美国有线新闻 CNN 美国中期选举在即 驴象之战开打

 

Today, Monday, September 17, is exactly 50 days away from the 2018 U.S. midterm elections. Americans aren't choosing a president this year. These elections are called midterms because they happen in the middle of a president's four-year term. What voters are choosing are the representatives in Congress as well as candidates for state and local offices.

Currently, members from President Donald Trump's political party, the Republican Party, control both the House of Representatives and the Senate.

In the House, there are 435 voting members, Republicans hold 236 seats, Democrats¹ hold 193, and there are six vacancies² that haven't been filled yet. Since Representatives are elected every two years, that includes the midterms and every one of these seats is? up for election this year.

In the Senate, there are 100 members, Republicans hold 51 seats, Democrats hold 47 seats, and independents who usually vote with the Democrats hold two seats. Senators are elected every six years, so about a third of these seats, 35, are up for election this year.

In general lawmakers who are in the same party as the president tend to lose seats in the midterm elections regardless of who the president is.

And the reason why the House and Senate get so much attention is because their make-up can affect the president's ability to get legislative³ goals accomplished⁴. So, with the battle lines drawn⁵, the big questions in this year's midterms are, will Republicans hold on to their control in both the House and Senate? Or will Democrats take control of one or both chambers⁶? We'll find out on November 6th with Americans watching as organizations like CNN project results from each state.

1 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》

2 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》

3 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。

4 accomplished   

adj.有才艺的；有造诣的；达到了的

参考例句：

• Thanks to your help,we accomplished the task ahead of schedule.亏得你们帮忙,我们才提前完成了任务。
• Removal of excess heat is accomplished by means of a radiator.通过散热器完成多余热量的排出。

5 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

6 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网