知識就是力量
Knowledge is power 知識就是力量。我們的知識愈豐富，對別人的影響愈大。
We can start with the different meanings of POWER：
1. 權力 control over people or activities；
2. 能力 ability, what one can do；
3. 權限 legal right and authority to do something；
4. 實力 strength 或影響力 influence：economic power 經濟實力；purchasing power 購買力；the power of the media 媒體的影響力；
5. 力量 strength 或能量 force；
6. 電力 electricity：power station 發電廠。
我們最常用到有關 POWER 的成語：
do somebody a power of good 對身心大有益處。If you do somebody a lot of good, you benefit somebody。例句：She’s under a lot of stress at work, a few days to relax at the coast would do her a power of good。反之，do a power of harm = do much harm 危害很大。
more power to your elbow is an expression of encouragement = may he succeed/good luck to him 但願他成功，祝願他好運，希望他加油。你也可以簡單說：more power to you 再加把勁，幹得更好。
the powers that be are the people in charge, those in authority 主管人，統治者，權力集團。例句：It’s often the powers that be who decide things. We just have to live with their decisions.
太上皇
the real power behind the throne 幕後操縱者，太上皇，the actual, but unrecognized, person in charge 看不出的，但是真正的掌管、控制一切的人。例句：It’s not the president who makes the important decisions; his wife, the First Lady, is the real power behind the throne. 慈禧太后垂簾聽政，才是光緒皇帝的操控者。
the corridors of power 高層政治的決策機構，通稱權力走廊，the high level places where important decisions in government are made and power struggles are fought。
權力和政治分不開
權力和政治，往往分不開。很多沾上權力的英文用語，都跟政治有關：我們說掌握權力，開始執政，come into power meaning you come into control of the government；強權政治 power politics；權力分享 power sharing；社會權力中堅 power elite；權力競爭遊戲 power game；權力鬥爭 power struggle。
POLITICS 政治，包括政治活動；政治事務；政治觀點。Politics include activities and ideas. Political party 政黨 is a group of people with the same political ideas who wants to win an election in democratic countries. Politics is also the art, science, or business of government 政治學。
政治是眾人之事
一般來說，政治是眾人之事，離不開 GOVERNMENT 政府和 CITIZENS 人民。
政府有不同類型 types of government：民主 democracy，專制 dictatorship，聯邦 federation，君主 monarchy，共和 republic。總統制政府 a presidential government consists of three separate branches of power: the Executive Branch 行政，the Legislative Branch 立法 and the Judicial branch 司法。There are a series of checks and balances 互相制衡 that keep any one branch from becoming too powerful. 國會制政府 a parliamentary government consists of a legislative Parliament and a Cabinet chosen from the majority party in Parliament（國會中的最大黨）。總統制，以美國為代表，英國和加拿大的國民代表議會，屬於國會制。公民 CITIZEN is a person who has the legal right to belong to a particular country。公民權利，公民身份 CITIZENSHIP is the state of being a citizen and accepts the responsibility of it。
Talking about government, we say bring down the government/criticize the government/elect the government/form the government/lead the government/resign from the government. Talking about politics, we say go into and practise politics; we leave and quit politics.
政治有多種不同類型 types of politics：electoral, parliamentary, presidential, conservative, progressive, radical, consensus, partisan politics；地域性的政治 politics in a particular area：local, internal, domestic, national, international, global politics。
政治立場正確 politically correct 指為了可能有歧視的嫌疑，言行盡量避免涉及政治上敏感的議題；office politics 指辦公室涉及人事的政治；sexual politics 指涉及兩性間的權威之爭；a political football 政治足球指由於政治因素介入，問題變成具爭議性。
美國前總統 Richard Nixon 這樣描述政治競爭：”Finishing second in the Olympics gets you silver（得銀牌）. Finishing second in politics gets you oblivion（被遺忘）.”
本專欄逢周二、五發表
