情景英语口语100主题 078politics政治

078　politics
Words
Policy manifesto¹ ruling party vote referendum election minister prime minister president candidate cabinet politician government opposition² power campaign pressure group conservation
Liberal mainstream³ extreme left-wing right-wing centre majority minority

Phrases
Present a manifesto
Vote for a candidate
Win a majority
Influence policy
Become prime minister
Campaign for a candidate
Support a liberal policy
Propose a new law
Make cabinet appointments

Beginner
A: have you every belonged to a political party?
B: no, I haven’t, but I thought about joining the green party.
A: really? I know you are very concerned about the environment. You were a member of the pressure group greenpeace, weren’t you?
B: yes. I was. But I didn’t have enough time to devote to it.
A: the green party have no chance of winning an election. The other parties are too big and popular.
B; you’re right. But smaller political and pressure groups can often influence large political parties. Any member of parliament can propose legislation and parties and pressure groups can raise awareness⁴ of issues.
A: most people are not very politically aware. They often don’t understand the issues fully⁵.
B: that’s true. But it’s a little strange because the media often reports on political events. You can read about them in newspaper or hear them on tv.


Intermediate
A: how does the political system work in your country?
B: we have hundreds of constituencies and the votes in each one elect a member of parliament. Most people call them mp’s.
A; each mp belongs to a political party, right?
B: almost all of them do. A few are independent. That means that they do not belong to a party. If one party more than half of the mp’s. they form a government. That means that they choose a prime minister can cabinet members.
A; what’s a cabinet?
B; this is a small group of people-perhaps 25 mp’s who are usually ministers. They make all the big decision and discuss laws and policy.
A; can any mp make a law?
B: any mp can present a law to parliament. The proposed law is debated and voted on. If it is accepted, it becomes law.
A: I suppose a proposed a law needs the support of the big political parties.
B: yes, it does, because they have most of the mp’s. most mp’s vote the way their party wants them to.
A: how do people choose which party or candidate to vote for?
B: they produce manifesto. These documents which states their policies. Some people just vote for the same party every time there is an election. Votes who often change the party they vote for are called floating voters.

1 manifesto   

n.宣言，声明

参考例句：

• I was involved in the preparation of Labour's manifesto.我参与了工党宣言的起草工作。
• His manifesto promised measures to protect them.他在宣言里保证要为他们采取保护措施。

2 opposition   

n.反对，敌对

参考例句：

• The party leader is facing opposition in his own backyard.该党领袖在自己的党內遇到了反对。
• The police tried to break down the prisoner's opposition.警察设法制住了那个囚犯的反抗。

3 mainstream   

n.（思想或行为的）主流；adj.主流的

参考例句：

• Their views lie outside the mainstream of current medical opinion.他们的观点不属于当今医学界观点的主流。
• Polls are still largely reflects the mainstream sentiment.民调还在很大程度上反映了社会主流情绪。

4 awareness   

n.意识，觉悟，懂事，明智

参考例句：

• There is a general awareness that smoking is harmful.人们普遍认识到吸烟有害健康。
• Environmental awareness has increased over the years.这些年来人们的环境意识增强了。

5 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。