【美国精神】第5期

Explanation:

   While the Constitution was being written, many people argued that it did not actually protect the rights (or freedoms) of citizens or protect citizens from having the government take away their rights. Because of this, immediately after the Constitution was ratified¹ (or approved) in 1789, the First Congress proposed 12 amendments³ to the Constitution that would protect civil rights (or the rights that citizens have to social and political freedom and equality, and having the same opportunities as all other citizens). Ten of these Amendments were approved, and they became known as the Bill of Rights. “Bill” is an old word meaning a list, so the Bill of Rights is a list of a citizen’s basic rights. 

   The Bill of Rights includes a lot of rights and freedoms that are part of what it means to be an American. For example, it protects our freedom of speech–the right of people to say what they want. It also guarantees (or gives people the right to) freedom of religion, meaning that people can decide which religion they want to follow, or if they want to follow any at all. The Bill of Rights says that Americans have a right to trial by jury⁴, meaning that when they go to court, a small group of citizens decides whether a person has done someth/4,ing against the law, instead of having just one person, the judge (or the head of the court), decide. The Bill of Rights also says that the police cannot go into an American’s home to look for something without a search warrant⁵, which is specific permission for the police to search for something in a specific place, such as your home.

   The Bill of Rights also protects people from cruel and unusual punishment. Something that is cruel is painful or unfair. “Unusual” means not common or not normal. So the meaning here is that the punishment for a crime should not be too painful or strange, and that it should be a normal punishment for that kind of crime.

   The Second Amendment² is controversial and is argued about because people in the U.S. have many strong opinions about it. It protects people’s right to keep and bear arms (or carry weapons, such as guns), so that they can protect themselves. Recently in the U.S., having a gun without getting permission first has increased a lot. Many people have argued for stronger gun control laws so that it would be more difficult for people to own guns. But other people say that gun control laws violate⁶ (or do something that is not allowed by) the Second Amendment.

 

问题：

What do we call the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?

Answer:

The Bill of Rights

1 ratified   

v.批准，签认（合约等）( ratify的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The treaty was declared invalid because it had not been ratified. 条约没有得到批准，因此被宣布无效。
• The treaty was ratified by all the member states. 这个条约得到了所有成员国的批准。

2 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

3 amendments   

（法律、文件的）改动( amendment的名词复数 )； 修正案； 修改； （美国宪法的）修正案

参考例句：

• The committee does not adequately consult others when drafting amendments. 委员会在起草修正案时没有充分征求他人的意见。
• Please propose amendments and addenda to the first draft of the document. 请对这个文件的初稿提出修改和补充意见。

4 jury   

n.陪审团，评委会；adj.临时用的；vt.挑选

参考例句：

• These twelve men are believed to compose the jury.据信，陪审团是由这12人组成的。
• The members of the jury were discharged from their duties.陪审员们被解除了职务。

5 warrant   

n.正当理由，根据，委任状，准许；vt.保证，辩解，担保，授权

参考例句：

• I will warrant him an honest and reliable fellow.我可以保证他是一个诚实可靠的人。
• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。

6 violate   

vt.违反，违背，亵渎，侵犯，妨碍

参考例句：

• Those who violate traffic regulations should be punished.那些违反交通规定的人应该受处罚。
• Can they be allowed to violate rules and regulations at will?难道能容许他们随心所欲地破坏规章制度吗？