# 第三册 Lesson 53 In the public interest 为了公众的利益

## 一、课文原文

The Scandinavian countries are much admired all over the world for their enlightened social policies. Sweden has evolved an excellent system for protecting the individual citizen from highhanded or incompetent public officers. The system has worked so well, that it has been adopted in other countries too.

The Swedes were the first to recognize that public officials like civil servants, police officers, health inspectors or tax-collectors can make mistakes or act over-zealously in the belief that they are serving the public. As long ago as 1809, the Swedish Parliament introduced a scheme to safeguard the interest of the individual. A parliamentary committee representing all political parties appoints a person who is suitably qualified to investigate private grievances against the State. The official title of the person is 'Justiteombudsman', but the Swedes commonly refer to him as the 'J. O.' or 'Ombudsman'. The Ombudsman is not subject to political pressure. He investigates complaints large and small that come to him from all levels of society. As complaints must be made in writing, the Ombudsman receives an average of 1,200 letters a year. He has eight lawyer assistants to help him and he examines every single letter in detail. There is nothing secretive about the Ombudsman's work, for his correspondence is open to public inspection. If a citizen's complaint is justified, the Ombudsman will act on his behalf. The action he takes varies according to the nature of the complaint. He may gently reprimand an official or even suggest to parliament that a law be altered. The following case is a typical example of the Ombudsman's work.

A foreigner living in a Swedish village wrote to the Ombudsman complaining that he had been ill-treated by the police, simply because he was a foreigner. The Ombudsman immediately wrote to the Chief of Police in the district asking him to send a record of the case. There was nothing in the record to show that the foreigner's complaint was justified and the Chief of Police strongly denied the accusation. It was impossible for the Ombudsman to take action, but when he received a similar complaint from another foreigner in the same village, he immediately sent one of his lawyers to investigate the matter. The lawyer ascertained that a policeman had indeed dealt roughly with foreigners on several occasions. The fact that the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files. It was only possible for the Ombudsman to find this out by sending one of his representatives to check the facts. The policeman in question was severely reprimanded and was informed that if any further complaints were lodged against him, he would be prosecuted. The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.

## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| enlightened | /ɪnˈlaɪtənd/ | adj. | 开明的 | enlightened social policies 开明的社会政策 |
| highhanded | /ˌhaɪˈhændɪd/ | adj. | 高压的，专横的 | highhanded public officers 专横的公务员 |
| incompetent | /ɪnˈkɒmpɪtənt/ | adj. | 不胜任的 | incompetent public officers 不称职的官员 |
| over-zealously | /ˌəʊvəˈzeləsli/ | adv. | 过分热心地 | act over-zealously 做事过于热心 |
| safeguard | /ˈseɪfɡɑːd/ | v. | 保护，维护 | safeguard the interest 保护利益 |
| grievance | /ˈɡriːvəns/ | n. | 不满，冤情 | private grievances 个人冤屈 |
| ombudsman | /ˈɒmbʊdzmən/ | n. | 巡视官，调查官 | 瑞典语借词 |
| secretive | /ˈsiːkrətɪv/ | adj. | 秘密的 | nothing secretive about 没有什么秘密的 |
| correspondence | /ˌkɒrɪˈspɒndəns/ | n. | 通信 | correspondence is open 信件公开 |
| ill-treat | /ɪlˈtriːt/ | v. | 虐待 | ill-treated by the police 被警察虐待 |
| ascertain | /ˌæsəˈteɪn/ | v. | 查明，确定 | ascertained that 查明…… |
| prejudiced | /ˈpredʒʊdɪst/ | adj. | 有偏见的 | prejudiced against foreigners 对外国人有偏见 |
| lodge | /lɒdʒ/ | v. | 提出 | lodge a complaint 提出投诉 |
| prosecute | /ˈprɒsɪkjuːt/ | v. | 起诉 | would be prosecuted 将被起诉 |

## 三、语法知识点

### 1. so...that... 结果状语从句

> The system has worked **so** well, **that** it has been adopted in other countries too.

