跟读练习: Australian Political System & Voting Explained | Learn Australian English - 通过视频学习英语口语
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Liz, I got a letter in the mail last week saying I had to go and vote.
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I did not know this was mandatory.
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I panicked.
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I didn't even know who to vote for.
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I walked in, got the paper, and genuinely had no idea what I was doing.
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Jack, you just described the experience of thousands of new Australians at their very first election.
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And the thing is, in Australia, not voting can get you fined.
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A fine for not voting.
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That's right.
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A fine for not voting.
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Australia is one of very few countries in the world where voting is compulsory, legally required.
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And if you are applying for Australian citizenship, or if you simply want to understand the country you are living in, this episode is essential.
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We are going to break down the entire Australian political system in plain English.
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No jargon.
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No confusion.
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And we will explain the voting system that confuses almost every new voter, including Australian-born ones.
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We will get to that in segment three.
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So stay tuned.
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Hi everyone, I'm Liz and welcome to Learn Australian English, the podcast where we teach you real Australian English through real Australian topics.
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I'm Jack.
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Today, Australian Politics and Voting.
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Now, we know what you might be thinking.
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Politics?
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Really?
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But here is the thing.
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Understanding Australia's political system is not just about being a good citizen.
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If you are applying for Australian citizenship, you will be tested on this.
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And even if you are not, this knowledge will help you follow the news, understand your rights, and participate confidently in Australian life.
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We will also teach you the vocabulary that comes with all of this.
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So by the end of this episode, you will be able to talk about Australian politics comfortably,
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confidently and in completely natural Australian English.
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Let's start with the foundation.
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What type of country is Australia politically?
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Australia is a constitutional monarchy and a parliamentary democracy.
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Let's break those two terms down.
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A constitutional monarchy means Australia has a monarch, currently King Charles III, as the head of state.
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The head of state is the symbolic leader of the country.
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However, the king does not govern Australia day to day.
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That role belongs to elected Australian leaders.
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The king is represented in Australia by the Governor-General at the national level and by governors in each state.
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The Governor General has important constitutional powers, but by convention does not interfere in day-to-day politics.
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And a parliamentary democracy means Australians elect members of Parliament, or MPs, to represent them and make laws.
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The leader of the country is the Prime Minister, the head of the elected Now, Australia has three levels of government.
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Federal, state and territory and local.
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The federal government handles national issues.
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Defence, immigration, foreign affairs and national economic policy.
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State and territory governments handle things like hospitals, schools and roads within their borders.
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and local councils manage your immediate area, rubbish collection, parks, local planning.
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So when Australians say the government, it is important to know which level they mean.
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The federal government sits in Canberra, Australia's capital city, in the Parliament House.
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Now we get to the part that most people find genuinely fascinating.
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How Australia actually makes its laws.
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And there is one fact coming up that surprises almost everyone.
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Stay with us.
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It is worth knowing.
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The Federal Parliament has two chambers, two houses.
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This is called a bicameral parliament.
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Bi means two, so two chambers.
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The two houses are the House of Representatives and the Senate.
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The House of Representatives is sometimes called the lower house.
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It has 150 members, each representing a specific area, called an electorate or seat.
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The political party that wins the most seats in the House of Representatives forms the government, and their leader becomes the Prime Minister.
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The Senate is called the Upper House.
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It has 76 Senators, 12 from each State and 2 from each Mainland Territory.
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The Senate acts as a House of Review.
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It checks and reviews laws passed by the House of Representatives.
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This system of checks means no single group can push a law through without proper scrutiny.
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And here is the fact I promised.
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The leader of the country, the Prime Minister, is not directly elected by the Australian public.
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Australians vote for their local Member of Parliament.
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And the party that wins majority forms the government.
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The leader of that party becomes Prime Minister.
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So technically you vote for a party, not a Prime Minister.
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This is a crucial distinction, and it explains why Australia can have multiple Prime Ministers in a short period.
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If a party votes internally to change its leader, a new Prime Minister can take office without a general election.
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Australia had six Prime Ministers in ten years at one point.
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That is quite a ride.
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It really was.
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The opposition is the major party that did not win government.
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They form the Shadow Cabinet and hold the government accountable.
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Their leader is called the Leader of the Opposition.
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OK?
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We promised you the voting system that confuses almost everyone.
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Here it is.
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First, the big one.
