Britons are outraged and speaking out in response to comments among Conservatives in the United States attacking Britain's national health care system as socialist, evil and Orwellian.
在美国医改辩论中，英国的医保体系成了一个参照物，美国保守派抨击说，英国的国民保健服务是社会主义，是邪恶的、奥威尔式的无时不在的政府监督。英国人对此感到愤慨并纷纷发言反驳。
Average Britons are usually quite vocal about what they see as the shortcomings of their national health care system, the NHS. But the vehement critique by some conservatives in the United States of the NHS has sparked an outpouring of support here in Britain.
普通英国人对本国的国民保健服务(NHS)存在的缺陷经常是牢骚满腹。但是美国保守派人士对英国全民医保的猛烈攻击却引起反弹，英国人纷纷表态，力挺自己的国民保健服务。
A campaign is underway on the social networking site, Twitter, that even the prime minister and his wife have joined in.
在社交网站推特(Twitter)网，一场舆论攻势正在轰轰烈烈展开，就连首相和他的夫人也加入进来。
Breaking his usual diplomatic silence about political events in America, Prime Minister Gordon Brown tweeted, "the NHS often makes a difference between pain and comfort, despair and hope, life and death. Thanks for always being there."
首相戈登.布朗打破对美国政治保持外交沉默的常规，也加入了推特网的评论。他说，“国民保健服务在疼痛与安宁、绝望与希望、生与死之间做出了选择。谢谢它让我们随时能有依靠”。
Leader of the opposition Conservative Party, David Cameron entered the fray on Friday, also in support of the NHS.
保守党领袖戴维.卡梅伦星期五也加入到这场争论，他也表示支持国民保健服务。
"The fact that in this country you can go to a hospital, you can go to a family doctor and they don't ask you how much money is in your bank account or who you are or whether you're a man or a woman, or live in the town or the countryside - I think it's one of our great national institutions," he said.
卡梅伦说：“事实是，在我们英国你可以走进一家医院，你可以去看一个家庭医生，他们不会问你银行里存了多少钱？你是什么人？是男是女？住在城里还是乡下？我认为，这是我们国家的伟大制度之一。”
Cameron had been criticized for not showing enough support for the health care system.
卡梅伦曾因没有对国民保健服务表示足够的支持而受到过批评。
Labor Party minister Peter Mandelson said the NHS compares very favorably to health care in the U.S., which he described as fine if you have money, but not for those who don't.
工党籍大臣彼得.门德尔森说，国民保健服务比美国的医疗保健要优越得多。他形容美国的医疗保健对有钱人来说还不错。而对没有钱的人来说，就不同了。
"That's not what we have in Britain," he said. "We have a national health service which we are very proud of."
他说，“我们英国不是这样。我们的国民保健服务让我们非常自豪。”
Conservatives in the U.S. have sought to portray the NHS as a "socialist" system that is overly bureaucratic and rations out care. And, they say that is what President Barack Obama is now trying to bring to the U.S, with his plans for health care reform.
美国的保守派人士形容英国的国民保健服务是“社会主义”，官僚充斥，看病要定量分配。他们说，奥巴马目前力图带给美国人的医疗改革计划就是推行这样的制度。
The NHS was founded in 1948. It's a huge national health care scheme that has been criticized for issues such as long waiting lists for non critical procedures and the cleanliness of hospitals.
英国的国民保健服务制度创建于1948年。有人批评说，这一庞大的全民医保体系存在种种问题，包括在非紧急情况下，看病求医要等很长的时间，医院不够整洁，等等。
But, in general Britons do not want the NHS replaced, they want it improved. Supporters of the NHS are quick to point out that it costs much less than health care in America and that the World Health Organization ranks Britain's healthcare as 18th in the world, while the U.S. is far behind in 37th place.
但是总的说来，英国人不希望国民保健服务被取代。他们希望的是对其加以改进。国民保健服务的支持者经常提醒说，这一制度的成本比美国的医疗保健服务要低得多。世界卫生组织把英国的医疗保健排在世界第18位，而美国则远远落后，排在第37位。 |