UNIT SIX

UNIT SIX

THE EFFICIENCY OF THE COMMON LA W: THE PUZZLE OF MIXED LEGAL FAMILIES

Section A

The History of the Common Law(

1 The Common law is a body of law based on custom and general principles embodied in case law which serves as precedent and is applied to situations not covered by statute. England is the origin of the common law. Prior to the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, there was no unitary, national legal system. Before 1066 the English legal system involved a mass of oral customary rules, which varied according to region. The law of the Jutes in the south of England, for example, was different from that of the Mercian in the middle of the country. Each county had its own local court dispensing its own justice in accordance with local customs that varied from community to community and were enforced in often arbitrary fashion.

2 Unlike continental civil law, the English system does not originate from any particular set of texts but from what has been called …tradition expressed in action?. It began as customary law used in the King's court to settle disputes and conflicts which affected the monarch directly. To begin with, these only included the graver crimes which became …Pleas of the Crown?. After the Norman invasion there were s till many different types of court apart from the royal court – the stannary (tin mining) courts of Devon and Cornwall, the courts of the royal hunting forests, for example –but principally, in potential rivalry with the royal court, were the feudal and manorial

courts. It was during Henry II's reign that the clerics in his court began specializing in legal business and acting in a judicial capacity. Clerics were part of the King's royal entourage.

3 In 1154, Henry II institutionalized common law by creating a unified court system …common? to the country through incorporating and elevating local custom to the national level, ending local control, eliminating arbitrary remedies, and reinstating a jury system of citizens sworn on oath to investigate criminal accusations and civil claims. Judges of the realm went on regular journeys throughout the country bringing the King's justice to every citizen. Their aim was that there should be a common system of law throughout the land, hence the laws became known as the common law. The travelling judges formed a nucleus of judges with national jurisdiction who had no local roots. They were thus much less susceptible to the corruption which had spoilt a similar attempt earlier in the twelfth century in which the royal judges had actually been based in the local communities. It was under Henry II that judges were for the first time sent on …circuits?, hearing pleas in the major places they visited and taking over the work of the local courts. In time the decisions of the judges were written down. As the decisions of these courts came to be recorded and published, so the practice developed where past decisions (precedents) would be cited in argument before the courts and would be regarded as being of persuasive authority.

4 These practices developed into the common law of England, the law which was available throughout the realm. Perhaps the most convincing of the reasons why Henry II should be regarded as the …father of the common law? is that he was largely responsible for the regional and itinerant royal justice through which the law truly became common – available to all. It is true that Henry II, who reigned from 1154 to 1189, did much of significance to enhance the development of the common law, for instance, by popularizing the King's court. In any event, many factors of a general historical nature contributed to the development of the common law and the various parties helped nurture the common law from its first green shoots to its full bloom.

5 In the expansion of the King's legal powers, an important role was played by

the clerics. They developed a range of claim forms, called writs, and established procedures which, perhaps significantly, gave them greater importance and provided them with a generous income! Another important development, for example, was the expansion of the …King's Peace?. This was the monarch's, as opposed to a local lord's, right to deal with any local disorder or crime.

6 Another reason the royal courts obtained a lot of business and thus power was the interpretation given to the Statute of Gloucester (1278) by the royal judges. This statute provided that no cases involving an amount of less than 40 shillings should be brought in the royal courts, but that they should be tried before local tribunals. The judges interpreted this to mean that no personal actions to recover a sum greater than 40 shillings could be commenced in the local courts, thus reserving all important cases for themselves. It is relevant here that the judges were anxious to attract litigants because their fees varied with the amount of business done.

7 The distinctive feature of common law is that it represents the law of the courts as expressed in judicial decisions. The grounds for deciding cases are found in the principles provided by past court decisions, as contrasted to a system which is based solely on Acts of Parliament. Besides the system of judicial precedents, other characteristics of common law are trial by jury and the doctrine of the supremacy of the law. Originally, supremacy of the law meant that not even the King was above the law; today it means that acts of governmental agencies and ministers can be challenged in the courts.

8 The common law has its roots in the U.S continent with the first English colonists who claimed the common law system as their birthright. After the American Revolution, this Common Law was adopted by each of the states as well as the national government of the new nation. When new states were formed, they also adopted the common law system either by an express provision or by a judicial decision. However, if states were formed from acquired territory where other systems of law prevail, then the question of which system prevailed was determined by legislative enactment or judicial decision.

9 However, the U.S courts do not solely depend upon the expositions of the

courts of England. In order to ascertain the principles and rules of the common law, the courts may look to the decisions of other states of the Union, as well as to those of the English courts. Moreover, the U.S. courts are not required to adhere to the decisions of the English common law courts, regardless of whether they were rendered before or after the American Revolution. Similarly, the English statutes passed subsequent to the adoption of the common law in the U.S. are not part of common law in the U.S..

10 The principles of equity are regarded as a part of the common law adopted in the U.S. The term “common law” includes those doctrines of equity juri sprudence not mentioned in the legislative enactments. Similarly, a law merchant is recognized as part of the common law. It is defined as the system of rules and customs and usages generally recognized and adopted by traders as the law for the regulation of their commercial transactions. However, the law merchant cannot override the local laws and commercial usages of any state. Although Christianity is considered part of the origin of the common law, the courts did not regard it as controlling or imposing in nature while discussing a religious duty of any narrow view or things related to morality and decency. It was observed that even if Christianity is not a part of the law of the land, and if it is the popular religion of the country, then an insult to it can disturb the public peace.

11 Ecclesiastical laws are English laws pertaining to matters concerning the church. These laws were administered by ecclesiastical courts and are considered a branch of English common law. There is a difference in opinion about the adoption of Ecclesiastical laws in the U.S.. On one hand, since ecclesiastical courts were not established in the U.S., the code of laws enforced in ecclesiastical courts cannot be considered part of the common law.

12 On the other hand, the canon and civil laws administered by the ecclesiastical courts come under the unwritten laws of England. And by custom, these laws are adopted and used in a certain jurisdiction. It is maintained that such laws must be used in the U.S. if the tribunal has jurisdiction especially if the rule of the ecclesiastical courts is considered to be better law than the one in the common law

court. Therefore, the origin of common law in the U.S. can be traced back to various sources such as the common law principles of England, the equity principles, Christianity and ecclesiastical courts.

New Words and Proper Terms

arbitrary adj. 武断的；专制的

monarch n. 君主，帝王；最高统治者

rivalry n. 竞争；对抗；

manorial adj. 庄园的；采邑的

entourage n. 随从；周围；环境

institutionalize vt. 使…制度化

accusation n. 控告，指控；谴责

enactment n. 制定，颁布；通过；法令

itinerant adj. 巡回的；流动的

writs n. 令状

litigant n. 诉讼当事人

judicial decisions 司法裁决

supremacy n. 霸权; 主权

birthright n. 与生俱来的权利

prevail vi. 战胜，获胜

Ecclesiastical law (民事法庭中)有关宗教的法律条文; 宗教法

Notes

1.Mercian n. 麦西亚人；(古英语中的)麦西亚方言

Mercian For example, courts generally consisted of informal public assemblies that weighed conflicting claims in a case and, if unable to reach a decision, might require an accused to show their guilt or innocence by carrying a red-hot iron or

snatching a stone from a cauldron of boiling water or some other …test? of veracity. If the defendant's wound healed within a prescribed period, he was set free as innocent; if not, execution usually followed.

