Royal Courts of Justice 皇家高等法院
Royal Courts of Justice 皇家高等法院
收聽與下載
Vicki: Hello and welcome to On the Town from BBC Learning English. I'm Vicki.
Oliver: 大家好，我是 Oliver，在每期的《城市掠影》節目中，我們都會為您介紹一個有意思的地方，今天也不例外，而且這個地方是和法律的聯系還非常緊密。
Vicki: We're going to visit the Royal Courts of Justice.
Oliver: Courts 法院、法庭，justice 審判。
Vicki: The Courts are a very imposing building right in the centre of London, very near our BBC offices at Bush House in fact.
Oliver: An imposing building, 一座宏偉的建筑。那他到底有什么功能呢？是審批刑事犯罪的地方嗎？
The Royal Courts of Justice is a building that holds the High Court. Now the High Court is not a criminal court, criminal cases are heard at the Central Criminal Court, also known as Old Bailey. The High Court hears civil cases including divorce, custody proceedings and business law.
Vicki: The Royal Courts of Justice are not a criminal court, criminal cases are heard at the main criminal court, called the Old Bailey. The court at the Royal Courts of Justice is called the High Court.
Oliver: 讓我們先來了解幾個相關的法律詞匯 criminal, 刑事犯罪的。這個詞常見的用法是做名詞，意思是罪犯。但在這里是做形容詞用，是用來描述這是一個負責什么案子的法院。 Cases 的意思是案子。比如說這個案子正在審理過程當中，用英語說就是 cases are heard. High Court 就是高等法院的意思。
Vicki: The Royal Courts are used for civil cases.
The Royal Courts are beautiful buildings
Oliver: Civil 在這里的意思是和刑事案件相對應的另一類民事案件。
Vicki: For example, divorce.
Oliver: 離婚。
Vicki: Custody proceedings.
Oliver: 監護權。
Vicki: And business law cases.
Oliver: 商法案。
Vicki: Let's find out a bit about the history of the building.
It was built in the 1870's and opened by Queen Victoria in 1882. The architect was George Street, and the building was paid for by cash from the estates of the intestate.
Oliver: 這么說，這是一座相當古老的建筑了。1882年是由當時的英女王維多利亞為他揭幕。
Vicki: The architect was George Street.
Oliver: Architect 建筑師、建筑設計師。不過這座大樓是怎樣獲得資金支持的，不過這座大樓是怎么獲得資金支持的，也是一個很有意思的話題。
Vicki: It was funded by cash from the estates of the intestate.
Oliver: 什么? Cash 的意思是現金，不過錢是怎么來的呢？
Vicki: 'Estates' means money and property left by someone who dies.
Oliver: 好的 estate, 就是不動產、房產。
Vicki: And 'intestate' means someone who dies without having a will.
Oliver: A will 遺囑。Intestate 的意思是沒有留下遺囑就去世的人。這就意味著這些人的財產會歸政府所有。Wow Vicki, 一定有很多人都沒有留下遺囑就去世了，不然怎么能建這么一棟宏偉的建筑呢。
Vicki: In this programme we've heard about the Royal Courts of Justice.
Oliver: 剛才我們已經聽到了介紹說，這座法院是用來審理民事而不是刑事案件的。還有就是建筑是什么時候建造、以及怎么建造的。
Vicki: In the area surrounding the Royal Courts of Justice, are the four Inns of Court.
Oliver: Inn 好像是一個比較過時的英文單詞，應該是酒館、酒吧的意思吧？
Vicki: Yes, but the Inns of Court aren't pubs! Let’s find out what they are.
The Inns of Court are places where barristers train and practise. They are professional associations that in fact all barristers must belong to, and there are four of them, Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Middle Temple and Inner Temple.
Oliver: 明白了，原來他們根本就不是酒館。而是能夠在高等法院出庭的大律師們參加的專業協會！這樣的大律師的英文單詞是怎么說的？
Vicki: Barristers. The Inns of Court are where they train and practise.
Oliver: 他們接受培訓和練習？你所說的練習是什么意思？
Vicki: To practise law just means to work in law. Near to the Royal Courts of Justice, and the Inns of Court, is a large grassy area called Lincoln's Inn Fields. It's the largest public square in London and was laid out in the 17th century.
Oliver: A public square 公共廣場。
Vicki: It's open to the public, and is a very popular place for people working in the city to relax during their breaks. In summer, it is always filled with people. But Lincoln's Inn Fields wasn't always just a place of leisure. In 1683, the square was the site of the public beheading of Lord William Russell for the assassination of King Charles II.
Oliver: 是嗎？這里還曾經是斬首示眾的地方。Lord William Russell 就因為被指控暗殺 assassination 國王查尓斯二世而在這里被斬首。現在我覺得皇家高等法院以及他周圍的地方非常有意思，有時間我得去看看。
Vicki: So Oliver, would you like to join me for lunch in Lincoln's Inn Fields?
Oliver: 真的，太棒了。
Vicki: Anyway, do join us again in On the Town to find out about more interesting places in Britain.
Oliver: 謝謝收聽，下次再見。
Vicki: Bye!
