’s in the Constitution?
页:1 宪法里有什么?
7 A Living Document.
7 活文件。
10 The Legacy of the Constitution.
10"宪法遗产".
14 Glossary.
14 词汇表。
16 The Need for a Constitution The United States won its independence from Great Britain in 1783.
16"宪法的必要性" 美国于1783年从英国获得独立.
After seven years of war, Americans were happy to finally have their own country, but they soon realized that they needed a new form of government.
七年战争后,美国人很高兴终于有了自己的国家,但他们很快意识到他们需要一种新的政府形式.
Since 1781, the states had worked together under an agreement called the Articles of Confederation, but it just wasn’t working.
1781年起,各州根据一项名为"联邦条款"的协议合作,但只是没有效果.
The Articles gave most power to the states.
文章赋予各州最大权力.
The Continental Congress—the nation’s first government—had very little power.
全国首届政府大陆大会的权力很小。
The congress could do almost nothing that any of the individual states were against.
大会几乎不会做任何个别州都反对的事。
By 1786, it was clear that a stronger central government was needed.
到1786年,显然需要一个更强大的中央政府.
The surrender of British forces at Yorktown in 1781 marked the end of the last major campaign of the Revolutionary War.
1781年英国军队在约克敦投降,标志着革命战争中最后一次重大战役的结束.
A Historic Meeting In the summer of 1787, a group of delegates gathered in Philadelphia to create a new constitution, or plan of government.
历史会议 1787年夏天,有一批代表聚集费城,创立了新宪法,即政府计划.
The group included George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and James Madison, the main author of the Constitution.
该团体包括乔治·华盛顿,本杰明·富兰克林和宪法的主要作者詹姆斯·麦迪逊.
Under the direction of George Washington, the delegates discussed what form the new government should take.
在乔治·华盛顿的指导下,代表们讨论了新政府应采取什么形式.
They explained and argued about their ideas all through the hot summer.
他们解释和争论 他们的想法 整个炎热的夏天。
In the end, they created a new government with three branches: legislative (Congress), executive (the presidency), and judicial (the federal courts).
最后,他们成立了一个新政府,下设三个部门:立法(议会)、行政(总统)和司法(联邦法院)。
George Washington served as president of the Constitutional Convention before he became president of the United States.
乔治·华盛顿出任美国总统前曾出任制宪会议主席.
When they completed their work, they had written a constitution that would last for hundreds of years.
当他们完成工作时,他们已经写出一部宪法,宪法将持续数百年.
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Constitution is the highest law of the land.
宪法是国家的最高法律。
It is also the oldest written constitution still in use in the world.
这部宪法也是世界上最古老的成文宪法。
By early 1789, eleven states had approved the Constitution, and it became law.
到1789年初,有11个州批准了宪法,宪法成为了法律.
By the end of May 1790, the two remaining states, North Carolina and Rhode Island, had also approved it.
到1790年5月底,剩下的两个州北卡罗来纳州和罗德岛州也批准了它.
In February 1789, George Washington became the first person elected president under the Constitution.
1789年2月,乔治·华盛顿成为宪法第一位当选总统.
A new age had begun.
新时代已经开始了。
“We the people” (the first three words of the Constitution) has come to represent the central idea of democracy.
“我们人民”(《宪法》的前三个词)已代表民主的中心思想。
What’s in the Constitution?
宪法里有什么?
The introduction to the Constitution explains that the goal of the document is to create a just, peaceful, safe, and prosperous society where people will enjoy the “blessings of liberty.”
《宪法》导言解释道,该文件的目标是建立一个公正、和平、安全和繁荣的社会,使人民享有“自由之光”。 “
The main body of the Constitution is organized into seven articles, or sections.
《宪法》的正文分为七条或七节。
The first three articles explain how the three branches of the government are organized.
前三条解释政府三部门如何组织.
Article I deals with Congress, which is divided into two parts: the House of Representatives and the Senate.
第一条涉及国会,国会分为两部分:众议院和参议院.