2. Henry II: 亨利二世

Henry II(1133-1189) was king of England from 1154 to 1189. He restored and extended royal authority, supervised great legal reforms, and clashed with Thomas Becket. Born on March 5, 1133, Henry II was the eldest son of Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, and Matilda, daughter of King Henry I. On her father's death Matilda failed to secure England and Normandy, but Geoffrey of Anjou conquered Normandy and in 1150 invested Henry with the duchy.

3. The Statute of Gloucester (1278): 格洛斯特法规

The Statute of Gloucester (6 Edw 1) is one of the most important pieces of legislation enacted in the Parliament of England during the reign of Edward I. The Statute, proclaimed at Gloucester in August 1278, was crucial to the development of English law. The Statute of 1278 provided for several important legal amendments. It challenged baronial rights through a revival of the system of general eyres. It is the first statute recorded in a Statute Roll.

5. American Revolution：美国独立战争

The American Revolution was a political upheaval, 1765–1783, as the Thirteen American Colonies broke from the British Empire and formed an independent nation, the United States of America. Starting in 1765 the Americans rejected the authority of Parliament to tax them without elected representation; protests escalated as in the Boston Tea Party of 1773, and the British imposed punitive laws on Massachusetts in 1774. In 1774 the Patriots suppressed the Loyalists and expelled all royal officials. Each colony now had a new government that took control. The British responded by sending combat troops to re-establish royal control. Through the Second Continental Congress, the Patriots fought the British in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783.

Exercises

I. Questions for discussion:

1. How can we say that England is the origin of the common law?

2. What is the content of the common law?1

3. Why is the Henry II considered to be the “father of the common law”?3/4

4. What is the role of clerics in the development of the common law, why?5

5. How is the common law developed in USA?8/12

II. Choose the best answer for each of the following according to the text:

1.The Common law is a body of law based on custom and general principles embodied in ____which serves as precedent and is applied to situations not covered by statute.

A. past decisions

B. case law

C. precedents

D. domestic law

2. It was during_____ II's reign that the clerics in his court began specializing in legal business and acting in a judicial capacity.

A. William

B. Henry

C. David

D. Elizabeth

3. It is true that Henry II, who reigned from 1154 to 1189, did much of significance to enhance the development of the________.

A. administrative law

B. criminal law

C. civil law

D. common law

4. The common law has its roots in the U.S continent with the first English colonists who claimed the common law system as their______.

A. democracy

B. right

C. birthright

D. power

5.The U.S. courts are not required to adhere to the decisions of the _____common law courts, regardless of whether they were rendered before or after the American Revolution.

A. English

B. American

C. Scotland

D. Canadian

III. Fill in the following blanks with the given words:

birthright, litigant, judicial decisions, institutionalize, supremacy,

ecclesiastical law, writ, enactment, arbitrary, monarch

1.He made a rather ______decision to close the local cinema without consulting other people.

2.If there was no _____on the register of writs (in stock, as it were) to cover the particular claim the plaintiff wished to bring, then, for an extra fee, the clerks would produce one to fit.

3.America believes that freedom is the ______and deep desire of every human soul.

4.An Anglican cleric with full legal control of a parish under_______; a rector

5. The _______ of a country is the king, queen, emperor, or empress.

6.Judicial decision is the bridge to link the law and the citizen who understands the law through________.

7.Therefore, to regulate and to reconstruct settlement system in enforcement to ________and to streamline contains much theoretical and practical significance.

8.The history?s grim inventory of war and destructio n was laid out before them as they examined how, from the 15th century, empires and upstarts had often fought for_______.

9.A ______is a person who is involved in a civil legal case, either because they are making a formal complaint about someone, or because a complaint is being made about them.

10. The ______of a law is the process in a legislature by which the law is agreed upon

and made official.

IV. Translate the following into Chinese:

The origin of common law in the U.S. can be traced back to various sources such as the common law principles of England, the equity principles, Christianity and ecclesiastical courts. The distinctive feature of common law is that it represents the law of the courts as expressed in judicial decisions. The grounds for deciding cases are found in the principles provided by past court decisions, as contrasted to a system which is based solely on Acts of Parliament. Besides the system of judicial precedents, other characteristics of common law are trial by jury and the doctrine of the supremacy of the law. Originally, supremacy of the law meant that not even the King was above the law; today it means that acts of governmental agencies and ministers can be challenged in the courts.

Section B

Mixed Jurisdictions and Mixed Legal Families

1 The comparative law literature does not provide for any precise definition of a mixed jurisdiction. The reason is that probably all jurisdictions are mixed in the sense that they are informed by indigenous legal tradition and transplants in relevant areas of the law. Jurisdictions interact for multiple reasons and, as a consequence, conscious or not, by statute, by case law, or by legal practice, are influenced by other jurisdictions. If every jurisdiction is mixed, then the classification of legal families must be based on a matter of degree. The first distinction is between those jurisdictions that mix legal systems in a systematic way and those that do not. Within the jurisdictions that do not mix legal systems in a systematic way, the vast majority of the world that is usually affiliated to a particular legal family. They occasionally and opportunistically transplant laws and legal institutions from a different legal family, but overall they follow a particular dominant tradition. Obviously such classification does not come without problems. Nevertheless, it fits with the traditional division between civil and common law legal families. The focus is on those jurisdictions that combine legal systems in a systematic way and therefore cannot be regarded as either civil or common law.

2 A second important distinction is between those jurisdictions that have a structured mix and those that have an unstructured mix. By unstructured mixed legal system, comparativists understand an overlap of two traditions, with no clear or evident application of one or the other to all legal subjects. There is no formal articulation or coordination between the two legal traditions. The obvious example is European law and aboriginal law in many African countries. Contrarily, by structured mixed legal system, there is some coordination. Such coordination can take different complementary forms. It could be established by conceptual boundaries (such as private and public law). It could be categorized even within areas where the overlap is

unclear (such as commercial law or procedure). Alternatively, a legal tradition could dominate in certain areas of the law with legislative pockets of the other legal family. Finally, both legal traditions may coexist under a process of mutual recognition of structured boundaries and sources.

3 Structured mixed legal systems can be pluralist (usually dualist) or hybrid. By pluralist, the different legal families operate side by side, in well-defined contained areas of the law. For example, private law follows the civil law tradition whereas public law follows the common law tradition. By hybrid, the possibility of blending together those legal traditions is considered. A possibility is that contract law, or more generally private law, combines both common and civil law doctrines. The terminology in comparative law is not without problems. In fact, some comparativists have criticized the standard vocabulary. For example, legal scholars refer to "mixed jurisdictions" when they use common and civil law traditions, rather than "mixed legal systems" as would be more appropriate. The term "mixed jurisdictions" seems to presuppose a degree of hybridism which is usually absent. The term "mixed legal systems" anticipates legal pluralism which seems more frequent than hybridism.

