VOA慢速英语--民主党赢得众议院控制权 国会已然分裂

Democrats² Win Control of House, Creating Divide in Congress

The Democratic Party is set to take control of the United States House of Representatives, following the country’s midterm elections Tuesday. The Republican Party will keep its majority in the U.S. Senate.

Republicans had gained control of both the Senate and the House in the 2016 elections.

The election is called the midterm because it comes in the middle of the president’s four-year term. Midterm elections are historically difficult for the party that holds the presidency⁴.

Americans voted to fill all 435 seats in the House, and 35 of the 100 Senate seats. Americans also voted to fill many local offices, including governorships, and to decide important local issues.

Political experts had mostly expected the Democrats’ win of the House.

Democrats, however, did not see the success they had hoped for in some of the closely competitive Senate and gubernatorial races. In fact, they lost ground in the Senate.

Democrats’ hopes of winning the Senate majority as part of a so-called “blue wave” were ended after losses in Indiana, Texas, Tennessee and North Dakota. The color blue traditionally represents the Democratic Party. Red represents the Republican Party.

Democrats needed to win 23 Republican-held seats in the House of Representatives to gain a majority. They picked up more than 30.?

With House control for the first time in eight years, Democrats have improved chances of blocking some of the goals of President Donald Trump⁵, who is a Republican. They will have the power to investigate Trump’s tax returns and possible conflicts of interest, and challenge Trump’s policies toward North Korea, Russia and other countries.

They also could slow or block the president’s legislative⁶ goals related to immigration, tax cuts and building a border wall between the United States and Mexico.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi spoke⁷ Tuesday night in Washington, D.C., to declare victory for the Democrats.

"We have all had enough of division, the American people want peace, they want results, they want us to work for positive results for their lives.”

She added, “Tomorrow will be a new day in America.”

Trump called Pelosi late Tuesday to congratulate her. The president also tweeted Tuesday night that the election had been a “tremendous success.” He wrote, “Thank you to all.”

Health care and immigration were the top issues for voters, public opinion studies from the Associated Press showed. The AP’s VoteCast also showed a majority of voters considered Trump a factor in their choices Tuesday.

A record number of women ran for Congressional office, including 185 Democrats and 52 Republicans. Sixteen women ran for governships. At least nine of them won, including Republican Kristi Noem, who will be South Dakota’s first woman governor.

Many female candidates were energized⁸ by reports of Trump’s behavior toward women, the rise of the #MeToo movement against sexual abuse and the possible threats to reproductive rights.

Two Democrats became the first Native American women elected to Congress. In Kansas, Sharice Davids beat Republican incumbent⁹ Kevin Yoder. And in New Mexico, Deb Haaland defeated Janice E. Arnold-Jones.

Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Rashida Tlaib of Michigan also made history, becoming the first Muslim women to be elected to Congress.

Women candidates began the winning wave for Democrats in the House. In northern Virginia, Democrat¹ Jennifer Wexton defeated Republican incumbent Barbara Comstock. Soon after, Donna Shalala of Florida won an open House seat that had been held by a Republican. She defeated Maria Elvira Salazar, another woman candidate. Later in the night, Texas Democrat Lizzie Fletcher defeated nine-term Republican incumbent John Culberson for a House seat.

But Texas Republicans had an important victory in a closely contested Senate race. Republican incumbent Ted³ Cruz, who also was a 2016 presidential candidate, narrowly beat Democrat Beto O’Rourke.

Texas is a majority Republican state, but observers have said that its fast-changing population may affect that.

Continued Republican control of the Senate means Trump’s judicial¹⁰ and other nominees¹¹ will likely win confirmation¹² to office. The Republican-led Senate also could prevent Congress from removing Trump from office if the House seeks an impeachment¹³ process.

I'm Ashley Thompson.

And I'm Caty Weaver¹⁴.

Words in This Story

challenge - v. to say or show that (something) may not be true, correct, or legal

tremendous - adj. very good or excellent

factor - n. something that helps produce or influence a result

contest - v. to struggle or fight for or against something

incumbent - n.? a person who holds a particular office or position

1 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

2 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》

3 ted   

vt.翻晒，撒，撒开

参考例句：

• The invaders gut ted the village.侵略者把村中财物洗劫一空。
• She often teds the corn when it's sunny.天好的时候她就翻晒玉米。

4 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

5 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

6 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

7 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

8 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

9 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

10 judicial   

adj.司法的，法庭的，审判的，明断的，公正的

参考例句：

• He is a man with a judicial mind.他是个公正的人。
• Tom takes judicial proceedings against his father.汤姆对他的父亲正式提出诉讼。

11 nominees   

n.被提名者，被任命者( nominee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• She's one of the nominees. 她是被提名者之一。 来自超越目标英语 第2册
• A startling number of his nominees for senior positions have imploded. 他所提名的高级官员被否决的数目令人震惊。 来自互联网

12 confirmation   

n.证实，确认，批准

参考例句：

• We are waiting for confirmation of the news.我们正在等待证实那个消息。
• We need confirmation in writing before we can send your order out.给你们发送订购的货物之前，我们需要书面确认。

13 impeachment   

n.弹劾；控告；怀疑

参考例句：

• Impeachment is considered a drastic measure in the United States.在美国，弹劾被视为一种非常激烈的措施。
• The verdict resulting from his impeachment destroyed his political career.他遭弹劾后得到的判决毁了他的政治生涯。

14 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。