民主党掌控众议院 共和党日子可能不好过

Pete Stauber, Republican, professional hockey player, police commander, dad of four, he flipped¹ his Minnesota district from Democrat² to Republican.

皮特是共和党人、职业曲棍球员、警察指挥官，他也是4个孩子的父亲。他之前是明尼苏达州的民主党议员，现在转而成为共和党议员。

Katie Porter, Democrat, tenured California law Professor, graduate of Harvard and Yale, single mom of three, with no political experience she unseated an incumbent³ Republican.

卡蒂是民主党人，他是加州法学终身教授，曾毕业于哈佛大学和耶鲁大学，是3个孩子的单亲妈妈，初次步入政治生涯的她现在是一名共和党议员。

Both our freshmen⁴ legislators new to the US Congress.

这两位都是初次成为国会议员。

VOA is following them throughout their entire year in what we call climbing the hill as in Capitol Hill where US representatives and senators make this country’s laws. Stauber....

我台将持续跟踪他们二人今年的工作，我们称之为攀登国会大楼之峰，这是因为美国的两院议员制定法律的过程就如同攀登高峰。皮特……

Historically these seats were mostly filled by white men.

以前，两院的席位都由白人男性掌控。

But November’s election results made the 116th Congress the most diverse in history.

但11月的选举结果让第116届国会成为历史上最具多样性的一届。

Katie Porter is among the largest percentage of women to be elected at nearly twenty four percent.

卡蒂这一届是女性候选人占比最高的一届——达到了24%。

My very first issue that I want to work on this campaign finance reform: There’s a bill we’re hoping to introduce as HR 1, the first ball that the House takes up.

我想着手解决的第一个问题就是财政改革运动的问题：有一项议案是我们想要引入的，即《HR 1法案》。这是新一届众议院将要着手的第一项工作。

And for Stauber, the first bill would be about the jobs in the economy to keep this pro-growth pro-jobs agenda going.

对于皮特来说，第一项议案将与经济领域的就业岗位有关，该议案将保证支持经济增长和就业增长的议程稳步进行。

Pete’s three children will remain in California until the end of the school year when they may move to the nation’s capital.

皮特的3个孩子将留在加州，直到本学年结束。下一学年，他们可能会搬到美国首都。

Stauber’s children will stay in Minnesota with his wife Jodi. While in Washington, Stauber will share a townhouse with 3 other congressmen.

皮特的孩子将跟妻子约迪留在明尼苏达州。在华盛顿期间，皮特将与另外3名国会议员共住一套别墅。

My room is it’s about 10 by 12, and it’s got a bunk⁵ bed for family.

我房间长12米，宽10米，有一张双层床，住得下一家人。

These freshmen know it will be a tough year with Democrats⁶ controlling the House of Representatives.

这2位国会新议员都知道今年会很艰难，因为众议院由民主党掌控。

Pete Stauber knows that President Donald Trump⁷, the man who campaigned for him, will be the target of investigations⁸ into Russian meddling⁹ and other matters.

皮特知道，曾经为自己助选的特朗普将会成为通俄案等调查的对象。

I can’t stop them from doing that if that’s the majority’s will, but I don’t think the American people I don’t think it’s American people’s will.

如果这是大多数人的意愿，那我无法阻挡。但我认为这并不是美国人民的意愿。

Up until this point, life for these freshmen has been a blur¹⁰.

目前来看，这些国会新议员的未来还是一片渺茫。

Mrs. Pete drew number five.

皮特夫人排名第五。

The size and location of a Capitol Hill office depends on the lottery¹¹ number polled.

国会办公室的大小和位置取决于得票数。

The thing I’m most excited about is the members office which is right here I’m gonna paint a bright blue color and she did.

我感到最兴奋的一件事是：我们所有议员的办公室就在这儿，我要把墙面刷成浅蓝色。而她果然就这样做了。

And this color was called Old Glory.

我们将这个颜色成为星条光荣之色。

The election was nearly two months ago, and it’s still taking a while to sink in.

选举已经过去近2个月了，我还没完全缓过劲儿来。

The title of congressman¹² is kind of surreal, you know, for me.

于我而言，国会议员的称谓感觉如梦一般。

People ask me who are you, and I say I’m a law professor and I’m a consumer, advocate and I’m a mom, and this is an additional identity that I have to think about, so it is a change.

总有人问我是做什么的。我会说我是一名法学教授，也是一名消费者、倡导者，我已为人母。国会议员是我的另一个身份，这说明情况在发生改变。

1 flipped   

轻弹( flip的过去式和过去分词 )； 按（开关）； 快速翻转； 急挥

参考例句：

• The plane flipped and crashed. 飞机猛地翻转，撞毁了。
• The carter flipped at the horse with his whip. 赶大车的人扬鞭朝着马轻轻地抽打。

2 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。

3 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。

4 freshmen   

n.（中学或大学的）一年级学生( freshman的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We are freshmen and they are sophomores. 我们是一年级学生，他们是二年级学生。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• University freshmen get lots of razzing, but they like the initiation. 大一新生受各种嘲弄，但是他们对这种入门经验甘之如饴。 来自辞典例句

5 bunk   

n.(车、船等倚壁而设的)铺位；废话

参考例句：

• He left his bunk and went up on deck again.他离开自己的铺位再次走到甲板上。
• Most economists think his theories are sheer bunk.大多数经济学家认为他的理论纯属胡说。

6 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》

7 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。

8 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

9 meddling   

v.干涉，干预（他人事务）( meddle的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• He denounced all "meddling" attempts to promote a negotiation. 他斥责了一切“干预”促成谈判的企图。 来自辞典例句
• They liked this field because it was never visited by meddling strangers. 她们喜欢这块田野，因为好事的陌生人从来不到那里去。 来自辞典例句

10 blur   

n.模糊不清的事物；vt.使模糊，使看不清楚

参考例句：

• The houses appeared as a blur in the mist.房子在薄雾中隐隐约约看不清。
• If you move your eyes and your head,the picture will blur.如果你的眼睛或头动了，图像就会变得模糊不清。

11 lottery   

n.抽彩；碰运气的事，难于算计的事

参考例句：

• He won no less than ￡5000 in the lottery.他居然中了5000英镑的奖券。
• They thought themselves lucky in the lottery of life.他们认为自己是变幻莫测的人生中的幸运者。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。