3.1 U.K.: The monarchy, the government and political parties在线视频

Hi，guys,
嗨 大家好

in this chapter,
在这一章中

we will focus on politics.
我们聚焦政治

Do you like politics?
你喜欢政治吗？

How much do you know about the political system
你对英国和美国的政治体系

and the government of the UK and the US?
和政府了解多少？

Alright, let’s start from Britain.
好 我们从英国开始吧

1.The Monarchy
1.君主制

The monarchy of the United Kingdom,
英国的君主制

commonly referred to as the British monarchy,
通常称为英国君主制

is the constitutional monarchy?
是联合王国及

of the United Kingdom?
其海外领土的

and its overseas territories.
宪政君主制

The monarch's title is “King” or “Queen”.
君主的头衔是“国王”或“女王”

The current monarch and head of state
现任君主和国家元首

is Queen Elizabeth II
是女王伊丽莎白二世

The monarch and his or her immediate family?
君主和他或她的直系亲属

undertake various official, ceremonial,
承担各种公务、仪式

diplomatic and representational duties.
外交和代表职责

As the monarchy is constitutional,
由于君主政体是符合宪法的

the monarch is limited to non-partisan functions.
君主只能执行非党派的职能

The monarch is,
按照传统

by tradition,
君主是英国武装部队的

commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces.
总司令

These powers may only be used
这些权力需要根据

according to laws enacted in Parliament
议会制定的法律使用

and, in practice,
事实上

within the constraints of convention and precedent.
还需要再在传统和先例的约束下使用

The UK’s monarchy is considered
英国的君主制被认为是

the oldest of all modern constitutional monarchies,
所有现代宪政君主国中最古老的

other exist in countries including Belgium,
比利时 挪威 荷兰 西班牙

Norway, the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco.
和摩纳哥等国家也使用君主制

Today, the queen is not only
如今 女王不仅仅是

an important symbol of national unity.
国家统一的重要象征

As Head of Sate,
作为国家元首

she goes on official state visits abroad,
她在国外进行正式国事访问

invites world leaders to come to the United Kingdom,
邀请世界各国领导人来英国

and also represents the nation
同时也代表国家出席

at times of great celebration or sorrow.
重要的庆典和追悼会

The Queen has to remain strictly neutral
女王必须对政治事务保持

to political matters,
绝对中立

unable to vote or stand for election.
不能投票或支持选举

Meanwhile, the queen plays an important symbolic
与此同时 女王是英联邦的象征

and unifying role in the Commonwealth.
扮演着统一的重要角色

2.The government
2.政府

To look into the politics of the UK,
想研究英国的政治

there are two basic concepts,
我们需要知道两个基本概念

Parliament and the Government,
议会和政府

They have different roles and do different things.
他们扮演不同的角色 做不同的事情

What is the Government?
什么是政府？

The Government are the people elected
政府是被选举出来

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to run the country.
管理国家的组织

The political party that wins the most seats
在大选中赢得最多席位的

at a General Election
政党将在5年内

takes charge of the Government for five years,
接管政府

until the next General Election.
直到下一次大选

The leader of the winning party
获胜政党的领导人

is appointed as Prime Minister
被任命为首相

and chooses other party members to work
并选择其他党员与他们

in the Government with them
一起在政府工作

- as Cabinet ministers and junior ministers.
作为内阁部长和初级部长

What is Parliament?
议会是什么?

