英語(yǔ)視頻暢談歐美人文風(fēng)情99：倫敦金融城的秘密(二)政府

The City of London is a unique place.

倫敦金融城是個(gè)特別的地方。

It's the city in a city in a country in a country that runs its government with perhaps the most complicated elections in the world, involving medieval guilds, modern corporations, mandatory titles and fancy hats, all of which are connected in this horrifying org chart.

它是個(gè)國(guó)中之國(guó)的城中之城，以大概是世界上最復(fù)雜的選舉制度運(yùn)作其政府，涉及了中世紀(jì)的同業(yè)公會(huì)、現(xiàn)代的公司、法定的稱謂和花俏的帽子，這些全都在這個(gè)可怕的組織圖里相互連結(jié)。

為什么這么復(fù)雜?

Why so complicated?

雖然新的摩天大樓會(huì)讓你覺(jué)得倫敦金融城相對(duì)來(lái)說(shuō)還年輕，但實(shí)際上它是大不列顛島上最年長(zhǎng)的連續(xù)政府。倫敦金融城在年代上早于維多利亞統(tǒng)治的帝國(guó)、安妮女王(1702-1714年的女王)統(tǒng)一的王國(guó)，以及約翰王心不甘情不愿簽下的大憲章。

Though the new Skyscrapers might make you think the City of London is relatively young, it's actually the oldest continuous government on the Island of Great Britain. The City of London predates the Empire that Victoria ruled, the Kingdoms Anne united and the Magna Carta that John reluctantly signed.

雖然圍繞倫敦金融城的倫敦市在2000年才首次選出第一位市長(zhǎng)，但曾治理過(guò)倫敦金融城的市長(zhǎng)名單有將近七百人，可遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)追朔回一千年前。

While the London which surrounds the city only got to electing its first Mayor in 2000, the list of Mayors who've governed the City of London is almost seven hundred people long, going back more than a thousand years.

倫敦金融城的政府太老了，以致于它確切誕生的時(shí)間沒(méi)有幸存的紀(jì)錄。只有像是大憲章的文件，有提到倫敦金融城在那個(gè)時(shí)間點(diǎn)之前就已經(jīng)有了勢(shì)力。

The City of London's government is so old that there's no surviving record of exactly when it was born. There are only documents, like the Magna Carta, which mention the pre-existing powers of the City of London already had at that point in time.

所以盡管美國(guó)這樣的政府從人民身上正式得到權(quán)力、議會(huì)從王權(quán)得到權(quán)力(反過(guò)來(lái)王權(quán)從神那里取得的權(quán)力) ，倫敦金融城則是從“太古時(shí)代”得到權(quán)力，意思就是這城市實(shí)在太老了。它就是這么老。

So while a government like the United States's officially gets its power from the people, and Parliament gets its power from the Crown (which in turn gets it from God), the City of London gets its power from "time immemorial," meaning that the City is so old. It just is.

隨同它的年歲也帶來(lái)了獨(dú)特、復(fù)雜的傳統(tǒng)，其中最值得注意的，或許是在倫敦金融城的選舉中，公司行號(hào)持有選票。事實(shí)上還挺多的...倫敦金融城選舉中約有四分之三投下的選票是來(lái)自于公司行號(hào)，剩下的四分之一來(lái)自于居民。

And that age brings with it unusual and complicated traditions, the most notable of these, perhaps, is that in City of London elections, companies get votes. Quite a lot actually...about 3/4th of the votes cast in City elections are from companies with the remaining 1/4th from residents.

它運(yùn)作的方式是，公司越大，從倫敦金融城拿到的選票就越多。接著這些公司將其選票給予那些挑出來(lái)的、在這城市工作、但不居住在此城市的員工，而就是這些員工在選舉時(shí)實(shí)際投票。

The way it works is that the bigger a company is, the more votes it gets from the City of London. The companies then give their votes to select employees who work but do not live within the city, and it's these employees who do the actual voting at election time.

結(jié)果是，市議會(huì)，倫敦金融城跳動(dòng)的官僚心臟，有大約二十名市議會(huì)議員是由倫敦金融城的居民選出，而有大約八十名是由倫敦金融城的公司選出。

The result is that the Common Council, the bureaucratic beating heart of the City of London, has about twenty common councilors elected by residents of the city and about eighty elected by companies of the city.

