美国有线新闻 CNN 美国参众两院改选 结果同样重要

Today we're having a look at what else Americans are voting for and how things stand going into that vote. We'll start with the U.S. House of Representatives. Congressmen and women serve terms that last two years. The last election, the mid-term election was in 2018. So that means that all 435 voting seats are up for grabs.

今天我们来看看美国人还要进行哪些投票，以及投票结果如何。我们先从美国众议院开始。国会议员的任期为两年。上次选举，即中期选举在2018年举行。因此，这意味着所有435个投票席位都要进行改选。

Currently the House is controlled by members of the Democratic party. They hold the majority of 232 seats. Members of the Republican party hold 197 seats. One member of the House is a Libertarian. And there are five vacancies¹ from seats that became available this year but haven't been filled yet. In the other chamber², the U.S. Senate, members serve terms that last six years. This time around 35 voting seats, a little more than a third of them are up for grabs. Currently the Senate is controlled by Republicans who have 53 seats. Democrats³ have 45 seats. And two Independents who vote with the Democrats have two seats.

目前众议院由民主党成员控制。他们占据着232个席位中的多数席位。共和党成员占据197个席位。众议院中有一名议员是自由派。今年有5个席位空缺，但尚未填补。在另一个议院，即美国参议院，议员的任期为六年。这次大约有35个投票席位，也就是略多于三分之一的席位需要改选。目前参议院由拥有53个席位的共和党人控制。民主党占据45个席位。两个与民主党一起投票的无党派人士占据两个席位。

While a lot of the focus is on the candidates for the Executive Branch, what happens with the Congressional elections can determine how easy or difficult it is for presidents to enact⁴ the policies they push for on the campaign trail. And the vote just isn't just about the Executive and Legislature. There are a number of state and local elections taking place on November 3rd as well as dozens of ballot⁵ measures, laws or issues that voters are allowed to decide directly. So a lot about the nation, its states and its communities can be decided⁶ when Americans go to the polls.

虽然很多焦点都集中在政府行政部门的候选人身上，但国会选举的结果可以决定总统在执行竞选过程中推行的政策时是容易还是困难。投票不仅仅关乎行政和立法机构。多个州和地方选举在11月3日举行，此外，届时选民还可以就数十项选票上的议案、法律以及其他问题做出决定。因此，美国人可以投票决定涉及国家、州和社区的多项事务。

1 vacancies   

n.空房间( vacancy的名词复数 )；空虚；空白；空缺

参考例句：

• job vacancies 职位空缺
• The sign outside the motel said \"No Vacancies\". 汽车旅馆外的招牌显示“客满”。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 chamber   

n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所

参考例句：

• For many,the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber.对许多人来说，牙医的治疗室一直是间受刑室。
• The chamber was ablaze with light.会议厅里灯火辉煌。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

5 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。