4 Generally speaking, private law seems to be of civil tradition whereas public law (administrative, criminal, and constitutional) comes from Anglo-American influence. The main reason is, broadly speaking, the earlier development of private law and later development of public law. Legal scholars have traced the combination of civil and common law back to two distinct possible historical reasons:

5 Inter-colonial transfer indicates the former colonies separate from France, Spain, the Netherlands, or the Ottoman Empire gain to Britain or the United States. There is usually little influence of Anglo-American law before the transfer of sovereignty. The transfer of sovereignty usually results from an event unrelated to the legal system (for example, war). The new dominant political actor is established in a strong position but avoids or fails to effectively impose the common law because of a large non-Anglophonic community that is socially and economically dominant (but not politically). The English speaking community initially is a minority that communicates in a different language that does not dominate the life of the

jurisdiction. Still, this English minority shapes the political process. Not surprisingly, the common law expands due to a well-developed colonial administration and the local (business) interests of the small English speaking community.

6 Scholars can also use this model to understand Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. They were initially influenced by German law after the reforms enacted following the Meiji restoration. The American occupation after WWII promoted important legal reforms in Japan and Korea (the anti-monopoly laws being the standard example); Taiwan's history after 1949 induced an approximation to the United States that had consequences in later legal reforms. These jurisdictions combine an important civil law tradition of German influence with fundamental reforms of American origin. There is no formal intercolonial transfer, but these countries were under the sphere of a civil law jurisdiction in the first stage of legal reform and, due to later political changes, came under the sphere of a common law jurisdiction.

7 Israel provides another example of this approach. The Ottoman influence explains the prevalence of German civil law in the region. The British Mandate for Palestine established in the early 1920s brought the common law to this area of the world. The coexistence of civil and common law was noticeable by the time Israel became independent in 1948. Waves of immigration with lawyers who transferred from different legal origins reflected different experiences. The intercolonial transfer was reinforced by a significant change of the composition of the population, in particular lawyers.

8 Merger of sovereignties (mainly Scotland): the Act of Union of 1707 keeps strict separation between Scottish and English law. Scottish private law is respected but the Union effectively merges public law and public institutions. The new political and judicial institutions promoted the reception of English law, although it is debatable if the combination of legal traditions was already there before the Union due to trade, political and economic influence. The importance of precedent with binding effect even in areas of traditional civil law has been recognized as the main source to combine substantive civil law with a common law approach in Scotland. However, some areas have been largely immune to legislative incursion from English

law unless absolutely necessary (such as criminal or family law). Legal scholars mention the Scottish examples as a unique voluntarily combination of civil and common law that struggles for legal consistency.

9 The European Union can be discussed in the context of this model. Strictly speaking, the European Union created a new legal order independent of the Member-states. However, the law of the European Union has to be enforced and applied by national courts subject to a complex institutional framework (including the principle of supremacy of European Union law). Inevitably, these national courts reflect their own traditions and practices. Therefore, European Union law combines elements of common law and civil law in response to the ongoing need of improving and balancing a new legal order. The European Union is not. Strictly speaking, a merger of sovereignties, but the institutional arrangement reflects a similar process due to the impeding incompleteness of a recent legal order that requires the cooperation of national courts.

10 As noted by legal scholars, when coded, the incumbent civil law is likely to be more resistant to common law influence. We can use the French or Spanish experiences when compared to the Dutch group to provide an illustration. In most cases of mixed legal systems around the world, there are significant common elements that have been identified by comparativists to explain the patterns of development of a mixed legal family. The most immediate is language as we have already mentioned. Usually there is a linguistic factor that requires, at least in early stages, that the law be in a language different from English.

11 A second aspect is the influence of Anglo-American law on legal institutions and procedure which is usually determined by the political power of the English-speaking community. Examples include powerful courts, influential judges, some form of stare decisis where judicial decisions are accepted as a source of law ( defacto or de jure) and bind inferior courts (in a much less flexible way than the Spanish doctrina jurisprudencial or the French jurisprudence constante), and assimilation of common law rules of civil procedure (although usually with no formal separation between common law and equity).

12 A third element is the slow penetration of common law in the context of private law. According to legal scholars, the patterns of common law influence in private law are usually the following: some in torts, less so in contracts, even less in quasi-contracts and unjust enrichment, very little to none in property. Commercial law tends to adhere to common law more easily, generally not by imposition, but due to self-interested economic reasons and the inadequacy of the old civil law.

New Words and Proper Terms

Indigenous adj. 本土的；固有的

legal family 法系

aboriginal adj. 土著的；原始的

pluralist n. 兼职者；多元论者

legal pluralism 法律多元主义

public law 公法

private law 私法

merger n. 并购；吸收（如刑法中重罪吸收轻罪）

incursion n. 入侵；侵犯

consistency n. 一致性; 相容性

stare decisis 遵循先例；（拉）根据过去判例

de facto n.（法语）实际上的

de jure n. （法语）法律上的；权利上的

doctrina n. (拉丁语) 教义, 主义; 学说

doctrina jurisprudencial (西班牙语)法学，法理学

Notes

1. Meiji restoration: 明治维新

Meiji restoration is also known as the Meiji Ishin, Renovation, Revolution, Reform or Renewal, was a chain of events that restored imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under the Meiji Emperor. The goals of the restored government were expressed by the new emperor in the Charter Oath. The Restoration led to enormous changes in Japan's

political and social structure, and spanned both the late Edo period (often called Late Tokugawa shogunate) and the beginning of the Meiji period. The period spanned from 1868 to 1912 and was responsible for the emergence of Japan as a modernized nation in the early twentieth century.

2. Act of Union：《联合法案》

Uniting the kingdoms of Scotland and England had been proposed for a hundred years before it actually happened in 1707. In a poorly attended Scottish Parliament the MPs voted to agree the Union and on 16 January 1707 the Act of Union was signed. The Act came into effect on May 1st 1707; the Scottish Parliament was dissolved and England and Scotland became one country.

3. Ottoman Empire: 奥斯曼帝国

The Ottoman Empire sometimes refers to as the Turkish Empire or simply Turkey, was an empire founded by Oghuz Turks under Osman Bey in northwestern Anatolia in 1299. With the conquest of Constantinople by Mehmed II in 1453, the Ottoman state was transformed into an empire.

Exercises

I. Write T (true) or F (false) for each statement of the following according to what you have learnt from the text:

1. If all jurisdictions are independent, then the classification of legal families must be based on a matter of degree.

2. Structured mixed legal systems can usually be dualist or hybrid.

3. Legal scholars refer to "mixed jurisdictions" when they use common and civil law traditions, rather than "mixed legal systems" as would be more appropriate.

4. Generally speaking, public law seems to be of civil tradition.

5. The common law expands due to a well-developed colonial administration and the local economy of the English speaking community.

6. Korea and Taiwan were initially influenced by German law after the reforms

enacted following the Meiji restoration.

7. The coexistence of civil and common law was noticeable by the time Israel became independent in 1948.

8. Merger of sovereignty of the Scotland as a unique voluntarily combination of civil and common law struggles for legal consistency.

9.In most cases of mixed legal systems around the world, there are significant common elements of language, the political power and private law which have been identified by comparativists to explain the patterns of development of a mixed legal family.

10.European Union law combines elements of common law and civil law for the improving and balancing a new legal order among the member states.

