ESLPOD教材，Introduction to the United States，介绍美国的历史，国家，文化。English as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-100Glossary1. What is the supreme law of the land?document -a written record; a report, policy, law, essay, or anything else that iswritten down to share informationWe had to sign a lot of documents when we bought our homeunified -as one group; togetherEnvironmental groups would be stronger if they were unified, but in reality, theyfight with each other too muchConstitution-the most important legal document in the United States, describingthe national government and how it should workThe first three words of the u.s. Constitution are We the peoplesupreme- highest; most powerful; most important; best; the biggest possibleThe supreme challenge for the future is finding a good source of energy other thanto obey-to follow to listen to; to do what one is told to doWhen you were a teenager, did you obey your parents?to resolve -to find a solution to a problem; to decide something; to bring an end toa problem or situationAfter fighting for two weeks, they resolved their disagreement and became friendsagaIndelegate- representative; a person who is sent to a meeting or other event by andfor another personI couldn't go to the meeting of nations last week but sent my assistant as adelegatewealthy -rich; with a lot of moneyShe believes that wealthy people should give some of their money to poor peopleto form -to create: to make: to establishThat organization was formed by a group of scientists in 19322These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-1002. What does the constitution do?Answer:It sets up the governmentIt defines the governmentIt protects the basic rights of AmericansExplanationThe United States would be a very different country if it did not have the U.sConstitution, because it does three very important things. First, it sets up(ororganizes) the government, just like you would organize any organization orbusiness. The U.S. Constitution divides the government into three branches(orparts): the legislative branch, the executive branch, and the judicial branch. Thelegislative branch creates (or makes the new laws. the executive branch enforces(or makes sure people follow the laws. The judicial branch is the court systemwhich interprets(or decides what something means in) the laws and determines(ordecides ) who is guilty of breaking (or going against) the lawsAll three branches are important. The Constitution makes the branches share powerequally, which means that no one branch is stronger than the others. One branchcannot take all the power for itself. We call this sharing"checks and balances. "Tocheck here means to control and to balance means to make things equal. thesechecks and balances help control the three branches and keep them equal to eachother. If one branch tries to take too much power, one of the other branches can puta stop to itThe second important thing that the constitution does is to guarantee(or promiseand protect) the rights of all americans. the representatives at the constitutionalConvention didn't want the government interfering too much in the lives of thepeople. So they wrote a list of rights -a list of things that everyone could do-andmade them part of the Constitution These are rights that the federal governmentguarantees. The federal government is the national government, which makes lawsfor all of the states. there are also state governments that make laws for eachindividual stateThe third thing the constitution does is to define (or explain) what powers the stateshave and what powers the federal government has. The states have to make lawsthat agree with the U.S. Constitution, since the Constitution is the supreme(orhighest) law in the countryThese materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-100Glossary2. What does the constitution do?branch-a part of something, usually of the government or an organization; one ofmany partsWhich branch of the military are you in the army, Navy, or Air Force?legislative - related to making laws; related to the part of the government thatmakes lawsThe U.s. president doesn t have any legislative power and cannot make lawsexecutive-related to enforcing laws or making sure that people follow laws; relatedto the∪.s. presidentOne of the president's executive powers is to declare war against other countriesjudicial -related to interpreting the laws(deciding what laws mean) and decidingWho has broken a lawWhen did the court make its judicial decision?to interpret -to determine or decide what something meansWhen I saw the"no smoking"sign, I interpreted it as meaning that I couldnt smokeindoors, but that it would be okay to smoke outdoorsto check-to control; to monitor or observe something to make sure that it is donecorrectlyThe vice-president of finance checks the company's spendingto balance -to make or keep things equal, so that no part is stronger, bigger, ormore powerful than another partIt is difficult for him to balance his time between his work and his familyto guarantee -to promise and protect something; to make sure that somethinghappensFreedom of religion guarantees that americans can be part of any religion theywant tofederal- national; related to the entire countryFederal highways are built by the national government; state highways are built bythe statesto define-to explain; to say what something is or what something meansIn this business, a "good year"is defined as a year with more than $1 million insalesThese materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-1003. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the ConstitutionWhat are these words?AnswerWe the PeopleExplanationThe idea behind the words We the people"is one of the most important ones in ademocracy. a democracy is a government where the citizens( the people who arepart of a country) vote for and elect (or choose) the people who will govern(or leadand make decisions for) them The United states has a representativedemocracy, which means that citizens vote for people who then represent them inthe government, making laws and decisions that reflect (or are the same as ) whatthe citizens wantThese first three words of the Constitution, "We the people, also tell us about themain difference between the United States and the European countries that most ofthe united states' first citizens came from back in the 1700s countries likeEngland and France, where many of the first Americans came from, were ruled by amonarch(or a king). These monarchs usually inherited their power(or received itbecause one of their relatives had been a ruler or a king and then died) and oftenmade decisions that their citizens did not like. One of the reasons that the americancolonists(or the people who moved to the new country) fought the RevolutionaryWar to get their independence from great Britain was because the colonists felt thatthe English king, George ll, was treating them badly. Americans said that they werefighting the Revolutionary War for the right to self-government, or to have the abilityto create their own government and elect their own officials or leadersThe authors(or writers ) of the Constitution were not writing it for just themselvesThe writers of the Constitution wrote it on behalf of or in the name of) allAmericans. This is because they believed that for a government to be fair, it wouldhave to be made by the people (that is, elected by citizens )and for the people,meaning doing things for the good of all citizens, not just a few5These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-100Glossary3. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the constitutioncitizen-a person who is part of a country a person who belongs to a countryIf you want to work in the U.s. government, you must be a U.s. citizento elect -to select or choose a person to work in a government jobThe mayor was elected with 62% of the votesto govern-to lead and make decisions for a group of peopleRussia used to be governed by a tsar and now it is governed by a presidentrepresentative democracy -a type of government in which citizens vote for peoplewho represent them in the government, usually making laws and decisions that thecitizens wantIn a representative democracy, citizens can call their representatives to tell themhow they would like them to votemonarch -a king or queenHow long was King henry I the monarch of England?to inherit -to receive something when a relative diesIsabelle inherited $35,000 when her grandfather diedcolonist -a person who lives in an area of land that belongs to a country that is farawayThe first colonists who came to north america from europe had to work very hardto build farms towns and citiesself-government the ability of a group of people to create their own governmentand decide who will represent them in that governmentNative Americans had to fight for self-government for many yearson behalf of (someone )-in the name of someone; doing something for someoneelse or because someone else has asked one toI'd like to accept this award on behalf of Dr. Holmes who couldn 't come to theceremony tonight6These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-1004. What is an amendmentAnswer:a change(to the ConstitutionAn addition(to the Constitution)上× planationThe men who wrote the U.s. Constitution knew that their document was not perfect.That is why they included ways to change or add laws to the Constitution in thefuture. The fifth article ( or section of the constitution says that americans canchange the Constitution in two ways. The first way is to have another ConstitutionalConvention, a big meeting where representatives from all of the states would gatherand decide on the changes, just like they did when the constitution was written inPhiladelphia in 1787. This way, however, has never been used. There has neverbeen a second constitutional conventionThe second and more common way to change the Constitution has two steps. FirstCongress( the group of elected national representatives) passes(or approves)aspecial law to change or add something to the constitution this change or additionis called an amendment. Two-thirds(or 67%of the members of Congress has tovote in favor of ( or say yes"to approve) this amendment. Then the amendmentmust be approved by three-fourths(or 75%)of the states. Getting two-thirds ofCongress and three-quarters of the states to agree is not an easy thing to do, andthat is why there are not very many amendments to the constitution The presidentcannot create amendments and does not have the right (or power or ability) to vetoor say no to, amendments. after three-fourths of the states approve the amendmentthat has already