The main job of the two houses of Congress is to pass new laws.
国会两院的主要工作是通过新的法律.
The Constitution also gives Congress the power to collect taxes and provide for the defense of the nation.
宪法还赋予国会收税的权力,并规定保卫国家.
Article II deals with the executive branch.
第二条涉及行政部门。
It grants the president certain powers and makes him or her the head of the armed forces.
它赋予总统某些权力,并使总统成为武装部队的首脑。
It also explains that anyone who wants to run for president needs to be a natural-born citizen at least thirty-five years old.
也解释任何想竞选总统的人,都必须是至少35岁的天生公民.
Supreme Court Other Federal Courts JUDICIAL BRANCH (decides how laws can and should be used) The Senate The House of Representatives LEGISLATIVE BRANCH (makes laws) The President The Vice President The Cabinet EXECUTIVE BRANCH (carries out laws) The Constitution divides power among three separate branches of government.
最高法院 其他联邦法院(关于如何使用和应当使用法律的决定) 众议院(制定法律) 内阁执行官(制定法律) 《宪法》将权力划分为政府的三个不同部门。
Under the system created by the Constitution, Americans don’t actually vote directly for their president.
美国人并不直接投票支持总统。
They vote for people called electors, who are chosen by the state legislatures.
他们投票给被称作选举人的人,他们由州立法机构选出.
Those electors then vote for the president.
这些选举人然后投票给总统。
This system, known as the Electoral College, is supposed to keep someone who is popular but dangerous from becoming president.
这种被称为"选举学院"的制度,应该是为了不让一个受欢迎但很危险的人成为总统.
It is still in use today, though it is combined with a popular vote.
它今天仍在使用,尽管它与民众投票相结合。
Laws Laws people people representatives vote vote vote Democracy Republic What Is a Republic?
法律 人民代表投票表决 民主共和国是什么共和国?
The United States is a democracy but not a pure, or direct, democracy.
美国是一个民主国家,但不是纯粹或直接的民主国家。
In a pure democracy, citizens themselves vote for proposed laws.
在一个纯粹的民主国家,公民自己投票支持拟议的法律。
The United States is a representative democracy, or republic.
美国是一个代议制民主国家,或共和国.
In a republic, citizens vote for people to represent them in a national legislative body.
在一个共和国,公民投票支持人民在国家立法机构中代表他们。
In America, that body is Congress.
在美国,该机构是国会。
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elected officials—senators and representatives—pass bills that become the nation’s laws.
民选官员 -- -- 议长和代表 -- -- 通过成为国家法律的法案。
Article III deals with the federal court system.
第三条涉及联邦法院制度。
It states that the judiciary includes a system of lower-level courts and a Supreme Court.
它指出,司法机构包括一个下级法院和一个最高法院。
The Supreme Court serves as the final decision maker in federal legal cases.
最高法院是联邦法律案件的最后裁决者。
The remaining articles deal with relationships among the states; the procedure for amending, or changing, the Constitution; and national debts and treaties.
其余条款涉及各州之间的关系;修改或修改《宪法》的程序;以及国家债务和条约。
The creators of the Constitution believed that the government should work within a system of checks and balances.
《宪法》的制定者认为,政府应在制衡制度下开展工作。
This system limits the power of each branch of government to keep it from having too much control over the other branches.
这种制度限制了政府每个分支的权力,使其不能对其他分支控制过大.
A major concern of the states was that the federal government would have too much power over them.
各州的一个主要关切是联邦政府会对他们拥有过多的权力.
To address this fear, the Constitution divides powers between the federal government and the states.
为解决这种恐惧,宪法将联邦政府和各州的权力划分开来.
The Constitution also protects the rights of individual citizens.
《宪法》还保护公民个人的权利。
It states that no person accused of a crime will lose his or her “life, liberty, or property” without going through a fair legal process, such as a trial by a judge or jury.
