3.3 American Democracy在线视频

Hi,everyone.
大家好

Are you interested in the American medical system
有兴趣了解一下美国的

or the American social welfare system?
医疗和社会福利体系吗

I want tell you two facts
我想告诉你们两个事实

Do you know more money
你知道每个美国公民

per American citizen is spent on health care
花在医疗保健上的钱

than in any other nation in the world?
比世界上任何其他国家都多吗

Do you know that
你知道吗

the U.S. is the only wealthy,
美国是唯一一个

industrialized nation
不确保所有公民

that does not ensure that
都有保险保障的

all citizens have insurance coverage?
富裕的工业化国家

Isn’t it very interesting？
是不是很有趣？

Now I’ll introduce this knowledge to you.
现在我将向你们介绍这些知识

Let’s get started.
让我们开始吧

The United States has operated
美国在历史上大部分时间

under a two-party system
都是在

for most of its history.
两党制下运作的

For elective offices at most levels,
对于大多数级别职位的选举

state-administered primary elections
由州政府主导的初选

choose the major party nominees
会选出主要政党的候选人

for subsequent general elections.
参加随后的大选

Since the general election of 1856,
自1856年大选以来

the major parties
主要政党

have been the Democratic Party,
分别是成立于1824年的

founded in 1824,
民主党

and the Republican Party,
和成立于1854年的

founded in 1854.
共和党

The different ideology they hold
他们的不同意识形态

affect their attitudes toward economic issues,
影响了他们对经济

social issues and foreign affairs, etc.
社会和外交事务等问题的态度

Since the Civil War,
自内战以来

only one third-party presidential candidate
只有一位第三方总统候选人

– former president
前总统

Theodore Roosevelt
西奥多·罗斯福

running as a Progressive in 1912
作为一名进步主义者于1912年参选

– has won as much as 20% of the popular vote.
赢得了多达20%的民众选票

Since World War II,
自二战以来

the two parties have held the presidency in turn.
两党轮流担任总统

There are no special requirements
对这两大政党的

for membership
成员资格

of the two major parties.
没有特别的要求

There are no membership cards, no dues
没有会员卡 没有会费

and no initiation ceremonies.
也没有入会仪式

Members are not required to attend meetings.
会员不必参加会议

They do not have to vote for party candidates
他们不必为政党候选人投票

or to pay for party expenses,
也不必为政党开支埋单

so party membership
所以

is nothing but an expression
党员身份不过是

by the voters of which party they prefer.
一种选民表达他们偏好的代号

1. Democratic Party
1.民主党

Within American political culture,
在美国的政治文化中

the Democratic Party
民主党被认为是

is considered center-left or "liberal".
中左或“自由派”

The Democratic Party,
民主党

once dominant
一度在美国东南部

in the Southeastern United States,
占主导地位

is now strongest in the States of Northeast,
现在在东北部各州最为强大

Great Lakes region,
大湖区

and the Pacific Coast including Hawaii,
包括夏威夷在内的太平洋海岸

which are known as "blue states".
被称为“蓝州”

The symbol of the Democratic Party is a donkey.
民主党的党徽是一头驴

The Democratic Party
民主党

is historically the party of labor,
历来是代表工人

minorities and progressive reformers.
少数群体和进步改革者的政党

The Democrats
民主党

want the government to play an important role
希望政府在经济中

in the economy
发挥重要作用

and emphasize full employment
并强调充分

as a matter of national concern.
就业岗位充足是全国关注的问题

They favor civil rights laws,
他们支持民权法

a strong social security system,
健全的社会保障体系

less restrictive abortion laws, among others.
较少限制的堕胎法律等等

2. Republican Party
2.共和党

The Republican Party
共和党

is considered center-right or "conservative".
被认为是中右翼或“保守派

The "red states" of the South
南方的“红州”

and parts of the Great Plains and Rocky Mountains
位于大平原和落基山脉的部分地区

are relatives conservative.
他们大都相对保守

An elephant represents the Republican Party.
共和党的党徽是一头大象

Historically the Republican Party
历史上 共和党是由

is founded by Northern capitalists
反对奴隶制 现代主义

who opposed slavery, modernizers,
前辉格党和前自由战士的

ex-Whigs, and ex-Free soldiers.
北方资本家建立的

The Republicans favor an economic system
共和党人倾向于

which gives enterprises greater freedom
允许企业更多自由发挥空间

and demand that
并且要求政府

the government control inflation.
控制通货膨胀的经济体制

They stress the need for law and order
他们强调法律和秩序的需要重要性

and oppose complete government social programs
政府对社会项目的完全覆盖

and free choice of abortion.
自由堕胎

In addition,
此外

they favor a strong military posture
他们赞成在国际关系中

and assertive stand in international relations.
采取强硬的军事姿态和坚定的立场

3. American Social Welfare
3.美国社会福利

Federally funded and governed US welfare
受联邦政府资助和约束的

began in the 1930's
美国福利机构始于

during the Great Depression.
20世纪30年代大萧条时期

The US government
美国政府

responded to the overwhelming number
对大量需要援助的

of families and individuals
家庭和个人

in need of aid
伸出援手

by creating a welfare program
创建了一个福利项目

that would give assistance
为那些收入很少或没有收入的人

to those who had little or no income.
提供援助

The most common form
最常见的福利

of welfare payment
支付方式

has been through a program
是通过一个名为

called Aid to Family with Dependent Children
“有未成年子女家庭救助”的项目

Originally designed
这个项目最初是为了

to help children whose fathers had died,
帮助失去父亲的孩子

AFDC evolved
AFDC已经成为

into the main source of regular income
数百万美国贫困家庭的

for millions of poor American families.
主要收入来源

Certain aspects of the American welfare system
在20世纪80年代和90年代

– especially AFDC payments
美国福利体系的某些方面

came under criticism in the 1980s and 1990s,
尤其是AFDC的支出受到了批评

and the system itself
而该体系本身

became an issue in national elections.
也成为了全国选举中的一个问题

Many Americans
许多美国人

were unhappy with the welfare system,
对福利制度不满

claiming that
声称

individuals were abusing the welfare program
个人滥用福利制度

by not applying for jobs,
不申请工作

having more children just to get more aid,
生更多的孩子只是为了得到更多的援助

and staying unmarried
不结婚是

so as to qualify for greater benefits.
为了获得更多的福利

For example,
例如

Governor Bill Clinton
克林顿州长

promised to"end welfare as we know it"
在他的总统竞选中

in his presidential campaign.
承诺“结束我们所知道的福利”

