37.What does the judicial branch do?
37.司法部是做什么的？
Answer:
答案：
Reviews laws
●复审法律
Explains laws
●解释法律
Resolves disputes (disagreements)
●解决纷争
Decides if a law goes against the Constitution
●决定一项法律是否触犯宪法
Explanation:
解释:
The U.S. government has three branches (or parts): the executive branch which makes sure that people follow laws, the legislative branch which makes new laws, and the judicial branch which interprets laws (or decides what the laws mean and how they should be applied). Normally the executive and legislative branches can work together without any trouble. The legislative branch makes new laws and the executive branch enforces them. However, sometimes people don’t agree on what the laws mean. They think the laws are unclear or unconstitutional (or not in agreement with the U.S. Constitution). When that happens, someone needs to be able to say what the law really means and that is exactly what the judicial branch does.
美国政府有三个分支:确保公民遵守法律的行政分支，制定法律的立法分支和解释法律的司法分支。通常新政分支和立法分支可以合作共事，立法分支制定新法律，行政分支执行法律，但有时候人们对法律条款有异议，觉得法律不明确或不符合宪法。这种情况出现时就需要有人解释法律的真正含义，这就是司法分支的工作。
The judicial branch comprises (or is made up of) many courts. A court is a place where legal decisions are made, especially about whether or not someone has broken a law or what that law really means in the first place. When the Constitution created the judicial branch, it created the Supreme Court, which is the highest and most important court in the country. Since then, Congress has created many lower courts (or less powerful courts) that hear cases (or decide on legal issues) in many special areas. These lower courts include the tax courts, which decide whether or not people and businesses are evading (or not paying) taxes, and the bankruptcy courts, which decide whether people and businesses can declare bankruptcy (or not pay back the money they owe to other people and organizations because they don’t have any money left). The judicial branch needs to have many different courts because there are too many cases to send all of them to the Supreme Court.
司法分支有许多法院组成。法院是做合法决定的地方，尤其是关于某人有没有破坏法律或某条法律的最初意义。宪法成立司法分支时设立了最高法院，是美国最高最重要的法院。后来，国会又在许多特别区域设立了多个初级法院。这些初级法院包括：税收法院，决定个人或公司有没有逃税；破产法院，决定个人或公司能否申请破产。司法分支需要不同功能的法院来处理事件，因为最高法院要处理的事情太多了。
The Department of Justice is a very large part of the U.S. government that tries to get justice (or fairness in the law) for all Americans. The Department also tries to prevent and control crime (or things like murders (killings) and theft) to make the United States safer. The Department of Justice is not part of the judicial branch, however. It is part of the executive branch of the national government.
司法部是构成美国政府很大的一部分，专门为美国公民主持正义。司法部也极力为确保美国安全阻止控制罪行的发生。司法部不属于司法分支，而是政府行政分支的一部分。
Glossary
词汇
37.What does the judicial branch do?
37.司法部是做什么的？
judicial branch - the court system; the part of the U.S. government that decides what the laws mean and determines whether people have done something against the law
Judicial branch—法院系统；美国政府中决定法律意义和人们是否触犯法律的部门
*The Supreme Court is part of the judicial branch of the U.S. government.
*最高法院是美国政府司法分支的一部分。
to interpret - to determine or decide what something means
To interpret—确定或决定某事的意思
*Readers have interpreted his poems in many different ways.
*读者们把他的诗翻译成了多种风格。
unconstitutional - against the Constitution; against the law
Unconstitutional—违背宪法；违背法律
*It would be unconstitutional for the U.S. president to make laws alone, without involving Congress.
*美国总统在没有国会的参与下制定法律是违背宪法的。
to comprise - to be made up of; to consist of
To comprise—由...组成；构成
*The band comprises a singer, a piano player, and a drummer.
*乐队由歌手，钢琴师和鼓手组成。
court - a place where legal decisions are made, especially about whether or not something has broken a law, or what that law really means
Court—法院是做合法决定的地方，尤其是关于某人有没有破坏法律或某条法律的最初意
*The court was filled with people who wanted to hear the judge's decision.
*法院里挤满了听法官做判决的人。
lower court - a court that is less powerful than another court
Lower court—比另一法院权力小的法院
*Difficult legal questions have to be discussed in the lower courts before they can be discussed in the Supreme Court.
*困难的法律问题在最高法院讨论之前需要先经过初级法院审判。
to hear a case - to decide on a legal issue; to hear what both parties have to say about a legal issue and then make a decision about which party is correct
To hear a case—决定法律问题；听取双方对一法律问题的看法然后决定哪一方是正确的
*Today, the judge will hear a case between a person who bought a poor-quality car and the company that made it.
*法官今天会审理购买劣质轿车和制造公司的案件。
to evade (something) - to avoid something; to find a way to not do something
To evade （something）—避免某事；不做某事的方法
*Stop evading the question and just tell us the truth!
*不要回避问题，告诉我们真相！
to declare bankruptcy - to get legal permission to not pay back the money that one owes to other people and organizations because one doesn’t have any money left
To declare bankruptcy—因无法支付欠他人或组织的钱而申请法律允许
*They lost their car, home, jewelry, business, and almost everything else before they declared bankruptcy.
*他们在申请破产前失去了车子，房子，珠宝，公司等几乎所有财产。
justice - fairness in the law; being fair and reasonable
Justice—法律公平；公正的，合理的
*People were angry that there wasn't more justice when the murderer was in jail for only two years.
*人们为杀人犯只入狱两年感到愤怒，觉得不够正义。