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Voting in Australia is compulsory.
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That means it is legally required.
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Every Australian citizen aged 18 and over must be enrolled to vote, registered on the electoral role and must attend a polling place on election day.
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If you do not vote without a valid reason, you can be fined.
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Compulsory voting makes Australia quite unusual.
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Only about 20 countries in the world have it.
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The fine for not voting is relatively small, but the principle is significant.
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Australia believes civic participation is a shared responsibility.
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Voting is not just a right here.
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It is a a civic duty.
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Elections are held on Saturdays, always a Saturday, at polling places such as local schools, community halls and town halls.
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You take your name off the electoral roll, receive your ballot papers, go into a private polling booth, mark your vote and place it in the ballot box.
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The process is very well organised and usually quite quick.
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And here is a uniquely Australian election day tradition, the democracy sausage.
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Community groups set up sausage sizzles outside polling places on election day.
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You vote, then you buy a snag in bread.
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It has become a beloved national tradition.
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And there is even a website that tracks which polling places have the best sausage sizzle.
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Only in Australia.
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Only in Australia.
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Now, the voting system itself.
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Australia uses preferential voting, also called ranked choice voting.
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Instead of just choosing one candidate, you number all the candidates in order of your preference.
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Number one is your first choice.
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Number two is your second choice, and so on.
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Your vote goes to your first choice first.
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But if your first choice candidate does not win enough votes, Your vote then transfers to your second choice.
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This continues until one candidate has a majority.
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This means your vote is never truly wasted.
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Even if your favourite candidate does not win, your preference still counts.
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The Australian Electoral Commission – or the AEC – runs all federal elections
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and publishes guides in multiple languages to help voters understand the system.
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Australia's major parties are the Australian Labor Party , known as Labor, and the Liberal Party,
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which often governs in coalition with the National Party.
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There are also minor parties, including the Australian Greens and various independent candidates.
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One important note, the Liberal Party of Australia is actually the Conservative Party, not Liberal in the American sense.
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In Australia, Liberal refers to economic liberalism, free market principles, not social progressivism.
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The Labour Party is the centre-left party, historically linked to the union movement.
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Australia's democratic values include the rule of law, meaning everyone is equal under the law,
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freedom of speech, the right to express your opinions openly,
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freedom of religion, the right to practise any religion or none at all, and the separation of powers.
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The Legislature makes laws, the Executive implements them, and the Judiciary interprets them independently.
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Before we wrap up, for anyone preparing for the Australian Citizenship Test,
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the key facts, Australia is a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary democracy.
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head of state is King Charles III, represented by the Governor-General.
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The Prime Minister leads the elected government.
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There are three levels of government.
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The Federal Parliament has two chambers.
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Voting is compulsory from age 18.
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Australia uses preferential voting.
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And Australia's core values are the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom of religion and equality under the law.
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The test is 20 multiple choice questions.
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You need 15 correct, 75% to pass.
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Five questions of these 20 questions are about Australian values, which you must get all correct to pass.
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And for everyone else, knowing this material makes you a more informed, more confident participant in Australian life.
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That is worth something regardless of your citizenship status.
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Are you preparing for the Australian citizenship test?
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Or did something in this episode surprise you?
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Tell us in the comments.
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And if this episode helped you, please like and subscribe.
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Good luck with the citizenship test.
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See you next time.