### 2. suggest that + 虚拟语气

> He may... suggest to parliament that a law **be altered**.

suggest表示"建议"时，that从句用虚拟语气（should + 动词原形，should可省略）。

| 动词 | that从句中的动词 |
|------|-----------------|
| suggest | (should) do |
| recommend | (should) do |
| insist | (should) do |
| demand | (should) do |

### 3. The fact that... 同位语从句

> **The fact that** the policeman was prejudiced against foreigners could not be recorded in the official files.

that引导同位语从句解释fact的内容。

### 4. might have done 可能已经

> An unpleasant practice which **might have gone** unnoticed.

might have done表示过去可能发生但不确定的事。

## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. subject to 受制于
> The Ombudsman is not **subject to** political pressure.

= not influenced by; independent of

### 2. act on one's behalf 代表某人行事
> The Ombudsman will **act on his behalf**.

### 3. in question 被讨论的，有关的
> The policeman **in question** was severely reprimanded.

= the one being discussed/referred to

### 4. 长难句分析
> The Ombudsman's prompt action at once put an end to an unpleasant practice which might have gone unnoticed.

which引导定语从句修饰practice；might have gone unnoticed表示"可能一直不为人所知"——正是巡视官的介入才使问题暴露。

## 五、课文翻译

斯堪的纳维亚国家因其开明的社会政策而在全世界备受赞赏。瑞典已经发展出了一套保护公民个人免受专横或不称职的公务员侵害的出色制度。这套制度运作得如此之好，以至于已被其他国家采用。

瑞典人最先认识到，像公务员、警察、卫生检查员或税务官这样的政府官员也可能犯错误，或者因为以为自己在为公众服务而做得过于热心。早在1809年，瑞典议会就推出了一项保护个人利益的方案。一个代表所有政党的议会委员会任命一个有适当资格的人来调查针对国家的私人冤情。这个人的正式头衔是"Justiteombudsman"，但瑞典人通常称他为"J.O."或"Ombudsman"（巡视官）。巡视官不受政治压力的影响。他调查来自社会各阶层大大小小的投诉。由于投诉必须以书面形式提出，巡视官平均每年收到1,200封信。他有八名律师助手帮助他，他详细审阅每一封信。巡视官的工作没有任何秘密，因为他的信件对公众开放。如果公民的投诉是合理的，巡视官将代表他采取行动。他采取的行动因投诉的性质而异。他可以温和地训斥一名官员，甚至可以向议会建议修改法律。下面的案例是巡视官工作的典型例子。

一个住在瑞典村庄的外国人写信给巡视官，抱怨他因为是外国人而受到警察的虐待。巡视官立即写信给该区的警察局长，要求他发送案件记录。记录中没有任何东西表明这个外国人的投诉是合理的，警察局长也强烈否认了这一指控。巡视官无法采取行动，但当他收到同一村庄另一个外国人的类似投诉时，他立即派了一名律师去调查此事。律师查明一名警察确实在好几个场合粗暴对待外国人。这名警察对外国人的偏见无法记录在官方档案中。巡视官只有通过派遣他的代表去核实事实才能发现这一点。涉事警察受到了严厉的训斥，并被通知如果再有投诉，他将被起诉。巡视官的迅速行动立即制止了一种可能一直不为人所知的不良做法。

## 六、语言点精讲

### 写作手法
1. **由一般到具体**：先介绍巡视官制度，再用具体案例说明
2. **层层推理**：第一份投诉→记录无据→第二份投诉→派人调查→查明真相
3. **公正叙事**：客观陈述事实，不带感情色彩

### 文化背景
- 瑞典是最早建立Ombudsman（巡视官/申诉专员）制度的国家
- Ombudsman制度后来被许多国家采用，包括英国、新西兰等
- 瑞典以社会公平和透明治理著称

## 七、课后练习要点

1. **虚拟语气**：suggest that + (should) do
2. **同位语从句**：the fact that...
3. **词汇搭配**：subject to, act on one's behalf, lodge a complaint
4. **写作练习**：介绍一种社会制度并用具体案例说明其作用

## 八、本课小结

本课介绍了瑞典的巡视官制度及其保护公民权益的作用。语法重点是suggest后虚拟语气、the fact that同位语从句和might have done。词汇方面掌握enlightened、safeguard、ascertain、prejudiced、prosecute等核心词。写作上学习由一般到具体的论述方法。