這個(gè)特殊傳統(tǒng)背后的理由是，對(duì)于每一個(gè)住在倫敦金融城的人，就有四十三個(gè)每天通勤的人。整體來(lái)說(shuō)有三十萬(wàn)名通勤族在使用城里的服務(wù)，他們的工作則仰賴倫敦金融城對(duì)企業(yè)友好的態(tài)度。

The reasoning behind this unusual tradition is that for every one person who lives in the City of London, forty-three people commute in every day. In total that's three hundred thousand commuters using City services, and whose employment depends on the City of London being business friendly.

負(fù)責(zé)市議會(huì)和帶領(lǐng)倫敦金融城政府的人，是“正義高尚倫敦金融城市長(zhǎng)大人”。

The man in charge of the common council and who heads The City's government is The Right Honorable, the Lord Mayor of London.

現(xiàn)在，假如你想要成為市長(zhǎng)大人...當(dāng)然，就像在另外一個(gè)倫敦，所有你需要做的是：

Now, suppose you want to be Lord Mayor... Surely, just as in that other London all you'll need to do is:

a) 成為英國(guó)，聯(lián)邦，或是歐盟的公民

a) Be a British, Commonwealth, or EU citizen, who has

b) 已在此城市住了一年

b) lived in the city for a year, and who

c) 贏得選舉

c) wins the election

對(duì)吧?才怪。

Right? No.

倫敦金融城，那還差得遠(yuǎn)。準(zhǔn)備好看資格條件列表了嗎?

In The City of London, that's not nearly enough. Ready for the qualifications list?

在你可以參選市長(zhǎng)大人前，你需要當(dāng)過(guò)倫敦金融城的郡長(zhǎng)。但在你可以當(dāng)上郡長(zhǎng)之前，你需要先當(dāng)市府參事。

Before you can even run for Lord Mayor, you need to have been a Sheriff of The City of London. But before you can be Sheriff, you need to be an Aldermen.

市府參事是什么?嗯，倫敦金融城分成二十五個(gè)區(qū)，每個(gè)區(qū)選出一名市府參事在參事議政廳代表該區(qū)(參事議政廳是市議會(huì)的附屬部門)。

What's an Aldermen? Well, the City of London is divided into twenty-five wards, and each Ward elects one Aldermen to represent it on the Court of Aldermen (a sub-section of the common council).

但在你可以參選市府參事前，你需要得到自由人身分...而誰(shuí)發(fā)放自由人身分呢?為什么不是別人而正是你試著要選進(jìn)去的參事議政廳?這看起來(lái)似乎是利益上的沖突。

But before you can run for Alderman, you need to gain Freeman Status... and who gives out Freeman Status? Why none other than the very Court of Aldermen you're trying to get elected to, which might just seem like a conflict of interest?

很幸運(yùn)地，有另一個(gè)得到自由人身分的方式：加入其中一個(gè)倫敦金融城的同業(yè)公會(huì)。不幸的是，他們不叫公會(huì)，他們稱作倫敦金融城同業(yè)公會(huì)(一個(gè)更無(wú)聊、更少描述性的名字，但中世紀(jì)公會(huì)的殘存者很多都是)，而在倫敦金融城中其中有一百零八個(gè)可供選擇，包括但不限于以下：

Luckily, there is another way to get the Freeman Status: join one of the City's Guilds. Sadly, they aren't called guilds, they're called Livery Companies (a name which is both more boring and less descriptive, but the remnants of medieval guilds many of them are), and within the City there are a hundred and eight of them to choose from, including, but not limited to:

藥材商公會(huì)、魚(yú)商公會(huì)、泥瓦匠公會(huì)、綢布商人公會(huì)、科學(xué)儀器制造商公會(huì)、銀行業(yè)公會(huì)、造船工人公會(huì)、車匠公會(huì)、屠夫公會(huì)、面包師傅公會(huì)、兩個(gè)燭臺(tái)的制造商公會(huì)、還有全部之中最刺激的：特許會(huì)計(jì)師公會(huì)!

The Apothecaries, The Fishmongers, The Masons, The Mercers, The Scientific Instrument Makers, The Bankers, The Shipwrights, The Wheelwrights, The Butchers, The bakers, Two different candlestick makers and the most exciting of all: The Chartered Accountants!

這些公會(huì)里有許多，像是Fletchers(造箭商)，變成慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，但有些還很活躍，像是測(cè)試英國(guó)貨幣品質(zhì)的Goldsmiths(金匠)，以及發(fā)給計(jì)程車司機(jī)執(zhí)照的Hackney Carriage Drivers(出租馬車駕駛)。

Many of these guilds, like the Fletchers, have become charities, but some are still active, such as the Goldsmiths who test the quality of British coinage and the Hackney Carriage Drivers who license taxi drivers.

