托福阅读素材：英国大选中你不知道的6件事

　　1. How does the election work?

　　大选是怎样运作的?

　　Britain's parliament has 650 members. Any party that wins an outrightmajority of 326 or more seats can form a government.

　　英国议会有650名成员。任何党派只要获得不少于326个席位的绝对多数，就可以组建政府。

　　2. What if no party wins a Commons majority?

　　如果没有党派赢得下议院的多数席位怎么办?

　　The situation becomes more complex if no party has a majority of MPs. Thelargest single party could try to form a minority government, but this wouldinvolve difficulties with getting business done and could prove unworkable. It,or other parties, could try to form a coalition, with the result that theircombined MPs provide a Commons majority. Or it could reach an informal agreementwith another party not to vote against it when a "no-confidence" motion istabled by the opposition, enabling it to become a sustainable government.

　　要是没有哪个党派赢得多数议员席位的话，情况就复杂了。获得席位最多的政党可以组建少数派政府，但这可能会在施政时遇到许多困难，也可能根本行不通。如果某几个党派的下议院议员总数之和超过半数，它们也可以尝试组建联合政府。议席最多的政党还可以和另一政党达成非正式协议，在遇到反对党的不信任案时不予支持，这样政府还能继续执政。

　　3. How much does it cost to run an election?

　　进行一次大选要花多少钱?

　　The last UK general election, in 2010, cost ￡84.6m to administer (excludingthe cost of postal delivery).

　　2010年英国大选花了8460万英镑(不包括邮费)。

　　4. Why are elections held on Thursdays?

　　为什么选举总在周四?

　　One theory about the Thursday origins is that people were not paid untilFridays and so holding polls on Thursdays ensured they were not too drunk tovote.

　　一种说法是周五才会发工资，周四选举能保证人们不会因为宿醉而无法投票。

　　5. Does the Queen vote?

　　女王投票吗?

　　Queen Elizabeth cannot vote because she is part of the legislature. "AsHead of State, The Queen must remain politically neutral, since her Governmentwill be formed from whichever party can command a majority in the House ofCommons," the monarchy site explains. Other royals can vote - and can even standfor election - but do not do so in order to maintain neutrality.

　　作为立法机关的一员，伊丽莎白女王不能投票。皇室网站对此的说明是“身为国家元首，女王必须保持政治中立，因为任何赢得下议院多数席位的党派都将为她组建政府”。其它皇室成员可以投票，甚至可以为选举拉票。但他们为了保持中立不这样做。

　　6. Can you tweet about voting?

　　可以发和投票有关的微博吗?

　　The Electoral Commission warns against doing it inside the polling station,even if it's about your own vote. Elsewhere you are free to publicise yourvote.

　　选举委员会警告人们不要在投票点发微博，就算是发自己的投票也不行。在投票点以外的其他地方，你可以想发就发。

　　However, there are strict laws against revealing someone else's vote,including influencing whether they publish it themselves.

　　但是，法律严禁公布别人的投票情况，包扩对别人是否自行公布结果施加影响。