been approved by congress, the amendment officially becomespart of the ConstitutionMany of the rights that americans believe are extremely important in the UnitedStates are actually not in the original Constitution of 1787. Instead they are inamendments to the Constitution. Freedom of religion, the right to vote regardless ofsomeone's skin color or sex(being a man or woman), and who can be a citizen areall described in different amendments to the constitutionAmendments can be repealed (or taken back) by passing other amendments. onlyone amendment has been repealed in the history of the United States. TheEighteenth Amendment made it illegal (or against the law) to make or sell alcoholsuch as beer and wine. this amendment was called the Prohibition amendmentbecause to prohibit means not to allow something, or to make something illegalThe Eighteenth Amendment was approved in 1919. However, the twenty-FirstAmendment, passed in 1933, repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, so todayAmericans can make and sell alcohol again7These materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-100Glossary4. What is an amendment?article-a section or part, especially of a legal documentThis law has 39 articlesCongress-the legislative(lawmaking) part of the U.s. government; the group ofelected national representativesHave you ever visited the building where Congress meets in Washington, DC?amendment -a change or addition, especially to the U.s. ConstitutionThe 1 9th Amendment made it legal for women vote in the United statesto vote in favor of (something)-to vote for something to vote"yes"on somethingto vote to approve somethingWhy did you vote in favor of increasing taxes?right -the power or ability to do something; a freedomAmericans have many rights to believe and say whatever they want, as long as itcannot hurt other peopleto veto- to vote against something; to reject something, especially so that it cannotbecome a lawHow many times has the president vetoed a new law?to repeal- to take back; to undo something especially a law that was already madeThe city made a law that all teenagers must be home by 9: 00, but it was veryunpopular and was quickly repealedillegal -against the law; not legalIn the United states, it is illegal to drink alcohol if you are less than 21 years oldProhibition- the period of time when there were laws against making, buying, andselling alcohol in the United statesMany Americans bought alcohol illegally during the ProhibitionThese materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillanEnglish as a Second Language Podcastwww.eslpod.comESL态Introduction to the United statesThe Complete Course: Questions 1-1005. What do we call the first 10 amendments to the constitutionAnswer:The Bill of Rights上× planationWhile the constitution was being written, many people argued that it did not actuallyprotect the rights(or freedoms)of citizens or protect citizens from having thegovernment take away their rights. Because of this, immediately after theConstitution was ratified (or approved) in 1789 the First Congress proposed 12amendments to the Constitution that would protect civil rights(or the rights thatcitizens have to social and political freedom and equality, and having the sameopportunities as all other citizens). Ten of these amendments were approved, andthey became known as the bill of Rights. Bill is an old word meaning a list, so theBill of rights is a list of a citizens basic rightsThe Bill of Rights includes a lot of rights and freedoms that are part of what it meansto be an american For example, it protects our freedom of speech-the right ofpeople 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 tofollow, or if they want to follow any at all. The bill of rights says that americanshave a right to trial by jury, meaning that when they go to court, a small group ofcitizens decides whether a person has done something against the law, instead ofhaving just one person, the judge ( or the head of the court), decide. The bill ofRights also says that the police cannot go into an American's home to look forsomething without a search warrant, which is specific permission for the police tosearch for something in a specific place, such as your homeThe Bill of rights also protects people from cruel and unusual punishmentSomething that is cruel is painful or unfair. Unusual"means not common or notnormal. So the meaning here is that the punishment for a crime should not be toopainful or strange, and that it should be a normal punishment for that kind of crimeThe Second Amendment is controversial and is argued about because people inthe U.S. have many strong opinions about it. It protects people,s right to keep andbear arms(or carry weapons, such as guns), so that they can protect themselvesRecently in the U.S., having a gun without getting permission first has increased alot. Many people have argued for stronger gun control laws so that it would bemore difficult for people to own guns. But other people say that gun control lawsviolate(or do something that is not allowed by) the second amendmentThese materials are copyrighted by the Center for Educational Development (2008). Posting of these materials on another website or distributingthem in any way is prohibited. contributors to this is course are Jessica Brown, Lucy tse, and Jeff McQuillan