The charge that social programs
有人指责

tend to trap the poor
社会项目往往使穷人更加依赖社会

in dependency led to the 1996 redesign
最后导致了1996年

of certain federal programs.
某些联邦项目的重建

A new law overhauled welfare
一项新的法律对

by replacing AFDC
福利制度进行了彻底改革

with state-run assistance programs
将AFDC替换为

financed by federal grants TANF,
由联邦拨款资助的州营援助项目TANF

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
为有需要的家庭提供临时援助

The law also limits welfare assistance
该法律还将福利援助

to five years,
限制在5年以内

requires enables able-bodied adults
要求身体健全的成年人

to work after two years on welfare,
在领取福利两年之后开始工作

eliminates welfare benefits
取消未成为美国公民的

for legal immigrants
合法移民的

who have not become U.S. citizens,
福利待遇

and limits food stamps
并将食品券限制

to a period of three months
在3个月以内

unless the recipients are working.
除非领取者有工作

In 2008,
在2008年

over 50 million Americans
超过5000万美国人

receive nearly $614 billion
获得近6140亿美元的

in Social Security benefits.
社会保障福利

The total cost of all federal assistance programs
所有联邦援助项目的总成本

– including Social Security, Medicare,
包括社会治安保障 医疗保险

and various welfare programs
和各种福利项目

– accounts for nearly
占联邦政府开支的

one-half of all money
近一半

spent by the federal government.

That is a doubling
这一比例是上世纪

of the percentage that obtained in the 1960s.
60年代所增长的两倍

4. American Medical System
4.美国医疗系统

Healthcare in the United States
美国的医疗保健由

is provided by many separate legal entities.
许多独立的合法单位提供

Health care facilities
虽然联邦 州 县和

are largely owned and operated by the private sector,
市政府也拥有某些医疗设施

though federal, state, county,
医疗保健设施大多由

and city governments also own certain facilities.
私营部门拥有和运营

There is no nationwide system of government-owned
没有全国性的政府所有的

medical facilities
医疗设施

open to the general public
向公众开放

but there are local government-owned medical facilities
但有地方政府所有的医疗设施

open to the general public.
向公众开放

Health insurance
医疗保险

is primarily provided by the private sector,
主要由私营部门提供

with the exception of programs
但医疗保险 医疗援助

such as Medicare, Mediaid, TRICARE,
保健计划 儿童健康保险

the Children's Health Insurance Program
和退伍军人健康管理局

and the Veterans Health Administration.
等项目除外

At least 15.3% of the population
在美国

is completely uninsured in the U.S.,
至少有15.3%的人口完全没有保险

and a substantial 35% of the population is underinsured,
有35%的人口没有得到足够的保险

or not able to cover the costs of their medical needs.
或者无法负担全部医疗费用

More money per person
在美国

is spent on health care in the United States
人均用于医疗保健的钱

than in any other nation in the world,
比世界上任何其他国家都多

and a greater percentage of total income in the nation
全国收入的很大一部分

is spent on health care in the U.S.
花在了医疗保健上

than in any United Nations member state
比除东帝汶以外的任何

except for East Timor.
联合国会员国都多

5. American Civil Rights and Political Rights
5 美国公民权利和政治权利

Civil rights
公民权利

include the ensuring of peoples' physical integrity
包括保障人民的身体健全和

and safety;
健康

protection from discrimination on grounds
保护人民不受基于

such as physical or mental disability,
身体或精神残疾

gender, religion, race, national origin,
性别 宗教 种族 国籍

age, or sexual orientation;
年龄或性取向等理由的歧视

and individual rights
以及个人权利

such as the freedoms of thought and conscience,
如思想自由

speech and expression,
言论和表达自由

religion, the press, and the movement.
宗教自由 媒体自由和行动自由

American Political rights
美国的政治权利

include natural justice in law,
包括公正法在法律上

such as the rights of the accused,
如被告的权利

including the right to a fair trial;
其中包括公平审判的权利

due process;
正当法律程序

the right to seek redress or a legal remedy;
寻求赔偿或法律救济的权利

and rights of participation in civil society
参与公民社会和政治的权利

and politics such as freedom of association,
例如结社自由

the right to assemble,
集会的权利

the right to petition,
请愿权

and the right to vote.
和投票权

OK.everyone.
好了

After learning this chapter,
在学习了这一章之后

Can you describe some benefits
你能描述一下美国社会福利制度的

of the American social welfare system?
一些好处吗

How does it compare
它与中国的社会福利制度

with the Chinese social welfare system?
相比如何

Do you have any good ideas
你对民主党和共和党

on the differences between the Democrats
在政治意识形态方面的差异

and the Republicans in terms of political ideology?
有什么好的看法吗？

I hope you can dicuss these questions
我希望大家可以一起

with your classmates.
讨论这些问题

All right.I'll see you next time.
那我们就下次见了

I wish you well.
祝你一切顺利