山西万博manbetx网站《英语(二)》课程讲义--The American Two-party System

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I.New Words
  1.contest n.1.竞争,比赛;2.争夺,竞争;3.争论,争辩

  2.rivalry n.竞争;对抗
   rival n.对手 v. 竞争
   There is great rivalry between the two sisters. 这两姐妹竞争激烈。
  3.dozen n.1.一打,十二个;2.十来个,十几个
  4.nominate vt.1.提名;2.任命;3.命名
  5.collectively ad.总体地;集体地
  6.electorate n.全体选民;选区
  7.inevitably ad.不可避免地,必然地
  8.dominance n.优势,控制,统治
   dominant a. 优势的,占统治地位的;  dominate v. 统治,控制
   This country has long been the dominant military power in the region.
   这是一个长久以来在该地区占统治地位的军事强国。

  9.assault n.1.攻击,袭击;2.(军)冲击,突击,强击
  10.parliamentary a.议会的,国会的
  11.congressman[]congressmen n.(美)国会议员
  12.statistically ad.在统计方面
  13.dominant a.占优势的;支配的
  14.majority n.1.多数,大半;2.多数党,多数派
    major a. 多数的;
    反义词: minority少数, 少数党
  15.automatically ad.自动地;习惯性地
  16.competitor n.竞争者;对手
  compete v. 竞争; competition n. 竞争,比赛; competitive a. 竞争的,对抗的
  17.running n.1.跑,赛跑;2.竞选

  18.inevitable a.不可避免的,必然(发生)的
  19.peaceful a.1.平静的,安宁的;2.和平的,和平方式的
  20 transfer vt.1.转移,传输;2.调动;3.改变
    vi. 1.转移,转学;2.换车;换船
    n.转移,传输,变换

  21.overturn vt./n.1.打翻,使翻过来;2.推翻,颠覆,毁灭
         vi. 翻身;倒下
  22.foolproof a.1.连傻子都懂的;2.不会出毛病的;3.有安全装置的
  23.monopoly n.垄断;专卖
  24.opposition n.1.反对,反抗;2.对立,意见相反
  25.monopolize v. 垄断;专卖
  26.moderation n.1.温和,适度;2.缓和,减轻
  27.legislation n.1.立法;2.法律,法规
  28.temporarily ad.暂时地,临时地
  Phrases and Expressions
  1.to break up 打碎;结束;驱散;散开;分解

  2.in the running 参赛,参加竞选
  3.in power 掌权的,执政的
  4.out of power 丧失权力
  5.in favour of 1.赞成,支持;2.的利益,有利于;3.支付给
  6.to come into power  上台;开始掌权
  7.to carry on  1.经营,进行;2.继续
  词组:
  1.to break up: 打碎,结束
  The ship broke up on the rocks. 轮船触礁撞毁了。
  The party didn't break up until midnight. 宴会到午夜才结束。
  相关词汇:to break down 损坏,(精神、健康)垮下来
  to break into 强行闯入
  to break out 爆发,突然出现
  2.in favour of : 赞成,支持;有利于
  Most people are in favour of the newly-elected president. 大多数人支持新当选的总统。
  The council has voted in favour of a $200 million housing development. 参议会投票通过了一项两亿美元的住宅开发计划。
  3.to carry on: 经营,进行;继续
  He began to carry on the leather business last year. 他去年开始经营皮革生意。
  You just have to carry on as if nothing's happened. 你们接着干吧,就当什么事也没发生。
  They decided to carry on in spite of the weather. 他们决定不管天气好坏都继续下去。
  
  II.课文分析
  The American Two-party System
  No one now living in the United Sates can remember when the contest began between the Democratic and the Republican parties. It has been going on for more than a century, making it one of the oldest political rivalries in the world.

  1.No one now living in the United States can remember when the contest began between the Democratic and the Republican parties. para.1
  living in the United States是现在分词作定语,修饰one.
  when 引导宾语从句

  2.It has been going on for more than a century, making it one of the oldest political rivalries in the world. para.1
  1has been going on 用的是现在完成进行时。2 making 是现在分词作状语,其中oldest 是形容词最高级的形式。
  The American political system is a classical example of the two-party system. When we say that we have a two-party system in the United States we do not mean that we have only two parties. Usually about a dozen parties nominate presidential candidates. We call it a two-party system because we have two large parties and a number of small parties, and the large parties are so large that we often forget about the rest. Usually the small parties collectively poll less than 5per cent of the vote cast in national elections.
  The Democratic and Republican parties are the largest and most competitive organizations in the American community. They organize the electorate very simply by maintaining the two-parry system Americans almost inevitably become Democrats or Republicans because there is usually no other place for them to go. Moreover, because the rivalry of these parties is very old, most Americans know where they belong in the system As a consequence of the dominance of the major parties, most elected officials are either Republicans or Democrats. Attempts to break up this old system have been made in every presidential election in the past one hundred years, but the system has survived all assaults.

