GRE阅读练习：日本政坛无能官二代泛滥.docxVIP

Word文档下载后（可任意编辑） 第 第 PAGE 1 页 共 NUMPAGES 1 页 GRE阅读练习：日本政坛无能官二代泛滥 GRE阅读训练：GRE阅读练习：日本政坛无能官二代泛滥 GRE考试精品课程指导  Political families are on the rise  政治家族增多  THERE is a saying in Japan that a monkey that falls from a tree is still a monkey, but a member of parliament who falls is a nobody. Apart from some opportunities in a tiny lobbying industry, there are few prospects for cast-aside politicians. So an approaching snap election will spark anxiety in the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)—except, that is, among a swelling class of politicians who owe their positions in no small part to family connections.  日本有句老话说，猴子掉下树后还是猴子，议员掉下来了，就什么都不是了。除了竞选游说中的少数工作机会，一个黯然退场的政客几乎没有出路。所以换届选举在自由民主党内引发了一阵焦虑。不过，这其中并不包括那些依靠家族关系而平步青云的政客们，他们的阵容也在日益增大。  Botchan, or well-born “brats”, are prevalent in Japanese politics. More than two-fifths of LDP legislators are occupying safe seats in the Diet, Japans parliament, that were once held by fathers, grandfathers, uncles or in-laws. The total number in both houses of the Diet across all parties is climbing again, after a recent sharp fall in the lower house. They have to compete for their relatives seats, but they are normally a shoo-in. Eight out of 19 members of the cabinet have relatives who were in the Diet or in local politics.  太子党，或者叫做好命的“小鬼们”，在日本政界中非常盛行。日本国会中，超过2/5的自民党现任议员都有父亲、祖父、叔伯或者姻亲曾任议员。虽然下议院的家族议员人数在不久前大幅下降，但国会两院中各党派的家族议员总数又开始持续攀升。这些人同时也要为其亲属争取席位，不过正常来说都是十拿九稳。现任19名内阁成员中有8人都有亲属任职于国会或者地方政界。  There are numerous advantages in taking up a family members position: a ready-formed electoral machine of koenkai, or local supporters, and immediate name-recognition which makes it easier to win elections. If a hereditary politician is unfortunate enough to lose office, the familys clout in the constituency can secure a job in a local business to tide them over.  继承家族成员的席位有数不清的好处：他们有已经成形的选举机器后援会，也就是地方支持者，而且他们的名字容易被选民认出，这也能提高胜算。哪怕一个政二代不幸失去职务，家族的影响力也能保证为其在地方的商界中找到工作，从而渡过失业的难关。  The threat of ejection every