【美国精神】第33期

Explanation:   

  Congress¹ is the legislative² or lawmaking part of the U.S. government. Congress spends a lot of time debating or talking about different bills (or ideas for new laws). Sometimes the members of Congress can’t agree on the details of a bill and it never becomes a law. But even when the members of Congress do agree on all the details of the bills, they still haven’t become law. Most bills need the president’s signature³ (or written name placed on the bill to show that it is approved) to become law. 

 

  Once Congress votes to make a bill become a law, the bill is sent to the president. The president then has four choices. First, the president can sign the bill to make it become a law. The president does this when he or she thinks that it is a very good idea and wants to show this to the American people. 

 

  The president’s second option⁴ or choice is to just let the bill sit on his desk without doing anything to it. Once 10 days pass (or go by), the bill automatically⁵, without anyone doing anything, becomes a law even without the president’s signature. The president might do this when he or she doesn’t think that the bill is a great idea, but doesn’t want to create a lot of trouble either. In other words, the bill is something that is not very important to the president. 

 

  The third option that the president has is to veto⁶ the bill. By vetoing a bill, the president returns the bill to Congress, indicating (or showing) that the bill is a bad idea that should not become a law. This shows a big difference between Congress and the president, because the president is disagreeing with more than half of the members of Congress who had voted for the bill. Congress can decide to vote again, and if more than two-thirds (or 67%) of the members agree, they can override⁷ the president’s veto, making the bill become a law anyway. 

 

  Finally, the president’s fourth option when he receives a bill is a pocket veto. This happens when Congress passes a bill very late in its session⁸ (or the period of time when Congress meets). The president always has 10 days to act on (or respond⁹ to) bills, but it is possible that Congress’s session ends before those 10 days have passed. In this situation, if the president does not sign the bill, it does not automatically become a law, but instead is automatically vetoed through a pocket veto.

 

问题：

Who signs bills to become laws?  

Answer:   

The President 

1 Congress   

n.(代表)大会；(C-:美国等国的)国会，议会

参考例句：

• There were some days to wait before the Congress.大会的召开还有几天时间。
• After 18 years in Congress,he intented to return to private life.在国会供职18年后，他打算告老还乡。

2 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

3 signature   

n.签名，署名，信号

参考例句：

• Make sure that you get it down and his signature on it.你一定要把它记下来，并让他在上面签字。
• Each person's signature is unique.每个人的签名都是独一无二的。

4 option   

n.选择，取舍，选择权，选择的自由

参考例句：

• You will have to pay them;you have no option.你必须付给他们钱，别无选择。
• The option for peace should never be closed off.和平的选择之门永远不应被关死。

5 automatically   

adv.不加思索地，无意识地，自动地

参考例句：

• The machine cycles automatically.这台机器自动循环运转。
• She had automatically labelled the boys as troublemakers.她不假思索地认定这些男孩子是捣蛋鬼。

6 veto   

n.否决权；v.否决；vi.否决，禁止；vt.使用否决权

参考例句：

• The President has the power of veto.总统有否决权。
• Father put a veto upon our staying out late.父亲不许我们在外面逗留太晚。

7 override   

vt.不顾，不理睬，否决；压倒，优先于

参考例句：

• The welfare of a child should always override the wishes of its parents.孩子的幸福安康应该永远比父母的愿望来得更重要。
• I'm applying in advance for the authority to override him.我提前申请当局对他进行否决。

8 session   

n.会议，开庭期，市盘，学期；adj.短期的

参考例句：

• This matter will go over until the next session.这件事将留待下次会议讨论。
• Congress is now in session.国会现在正在开会。

9 respond   

vi.回答，响应

参考例句：

• I offered him a drink but he did not respond.我请他喝酒，但他未作回答。
• I greeted him but he didn't respond.我跟他打招呼，他没答理我。