它指出,任何被指控犯罪的人,如不经过公平法律程序,如法官或陪审团的审判,都不会丧失其“生命、自由或财产”。
It also forbids “cruel and unusual punishment” and protects free speech and other liberties.
它还禁止“残忍和不寻常的惩罚”,保护言论自由和其他自由。
A Living Document The ability to amend the Constitution has made it a “living document.”
一个活文件 修改《宪法》的能力使其成为“活的文件”。 “
It changes with the times and with the changing needs of American society.
它随着时代以及美国社会不断变化的需要而变化.
The Constitution was amended before it was even approved by all the states.
《宪法》在甚至得到所有州批准之前都经过了修订。
Some states were worried that the rights of citizens were not protected well enough in the first seven articles of the document.
一些州担心,该文件的前七条对公民权利的保护不够好.
To solve that problem, James Madison wrote a list of new amendments.
为了解决这个问题,詹姆斯·麦迪逊写出了一份新修正案的清单.
Twelve of his suggested amendments were approved by the first Congress in late 1789 and sent to the states.
他建议的十二项修正案于1789年末被第一届国会批准并被送往各州.
Ten of the amendments were approved by the states and became part of the Constitution.
其中10个修正案得到各州的批准并成为宪法的一部分.
Those ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights.
这十项修正案称为《权利法案》。
How the Constitution Can Be Changed Who Can Suggest a Change to the Constitution?
《宪法》如何改变谁能建议修改《宪法》?
Who Can Approve a Change to the Constitution?
谁能批准修改宪法?
The most important addition to the Constitution is the First Amendment.
宪法最重要的补充是第一修正案.
It guarantees freedom of speech and religion, freedom of the press, and freedom of assembly.
它保障言论和宗教自由、新闻自由和集会自由。
The guarantee of free speech allows people to openly share their opinions, even if those views are critical of the government.
言论自由的保障使人们可以公开分享自己的观点,即使这些观点批评了政府.
There are still some limits to free speech, though.
然而,言论自由仍有一些限制。
For example, threatening to harm someone or lying while under oath in a court of law are not protected.
例如,威胁要伤害某人或在法庭上宣誓时撒谎不受保护。
With regard to religion, the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof.”
关于宗教,第一修正案规定,“议会不得制定任何尊重建立宗教或禁止自由行使宗教的法律。 “
This means that people are free to practice whatever religion they want to— or none at all.
这意味着人们可以自由地信奉他们想要的宗教,或者根本没有宗教。
It also means that religion and government must be kept separate.
这也意味着宗教和政府必须分开。
Thousands of Americans gathered peacefully to hear Martin Luther King Jr.
上千名美国人和平地聚集在一起,听马丁·路德·金小说.
speak in 1963.
1963年发表演讲。
Freedom of the press guarantees that journalists can work freely.
新闻自由保障记者可以自由工作.
They can report on government wrongdoing and criticize the government.
他们可以报告政府不法行为并批评政府.
Freedom of assembly guarantees that citizens have the right to gather together peacefully.
集会自由保障公民有权和平集会。
This freedom allows Americans to hold protests and rallies for or against causes.
这种自由允许美国人为或反对各种原因举行抗议和集会.
Other important protections for citizens are included in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments.
第四、第五和第六修正案对公民规定了其他重要的保护。
The Fourth Amendment prevents police or government agents from searching people’s homes unless they have a sound legal reason to do so.
第四项修正案禁止警察或政府人员搜查人们的住宅,除非他们有合理的合法理由这样做。
The Fifth and Sixth Amendments spell out protections for people accused of crimes.
第五和第六修正案规定了对被指控犯罪的人的保护。
Reporters exercise the right to freedom of the press while attending a briefing at the White House.
记者在白宫参加简报会时行使新闻自由权.
The Tenth Amendment states that any powers not given to the federal government go to the states.
第十修正案规定,任何未授予联邦政府的权力都归各州所有.
This amendment is the reason so many laws—such as those for public education and state taxes—are different from one state to another.
这一修正案是许多法律——如公共教育和国家税收的法律——因州而异的原因。