新概念英语第三册课文和笔记第53课:In the public interest

【Text】
Lesson 53 In the public interest 为了公众的利益
Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
听录音，然后回答以下问题。
What could not be reported in the official flees?

The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from high-
handed or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.
The Swedes were the first to recognize that public official like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is 'Justiteombudsman', but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the 'J.O.' or 'Ombudsman'. The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law the altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work.
A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaint was justified and the Chief of Police strongly denied the accusation. It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his layers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts. The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.

【课文讲解】

for: because of
be admired for
Eg: He is admired by us for his humor.
worldwide

背熟： evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from..
evolve a system for doing sth.
protect / safeguard from
Eg: I can’t conceal my amusement. 我不能够掩饰我幸灾乐祸的心情。
Your excitement is beyond me. 你的激动的表现/心情是我难以理解的。
evolve an excellent system for doing sth.
has worked so well: workable
adopt / adapt

L53-02 end 17’18”

L53-03 begin 16’24”

adopt 采纳
adapt 改编，以适应（指修改或改变以适应新条件）

unsuitable mistakes
were the first / secone / last / only to do sth.
public officials: public officers

in the belief that: believe in
Eg: He turned to me for help because he believed that I could help him.
He turned to me for help in the believe that I could lend him a hand.
He turned to me for help believing that I could lend him a hand.
in the hope: hoping
in the thought: thinking
Eg: We come here in the hope that we will learn English well.
We come here hoping to learn English well.
Judges, however wise or eminent, are mortak and can make mistakes.
as long ago as 1809: dating back to 1809
date back to / date from

introduce : bring in 引入
Eg: He introduced science to the game boxing.
He brought science into the game boxing.