II. Translate the following into Chinese:

Merger of sovereignties (mainly Scotland): the Act of Union of 1707 keeps strict separation between Scottish and English law. Scottish private law is respected but the Union effectively merges public law and public institutions. The new political and judicial institutions promoted the reception of English law, although it is debatable if the combination of legal traditions was already there before the Union due to trade, political and economic influence. The importance of precedent with binding effect even in areas of traditional civil law has been recognized as the main source to combine substantive civil law with a common law approach in Scotland. However, some areas have been largely immune to legislative incursion from English law unless absolutely necessary (such as criminal or family law). Legal scholars mention the Scottish examples as a unique voluntarily combination of civil and common law that struggles for legal consistency.

Section C

The Economic Model

1 Comparative law has identified general patterns of development of a mixed legal family. Civil law arrives first due to the initial colonization or political influence (in the case of Scotland). Common law follows after some transfer of sovereignty. Common law is not developed because the local community is unsatisfied with civil law, but due to political and military reasons. Not surprisingly, common law dominates legal institutions, procedure and public law. However, common law does not easily penetrate private law. Public law depends mostly on political or constitutional decisions. Often a mixed system follows a common law pattern in criminal law, judicial proceedings, or administrative matters. This is the case of mixed jurisdictions within a constitutional framework based on common law such as the American Southern states, Puerto Rico, Israel, or Scotland. The opposite tends to happen within the European Union, where the United Kingdom and Ireland are subject to legislative proceedings drafted according to the civilian tradition. Public law responds less immediately to individual incentives and decisions, but more to the political arrangements. From this perspective, the imposition of common law structures has less to do with the evolution to efficiency resulting from the competition- of different legal systems; it is more easily explained by the political influence of the legal tradition of the dominant power.

2 The challenge comes from private law. According to the legal origins literature transition to common law should follow mature economic growth. In fact, the legal origins literature strongly recommends adopting common law principles in private law in order to enhance economic growth. It seems that the mixed jurisdictions remain under civilian tradition for two possible reasons. One explanation is due to their current poor economic progress. Therefore, there is no pressure to change their legal

system in the area of private law. A second reason is the limitations derived from their rigid civilian framework which precludes change. If the legal origins thesis is correct, mixed jurisdictions governed by common law principles should opt into the common law at a particular stage of economic growth. Additionally, such mixed jurisdictions are embedded in a common law institutional framework, as a consequence of common law governing public institutions and their proceedings, and therefore are expected to recognize the importance of judicial precedent (unknown in pure civil law systems). Common law is more efficient. Common law is better for business interests and conducive to economic growth. The persistence and survival of civil law is, therefore, puzzling.

3 A possible explanation is that mixed legal families are locked into an inefficient institutional arrangement and cannot move out. There is some market failure that inhibits the common law's ability to take over civil law in the areas of tort, contracts and property. The costs of switching are so immensely large that mixed legal families cannot easily abandon the old civil law and adhere to common law. It is difficult to see what these significant costs could be. Legal economists have recognized that changing legal regimes has important disadvantages, but they do not seem to be as significant in this context as they are in the economic literature of transplants. Following the economic literature on the subject, the list of possible costs from replacing civil law by common law should include:

4 (i) Direct cost from acquiring information, importing new rules and introducing new practices, interpreting and applying them. These costs seem less significant when common law has prevailed already in public law and in procedure.

5 (ii) Rent-seeking or entrenchment costs from those who plausibly lose from changing legal rules (long-entrenched interests) and are willing to waste resources to avoid those changes (e.g., lawyers or the bar association). These costs could have been relatively high in early stages when the jurisdiction was dominated by a non-Anglophonic community, but surely they must have been reduced as English influence expanded; lawyers are usually educated in both legal traditions, so there is no obvious reason to fear loss of rents to a competing or alternative legal profession.

6 (iii) Indirect costs due to the potential loss of legal coherence, consistency, network effects and potential development of contradictions and instability within the emergent law. In this context, overall legal coherence increases since common law would dominate both public and private law.

7 (iv) Private legal order costs by limiting individual benefits from opting-out of the current legal order or developing third-party arrangements, that is, by imposing public adjustment of the law which is an imperfect substitute for private adjustment (assuming that existing arrangements allowed for such adjustment). In our analysis, replacing civil law by common law presumably increases flexibility to accommodate private ordering given the alleged superiority of the common law in this respect. Alternatively, the introduction of common law would facilitate the malleability of the legal system given the general perception that case law is more flexible to local preferences.

8 (v) Lack of innovation costs since systems without local variations are less likely to innovate and adjust to dynamic preferences. Comparing the current patterns of legal innovation in mixed legal families with the pure common and civil law jurisdictions, this lack of innovation cost does not seem very significant.

9 (vi) Subsequent costs of adjustment and administrative costs on the production of more law when transplants deviate from indigenous law. Given that a mixed legal system is being replaced by a pure common law system, it is unclear how costs of future adjustments and more law can be significantly increased.

10 (vii) Potential costs due to coordination failure derived from the presence of strategic externalities or the public good nature of transplanting. This could be a significant problem if the switch from civil law to common law is left to the market. However, in all these jurisdictions, there is a central government that was able to impose common law on areas of legal institutions, public law and procedure. Presumably the same central government could easily internalize these externalities, solve the public good under-provision of legal change, and consequently impose common law in the area of private law.

11 (viii) Transaction costs resulting from harmonization and legal unification.

Although these costs could be relevant given the entrenchment of civil law codification, they should be less significant than in a situation of legal transplanting from a different jurisdiction given the existing pluralism. After reviewing all the possible costs from switching from civil law to common law, the conclusion can only be that it is unlikely that mixed legal families are merely locked into an inefficient arrangement that cannot easily change.

12 As with the economic literature on transplants, the only reasonable explanation has to be related to preferences. Preferences (understood as legal culture, tradition, and social inclination for a particular legal family) are the standard explanation for the prevalence of different legal systems. In the legal transplant literature, the standard argument is that cultural, political, and social preferences might explain why jurisdictions do not switch their legal regime. In order for the story about preferences to be consistent with the legal origins movement, it has to be the following. Even though the new legal regime (after transplant) is more conducive of economic growth, a particular jurisdiction could be willing to sacrifice (economic) effectiveness in order to maintain a legal regime more consistent with cultural preferences. Therefore, in the absence of significant switching costs, different legal families persist because preferences undermine legal unification in an inefficient way. Sacrificing efficiency (in the sense of an economically better legal regime) due to cultural preferences seems unrealistic in the context of mixed legal families. Presumably initial preferences for a civil law model should be prevailing in private and in public law. Apparently they were not strong enough to deter change in public law, but they were powerful enough to undermine transformation in private law. Yet, several generations later, the same preferences are unchanged and uncontaminated by the observation of a superior legal order in public law.

13 It seems to us unlikely that the same preferences that support a more efficient legal regime in one area of the law do not support that same efficient legal regime in a different area of the law. Therefore, it seems that preferences are important, but not in the way the legal origins movement would suggest. Mixed legal families persist because, due to cultural preferences, switching legal regimes would be less conducive

to economic growth and therefore less efficient. The argument is that we cannot separate preferences that generate a particular demand for a legal system and the efficiency of that legal system. Under the cultural preferences that dominate a particular jurisdiction within a mixed legal system, civil law is likely to be more efficient than common law in the field of private law. That is the only plausible explanation for why civil law has persisted and continues to persist in these jurisdictions. The argument also sheds light on the Southern American states. The nature of the switching costs is not different between these jurisdictions. It is a matter of dynamic preferences. The sharp differences concerning legal preferences within the United States have faded away with time, therefore promoting the development of common law in the area of private law. In those other jurisdictions, preferences have not developed in the same way. Most of these jurisdictions are sovereign states and they are not integrated into a federal arrangement that induces a particular cultural, political and social dynamics that favors the prevalence of the Anglo-American elements.

