The secret police of East Germany, from 1950 until the country ended in 1990. Their work was not mainly arrests in the street; it was watching — opening letters, listening to phone calls, and above all persuading ordinary people to report on their neighbours, workmates, even their husbands or wives. By the end there were files on millions of citizens, and after 1990 people were allowed to read their own file and often found out who had informed on them.

The secret police of East Germany東德的祕密警察 from 1950 until the country ended in 1990從1950年到這個國家1990年結束為止。Their work was not mainly arrests in the street他們的工作主要不是在街上抓人 it was watching而是監視 opening letters拆信 listening to phone calls竊聽電話 and above all persuading ordinary people to report on their neighbours, workmates, even their husbands or wives最重要的是說服一般人去告發自己的鄰居、同事，甚至配偶。By the end到最後 there were files on millions of citizens有數百萬公民的檔案 and after 1990 people were allowed to read their own file1990年後人們獲准閱讀自己的檔案 and often found out who had informed on them也常常因此發現是誰告發了自己。

That history is why the word matters in English today.

That history這段歷史 is why the word matters in English today就是這個字在今天英文裡之所以重要的原因。

Outside German history books it is used as a comparison, and always a hostile one: to call a government agency, a company, or a school 'Stasi-like' is to say it spies on the people it is supposed to serve.

Outside German history books在德國歷史書之外 it is used as a comparison它被拿來做比喻 and always a hostile one而且一定是負面的比喻 to call a government agency, a company, or a school 'Stasi-like'把一個政府機關、公司或學校說成「像 Stasi 一樣」 is to say it spies on the people it is supposed to serve意思是說它監視著自己本該服務的人。

It is a proper noun, so it takes a capital S and normally 'the' — 'the Stasi'. It is treated as a group, so it usually takes a plural verb in British English ('the Stasi were watching him').

It is a proper noun它是專有名詞 so it takes a capital S所以字首S要大寫 and normally 'the'前面通常加 the 'the Stasi'「the Stasi」。It is treated as a group它被當成一個群體 so it usually takes a plural verb in British English所以在英式英文裡動詞通常用複數 ('the Stasi were watching him')（像「the Stasi were watching him」）。

One officer is 'a Stasi officer', not 'a Stasi'.

One officer一位人員 is 'a Stasi officer'要說「a Stasi officer」 not 'a Stasi'不能說「a Stasi」。