要加入這些公會(huì)，你要嘛得達(dá)到專業(yè)需求規(guī)定，要嘛對(duì)于像是Haberdashers這樣的慈善機(jī)構(gòu)，你則需要兩位現(xiàn)有成員的批淮。

To join one of these guilds, you'll either need to meet the professional requirements, or for the charities like the Haberdashers, you'll need the approval of two existing members.

如果你沒(méi)有符合任何一項(xiàng)倫敦金融城同業(yè)公會(huì)成員的規(guī)定，但你認(rèn)為你會(huì)是個(gè)愛(ài)賣弄的聰明人，著手成立自己的同業(yè)公會(huì)，接著授與自己自由人的身分，太糟糕了，因?yàn)樾碌耐瑯I(yè)公會(huì)需要由...你猜對(duì)了，由參事議政廳批淮。

If you meet none of the Livery Companies membership requirements, but you think you'll be a clever clogs and start your own Livery Company and grant yourself Freeman Status, tough luck because new Livery Companies need to be approved by...you guessed it, the Court of Aldermen.

假設(shè)你想辦法得到了正式的自由人證書(shū)，現(xiàn)在你終于可以參選某區(qū)的市參議員...在法官大人的咨詢委員會(huì)批淮你之后。

But let's assume one way or another you get the official freeman status certificate, now you can finally run for Aldermen of a Ward...after the Lord Chancellor's Advisory Committee also approves of you.

但跨過(guò)這小障礙，你可以在居民居住的四個(gè)區(qū)內(nèi)、或公司所在的二十一個(gè)區(qū)之一贏得市參議員選舉。

But that small barrier passed, you can win election as Aldermen in either one of the four wards, where people live, or the twenty-one wards where companies live.

一旦你進(jìn)入?yún)⑹伦h政廳后，要繼續(xù)走向市政廳的市長(zhǎng)辦公室之路，你現(xiàn)在需要選上郡長(zhǎng)，但這會(huì)兒是由同業(yè)公會(huì)的成員來(lái)選出郡長(zhǎng)。

Once on the court of aldermen, to continue your path to the Mayor's Office in Guildhall, you must now be elected as sheriff, but this time it's the members of the Livery Companies who pick the sheriffs.

所以如果同業(yè)公會(huì)成員選你為郡長(zhǎng)，在你成功地完成你的任期后，那么你就可以參選市長(zhǎng)。

So if the Livery Company members elect you as Sheriff, after you have successfully completed your term, then you can finally run for Mayor.

但令人訝異的是，倫敦金融市的居民并不投票選市長(zhǎng)，我們?cè)趨⒆h市政廳的老朋友才要選。

But surprisingly, the residents of the City of London don't vote for the Mayor, our old friends on the Court of Aldermen do.

所以總結(jié)來(lái)說(shuō)，一旦你從參議市政廳或同業(yè)公會(huì)取得自由人身分，然后你的區(qū)選你為市參議員之后，接著同業(yè)公會(huì)選你為郡長(zhǎng)，然后郡長(zhǎng)的任期結(jié)束，但你仍在參議市政廳中，接著你才可以參選市長(zhǎng)。

So in summary, once you get your freeman status from either the court of aldermen or the livery companies, and after your ward elected you as alderman, and then the livery companies elect you as sheriff, and after your term as sheriff ends, but while you're still on the court of aldermen, then you can run for Mayor.

然后假設(shè)其他市參議員選你，你終于可以當(dāng)上“正義高尚倫敦金融城市長(zhǎng)大人”...任期一年，沒(méi)有薪水。你必須支付自己的開(kāi)支，這可是很可觀的一筆錢，因?yàn)槟愕男鹿ぷ鞔蟛糠职ㄒ荒暝谌澜甾k上數(shù)百場(chǎng)的演講來(lái)推廣倫敦金融城的事業(yè)。

And assuming the other aldermen select you, you can finally take your place as The Right Honorable, The Lord Mayor of London...for one year, with no salary. And you have to cover your own expenses, which will be quite considerable as your new job consists mostly of making hundreds of speeches a year around the world promoting city business.

但你的確會(huì)得到那頂花俏的帽子，這讓一切都值得了。

But you do get that fancy hat, which just might make it all worthwhile.