Parliament is there to represent people’s interests
议会是维护代表人民的利益

and make sure they are taken into account
并确保他们在政府的决策中

by the Government.
有发言权

The Government cannot make new laws
如果没有议会的同意

or raise new taxes
政府就不能制定新的法律

without Parliament’s agreement.
或增加新的税收

Parliament is made up of people
议会是由

the British people have elected
英国人民选出的人

and people who have been appointed.
和被任命的人组成的

They sit in two separate Houses:
他们分别住在两个独立的机构里

The House of Commons,
下议院

where all the people elected
所有在大选中当选的人

at the General Election work,
在接下来的五年里

as MPs, for the next five years.
成为国会议员

This includes people in other political parties,
这包括其他政党的人

as well as those in the winning party
以及那些没有被选为部长的

who were not chosen to be ministers.
获胜党派的人

The House of Lords,
上议院

whose members are mostly appointed for life
其成员大多是终身任命

rather than elected.
而非选举产生的

They have often been chosen
他们中的很多人因为高成就

because of their achievements and experience.
和丰富的阅历而被选上

Many do not belong to a political party.
许多人不属于任何一个政党

Government ministers
政府部长也在议会

also have seats in Parliament
担任议员

but most of their work is done
但他们的大部分工作都是

in Government departments.
在政府部门完成的

What does the Government do?
政府是怎么运作的呢？

The Government is responsible for deciding
政府负责掌管

how the country is run
国家的运作

and for managing things, day to day.
和日常管理

They set taxes,
他们设定税收的比例

choose what to spend public money on
选择公共资金投入项目

and decide how best to deliver public services,
设法提供最好的公共服务

such as:the National Health Service
如 国家医疗服务机构

the police and armed forces
警察和武装部队

welfare benefits like the State Pension
福利待遇 如国家养老金

the UK’s energy supply
英国的能源供应

While many government powers
虽然许多政府权力

have been delegated
已经下放给

to the devolved institutions in Scotland,
苏格兰 威尔士和

Wales and Northern Ireland,
北爱尔兰的移交机构

only the UK Government can speak
但只有英国政府可以

on behalf of the UK
代表英国发言

and represent the British people abroad.
以及代表海外的英国人

What does Parliament do?
议会是做什么的？

Parliament’s job is to look closely
议会的工作是

at the Government’s plans
密切关注政府的计划

and to monitor the way
并监督

they are running things.
他们的运作方式

Parliament works
议会确保

to make sure that Government decisions are:
政府的决策是

open and transparent
公开透明

by questioning ministers and requesting information
通过询问部长并要求提供信息

workable and efficient
可行性和有效性

� by examining new proposals closely
通过细化检查新提案

and suggesting improvements,
并提出改进建议

checking how public money is being spent
检查公共资金使用情况

and tracking how new laws are working out in practice
跟进新法律在实践中的效果

fair and non-discriminatory
公平和非歧视性

� by checking that they comply with equalities
检查它们是否符合平等原则

and human rights laws
和人权法

and by speaking up on behalf of affected individuals
并为受影响的个人发声

Members of both Houses of Parliament can speak up
如果一个政府部门或

if a government department
有偏见地处理人民问题

or agency treats the people unfairly.
国会两院的议员都可以直接发声

Government ministers
政府的部长们

are required to come to Parliament regularly
需要定期来议会

to answer questions,
回答问题

respond to issues raised in debates
回应辩论中提出的问题

and keep both Houses informed
向两院汇报

of any important decisions they take.
他们的任何重大决定

In this way,
通过这种方式

Parliament can hold the Government
议会可以让政府为

to account for its actions.
自己的行为负责

What is the Opposition?
什么是反对党？

The Opposition works in Parliament.
反对党在议会工作

After a General Election,
在大选之后

the largest non-government party
下议院最大的

in the House of Commons
非政府党成为

becomes the Official Opposition.
官方的反对党

The Leader of the Opposition
反对党领袖

takes the lead role in questioning the Prime Minister
在议会带头对

when they come to Parliament.
总理提出质询

The Leader of the Opposition chooses a team
反对派领导人选择了一个

� known as the Shadow Cabinet
名为“影子内阁”的团队

� who take the lead in questioning
他们在议会上带头

other Government ministers
质疑其他政府部长

when they come to Parliament.

How do general elections work?
一般选举是如何运作的？

A general election is an opportunity for people
在英国的每一个地方

in every part of the UK
人们都可以选择他们的

to choose their MP,
代表议员

that is the Member of the Parliament
也就是议会的成员

- the person who will represent their local area
这个人将在下议院代表

in the House of Commons for up to five years.
在下议院的任职期为5年

There is normally a choice of several candidates
在每个选区

in each constituency,
通常都有几个候选人

some of which are the local candidates
其中一些是

for national political parties.
地方政党的候选人

People can only vote for one of the candidates
人们只能投票给其中一名候选人

and the candidate that receives most votes
而获得最多选票的候选人

becomes their MP.
将成为他们的议员

so Can the British people vote
那么，英国人民能投票

for a new Prime Minister?
选出一位新首相吗？

No. they can only vote to elect their local MP
答案是不能 他们只能在大选中投票

in a general election.
选举当地的议员

Even if they live in the constituency represented
即使他们生活在

by the current Prime Minister
现任总理或另一个

or the leader of another political party,
政党的领导人所代表的选区

they are still only voting on whether he or she
他们仍然只投票决定他或她

will be their local MP in the next Parliament.
是否会成为下一届议会的地方议员

so Who chooses the Prime Minister?
那么谁来选首相呢？

Theoretically,
理论上

the Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen,
总理是由女王任命的

who is guided by constitutional conventions.
而女王会参考宪法会议的建议

But in practice,
但实际上

usually the political party that wins the most seats
通常在大选中赢得下议院多数席位的

in the House of Commons
政党会组建新政府

at a general election forms the new government
而其领导人

and its leader becomes Prime Minister.
将成为总理

What is the Westminster System?
什么是西敏斯特制度

The Westminster system?
西敏斯特制度

is a parliamentary system
是沿循英国议会所用体制而

Of Government modeled
形成的民主政府体制

after that which developed in the United Kingdom.

