【美国精神】第15期

 Explanation:  

   Many people know who the president of the United States is, but what does the president do?  The president is the person in charge of (or responsible for) the executive¹ branch. The president’s main job is to be the commander-in-chief, which means that he or she commands, or is the top leader of, the United States armed forces (or military). As commander-in-chief, the president has the power to send troops (or soldiers) to fight overseas (or in another country) at any time, but he or she can’t officially declare (or decide on) a war without the approval² (or agreement) of Congress³.  

 

   The president is also known as the head of state.  The head of any organization is the person who is in charge, and is the most important and powerful person in that organization.  So as the head of state, the president is responsible for developing important relationships with leaders of other countries. 

 

   Another of the president’s powers is the ability to appoint (or choose) people to serve in the government. The most important people the president appoints are the members of his or her cabinet⁴ (or the group of people who give the president advice). The most powerful person in the president’s cabinet is the vice⁵ president. If the president dies or is unable to perform his responsibilities (or do his job) for any reason, the vice president must lead the country and its military.  

 

   The president has a lot of power, so there are some important requirements for the job. To become president, a person must be at least 35 years old, born in the United States, and must have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. Once a president is elected (or chosen by the voters), his or her term of office (or the length of time that he or she has the job) is four years. A president cannot serve more than two terms, for a total of eight years. This term limit (or the maximum number of years that a person can be president) is established in the 22nd Amendment⁶, which was added to the Constitution in 1951. This limit exists for the same reason that checks and balances exist: to make sure that no one person (in this case, the president) can wield⁷ (or hold or use) too much power in the government. 

 

问题：

Who is in charge of the executive branch? 

Answer:   

The President 

1 executive   

adj.执行的，行政的；n.执行者，行政官，经理

参考例句：

• A good executive usually gets on well with people.一个好的高级管理人员通常与人们相处得很好。
• He is a man of great executive ability.他是个具有极高管理能力的人。

2 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

3 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。

4 cabinet   

n.内阁，内阁会议；(带玻璃门存物品的)橱柜

参考例句：

• I keep my collection of old china in the cabinet.我把古瓷器收藏品存放在橱子里。
• He had held many important offices in the French cabinet.他在法国内阁中任过许多重要职务。

5 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。

6 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

7 wield   

vt.行使，运用，支配；挥，使用(武器等)

参考例句：

• They wield enormous political power.他们行使巨大的政治权力。
• People may wield the power in a democracy.在民主国家里，人民可以行使权力。