【美国精神】第23期

 Explanation:   

  It’s important for Americans to know not only who their U.S. Representative is, but also how he or she is representing them. Americans need to know how their representatives are voting and whether or not those votes accurately¹ (or correctly) represent their interests. If the representative isn’t voting the way that his or her constituents² (or the people represented by a representative) want, then those constituents should vote for someone else in the next elections. 

 

  However, it could be difficult and time-consuming (or taking a lot of time) to find out how a representative is voting. That is because the U.S. Congress spends a lot of time talking about important issues and voting on many different bills (or ideas for new laws). A normal American wouldn’t have time to read all of those bills and find out how his or her representative is voting. That would be a full-time³ job! 

 

  Fortunately, many organizations try to gather (or collect) this information, summarize it (or say the most important ideas in fewer words), and share that information with voters, so that they can make informed decisions. Some groups provide biographical information (or information about a person’s life) about representatives, as well as their voting records (or a list of how a person has votedon all decisions during a certain period of time). People can quickly read this information to determine how well their representative is representing them.  

 

  The website for the U.S. House of Representatives provides the roll call votes, or lists of how representatives have voted over time. However, the other organizations make this information easier to understand, because they also explain what the votes mean for each bill and show changes in a representative’s votes over time. Many people study the voting records published by these organizations before they decide who they want to vote for. 

 

问题：

Name your U.S. Representative.  

Answer:   

Answers will vary. [Residents of territories with nonvoting Delegates or resident Commissioners⁵ may provide the name of that Delegate or Commissioner⁴. Also acceptable is any statement that the territory has no (voting) Representatives in Congress.] 

1 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

2 constituents   

n.选民( constituent的名词复数 )；成分；构成部分；要素

参考例句：

• She has the full support of her constituents. 她得到本区选民的全力支持。
• Hydrogen and oxygen are the constituents of water. 氢和氧是水的主要成分。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 full-time   

adj.满工作日的或工作周的，全时间的

参考例句：

• A full-time job may be too much for her.全天工作她恐怕吃不消。
• I don't know how she copes with looking after her family and doing a full-time job.既要照顾家庭又要全天工作，我不知道她是如何对付的。

4 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

5 commissioners   

n.专员( commissioner的名词复数 )；长官；委员；政府部门的长官

参考例句：

• The Commissioners of Inland Revenue control British national taxes. 国家税收委员管理英国全国的税收。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The SEC has five commissioners who are appointed by the president. 证券交易委员会有５名委员，是由总统任命的。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件