1. Unit 4 The polity of United States
Wenjie
Administration  Management

2. The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation
The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a constitutional republic.(宪政共和国)
Federal(联邦) and state judicial(司法的) and cabinet officials are typically nominated(提名) by the executive branch(行政部门) and approved by the legislature(立法机关), although some state judges and officials are elected by popular vote.(普选)

3. In the American federalist system, citizens are usually subject to three levels of government: federal, state, and local.
The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances(相互监督与制衡) defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country’s supreme(最高的) legal document.

4. Legislative Judicial Executive
The federal government is composed of three branches:
Legislative
Judicial
Executive

5. Legislative（立法）
The United States Capitol(国会大厦), which houses the United States Congress.(美国国会)

6. The United States Congress, made up of the Senate(参议院，上院)and the House of Representatives, (众议院) makes federal law, declares war, approves treaties, has the power of the purse, and has the power of impeachment,(弹劾) by which it can remove sitting members of the government.

7. The House of Representatives has 435 members, each representing a congressional district for a two-year term. House seats are apportioned (分配)among the states by population every tenth year.
The Senate has 100 members with each state having two senators, elected at-large to six-year terms; one third of Senate seats are up for election every other year.

8. Judicial(司法)
the United States Supreme Court building(最高法院)

9. The Supreme Court, led by the Chief Justice of the United States, has nine members who serve for life.
John G. Roberts
17th Chief Justice of the United States

10. Executive(行政)
the White House
home and workplace of the U.S. president

11. The president is the commander-in-chief of the military, can veto(否决) legislative bills before they become law, and appoints(任命) the Cabinet and other officers, who administer(执行) and enforce federal laws and policies.
The president serves a four-year term and may be elected to the office no more than twice. The president is not elected by direct vote, but by an indirect electoral(选举人) college system in which the determining votes are apportioned(分配) by state.

12. The United States has operated(运作) under a two-party system for most of its history. Since the general election of 1856, the major parties have been the Democratic Party,(民主党) founded in 1824, and the Republican Party,(共和党) founded in 1854.

13. The winner of the 2008 presidential election, Barack Obama, is the 44th U.S. president and the first African American to hold the office. All previous(以前的) presidents were men of solely European descent. (独一无二的欧洲血统) The 2008 elections also saw the Democratic Party strengthen its control of both the House and the Senate.
President Barack Obama named Hillary Rodham Clinton as his choice for Secretary of State.
Secretary of State uniquely refers to the official responsible for foreign policy. The U.S. Secretary of State is head of the United State Department(美国国务院).

14. Thanks!