In the United States during an election, voters go to the polls to cast their votes.
When deciding on which candidate to support, voters consider many things. They consider theissues a candidate supports. They also consider from whom the candidate receives money orcampaign donations.
And that brings us to our word for this Words and Their Stories. It's a political word: "lobby." "" is an attempt to influence a legislator's vote on a bill.
has been a legal activity since the earliest days of the United States.
The First Amendment to the Constitution says that no law may prevent people from petitioningor requesting the government to change things the people feel are wrong.
The right of the people to petition the government has led to . is a type offree speech.
English speakers have used the word "lobby" for almost 400 years.
The lobby was the large room next to the House of Commons in the British Parliament. Thelobby was a public area where private citizens could meet with legislators to make requests. So, people who met in the lobby with legislators were called "lobbyists."
Besides politics, a lobby is also part of many large buildings. Many apartment buildings andhotels have lobbies. You also can meet your friends in the lobby of a theater or concert hallduring the intermission of a performance. This, however, does not make you a lobbyist.
During the early years of the United States, lobbyists had a bad name.
There were many cases of lobbyists buying the votes of lawmakers. They were seen by thepublic as dishonest people who influenced legislation illegally for their own private gain.
In later years, Congress and state legislatures passed laws to restrict dishonest activities. Lobbyists must register with the government and they must follow many complexregulations.
Legislators and the public began to recognize the value of the job done by honest lobbyists. There are many honest lobbyists who try to influence legislation.
Lobbyists and lobby groups have an active part in making laws. They help inform Congress andthe public about problems and issues.
Lobbyists provide technical information about legislative proposals. And lobbyists letlawmakers know whom a bill would help and whom it would hurt.
As the federal government has expanded, so has the number of special interest groups: industries, labor unions, professional organizations, citizens groups and representatives offoreign interests. These special interest groups all lobby Congress.
A lobbyist represents a group and tries to advance its interests. When a bill is proposed thataffects that group, a lobbyist meets with lawmakers to explain the group's position.
There are so many lobbyists that almost every side of an issue is represented. Some expertssay the number of registered lobbyists is decreasing.
However, other experts don't agree. They claim the number of lobbyists actively theU.S. government is actually growing. However, to avoid the lobby registration system andregulations these lobbyists have gone underground -- or they do their out of publicview. This does not help their public image.
词汇精讲：
1.concert hall 音乐厅
This piece really belongs in the concert hall.
这曲子很适合在音乐厅演奏。
2.public image 公众形象
They were aware that their public image was rapidly going down the drain.
他们意识到他们的公众形象正迅速被毁掉。
3.labor unions 工会
At the same time, labor unions won long-term employment contracts and other benefits fortheir members.
同时工会为其成员争取到了长期雇用合同及其他利益。
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