VOA常速英语:U.S. Institutions - Balance of Power(翻译)

One of the fundamental principles of the United States Constitution, the law of the land,is the balance and separation of power among the three branches of the Government:the Legislative, or law-making branch that is the U.S. Congress, the Executive branch which is headed by the President, and the Judiciary, which interprets the law at every level and settles legal disputes regarding the meaning and the application of the law.
美国宪法的一个基本原则是政府三大分支之间的平衡和分权：美国国会代表立法（或立法分支），行政部门由总统领导，而司法部门则负责解释每一层级的法律、并在遵照法律原则和法律适用的情况下解决法律纠纷。
The distribution of power among the three branches is meant to ensure that no one branch of the government is able to gain a disproportionate amount of power over the other two.
三大分支机构分权的理念是，确保没有一个政府部门能够获得相较其他两部门不成比例的权力。
Each branch has separate and unique powers the others cannot impinge upon, but which are nonetheless subject to acceptance or rejection by the other two branches.This is how the balance of power is kept in check.
每一个分支都具有独立且独一无二的权力，其他分支不能侵犯，但是却要被另外两个分支机构接受或拒绝。此乃是保持权力平衡的方法。
Thus, the Congress writes and enacts laws.It sets budgets and taxes and authorizes borrowing. It is the only body that can declare war. The Congress may override a presidential veto with a 60 percent vote.
因此，国会编撰和颁布法律。它设置预算和税收，并且授权借款。它是唯一可以宣战的政府机构。国会可用60%的投票推翻总统的否决权。
Both the House of Representatives and the Senate initiate bills, or potential laws. The Senate also ratifies treaties, and confirms presidential appointments to federal posts.
参议院和众议院都可启动法案，或潜在的法律。参议院还可批准条约，确认总统任命的联邦职位。
The House of Representatives creates federal judgeships and courts except for the Supreme Court, and has the ability to start impeachment proceedings against federal officials, including the President.
众议院产生联邦法院法官、并组建除最高法院以外的法院，同时有权启动对联邦官员的弹劾程序，包括总统在内。
Once proposed legislation passes through both Houses of the Congress, it goes to the President, who either signs the bill into law or vetoes it.In addition, the President is the Commander in Chief of all armed forces, has the power to make treaties and appointments to federal posts, and ensures that federal laws are executed throughout the country.
一旦立法建议被国会两院通过，就会被送达总统审核，总统有权签署使之成为法律，或者将其否决。此外，总统兼任三军总司令，有权结缔条约、任命联邦职位、并确保联邦法律在全国范围内实施。
The Judicial branch of the Government, which includes the Supreme Court and all lower Federal courts, decides the meaning of laws, how to apply them to real situations, and whether a law breaks the rules of the Constitution.
政府司法部门，包括最高法院和所有下级联邦法院，决定法律的含义、如何将法律应用于实际情况、以及裁定一项法律是否违宪。
“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands… may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny,” wrote James Madison, the Father of the Constitution.
“所有权力，立法、行政、司法，如若集于一人之手，实乃暴政也，”美国宪法之父詹姆斯·麦迪逊如是写道。
“The defect must be supplied by so contriving the interior structure of the government, as that its several constituent parts may, by their mutual relations, be the means of keeping each other in their proper places."
“缺陷必须被政府内部巧妙的结构所弥补，如此一来政府的几个组成部分可能，”通过它们之间的相互关系，成为互相牵制、不使其僭越的手段。