2014年翻译笔译高级考试试题及答案5

　　niA New Nation

　　At the beginning of the 20th century, Australia was an open and democratic "new world" society. In the absence of a strongly defined aristocracy or ruling class, there was a sense that one person was as good as another. It was commonly held that people made what they could of themselves, given their abilities.

　　The Commonwealth of Australia was found in 1901 through the proclamation of the Constitution for the Federation of six states. The founders of Federation believed that they were creating something new and were concerned to avoid the pitfalls of the old world. They wanted Australia to be harmonious, united and egalitarian. They had progressive ideas about human rights, observance of democratic procedures and the value of a secret ballot.

　　They drew the line on matters of race, however; one of the first acts of the new Commonwealth Parliament was to pass the Immigration Restriction Act 1901, which ensured that immigrants would be of

　　Primarily European origin. (The "White Australia" policy was gradually dismantled after World War II until by the mid-1970s it was totally abolished. Australia now has a non-discriminatory migration policy.) Numerous diverse links with Britain existed, which many people continued to regard as "the mother country". Australia's constitutional links with Britain have been progressively loosened since that time.

　　The great champion of Federation was Sir Henry Parkes, who believed that Australia was ready for unity because of "the vigor, the industry, the enterprise, the foresight, and the creative skill of its people".

　　宋朝

　　公元960年，一个新兴势力，宋(公元960-1279)，再次统一了中国大部分地区。但在1127年宋朝廷因没能打退游牧民族的入侵而被迫放弃北方。所以宋朝又被分成北宋(公元960-1127)和南宋(公元1127-1279)两个阶段。

　　宋朝的创始人建立了有效的中央集权制;广泛任用民间的学术文人;地方的军事官员及其党羽都被中央任命的官员所替代。这种官员体系使得宋朝的权力比以往任何朝代都更集中在皇帝和官僚机构手中。

　　宋朝在城市发展方面是非常显著的，这不单指其在管理上的职能，而且还包括其作为贸易、工业和海上贸易的中心的职能。

　　在文化方面，宋朝在过去几百年的基础上又发展了，这些发展不仅包括唐朝的思想、还包括历史文献、绘画、书法、及光滑的瓷器等。

　　新国家的诞生

　　早在20世纪初期，澳大利亚就是一个开放民主的“新世界”。这里没有强大的贵族或统治阶级，只有人人平等的观念。人们崇尚人尽其才，充分实现自我。

　　通过宣布六州联邦宪法，澳大利亚联邦宣告成立。联邦元老们相信他们是在开创新的局面，同时也注意避免重蹈旧世界的覆辙。他们想建立一个和睦、统一、平等的澳大利亚。他们有着关于人权的先进思想，遵守民主程序，推崇不记名投票法。

　　然而，他们在种族问题上却区别对待;新成立的联邦议会通过的第一批法案中就包括《1901年移民限定法》，该法规定外来移民必须得是欧洲血统。(二战后，逐渐“白澳”政策，直到20世纪70年代中期才彻底废除。如今，澳大利亚奉行的是无种族歧视政策。)澳大利亚仍与英国保持着千丝万缕的关系，因为很多当地人视其为他们的“祖国”。但自从联邦政府成立以来，澳大利亚与英国在宪法上的联系逐渐变得松散。

　　亨利·帕克爵士是联邦政府伟大的捍卫者，他认为澳大利亚已经具备了统一的条件，因为她的人民充满活力、勤劳进取、富有远见和创造力。