精美英文欣赏:警察与社区

Police and Communities

Few institutions are more important to an urban community than its police, yet there are few subjects historians know so little about. Most of the early academic interests developed among political scientists and sociologists, who usually examined their own contemporary problems with only a nod toward the past. Even the public seemed concerned only during crime waves, periods of blatant¹ corruption², or after a particularly grisly episode. Party regulars and reformers generally viewed the institution from a political perspective;newspapers and magazines-the nineteenth century's media - emphasized the vivid and spectacular.

Yet urban society has always vested a wide, indeed awesome³, responsibility in its police. Not only were they to maintain order, prevent crime, and protect life and property, but historically they were also to fight fires, suppress vice⁴, assist in health services, supervise elections, direct traffic, inspect buildings, and locate truants⁵ and runaways⁶. In addition, it was assumed that the police were the special guardians⁷ of the citizens' liberties and the community's tranquillity⁸. Of course, the performance never matched expectations. The record contains some success, but mostly failure; some effective leadership, but largely official incompetence⁹ and betrayal. The notion of a professional police force in America is a creation of the twentieth century; not until our own time have cities begun to take the steps necessary to produce modern departments.

警察与社区

对城市社区来说，很少有比它的警察更为重要的机构了，但少有课题像历史学家们对此了解得那样少。 早期的学术兴趣是在政治科学家和社会学家中发展起来的，他们一般只研究他们自己当代的问题而对过去的问题只是偶尔带过。 甚至公众似乎也仅仅在犯罪浪潮、明目张胆的贪污或特别的恐怖事件发生时才关心。 政党的忠诚支持者和改革家们通常是从政治的前途来看待警察这个机构；而报纸和杂志-19 世纪的传播媒介-则着重活泼生动和惊人的事件。可是城市社会总是把广泛得可怕的责任交给警察。他们不仅维持秩序、防止犯罪、保护生命财产，而且在过去还要救火、镇压罪恶、协助医疗服务、监督选举、指挥交通、检查建筑物、寻找逃学学生和搜捕逃犯。 除此以外，警察还被认为是公民自由和社会稳定的特别保护者。 自然，警察的表现并不尽如人意。他们的记录中有成功者，但多数是失败的；有高效率的领导，但多半的人在职务上无能和不讲信用。 专业警察部队的概念在美国还是 20 世纪的产物；直到我们这个时代，一些城市才开始采取设立现代化部门的必要步骤。

1 blatant   

adj.厚颜无耻的；显眼的；炫耀的

参考例句：

• I cannot believe that so blatant a comedy can hoodwink anybody.我无法相信这么显眼的一出喜剧能够欺骗谁。
• His treatment of his secretary was a blatant example of managerial arrogance.他管理的傲慢作风在他对待秘书的态度上表露无遗。

2 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

3 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

4 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

5 truants   

n.旷课的小学生( truant的名词复数 )；逃学生；逃避责任者；懒散的人

参考例句：

• The truants were caught and sent back to school. 逃学者都被捉住并送回学校去。 来自辞典例句
• The truants were punished. 逃学者被惩罚了。 来自互联网

6 runaways   

（轻而易举的）胜利( runaway的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They failed to find any trace of the runaways. 他们未能找到逃跑者的任何踪迹。
• Unmanageable complexity can result in massive foul-ups or spectacular budget "runaways. " 这种失控的复杂性会造成大量的故障或惊人的预算“失控”。

7 guardians   

监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者

参考例句：

• Farmers should be guardians of the countryside. 农民应是乡村的保卫者。
• The police are guardians of law and order. 警察是法律和秩序的护卫者。

8 tranquillity   

n. 平静, 安静

参考例句：

• The phenomenon was so striking and disturbing that his philosophical tranquillity vanished. 这个令人惶惑不安的现象，扰乱了他的旷达宁静的心境。
• My value for domestic tranquillity should much exceed theirs. 我应该远比他们重视家庭的平静生活。

9 incompetence   

n.不胜任，不称职

参考例句：

• He was dismissed for incompetence. 他因不称职而被解雇。
• She felt she had been made a scapegoat for her boss's incompetence. 她觉得，本是老板无能，但她却成了替罪羊。