2007年英译汉全文
仍在修改中，有错请指出，谢谢。
The study of law has been recognized for centuries as a basic intellectual discipline in European universities. However, only in recent years has it become a feature of undergraduate programs in Canadian universities. 46)Traditionally, legal learning has been viewed in such institutions as the special preserve of lawyers, rather than a necessary part of the intellectual equipment of an educated person. Happily, the older and more continental view of legal education is establishing itself in a number of Canadian universities and some have even begun to offer undergraduate degrees in law.
几个世纪以来，欧洲许多大学一直将法学视为基础学科。然而，直到最近几年，法学才成为了加拿大大学本科的一门特色学科。传统上，这些院校一直把法律知识看作是律师专有的特权，而不是每个受教育者必需的知识储备。
If the study of law is beginning to establish itself as part and parcel of a general education, its aims and methods should appeal directly to journalism educators. Law is a discipline which encourages responsible judgment. On the one hand, it provides opportunities to analyze such ideas as justice, democracy and freedom.47) On the other, it links these concepts to everyday realities in a manner which is parallel to the links journalists forge on a daily basis as they cover and comment on the news. For example, notions of evidence and fact, of basic rights and public interest are at work in the process of journalistic judgment and production just as in courts of law. Sharpening judgment by absorbing and reflecting on law is a desirable component of a journalist's intellectual preparation for his or her career.
如果说法学正在开始成为通识教育的一部分，那么它的目标和方式应该会立刻吸引新闻学教育者。法学这门学科鼓励人们进行负责任的判断。一方面，它为人们分析正义、民主、自由这样的概念提供了机会。另一方面，它将这些概念与日常实际联系起来，类似于记者每天报道和评论新闻时的做法。比如，证据与事实、基本权利与公共利益这样的概念，在新闻判断和新闻制作过程中发挥的作用和在法庭上差不多。通过研读和思考法律来提高判断能力，是记者应该为其职业做的知识准备。
48) But the idea that the journalist must understand the law more profoundly than an ordinary citizen rests on an understanding of the established conventions and special responsibilities of the new media. Politics or, more broadly, the functioning of the state, is a major subject for journalists. The better informed they are about the way the state works, the better their reporting will be. 49) In fact, it is difficult to see how journalists who do not have a clear grasp of the basic features of the Canadian Constitution can do a competent job on political stories.
但“记者必须比普通公民更深刻地理解法律”这种观点基于人们对新媒体的既定规范和特殊责任的理解。政治，或者广义上说的国家运作，是新闻报道的主要题材。他们对国家运作的方式了解得越多，他们的报道就会越出色。事实上，很难想象那些没有清晰领会加拿大宪法基本特点的记者如何能胜任政治新闻的报道工作。
Furthermore, the legal system and the events which occur within it are primary subjects for journalists. While the quality of legal journalism varies greatly, there is an undue reliance amongst many journalists on interpretations supplied to them by lawyers. 50) While comment and reaction from lawyers may enhance stories, it is preferable for journalists to rely on their own notions of significance and make their own judgments. These can only come from a well-grounded understanding of the legal system.
此外，法律体系和体系中发生的事件都是记者主要的报道对象。尽管法律报道的质量良莠不齐，但许多记者都过分依赖律师提供的解释。尽管律师的评论和反馈可能强化报道内容，但记者最好还是依赖自己对重要性的看法，并做出自己的判断。只有对法律体系有透彻的理解，才可能做到这一点。
