【美国精神】第20期

Explanation: 

   If you are walking outdoors in the United States, especially in front of a university, library, or public building, don’t be too surprised (or shocked) if you are asked to participate in a letter-writing campaign to your U.S. Senator¹. American citizens who are unhappy about something that the government is doing can communicate (or speak) with their representatives, which include senators² from their state. A letter-writing campaign is an attempt to get many people to write to their senator on a single topic. For organizations, writing letters to senators or other representatives is an effective way to do advocacy (or to show what they think and to tell the government how things should be done). 

 

   When the Senate³ is going to vote on an important topic, some advocacy groups start a letter-writing campaign to show that the issue is important and to try to get a senator to vote a certain way. When a senator receives many letters from his or her constituency (or the people who live in an area that the senator represents), then the senator knows that the topic is important for many of the people who elected him or her. This information might help the senator decide to vote a certain way.  

 

   Sometimes the people who organize letter-writing campaigns have pre-printed (or already written) letters that people can just sign (or write one’s name) and send to the senator’s office. Other organizations request (or ask) that people write their own letter. This is more effective than a pre-printed letter, because it shows the senator that that person cares enough about the topic to take the time to write a letter about it. Sometimes people also call their senator’s office when they have strong feelings about a topic. 

 

   If you are a citizen of the United States and you want to find out who your senator is and to get his or her contact information, such as their address, telephone number, or email address, you can go to the official website for the U.S. Senate and look at the list of senators representing all 50 states.

 

问题：

Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?  

Answer:   

Answers will vary⁴. [For District of Columbia residents⁵ and residents of U.S. territories, the answer is that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant⁶ lives) has no U.S. Senators.]  

1 senator   

n.参议员，评议员

参考例句：

• The senator urged against the adoption of the measure.那参议员极力反对采取这项措施。
• The senator's speech hit at government spending.参议员的讲话批评了政府的开支。

2 senators   

n.参议员( senator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• When the senators vote, the ayes will have it. 参议员投票时，投赞成票的人将占多数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The committee concluded that the senators had engaged in improper conduct. 委员会断定议员们从事了不正当活动。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 senate   

n.参议院，上院

参考例句：

• They feel deeply the honour of belonging to the Senate.他们为作为参议院的成员而深感荣幸。
• His unsuccessful senate run was his last hurrah.这次失败的参议员竞选是他最后的尝试。

4 vary   

vi.变化，有不同；vt.改变，使不同

参考例句：

• Cherries vary in colour from almost black to yellow.樱桃的颜色由近乎黑到黄各不相同。
• Old people don't like to vary their habits.老年人不喜欢改变他们的习惯。

5 residents   

n.居民( resident的名词复数 )；（旅馆的）住宿者

参考例句：

• Plans to build a new mall were deep-sixed after protests from local residents. 修建新室内购物中心的计划由于当地居民反对而搁浅。
• Local residents have reacted angrily to the news. 当地居民对这一消息表示愤怒。

6 applicant   

n.申请人，求职者，请求者

参考例句：

• He was the hundredth applicant for the job. 他是第100个申请这项工作的人。
• In my estimation, the applicant is well qualified for this job. 据我看, 这位应征者完全具备这项工作的条件。