Chapter 18 The U.S. Economy美国经济
1)Factors that contribute to the fast growth of the economy: ①the geographical location of the United States povides very good conditions for the country to grow and become strong. ②the United States has been blessed by being a land rich in mineral resources and fertile farm soil, together with a moderate climate. ③America has been fortunate in having enough people to provide the labour necessary for a constantly expanding economy. ④ the quality of available labour. The United States has a skilful and willing labour force.
经济快速增长的几个因素：1.美国的地理位置为国家的发展壮大提供了良好的条件;2.美国有幸是一块矿产资源丰富、土壤肥沃的陆地，气候温和;3.拥有足够的劳动力以满足不断发展的经济增长;4.这些劳动力的质量。美国拥有技术高和能动性好的劳动力大军。
2)Characteristics of the U.S. economy: characterised by a high degree of monopoly.
经济特征：已高度垄断为特点。
3)the importance of foreign trade:the United States supplies a larger share of the imports of all other countries than does any other country in the world. But the U.S. share of the world trade has declined in recent years.①Currently US exports are about 15% of the world’s total;②the US imports about 13% of all world imports; ③ Canada is the largest single source of goods imported by the U.S., accounting for nearly 30% of the total. Asia provides about 18% of American imports. Thus the economy of these countries is often affected when the U.S. economy is in trouble.
美国进口的商品比世界任何国家都多。但最近几年比例有所下降。1.美国出口量占全世界出口总数的15%;2.美国的进口占13%左右;3.加拿大是最大的供应国，占总数的近30%。亚洲占18%左右。因此，一旦美国经济陷入困境，这些国家也会受到影响。
4)problems facing the US economy: unemployment, inflation, financial deficit, and trade deficit.
经济存在的问题：失业，通货膨胀，财政赤字和贸易赤字。
Chapter 19.Political Institution政治体制
1)A workable form of government under the Constitution: a federal system of government which has two layers of rule. 两极统治的联邦政府体制
2)Separation of powers with checks and balances under the Constitution: The Constitution divides the government into three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Each branch has only part of the powers but not all the powers. The three branches are in balance and they may check each other.
三权分立和制衡制度：宪法将政府划分为3个部门，立法部门、执法部门和司法部门。每个部门只有部分权利不是全部。三个部门权利平衡并互相限制。
3) Safeguards for individual liberty under the Constitution: the Bill of Rights. It is the term used for the first ten amendments to the Constitution. Ti guarantees freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and petition, freedom from unreasonable searches, right to jury trial, right to due process of law and other legal rights.
宪法下的个人自由的保护：人权。这是最早的十个宪法修正案中的总称。他确保了宗教、言论、出版、集会、请愿和免受无理搜查的自由，还确保了接受陪审团审判、享受应有的法律程序和其他合法权利。
4)Powers of the American president: ①The president is the head of the executive branch(行政部门首脑). ②He is also head of state(元首) elected by the whole nation. ③he has some legislative powers(立法权); ④he is responsible for the relations of the United States with foreign nations; ⑤ he signs Bills passed by Congress into law.⑥ he appoints fedeal officials;⑦he has some judicial powers;⑧commander-in-chief(总司令)⑨he can serve for no more than 2 term任期不超过2届。
总统权利：总统是行政部门首脑;2.国家元首;3.立法权;4.负责美国与其他国家的关系;5.6.委任政府官员;7.司法权利;8.总司令;9. 任期不超过2届。
5)Powers of the House of Representatives: the House of Representatives can ①introduce legislation, ②revenue bills and ③bring charges against officials, including the President. 众议院权利：1.立法;2.征税法案3.指控官员，包括总统。
6)Powers of the Senate: the Senate has the power to ①introduced legislation on any subject except revenue bills (除了税收法案). It has the authority to ②confirm or reject predidential appointments(总统任命) of high officials as well as the U.S. foreign treaties. ③Its chairman is the Vice President.参议院权利：1立法除税收。还有一些特殊权利：2批准或否决总统任命的高级官员及外交条约;3.领导人是副总统。
7)The judicial system has evolved into the present structure: According to the Constitution, the judicial power of the U.S shall be vested in one Supreme Court. The judicial system has evolved into the present structure: the Supreme Court, 11 court of appeals, 91 district courts, and 3 courts of special jurisdiction. U.S.judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.根据宪法规定，美国的司法权属于最高法院，司法体系结构为：最高法院，11个上诉法院，91个地方法院，3个有特殊司法权的法院，美国的法官是由总统任命并由参议院批准的。
8)The two-party system and the characteristics of the two major parties
①the two-party system:the two party system means that the two major political parties – now the Democrats and the Republicans – compete with each other to dominate politics at the federal, state, and local levels.两党制意味着两个主要的政党—目前为民主党和共和党—支配着联邦、州及地方的政治舞台。
②the characteristics of the two major parties:The two major parties are not very different today. They are two coalitions of interests and interest groups(利益集团的联合). There is no strict party discipline(党纪). One does not have to apply or go through necessary formalities to become a member of either party. But there are some differences between them. The Democrats traditionally favour government intervention (主张政府干涉经济)while the Republicans stress the role of the market (市场作用)more. On social issue the Democrats support a strong social security system (社会安全保障体制) while the Republicans oppose large governmental social security programs. In spite of these differenes, the two parties both believe in individualism, defend capitalism and uphold private ownership of means of production(坚持生产资料私有制) .两个主要政党今天并没有实质区别。他们是利益集团的联合。没有严格的党纪。要想成为某党成员，不需要申请或办理必要的手续。但他们有所不同。民主党主张政府干涉，共和党则强调市场作用。在社会问题上，民主党支持建立强大的社会保障体系，而共和党反对大规模的政府社会保障计划。尽管存在这些区别，两党都信仰个人主义，保护资本主义制度，维护生产资料私有制。
