在英文会话课上，老师要大家小组讨论人的基本权利和自由。
Hannah: have you heard the saying: “Freedom of expression is like the air we breathe, we don’t feel it until people take it away from us” before? It really made me think
Hannah：你们有没有听过一句话：「自由就像空气，只有在它被夺走时，才会察觉到它的存在。」这句话让我思考了许久。
Cara: I feel you. We tend to take freedom for granted.
Cara：我懂，我们很常把自由视为理所当然的事。
Rose: Yeah. We’re lucky to live in a place where we can think and say what we want. Governments and regimes in many places around the world suppress freedom of speech.
Rose：对啊，我们很幸运能生活在一个可以自由思考和发言的地方。其他地方有很多政府和政权都会打压言论自由。
Hannah: Why did they do that? I thought rights like freedom of speech were meant to be universal?
Hannah：他们为什么要这样做呢？言论自由不是普世价值吗？
Rose: If an authority imposes restrictions on freedom of speech and freedom of the press, they can shape citizens’ thinking. this makes it easier for them to control people and stay in power.
Rose：当局如果限制言论自由和出版自由，他们就能控制人民的思想。这样他们就能控制人民然后保有当权者的权力。
Cara: Right. Without freedom, there is no truth…
Cara：没错，没有自由，就不会有真相了…
Rose: In addition, if there’s no freedom, it is difficult for people to stop government tyranny.
Rose：此外，如果没有自由，人民就很难反抗暴政。
Hannah: And that’s why we have a constitution—to protect our basic freedoms.
Hannah：这就是为什么我们有宪法来保护我们基本的自由。
take sth. for granted (phr.) 将…视为理所当然
动词 grant 有「同意；准许」之意，动词片语 take sth. for granted 的意思是「将…视为理所当然」。
Remember to thank others when they help you out. You shouldn’t take others’ kindness for granted!
别人帮你忙记得要跟对方说谢谢。你不该将别人的尊重视为理所当然！
tyranny (n.) 暴政
tyranny /ˈtirənɪ/ 是不可数名词，意为「暴政；暴虐」。
Following the military coup, citizens have lived in the fear of the tyranny of the new regime, with many being arrested just for expressing their opinion publicly.
军队来了之后，市民活在新政权的暴政恐惧之下，许多人民因公开发表言论而被逮捕。
freedom of speech (n.) 言论自由
speech 有「演讲；说话」的意思，因此「言论自由」就是 freedom of speech；而 「新闻、出版自由」则为 freedom of the press，the press 是指「报刊、新闻媒体」，注意一定要加上定冠词 the。其他形式的自由如：freedom of religion (宗教自由)、freedom of assembly (集会自由)、freedom of association (结社自由)。
Freedom of speech means having the right to express one’s opinions without fear of persecution.
言论自由意味着一个人能够享有自由发表想法且不用怕被迫害的权利。
constitution (n.) 宪法
constitution 是组织或国家的「宪法；章程」，此字衍生自动词 constitue (组成)。
Many countries have a constitution that protects the fundamental rights of its citizens.
宪法会保障该国人民的基本人权。
她们三人接着继续讨论…
Cara: During the martial law period in Taiwan, public assembly was not allowed. Thankfully, that’s over now.
Cara：台湾在戒严时期是不能集会的，幸好这都已经结束了。
Rose: But now there are some countries that exercise even greater control over their citizens using technology.
Rose：但直到现在，还是有一些国家利用科技来控制社会。
Cara: I know. I think the most notorious example of this is Internet censorship in China.
Cara：我知道，最恶名昭彰的就是中国的网路审查。
Hannah: Internet censorship? What does it mean by that exactly?
Hanh：网路审查？是什么？
Rose: Internet censorship is when sensitive words, phrases, and even pictures on the Internet are blocked by the government.
Rose：这代表网路上任何敏感的字词，甚至是照片都会被政府封锁。
Hanh: Aha! No wonder during the outbreak of COVID-19 and during the anti-extradition treaty protests in Hong Kong my Chinese friends only received certain information that was very different to what was being reported here.
Hanh：啊哈！难怪在新冠肺炎跟香港反送中爆发时，我的中国朋友只接收到和真实报导不同的偏颇资讯。
Cara: Even worse, they don’t have freedom of religion there. Many are persecuted just for practicing their faith.
Cara：更糟的是，他们也没有宗教自由。许多人因为有信仰因而遭受到迫害。
Hannah: That is really sobering. It makes me cherish the freedom we enjoy even more.
Hannah：这真的挺发人省思。让我觉得我应该更珍惜现在享有的自由。
martial law (n.) 戒严
martial 意指「军事的；战争的」，martial law 为「戒严」，因为在戒严时期，司法、行政会全部或部分改由军队管理。
The government declared martial law in response to the protests.
政府下令宣布戒严，以应对内战。
assembly (n.) 集会
名词 assembly 意为「集会」，或指为了特定目标「聚集在一起的人」，此字来自动词 assemble，意为「集合；收集；组装 (零件)」。
This religious group holds an assembly every Saturday.
这个宗教团体每周六都会举办集会。
censorship (n.) 审查制度
censor 为动词，意思是「审查」，包括书、电影、媒体等，其中的敏感内容往往会遭到共产国家的「审查制度」删改，而 censorship 即为「审查制度」，为不可数名词。
After the outbreak of war, the dictator imposed strict censorship on all fronts.
该名独裁者在各方面都实行了严格的审查制度。
block (v.) 封锁
block 当名词意为「街区」，当动词则是「阻挡；封锁」，在社交软体上「封锁」好友也适用 block 这个字。
This app can block inappropriate websites so that your children can’t access them.
这个 app 能够封锁不适宜孩童观看的网站这样你的小孩就看不到。
自由虽是基本人权，但世界上仍有许多人的自由处处受限，在反送中抗争时，也有抗议民众大喊 Give me liberty or give me death. (不自由，毋宁死)，除了让人揪心之外，更提醒着我们要珍视我们享有的自由。