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本课的词汇与口语要点
这节 B2 级别的口语课以视频“Australian Political System & Voting Explained”为素材。 视频中反复出现的词有：Australian, Australia, voting, vote, Prime。 这段视频共有 147 个句子、1519 个单词可供跟读。 讲话部分时长为 11:35。 说话人语速平稳，每分钟约 131 个词，很适合跟读。 86% 的单词属于英语最常用的 3,000 词，其余的词建议在练习前先学一下。
视频中的重点词汇
视频中最难的 15 个单词，附发音和释义：
| 单词 | 发音 | 释义 |
|---|---|---|
| citizenship 名词 | /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/ | 公民權 /公民权, 國籍 /国籍 |
| elect 动词 | /ɪˈlɛkt/ | 選擇 /选择, 選舉 /选举 |
| monarchy 名词 | /ˈmɑnɚki/ | 君主制, 王政 |
| sausage 名词 | /ˈsɔsɪd͡ʒ/ | 香腸 /香肠 |
| sizzle 动词 | /ˈsɪzəl/ | 嘯 /啸, 噝 /咝 |
| govern 动词 | /ˈɡʌv.ən/ | 治理, 治 |
| confuse 动词 | /kənˈfjuːz/ | 讓……困惑 /让……困惑 |
| ballot 名词 | /ˈbælət/ | 投票 |
| voter 名词 | /ˈvoʊtɚ/ | 投票者, 選民 /选民 |
| preference 名词 | /ˈpɹɛf(ə)ɹ(ə)ns/ | 優選 /优选, 選擇 /选择 |
| bicameral 形容词 | /bʌɪˈkaməɹəl/ | 兩院制的 /两院制的, 有兩個議院的 /有两个议院的 |
| enroll 动词 | /ɪnˈɹəʊl/ | 註冊 /注册 |
| fascinate 动词 | /ˈfæsɪneɪt/ | 誘惑 /诱惑, 迷住 |
| jargon 名词 | /ˈdʒɑː.ɡən/ | 行話 /行话 |
| progressivism 名词 | /prəˈɡrɛsᵻvɪz(ə)m/ | 進步主義 /进步主义 |
视频中出现的短语动词
| 单词 | 释义 |
|---|---|
| break down 动词 | 壞了 /坏了, 出故障 |
| come up 动词 | 上來 /上来 |
值得反复跟读的句子
视频中简短而完整的句子，可以直接用在日常对话里：
- I didn't even know who to vote for.
- Let's start with the foundation.
- Let's break those two terms down.
视频中的语法
说话人最常用的结构，并附上视频中的原话：
| 结构 | 视频中的用法 |
|---|---|
| 条件句 if + 从句，will/would + 动词 — 条件及其结果 | if you are not, this knowledge will help |
| 被动语态 be + 过去分词 — 强调发生了什么，而不是谁做的 | will be tested · is represented · is called |
需要注意的发音
说话人用了 3 次缩略和弱读形式，例如 I'm, didn't。请按听到的简短形式来说。
- “sh” 和 “zh” 音: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, preferential /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/, rubbish /ˈɹʌbɪʃ/, publish /ˈpʌblɪʃ/, distinction /dɪˈstɪŋkʃən/
- 长单词——注意重音位置: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, compulsory /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/, electoral /ɪˈlɛk.tɚ.əl/, parliamentary /ˌpɑɹləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/, confidently /ˈkɑnfɪdəntli/
中文母语者容易读错的音：
- /v/ — 不要读成 /w/，上齿轻触下唇: govern /ˈɡʌv.ən/, civic /ˈsɪvɪk/, voter /ˈvoʊtɚ/, progressivism /prəˈɡrɛsᵻvɪz(ə)m/, vocabulary /vəˈkæb.jə.lə.ɹi/
- 词尾辅音 — 要读清楚，后面不要加元音: citizenship /ˈsɪtɪzənʃɪp/, elect /ɪˈlɛkt/, sausage /ˈsɔsɪd͡ʒ/, confuse /kənˈfjuːz/, civic /ˈsɪvɪk/
- /r/ 和 /l/ 的区别: compulsory /kəmˈpʌlsəɹi/, parliamentary /ˌpɑɹləˈmɛnt(ə)ɹi/, preferential /ˈpɹɛf.ɜː(ɹ)ˌɛn.ʃəl/, bicameral /bʌɪˈkaməɹəl/, enroll /ɪnˈɹəʊl/
如何用这段视频练习
- 先完整听一遍视频，不要开口，记下不认识的单词。
- 用正常速度逐句跟读，每句重复到你的节奏与说话人一致为止。
- 录下自己的声音并与原声对比，特别注意 citizenship, elect, monarchy 这类单词。
什么是跟读法？
跟读法 (Shadowing) 是一种有科学依据的语言学习技巧，最初开发用于专业口译员的培训，并由多语言者Alexander Arguelles博士普及。这个方法简单而强大：您在听英语母语原声的同时立即大声重复——就像是一个延迟1-2秒紧跟说话者的影子。与被动听力或语法练习不同，跟读法强迫您的大脑和口腔肌肉同时处理并模仿真实的讲话模式。研究表明它能显着提高发音准确性，语调，节奏，连读，听力理解和口语流利度——使其成为雅思口语备考和真实英语交流最有效的方法之一。