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That Pesky Paperwork: How Contracts Affect Our Lives 恼人的纸上繁文缛节：合约如何影响你我的生活

课文朗读

课文讲解

繁體中文譯本

In the West, there are two distinct legal traditions: civil law and common law, derived from Rome and England respectively. Our law series, of which this is the first installment, will consider American law, a descendant of English common law.

西方法律有两种泾渭分明的传统：民法和普通法，分别源自于罗马与英国。这篇是第一回，以后我们将介绍一系列与法律有关的文章，讨论源自英国普通法的美国法。

Imagine that you’ve purchased your dream car – perhaps, a Mercedes. You value your new car, so you immediately purchase insurance. A month later, you total your lovely Mercedes in an accident. When you file a claim with your insurance company, they refuse to pay it. Now, not only is your Mercedes history, but you’re out the money that you paid for your car and for your insurance premiums.

试想你买了辆梦寐以求的新车──就说是一辆奔驰好了。你很呵护这辆爱车，所以你马上就买了保险。一个月后，你的宝贝奔驰在一次意外中完全毁了。当你向保险公司申请理赔，他们却拒绝赔偿。如此一来，不但你的奔驰车成了历史，连你买车的钱和保费也跟着泡汤。

This is an example of why we have a law of contracts. A contract is basically an exchange of promises. In our example, the insurance company promised to pay for whatever losses you might incur with respect to your new Mercedes in exchange for your promise to pay the premiums. Assuming you’ve paid the premiums, by refusing to pay, the insurance company broke its promise and, therefore, breached the contract.

这个例子说明了为什么我们有法律合约。合约基本上是一种交换承诺。在我们所举的例子里，保险公司承诺不管你的新奔驰车蒙受何种损失，他们都会理赔，以交换你付保费给他们的承诺。假定你付了保费，而他们却拒绝理赔，这样保险公司就违反承诺毁约了。

Contracts permeate all aspects of our lives whether we know it or not. Because contracts are so commonplace, it is prudent to know a bit about them.

不管我们是否知道，合约在我们生活周遭无所不在。因为合约非常普遍，为谨慎起见，我们最好对它要略一二。

Vocabulary

单词发音

pesky [ˋpɛskɪ] adj.【美】【口】麻烦的；讨厌的

distinct [dɪˋstɪŋkt] adj. 明显不同的; 不同种类的

installment [ɪnˋstɔlmənt] n.（分期连载的）部分

descendant [dɪˋsɛndənt] n. 从某一来源派生（或传下）的东西

total [ˋtot!] v.【俚】使完全毁坏

refuse [rɪˋfjuz] v. 不肯，不愿[Y][+to-v]

premium [ˋprimɪəm] n. 保险费

incur [ɪnˋkɝ] v.〔因自己的举动而〕招致〔不愉快的事〕﹐招惹﹐遭受

with respect to 关于; 就...而言

assume [əˋsjum] v. 假定﹐假设

breach [britʃ] v.（对法律等的）破坏，违反

Sentence of the Day

Purchasing your dream car cost an arm and a leg, so it’s essential to get your money back.

花大钱买辆梦幻座车，所以钱务必要花的值得。

cost an arm and a leg  耗资不菲；付出高昂的代价

课文讲解

The law of contracts covers many situations. The apartment we lease is subject to a contract, known as a lease agreement. Similarly, when we borrow money from a bank, we’ve entered into a special contract.

法律合约包涵很多种情况。我们租公寓房子时要签合约，这种合约叫房屋租赁契约。同样地，我们向银行借钱时，我们与银行达成了一种特别的合约。

When making an important purchase, Americans are advised to “get it in writing.” Although this is sound advice, most people don’t realize that oral contracts are also enforceable. If both parties have had a “meeting of the minds” on the essential terms of an agreement, a contract will have been formed. However, as a practical matter, it’s important to specify an agreement in writing. In the event that a dispute goes to litigation, the judge or jury will be better able to determine what was agreed upon.

美国人进行一项重大采买时，别人会建议将该采购案「用白纸黑字写下来」。虽然这是很好的建议，不过大多数人并不了解口头合约也有法律效力。如果对于合约的基本条款，两造「在脑海中已有共识」，那么合约便已然成形。不过在实际做法上，把合约共识白纸黑字逐一写下来还是很重要的，因为一旦发生纠纷要走上法庭，法官或陪审团会比较容易判决双方原有的共识是什么。

If you suspect the other party may breach the contract, keep records of all communications – letters, calls, meeting, etc. These records could become valuable evidence should you find yourself in court. Furthermore, you should try to resolve the problem yourself by noting that the other party has committed to specific obligations in writing. If all else fails, bring the contract and any relevant records to a contract lawyer. And the first thing she’ll do is have you sign another contract – her fee agreement.

如果你怀疑对方可能会违约，一定要留下所有往来的通联纪录──信件、电话、会谈等等。倘若一旦对簿公堂，这些纪录都会成为有力的证据。再者，你自己要想办法解决一道难题，那就是举证对方曾承诺要履行合约上的特定义务。如果所有其他方法都失败了，那就把合约和任何相关文件都带去找合约律师商量。她【注】第一个动作就是要你先签一份合约──律师费的合约。

－by William F. Levings

【注】：不特定人称的情况采用男性的「他」已经不再是标准用法，改用女性的「她」反而日渐流行。此处作者采用女性的「她」，亦有戏谑之意。

Vocabulary

单词发音

be subject to 受...控制

lease [lis] n. 租约，租契

agreement [əˋgrimənt] n. 协议，协议

oral [ˋorəl] adj. 口头的

specify [ˋspɛsə͵faɪ] v. 详细指明；明确说明

litigation [ˋlɪtəˋgeʃən] n. 诉讼，争讼

jury [ˋdʒʊrɪ] n.【律】陪审团

resolve [rɪˋzɑlv] v. 解决

obligation [͵ɑbləˋgeʃən] n.（道义上或法律上的）义务

Sentence of the Day

Keeping records is not only about the law of contracts, but also about Murphy’s Law.

白纸黑字记载的不只是法律契约内容而以也和莫非法则(凡有可能出差错的事，终将出差错)有关。

Murphy’s Law 摩菲定律（"If anything can go wrong, it will."会出错的，终将会出错）