  3.Attempts to break up this old system have been made in every presidential election in the past one hundred years, but the system has survived all assaults. para.3
  Attempt 后面的 “to break up this old system” 是动词不定式作定语,修饰attempt。此句谓语动词用的是现在完成时的被动语态。make attempt to do sth. 表示企图,打算做某事
  How does it happen that the two-party system is so strongly rooted in American politics? The explanation is probably to be found in the way elections are conducted. In the United States, unlike countries with a parliamentary system of government, we elect not only the President, but a large number of other officials, about 800,000 of them. We also elect 435 members of the House of Representatives from 435 districts there are a few exceptions , one member for each district. Statistically, this kind of election favors the major parties. The system of elections makes it easy for the major parties to maintain their dominant position, because they are likely to win more than their share of the offices.
  4.How does it happen that the two-party system is so strongly rooted in American politics?
  句中it 是形式主语,实际主语是that引导的主语从句。(para.4

  rooted是过去分词在本句中用于被动语态。root 作动词表示(使)扎根,(使)生根
  e.g. The story is firmly rooted in reality.这个故事深深扎根于现实。
  5.The system of elections makes it easy for the major parties to maintain their dominant position, because they are likely to win more than their share of the offices. para.4
  句中 it 是形式宾语,不定式to maintain their dominant position 是实际宾语,the major parties是不定式的逻辑主语。
  这种选举制度使大党容易保持优势地位,因为他们赢得的席位有可能多于应得到的席位。

  
One of the great consequences of the system is that it produces majorities automatically. Because there are only two competitors in the running, it is almost inevitable that one will receive a majority. Moreover, he system tends slightly to exaggerate the victory of the winning party. This is not always true, but the strong tendency to produce majorities is built into the system.
  In over 200 years of constitutional history, Americans have learned much about the way in which the system can be managed so as to make possible the peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other.
At he level of presidential elections, the party in power has been overturned by the party out of power nineteen times, almost once a decade. In the election of 1860, the political system broke down, and the Civil War, the worst disaster in American history, resulted. Our history justifies our confidence in the system but also shows that it is not foolproof.
  6.In over 200 years of constitutional history, Americans have learned much about the way in which the system can be managed so as to make possible the peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other. para.6

  句中的in which 引导的定语从句,修饰the way
  其中,the peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other make 的宾语,possible 是宾语补语;因宾语太长,所以后置。to make … possible 使成为可能。
  e.g. His financial support made our trips possible. 他在经济方面的支持使我们的出行成为可能。

  Modern technology makes possible human's visits to the outer space. 现代科技使人类访问外层空间成为可能。
  The second major party is able to survive a defeat because the statistical tendency that exaggerates the victory of the winning party operates even more strongly in favor of the second party against the third, fourth, and fifth parties. As a result, the defeated major party is able to maintain a monopoly of the opposition. The advantage of the second party over the third is so great it is the only party that is likely to be able to overturn the party in power. It is able, therefore, to attract the support of everyone seriously opposed to the party in power. The second party is important as long as it can monopolize the movement to overthrow the party in power, because it is certain to come into power sooner or later.
  7.The second major party is able to survive a defeat because the statistical tendency that exaggerates the victory of the winning party operates even more strongly in favor of the second party against the third, forth, and fifth parties.para.7

  句子的主干是:主句+because 引导的原因状语从句,原因状语从句中有一个定语从句,由that引导,修饰the statistical tendency
  8.The advantage of the second party over the third is so great that it is the only party that is likely to be able to overturn the party in power. para.7

  英语中表示有优势可用“advantage over ….”
  e.g. We have one advantage over our rivals: our player are taller. 我们比对方胜过一筹,我们的队员个子比较高。

  9.It is able, therefore, to attract the support of everyone seriously opposed to the party in power.para.7
  to oppose to the party in power 反对执政党
  Another consequence of the two-party system is that whereas minor parties are likely to identify themselves with special interests or special programs and thus take extreme positions, the major parties are so large that they tend to be moderate. Evidence of the moderation of the major parties is that much business is conducted across party lines. What happens when the Democrats control one house of Congress and the Republicans control the other? About the same volume of legislation is passed as when one party controls both houses, although some important legislation is likely to be blocked temporarily. It is possible to carry on the work of the government even when party control is divided because party differences are not fundamental.
  
10.Another consequence of the two-party system is that whereas minor parties are likely to identify themselves with special interests or special programs and thus take extreme positions, the major parties are so large that they tend to be moderate.
  本句的主干为主句+ that 引导的表语从句,表语从句较长,是由whereas引导的一个并列句。本句意思是:两党制的另一个结果是小党很可能认同某种特殊利益或特殊计划而采取极端立场,而大党则因为如此庞大,所以倾向于中庸之道。