This term comes from the Palace of Westminster,
这个词来自英国议会的所在地

the seat of the British parliament.
威斯敏斯特宫

The system is a series of procedures
这个系统是供立法机构运作的

for operating a legislature
一整套程序

like those we talked above.
就像我们上面提到的那样

It is used in the UK
它主要用于英国和

and other Commonwealth Countries,
其他英联邦国家

such as Australia, Canada,
如澳大利亚 加拿大

New Zealand, India and Singapore.
新西兰 印度和新加坡

3. Major political parties
3. 主要政党

The idea of political parties first took form in Britain
政党的理念首先在英国形成

and the Conservative Party claims
保守党声称自己是

to be the oldest political party in the world.
世界上最古老的政党

Political parties began to form
政党在17世纪四十年代

during the English civil wars of the 1640s
和五十年代的英国内战中

and 1650s.
开始形成

First, there were Royalists and Parliamentarians;
首先是保皇党和国会议员

then Tories and Whigs.
然后是托利党和辉格党

Whereas the Whigs wanted to curtail the power
辉格党想要削弱

of the monarch,
君主的权力

the Tories - today the Conservatives
而今天的保守党则

- were seen as the patriotic party.
被视为爱国党

Today there are two major political parties
如今 英国议会体系中

in the British parliamentary system:
有两个主要政党

The Conservative Party
保守党

frequently called the Tories
经常称托利党

it is a centre-right party,
该党是一个中右翼政党

currently led by Boris Johnson,
目前由英国首相领导鲍里斯・约翰逊

who succeeded Theresa Mary May
他是特里萨・玛丽.梅下台后的

after her resignation.
接班人

This party believes in “private enterprise”
这个政党支持“私营企业”

and opposes nationalization
反对国有化和

and too much government control
反对政府对工业和

of industries and businesses.
企业的过多控制

It has been the most successful political party in Britain
它是英国最成功的政党

and was led by such notable leaders
曾经由温斯顿丘吉尔和玛格丽特撒切尔

as Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher.
等著名领导人领导

The Labour Party
工党

� it is a centre-left party,
它是一个中左翼政党

which was last in Government from 1997 to 2010
最后一次执政期从1997年到2010年

The Labour Party’s declared propose is fairness:
工党宣称的目标是公平

fair rules, fair chances and a fair say for everyone.
公平的规则 公平的机会和对每个人平等的发言权

The party was last in government
2010年的选举中

under Gordon Brown in the 2010 election.
戈登布朗领导这个政党的最后一次执政

All right.
好的

That's all for today.
今天就到这里啦

Hope that you can answer the following questions.
希望你能回答以下问题

First,what is a Westminster System?
首先 什么是威斯敏斯特系统？

and what is the role of the Queen in the UK?
女王在英国扮演什么角色？

Last,how is a prime minster chosen in Britain?
最后 英国是如何挑选一位首相？

All right then,See you until next time.
就到这里啦 下次见

Four Fascinating Facts About British Monarchy
关于英国君主制的四个有趣事实

1. The Royal family does not have surnames
1.皇室家族没有姓氏

Curiously but interestingly enough,
奇怪但也有趣

as unconventional as that may sound
尽管这听起来很不寻常

that’s the truth,
但这是事实

the lineage of the royal family
皇室家族

do not use surnames like the rest of the other people.
并不像其他人那样使用姓氏

Instead,

they use surnames which represent
他们使用的是代表他们

their houses or dynasties.
朝代的姓氏

2. The Queen’s Tuesday meetings
2.女王与总理的

with the Prime Minister
星期二会晤

As the Head of State,
作为国家元首

the Queen holds audience
女王每周二都会与

with the Prime Minister
首相举行会晤

every Tuesday of the week
以便与他保持密切联系

in order to keep close contact with him.

There have been twelve British Prime Ministers
在女王统治时期共有

during The Queen’s reign
12位英国首相

3. The Queen as a public figure
3.女王是一个公众人物

Since becoming Queen,
自从成为女王后

she has won several awards.
她获得了几个奖项

The queen has already been accorded
女王已经获得了

over 387, 000 honorary awards
387,000个荣誉奖

and other awards which has earned her great respect.
和其他奖项 这为她赢得人们的尊敬

4. Fascinating British Monarchy laws
4.神奇的英国君主法

There are certain acts

that are regarded as illegal
有趣的是

by the British monarchy’s law
有些行为被英国君主制法律

that are interesting,
认定为不合法

for instance,
例如

It is illegal to die in the Houses of Parliament.
在议会大厦里死去是违法的

And it is illegal to stand within one hundred yards
同样不穿袜子站在统治君主的一百码内

of the reigning monarch when not wearing socks
也是不被允许的