Exercises

I. Questions for discussion:

1. Why can the civil law be survived when the legislature as well as the judiciary follow common law principles?1/2

2. Why would a second-best legal tradition persist in private law when a first-best legal alternative is already available in public law?3

3. What are the possible costs from replacing civil law by common law should include?

4. Why is the Common law not developed so well?1

5. Why are preferences the standard explanation for the prevalence of different legal systems?12

II. Write a summary of the text:

英语口译基础Unit Six

一、口译技巧 二、单句口译 三、口译实践 1、咨询旅行社 主题导入：外国游客James在重庆一家旅行社咨询到三峡旅游的有关情况。 旅行社：你好，请问你要去哪里旅游 Hi, May I help you James: Hi, I understand that your agency arranges a trip to the Three Gorges from here. 你好，我听说你们旅行社由三峡旅游的项目。 旅行社：是的，我们每天都有游船从这里到三峡，分三峡一日游和两日游两种，请问你们准备选择哪种呢 Yes, we arrange daily cruise travel to the Three Gorges; there are one-day tours and two-day tours. Which one would you like James: What’s the difference between these two tours 这两个项目有什么区别吗 旅行社：一日游的话，我们就是早上8点从重庆出发，乘快船游三峡，沿途参观张飞庙、白帝城、三峡等景点。晚上到宜昌住宿。两日游的是慢船，行程和景点都是一样的。In the one-day tour, we leave Chongqing at 8 am and take a fast boat to the Three Gorges. During the trip we will visit Zhangfei Temple, Baidi City and the Three Gorges. By night we will arrive at Yichang for accommodations. In the two-day tour the trip is the same, except we take an ordinary boat. James: I see. How much does each cost 额，是这样，那两种个要多少钱 旅行社：一日游是960元一个人，二日游稍微贵一点，1100元一个人。960 RMB per person for the one-day tour, and 1100 RMB for the two-day tour. James: OK, one-day tour sounds good to me. By the way, are meals included in the price 好的，我想要一日游。顺便问一下，刚才的报价包括用餐吗 旅行社：额，这个价格包括了中午和晚上两顿饭，就是我们提供的建议套餐，不含饮料。当然，你也可以自己点菜，点饮料，但是要另外掏钱。Well, the price includes two standard meals, but not drinks. You have to pay an extra charge for more dishes and drinks. James: All right. I’ll go for the one-day tour. 那行，我就选一日游。

基础口译听力教程

Unit 1 II．LISTENING EXERCISES 1, 1) The man has been waiting for the train for . The train he expects to take is the one to Baker Street. When he is told he has made a , he is surprised and refers to his timetable. But the lady tells him that it was changed at April and today is May. The train now leaves at . 2) Sandy buys a bottle of , which costs , a tube of toothpaste, which costs and a film of exposures for his camera, on which he spends . He gives the assistant and gets a change of . 2. 1) Dr. Brian received his B.A. in Management at Yale University on , 1964. 2) I should be at the meeting at , but I got stuck in the traffic jam. 3) Her monthly expense is about not including the rent. 4) The results of the two subtractions are & . 5) The mileage between Los Angeles and Chicago is . 6) Mike’s telephone number is copied here, . 7) Moscow has a population of . 8) There are as many as bicycles in Beijing. 9) The taxi fare from the square to the airport is . 10) Do you believe characters can be written on this piece of paper? 11) The bus is more expensive but much faster. 12) For reservation or more information, call your travel agent, or call the toll-free number: 13) Laser light can burn holes in a steel plate mm thick at a distance of several feet. 14) Asia occupies of the world’s land. 15) The tuition is per term and MBA students attend four terms. 16) China’s population at that time was . 17) It is currently ranked among private universities awarded federal funds for research. 18) Now as the second largest university in the country, it has an enrollment of about . 19) He won the men’s javelin competition. He threw it meters. 20) Children need to spend at least hours a week reading books, magazines or newspapers. 3. ( ) 1) It is a morning weather forecast. ( ) 2) There will be a rise in the temperature tomorrow. ( ) 3) The broadcaster is reminding the listeners of the snow in June last year. 4.

商务英语函电1-9课翻译及答案

Lesson 1 Importer’s Self-introduction 译文 信件一进口商自我介绍 麦克唐那和伊万有限公司 美国纽约劳顿大街58号 福建鞋业进出口公司 中国福建福州保定大街45号 送交：销售部吴刚先生 敬启者: 我们从伏特威廉公司得知贵司商号与地址，特此来函，希望能同贵司发展商务关系。 多年来，本公司经营休闲鞋类进口生意，目前想扩展业务范围。请惠寄商品目录与报价单。 如贵司产品价格有竞争力，本公司必定向你方试订。 恭候回音。 麦克唐那和伊万有限公司 （签名） 麦克. 伊万 经理 谨上 2010年4月20日 信件二回信 福建鞋业进出口公司 中国福建福州保定大街45号 麦克唐那和伊万有限公司 美国纽约劳顿大街58号 敬启者: 感谢贵公司四月二十日的来函，我们非常渴望与贵公司建立商务关系。 我们鞋厂致力于设计和生产各种传统和时尚男女鞋产品。我们已开发和上市了室内拖鞋，棉拖鞋，新款刺绣拖鞋；童鞋和棉鞋。可以满足国内外不同市场需求。 谨遵要求另函奉上最新的出口商品目录及报价单，涵括目前可供的出口商品。 如你方对任何一款感兴趣，请让我方知道。期盼你方具体询盘。 福建鞋业进出口公司 （签名） 吴刚 经理 谨上 2010年5月10日 习题答案 I. Basic Training Translate the following expressions into Chinese. 报价一流的进口商

出口产品范围定单 广泛的联系具体询盘 最新目录有竞争力的价格 Choose the best answer. 1) b 2) b 3) c 4) a 5) d 6) b 7) c 8) c 9) b II. Improving Training Translate the following sentence into English. 1) We would like to introduce our business range. 2) We obtained your name and address from Mr. Smith, who have done business with us for many years. 3) We shall appreciate it if you could tell us the goods you are interested in. 4) We have received many enquiries from abroad. 5)They used to import machines from UK, but now they would like to establish business relations with us. 6) We are the leading importer of electronic products in Lagos. 7) If your price is competitive, we would like to place with you an order for 500 electric bicycles. III. Letter-writing Practice 1. Finish the following letter by translating the expressions given. 1) obtained your name and address 2) establish business relations /enter into business relations 3) leading importers 4) We appreciate your catalogue and quotations. 5) If your prices are competitive 2. Write a letter Dear sirs, We are one of the leading importers of electric goods in this city and shall be pleased to establish business relations with your firm. At present we are interested in your electric fans, details according to our Enquiry Note No. 1345 enclosed, and shall be glad to receive your lowest quotation as soon as possible. We would like to mention that if your price is attractive and delivery date acceptable, we shall place an order with you immediately. Your early reply will be highly appreciated. Yours faithfully, Lesson 2 Exporter’s Self-introduction 译文 信件一出口商来信 敬启者: 承蒙东京工商会的介绍,我们获悉你方是贵国最大的纺织品进口商之一。由于此货属于我们的经营范围, 特写信给你方希望建立业务关系。 我们专营中国纺织品出口, 产品包括女士, 男式, 儿童和青年的针织衫以及运动服和牛仔裤, 我们还设计和生产用于纺织品生产的设备和机器。我们的产品品质优良价格合理。 为使你方了解我们的经营业务, 随函附上出口清单一份, 包括目前可以供应的主要商品。如你方对任何一款感兴趣,请与我们联系。

