高中英语译林版选修二课文翻译（原文+中文翻译）
Unit 4 Law and order
法律与秩序
Reading The rules of law 法治
Have you ever wondered when and where the law originated? Around 12,000 years ago in the Middle East, small permanent farming communities were established,changing traditional nomadic hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Different groups were closely living together and dealing with unfamiliar behaviours, beliefs and attitudes. To prevent chaos and resolve conflicts, the rules of conduct and consequences for unacceptable behaviours were created. Hence, the concept of law was born.
你有没有想过法律起源于何时何地?大约1.2 万年前，中东地区建立了小型永久性农业社区，改变了传统的游牧狩猎采集生活方式。不同的体紧密地生活在一起，处理不熟悉的行为、
信仰和态度。为了防止混乱和解决冲突，制定了行为规则和不可接受行为的后果。因此，法律的概念诞生了。
Many ancient civilizations arose in the Middle East, so it is not surprising that law codes first appeared there. The oldest discovered, the Code of Ur-Nammu, dates back to about 4,000 years ago. The code presented laws in the cause -and-effect format, a style used in nearly all later codes. Another one discovered, the Code of Hammurabi, was composed around 300 years later, which is one of the longest, best-organized and best-preserved legal texts. This code was among the first to implement the concept “innocent until proven guilty”. Both codes have features in common. For instance, they treated a variety of matters,but often ignored some important rules, because such rules were deeply grounded in custom.
许多古老的文明都起源于中东，因此法典最早出现在那里也就不足为奇了。最古老的《乌尔·纳木法典》可以追溯到大约4000年前。这些代码以因果关系的格式呈现了法律,这种风格几乎被所有后来的代码所使用。另一个被发现的是《汉谟拉比法典》，它是大约300年后
写成的，是历史最长、组织最完善、保存最完好的法律文本之一。 该代码是最早实现“无罪推定"概念的代码之一。两种代码都有共同的特性。例如，他们处理各种各样的问题，但往往忽略了一些重要的规则，因为这些规则是根深蒂固的习俗。
Over time, laws evolve to become more sophisticated and wide-ranging. Societies constantly transform, so legal systems respond accordingly and ensure laws remain relevant. This response happens in various ways. Outdated laws are abolished when they no longer correspond with the values or moral beliefs of the current society. The most famous example is the abolition of slavery laws in certain countries during the 19th century. Current laws are amended when aspects of a crime change, such as becoming more serious or producing additional crime -related behaviour. In Australia, a law amendment makes workplace bullying amount to a criminal offence. Besides, new laws are made as new situations develop such as those created by advances in technology or changes in societal attitudes. For instance, the advent of the Internet and social media has led to easier exchanges of information, and in turn has provided unauthorized access to personal data, so it is necessary to adopt a new law to strengthen the protection of onli
ne users' private information.
随着时间的推移，法律变得更加复杂和广泛。社会在不断变革，因此法律体系要做出相应的反应，确保法律保持相关性。这种反应以不同的方式发生。当过时的法律不再符合当前社会的价值观或道德信仰时，它们就会被废除。最著名的例子是19世纪某些国家废除奴隶制的法律。当犯罪的某些方面发生变化时，如变得更严重或产生更多与犯罪有关的行为,现行法律就会进行修订。在澳大利亚，一项法律修正案将职场欺凌定为刑事犯罪。此外，随着新情况的发展，如技术进步或社会态度的变化所产生的新情况，也会制定新的法律。例如，互联网和社交媒体的出现使信息交换更加容易，反过来又提供了未经授权的个人数据访问，因此有必要通过新的法律来加强对在线用户隐私信息的保护。
Evolving laws may represent a progressive society, but legal systems tend to remain relatively stable. Notably, global legal systems fall into categories that share similarities, and two main categories are civil law and common law. In the civil law system,laws are created by the country's legislature. Many European countries adopt this legal system. In the common law system, some laws are created by the legislature, but most are based on
published court decisions from previous court cases, which are then implemented in future similar situations. The Unites States, the United Kingdom and Australia are examples of the common law system.
不断发展的法律可能代表着一一个进步的社会,但法律体系往往保持相对稳定。值得注意的是，全球法律体系分为具有相似之处的类别，其中两个主要类别是民法和普通法。在大陆法系中，法律是由国家立法机关制定的。许多欧洲国家采用这种法律制度。在普通法体系中，一些法律是由立法机构制定的，但大多数法律是基于以前法院案件中公布的法院判决，然后在未来类似的情况下执行。美国、英国和澳大利亚是普通法体系的例子。
The law plays an essential part in resolving conflicts, settling disputes and making rules that everyone must follow, yet it has limitations. As the law is not applicable to all situations, it is just one instrument to regulate society. Governments usually employ other methods of social control to help society operate in a smooth and integrated fashion. Moreover, the law is not always ready or able to adapt to the constant changes in the society it serves. Because of its relative stability, it is unreasonable for the law to solve every newly emerging problem.
法律在解决冲突、解决争端和制定人人必须遵守的规则方面起着至关重要的作用，但它也有局限性。由于法律并不适用于所有情况，它只是调节社会的一种工具。政府通常采用其他的社会控制方法,以帮助社会以一种平稳和综合的方式运行。此外，法律并不总是准备好或能够适应它所服务的社会的不断变化。由于法律的相对稳定性，用法律来解决每一个新出现的问题是不合理的。
The law is more than just a set of rules as you have probably realized. It helps maintain security and stability in society, and its stable structure assists our societies to reach their full potential. The law is the compass that has guided humans from the first law-abiding communities to where we are today. As it continues to lead us into the future, the law will hopefully help us develop societies that are not just more harmonious but also more civilized.
你可能已经意识到，法律不仅仅是一套规则。它有助于维护社会的安全和稳定，其稳定的结构有助于我们的社会充分发挥其潜力。法律是指引人类从最初的守法社区到今天的指南针。随着它继续引领我们走向未来，法律将有望帮助我们发展出不仅更加和谐而且更加文明的社会。
The law is more than just a set of rules as you have probably realized. It helps maintain security and stability in society, and its stable structure assists our societies to reach their full potential. The law is the compass that has guided humans from the first law -abiding communities to where we are today. As it continues to lead us into the future, the law will hopefully help us develop societies that are not just more harmonious but also more civilized.

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