高级英语第二册第八课课文翻译

第八课 工人是创造者还是机器 人只要不剥削他人，就得靠劳动来求生存。不论其劳动方式是多么原始，多么简单，仅凭从事生产性劳动这一事实，就足以使人超出动物界。把人定义为“从事生产的动物”是很有道理的。但对于人来说，劳动不仅是必不可少的生存条件。劳动还使他从自然界中解放出来，成为一个不依附于自然界的社会的人。在劳动过程中，即在模铸和改造其自身以外的自然界的过程中，人也模铸和改造了他自己。人由征服自然、驾驭自然才最终达到超出自然的境界，并进而逐步增强了自己的协作能力、思维能力和审美能力。他将自己从自然界，从自己与自然结成的原始统一体中分离出来，同时又以主人翁和建设者的身分重新与自然相结合。人的劳动方式越进步，其个性特征也就发挥得越充分。在塑造和改造自然的过程中，人逐步学会了如何充分利用自己具有的各种能力，增进自己的技艺和创造性。无论是法国南部洞穴中的美丽绘画，原始人所用武器上的纹饰图案，希腊的雕像和神殿，还是中世纪的教堂建筑，能工巧匠制作的桌椅，乃至农民培育出来的花木五谷等等——这些无一不是人利用自己的思维能力与技艺创造性地改造大自然的具体例证。 在西方历史上，手工技艺，尤其是十三、十四世纪中发展起来的手工技艺构成了人类创造性劳动发展史上的一个顶峰。那时的劳动不仅是一项有现实价值的活动，而且是一项给人以巨大的满足的活动。有关手工技艺的主要特征，美国社会学家米尔斯曾作过清楚的说明。他说，“除了劳动者对于被制造的产品和制造产品的生产过程本身的兴趣之外，劳动并无其他的深层动机。日常工作的细枝末节之所以有意义，是因为在劳动者的心目中，它们与劳动的产品密不可分。劳动者不受任何约束地主宰自己的劳动行为。这样，工匠艺人便能通过劳动过程来学习劳动技艺，并且在劳动过程中应用和提高自己的劳动技艺。工作和娱乐、工作和文化活动融为一体。工匠艺人的谋生手段决定并影响着其生活方式。” 随着中世纪社会结构的瓦解和现代生产方式的出现，劳动的社会意义和作用发生了根本性的变化，这一变化在新教国家尤为显著。人们对于自己新近获得的自由感到害怕，而为了克服自己的疑惧，他就必须进行某种狂热的活动。这种活动的结果，或成或败，就决定着他的命运和灵魂的归宿，标志着他死后是将进天堂还是入地狱。于是，劳动便成了一种义务，一种烦恼，而不再是一种能使人满足和愉快的活动。靠劳动发财致富的可能性越大，劳动就越发变成了一种纯粹的升官发财的手段。用马克斯?韦伯的话说，劳动已成为“内心世界禁欲主义”思想体系中的一个主要因素，解决人们内心的寂寞和孤独感的一种办法。 不过，这种意义的劳动也只是对于那些能够积累一些资本并雇用他人劳动的中、上层阶级而言才存在的，而对于那仅有劳动力可供出卖的绝大多数人来说，劳动只不过是一种强迫劳役。十八、十九世纪的工人，若是不想饿死，便得一天劳动十六个小时。他这样做，并不是要以此侍奉上帝，也不是为以工作上的成功来证明他属于“上帝的选民”之列，而是因为他迫于无奈，不得不向那些拥有剥削手段的人出卖自己的劳动力。现代史开初的几个世纪中，劳动的意义划分为两种：对于中产阶级来说是义务，而对于无产者来说则是强迫劳役。 视劳动为一项义务的宗教观念在十九世纪还十分流行，但最近几十年来，这种宗教观念正经历着重大的演变。现代人不知道自己该做些什么，怎样才能有意义地度过自己的一生，只是为了逃避无所事事所造成的寂寞无聊，才被迫去参加劳动。但劳动已不再被人们以十八、十九世纪的中产阶级的那种态度看作是一种道德和宗教上的义务。新的观念产生了。不断地提高生产，追求更大更、好地东西，这些本身已成了劳动的目的，成了新的理想。劳动与劳动者的关系开始异化了。 产业工人的情况又如何呢?他一天要花七八个小时把自己最旺盛的精力用于生产“某种东西”。他需要劳动以求生计，但他在劳动过程中只扮演一个被动的角色。他只在一个复杂的、组织程度很高的生产过程中起一点很小的、孤立的作用，从来没有机会接触到“他的”

口译材料unit 11

Part II 实践与实战 11.1.中医的魅力口译基础P198 音频位置：实践与实战11.1 如今，隔三差五坐飞机来北京看中医的外国人屡见不鲜。日前，一位患病的美国医生给北京中医医院打来越洋长途，跟内科专家张志真预约下次看病的时间。不愿接受激素治疗的他，每三个月坐着飞机到中国来看一次中医，因为确实见效，已坚持了一年多。像这样的外国人还有很多，他们中有带着病寻访名医的；有旅游累了让中医给放松放松的；也有“小病大养”，要求在这里住院，顺便享受一下药膳和药浴的；还有什么病都没有，就为专程来瞧瞧中医是怎么看病的。在他们眼里，中医的针灸推拿是那么神秘和优雅。 不远万里看中医，外籍患者的病可谓五花八门。大到肿瘤，心脏病，小到失眠，肥胖。各国对中医中药的了解也不尽相同，日本人特别信按摩推拿，欧洲人对针灸情有独钟，美国人爱拔火罐。时间一长，大夫们总结出外国人看中医的一些规律：圣诞节前后是他们就诊的高峰期，好多人都是利用长假来中国旅游加看病。 外国人对中医中药表现出的虔诚出乎中医大夫们的意料。一位喀麦隆患者吃过中药后，称中药为“苦咖啡”，并告诉同伴喝“苦咖啡”是一种享受。皮肤科医生告诉一位法国牛皮癣患者应该注意饮食，病人立刻掏出小本，将什么能吃，什么不能吃一字不落地开出单子。看来，中医的魅力还真的不小。 11.1.中医的魅力译文 Many foreigners fly to Beijing for traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment. The other day, an American patient made a long-distance phone call for a reservation with Doctor Zhang Zhizhen at Beijing Chinese Medical Hospital. Instead of using hormones, he has flown to China every three months for Chinese medical treatment. And it has worked. He kept seeing Chinese doctors for over a year. He is not alone. Some foreigners seek famous doctors for treatment, some just feel tired in their travel and want relaxation through TCM, some simply want to enjoy medical food and baths, and some come all the way here just to see how people are treated with TCM. In their eyes, TCM, like massage and cupping, are very mysterious and graceful. Their diseases are varied, like tumors, heart disease, insomnia and obesity. Their understanding of TCM also differs: Japanese believe in massage, Europeans favor acupuncture, Americans like cupping. Some experienced doctors find the time before and after Christmas is the peak season for treatment, because during the holiday the foreign patients can travel to China to see a doctor. The foreigners’ devotion is beyond TCM doctors’ expectation. A Cameroonian patient called TCM “bitter coffee”, and recommended it to his countrymen as a sort of enjoyment. A psoriasis patient from France, when being given by the doctor some tips on diet, carefully noted down every word of the instruction. These examples can show how much fascination TCM has.

历年英语翻译初级口译考试真题及答案

历年英语翻译初级口译考试真题及答案 上午卷： 英译中： (1) New Zealand is a South Pacific country located midway between the Equator and the South Pole, with a land of 268,105 square kilometers and a population of over three million. （第63页－黄） 新西兰是一个南太平洋国家，位于赤道和南极洲之间，国土面积为268105平方公里，人口为300多万。 简析：纵观口译考题，出题者十分聪明地将有关课文的每篇的首句作为考题来出，真是用心良苦。试想每篇文章的首句或每段文章的第一句话不是有提纲挈领的作用吗？理解了首句往往就能了解文章的大概。这和阅读理解的要求有着很大的相通性。所以加强平日对英语句子的敏感性十分有必要。 2) When the washing cycle is over, the machine fries the plates and glasses with its own heart, and indeed they can be left inside until they are needed for the next meal. (P.367) 洗涤过程完成后，洗碗机用自身的热量将盘子和杯子烘干。杯盘还可以留在机内待下一餐使用时再取出。 中译英： (1）为了过好学校里的公寓生活，学生应该学会自己洗衣服，整理房间，甚至于买菜做饭。（第355页） To manage apartment living in school successfully, the students must learn to do their own washing and cleaning, and even buy and cool their own food. (2）据估计，全球毒品的贸易额以达到每年4000亿美元之巨。吸毒者约占全世界人口的3％。(p36蓝)

商务英语函电 参考答案

Reference Keys Unit 2 Establishing Business Relations 学学练练 I. 1. d 2. c 3. a 4. b 5. h 6. f 7. e 8. g II. 1.供你方参考 2. 期望，盼望 3. 供应中 4. in the hope of/that 5. establish business relations 6. fall within the scope of III. 1. desirous to 2. in the line of 3.give you a general idea 4. covering 5. in the market 6.refer to 7.be informed IV. 1. appreciate 2. in, for 3.upon 4. to 5. informed 6. with 7.enclosed 8. in 9. desire 10. for 实操练习 I. 1.Through the courtesy of ABC company, we have your name and address. 2. We would like to inform you that we could supply various types of men’s leather shoes. 3. We have established business relations with more than 50 countries in the world, on the basis of equality, mutual benefit and exchange of needed goods。 4. Specializing in the export of Chinese bicycles, we express our desire to trade with you in this line. 5. In order to promote business between us, we shall airmail you some samples for your reference. 6. We enclose a copy of catalog and a sampl e and are sure that you will be satisfied

商务英语函电u5

【课题】UNIT 5 Business Contracts and OrdersⅠ 【教材版本】 闫兴伯黄宪西.中等职业教育国家规划教材——商务英语函电（国际商务专业）.第二版.北京：高等教育出版社，2006 【教学目标】 知识目标：熟记本单元（商务合同和订购）的常见词汇和句型。 能力目标：1. 了解并掌握订购的业务思路和信的结构安排。 2. 能看懂并正确书写订购的书信。 【教学重点、难点】 教学重点：能看懂并正确书写订购的书信。 教学难点：能看懂并正确书写订购的书信。 【教学媒体及教学方法】 制作PPT。 演示法、讲授法、分组讨论法。 【课时安排】 2课时（90分钟）。 【教学过程】 第一环节导入 1. 复习上个单元所学的国际贸易术语。 2. 学生讨论问题：（见PPT） What does an order letter usually include? 重述所订购货物的主要条件：商品名称（如有货号或目录编号也列出），质量要求和规格，订购数量，价格及价格条件、总额等。根据需要还可能提出付款方式、供现货等其他条件。 第二环节新授课 1. Pre-Study （1）Terms to Learn A. 教师带读，学生跟读P65-P68的常见词汇。 B. 学生理解并熟记这些单词和表达方法。 （2）Useful Sentences A. 教师带读，学生跟读本单元的常用句型。 B. 学生理解并熟记这些表达方法。 2. Placing an Order （1）掌握订购的业务思路及信的结构安排（见PPT） A. 如何有效办理订购业务？

买方发出订购信，寄出订单、购货确认书或购货合同，要求卖方按上面所列出的条件供货，要 求卖方签回一份，就是对自己订货和对卖方报盘的确认。 B. 无论哪种形式，对所订购货物的要求必须完整、准确、清楚。 C. 开头句或开头段。 订购信首先买方感谢卖方报盘，表明愿意订购某商品；其次是关于寄出订单、购货确认书或购 货合同的通知信；除此之外，还需提到寄出的有关合同。 D. 结尾句或结尾段。 强调希望卖方尽快会签、发货等愿望。 （2）帮助学生读通和理解信文。（NOTES见PPT） A. purchase order 缩写成“PO”，订单。 类似的表达还有：order, order form等。 B. Re: Brand Name Shoes 事由：名牌运动鞋 类似的表达还有：Subject: Brand Name Shoes C. … be shipped from stock. …现货装运 类似的表达还有：… be supplied from stock / be available from stock / have sth. in stock / have a stock in sth. D. sales conformation 缩写成S/C，销售确认书，文件由卖方提供。 类似的表达还有：sales contract 销售合同 purchase confirmation 购货确认书，文件由买方提供。 类似的表达还有：purchase contract 购货合同 E. in accordance with 按照；依据 类似的表达还有：on the understanding that; on the condition that; on the terms; on the basis of; based on; complying with F. by sight L/C 以即期信用证支付。即by L/C available by draft at sight （3）学生完成课堂练习P69. V ocabulary review1-2 （参考答案见PPT） Homework 1.抄写并熟记本单元的常见词汇和句型。 2. V ocabulary review 3 3. P70 Writing Practice Useful Information: Order: If an importer is satisfied with the products offered by a foreign supplier, he will place an order with him for these articles. An order is an offer to buy, which is not legally binding until it is accepted by the seller The points in an order a. the buyer’s name and address b. the order number and its date c. the descriptions of the goods, quantity, unit prices, article numbers, total amount d. the port of destination, the mode of packing, the time of shipment and the terms of payment, etc.

高英课本课后翻译答案

这是我整理的，希望对大家有用。蓝色部分是重点词汇。 第一课 1、一条蜿蜒的小路隐没在树荫深处。 A winding path loses itself in the shadowy distance of the woods. 2、集市上有许多小摊子，出售的货物应有尽有。 At the bazaar, there are many stalls where goods of every conceivable kind are sold. 3、我真不知道到底是什么事让他如此生气。 I really don’t know what it is that has made him so angry. 4、新出土的铜花瓶造型优美，可有精细、复杂的传统图案。 The newly unearthed bronze vase is pleasing in form and engraved with delicate and intricate traditional designs. … 5、在山的那一边是一望无际的大草原。 Beyond the mountains there is a vast grassland that extends as far as the eye can see. 6、他们决定买那座带有汽车房的房子。 They decided to buy that house with a garage attached. 7、教师们坚持对学生严格要求。 The teachers make a point of be ing strict with the students. 8、这个小女孩很喜欢她的父亲。 The girl is very much attached to her father. 9、为了实现四个现代化，我们认为有必要学习国外的先进科学技术。 To achieve the four modernization, we make a point of learn ing from the advanced science and technology of other countries. | 10、黄昏临近时，天渐渐暗下来了。 As dusk fell, daylight faded away. 11徒工仔细地观察他的师傅，然后照着干。 The apprentice watched his master carefully and then followed suit. 12、吃完饭弗兰克常常帮助洗餐具。 Frank often took a hand in the washing-up after dinner.

英语口译基础教程1_5

Unit 1 P1 China will earn 42.6 billion dollars in foreign exchange revenue with the annual average growth of nearly 8% and it is expected to be ranked third worldwide. 1.69 billion tourists will travel in china, representing an average 8% increase annually; the revenue from the domestic tourism will reach 881 billion yuan with an increase of 11% on the average every year; the tourism earnings will total 1.226 trillion yuan ,up 10%, representing 7% of GDP ; tourism will create 9.8 million direct and 49 million indirect job opportunities. 中国旅游创汇将达426亿元，年均增长8%左右，有望居世界第三位；国内旅游人数16.9亿人次，年均增长8%；国内旅游收入8810亿元，年均增长11%左右，旅游业总收入12260亿元，年均增长10%左右，相当于全国国内生产总值的7%；旅游带动直接就业980万人，间接就业4900万人。 P2 The eleventh five-year plan is a crucial strategic period for upgrading chin a’s tourism which will be faced with new opportunities and

商务英语函电课后答案

Dear Sirs, We obtain your name and address from the internet, and we are writing you in the hope of establishing direct business relations with you. We’re one of the importers of Beddings with years’of experience in this line. At present, we’ll be pleased to get the samples for your bed-sheets. Thank you for your cooperation. Yours sincerely, \\ 2 Dear Sirs, Your company has been introduced to us by FMC Company, Sydney, Australia, who has informend us that you are interested in electric goods . As we have been in this line for years, we are writing you in the hope of establishing business relations with you. In order to give you a rough idea of our products available for export at present, we are sending you under separate cover the latest catalogues. Looking forward to your early reply. Yours faithfully Dear Sirs, We learn from the internet that you are in urgent need of a large quantity of Children’s Sport Shoes. We’re writing you in the hope of entering into long-term business relations with you. We have been handling the export of various kinds of textiles and shoes for many years, and our products are very popular in the American and European markets for their good quality and reasonable prices. We also have kept close connections with the local shoe manufacturers, and can ensure the steady source and quality. In order to give you a rough idea of our products, we are sending you our latest catalogues and price lists for Children’s Sport Shoes for your reference. If you are interested in any of the items, please let us know. We await your early reply. Yours faithfully,

(完整版)高级英语第二册课文翻译

高级英语第二册课文翻译 Unit1 Pub Talk and the King's English 酒吧闲聊与标准英语 亨利?费尔利 人类的一切活动中，只有闲谈最宜于增进友谊，而且是人类特有的一种活动。动物之间的信息交流，不论其方式何等复杂，也是称不上交谈的。 闲谈的引人人胜之处就在于它没有一个事先定好的话题。它时而迂回流淌，时而奔腾起伏，时而火花四射，时而热情洋溢，话题最终会扯到什么地方去谁也拿不准。要是有人觉得“有些话要说”，那定会大煞风景，使闲聊无趣。闲聊不是为了进行争论。闲聊中常常会有争论，不过其目的并不是为了说服对方。闲聊之中是不存在什么输赢胜负的。事实上，真正善于闲聊的人往往是随时准备让步的。也许他们偶然间会觉得该把自己最得意的奇闻轶事选出一件插进来讲一讲，但一转眼大家已谈到别处去了，插话的机会随之而失，他们也就听之任之。 或许是由于我从小混迹于英国小酒馆的缘故吧，我觉得酒瞎里的闲聊别有韵味。酒馆里的朋友对别人的生活毫无了解，他们只是临时凑到一起来的，彼此并无深交。他们之中也许有人面临婚因破裂，或恋爱失败，或碰到别的什么不顺心的事儿，但别人根本不管这些。他们就像大仲马笔下的三个火枪手一样，虽然日夕相处，却从不过问彼此的私事，也不去揣摸别人内心的秘密。 有一天晚上的情形正是这样。人们正漫无边际地东扯西拉，从最普通的凡人俗事谈到有关木星的科学趣闻。谈了半天也没有一个中心话题，事实上也不需要有一个中心话题。可突然间大伙儿的话题都集中到了一处，中心话题奇迹般地出现了。我记不起她那句话是在什么情况下说出来的——她显然不是预先想好把那句话带到酒馆里来说的，那也不是什么非说不可的要紧话——我只知道她那句话是随着大伙儿的话题十分自然地脱口而出的。 “几天前，我听到一个人说‘标准英语’这个词语是带贬义的批评用语，指的是人们应该尽量避免使用的英语。” 此语一出，谈话立即热烈起来。有人赞成，也有人怒斥，还有人则不以为然。最后，当然少不了要像处理所有这种场合下的意见分歧一样，由大家说定次日一早去查证一下。于是，问题便解决了。不过，酒馆闲聊并不需要解决什么问题，大伙儿仍旧可以糊里糊涂地继续闲扯下去。 告诉她“标准英语”应作那种解释的原来是个澳大利亚人。得悉此情，有些人便说起刻薄话来了，说什么囚犯的子孙这样说倒也不足为怪。这样，在五分钟内，大家便像到澳大利亚游览了一趟。在那样的社会里，“标准英语”自然是不受欢迎的。每当上流社会想给“规范英语”制订一些条条框框时，总会遭到下层人民的抵制 看看撒克逊农民与征服他们的诺曼底统治者之间的语言隔阂吧。于是话题又从19世纪的澳大利亚囚犯转到12世纪的英国农民。谁对谁错，并没有关系。闲聊依旧热火朝天。 有人举出了一个人所共知，但仍值得提出来发人深思的例子。我们谈到饭桌上的肉食时用法语词，而谈到提供这些肉食的牲畜时则用盎格鲁一撒克逊词。猪圈里的活猪叫pig，饭桌上吃的猪肉便成了pork(来自法语pore)；地里放牧着的牛叫cattle，席上吃的牛肉则叫beef(来自法语boeuf)；Chicken用作肉食时变成poultry(来自法语poulet)；calf加工成肉则变成veal(来自法语vcau)。即便我们的菜单没有为了装洋耍派头而写成法语，我们所用的英语仍然是诺曼底式的英语。这一切向我们昭示了诺曼底人征服之后英国文化上所存在的深刻的阶级裂痕。 撒克逊农民种地养畜，自己出产的肉自己却吃不起，全都送上了诺曼底人的餐桌。农民们只能吃到在地里乱窜的兔子。兔子肉因为便宜，诺曼底贵族自然不屑去吃它。因此，活兔子和吃的兔子肉共用rabbit