20191010 TE Where next? 下一步 何去何从
Where next? 下一步 何去何从
Divided government for a divided country 分裂的国家，分裂的政府
For once, the outcome that was predicted actually occurred. Democrats took the House of Representatives in America’s mid-term elections on November 6th, and will provide some welcome oversight of the White House when members of the new Congress take their seats in January. Republicans held the Senate—with a bigger majority, which will make presidential appointments easier to confirm. Both sides declared victory. A starkly divided country now has a divided government. Underpinning the results, though, is the deepening of a structural shift in American politics that will make the country harder to govern for the foreseeable future. Democrats represent a majority of America’s voters, but Republicans dominate geographically.
welcome: a. 受欢迎的
starkly: 显而易见地，十分明显地
Underpin: 用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）；为（论据、主张等）打下基础; 加强 eg. Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。
仅此一次，投票结果真如预测一样地发生了。民主党在11月6日的美国中期选举中赢得了众议院，他们将在1月新的国会成员上任后，对白宫进行监管，这些监管受到人们的欢迎。共和党得到了参议院，并且多数优势得到了扩大，这将使总统任命的确认变得更简单。两方都声称自己获得了胜利。一个显而易见的分裂国家，现在有了一个分裂的政府。然而该结果的基础是美国政治不断的结构性转变不断加深，这种转变使政府在可预见的将来更难实行治理。民主党代表了美国投票者大部分人数，但共和党在地缘上占据统治地位。
长句：Underpinning the results, though, is the deepening of a structural shift in American politics that will make the country harder to govern for the foreseeable future.
Underpinning the results is the deepening of a structural shift. 首先来看Underpin, 这个动词常用来做倒装，实际语序是 The deepening of a structural shift underpins the results；其次，主语看上去是Deepening这个动名词，但从语义上来说其实是 structural shift，deepening是修饰shift，即主语是The (deepening structural shift)。 整理下，主干是A shift underpins the results.
the deepening of a structural shift (in American politics) that will make the country harder to govern (for the foreseeable future.) that后面的定语从语修饰shift，即the shift will make the country to govern
Democrats won the popular vote for the House of Representatives by a comfortable margin. Their position as the party that enjoys most support among Americans, thanks to its strength in urban centres, was reinforced by a surge in support from the suburbs, where revulsion with President Donald Trump was evident. Meanwhile Republicans tightened their grip on less populous, more rural states, easily beating Democratic senators in Indiana, Missouri and North Dakota. In a country where one chamber of the legislature is based on population and the other on territory, this division is a recipe for gridlock, poor governance and, eventually, disenchantment with the political system itself.
注：此段理解有误，请参见评论
comfortable: （在比赛中）轻松的，轻而易举的
margin: 差数，差额
revulsion: 强烈的反感；厌恶；憎恶
chamber: 室，卧室，会客室; 内庭; [多用于英国] 律师的办公室; 议事厅;
legislation: 立法机关; 立法机构; 立法部; （特指） 州议会
gridlock: n.僵局; 交通全面大堵塞
disenchantment: 对于科学和知识的神秘性、神圣性、魅惑力的消解。
民主党在大众投票中轻松领跑，赢得了众议院选举。归功于民主党的城市中心的力量，他们坐拥美国民众支持最多的党派这一地位，该地位随着他们在城郊支持人数的猛增而得到加强，在城郊地区，对唐纳德·特朗普总统的反感情绪非常明显。同时，共和党加紧了对人口更少、乡村区域更多的州的掌控，他们在印第安纳、密苏里和北达科轻而易举地击败了共和党。立法机构的议会组织一个基于人口，另一个基于领土，在这样的一个国家，这种分裂是应付僵局、治理不善的方法，而最终也将导致政治体系本身的幻灭。
长句：Their position (as the party that enjoys most support among Americans, thanks to its strength in urban centres,) was reinforced by a surge in support (from the suburbs, where revulsion with President Donald Trump was evident.)
主干：Their position was reinforced by a surge. 怎么样的position：as the party that enjoys most support among Americans；之前如何有这样的position: thanks to its strength in urban centres；现在这个position因为某种人数的猛增而加强，怎么样的猛增a surge in support from the suburbs；什么样的surburb: where revulsion with President Donald Trump was evident.
The breadth of the divide is striking. Ten years ago there were 17 states with one Republican senator and one Democratic one. From January 2019 there will be just seven. In federal elections hardly any candidates seem able to survive in opposition-party territory. Only six Democratic senators won their elections in states carried by Mr Trump in 2016. The picture is less stark for governors, but in statehouses the pattern reasserts itself. From January Minnesota will be the only state where one chamber is controlled by Democrats and the other by Republicans. The last time that was the case was back in 1914.
breadth: 宽度; 宽容; （知识、兴趣等的） 广泛 （更多表示抽象意味）
senator: 参议员
carry: 获得（支持、同意或同情等） to win the support, agreement, or sympathy of a group of people
picture: 情况；局面；事态
stark: 裸露的；简单的；明显的；（尤指）毫无修饰的，粗陋的；严重的；极端的
statehouse: （美国）州议会大楼
reassert: to do something to show that you still have power
分裂的程度之深令人震惊。十年前，17个州拥有一位民主党参议员和一位共和党参议员，自2019年1月起，这个数字将仅仅只有7。在联邦选举中，任何候选人看上去都很难在对立党的领地上幸存当选。在2016年支持特朗普的州中，仅有6名民主党参议员在这些州赢得了选举。对各州州长来说，局面尚未如此严重，但在州议会中，这种模式重现其威力。自１月起，明尼苏达将是唯一一个两院一方由民主党控制、另一方由共和党控制的州。上一次发生这样情况还要追溯到1914年。
难句：Only six Democratic senators won their elections in states carried by Mr Trump in 2016. 这里的carry是获得……支持的意思= win the support。 即the states were won by Mr trump，前面用了win，这里用了carry。（感觉很微妙啊，说民主党人就说only，怎么不说众议院选举民主党优势多大。）
This equilibrium may be stable, but it is damaging for the country and for both parties. For the Republicans, the danger is a long-term one. For now, they hold the White House and have an increased majority in the Senate. But in a two-party system, a party that prevails while consistently failing to capture a majority of votes will one day find it is no longer seen as exercising power legitimately by a majority of voters. For the Democrats, the challenge is immediate. They may rail against a system that disadvantages them in structural ways, but cannot change that system until they can work out how to win within it. Running up vast vote shares in New York and California is all very well, but on its own will not deliver a governing majority.
equilibrium：平衡；均衡
prevail: 占优势，占上风
legitimately: 正当地，合理地
rail: 谴责；抱怨
structural: 结构；构造；机构；体系
run sth up: 使（价格或价值）迅速增加（或升高）；积欠（账款或债务）；赶制（衣服）；仓促缝制；快速做成
deliver: 实现；产生；兑现（诺言）
这样的均衡局面或许能实现稳定，但对国家和两党来说都很危险。对共和党人来说，这种危险性是长期的。当下，他们掌握了白宫，并在参议院在多数优势也有扩大。但在一个两党制体系中，一个政党占据优势，却持续未能在投票中获得多数选票，这样的政党迟早有一天会被大部分选民视为不合法地行使权力。对民主党来说，挑战就在眼下。他们或许会抱怨让他们在体系上处于劣势的系统，但除非他们能从中获胜，不然无法对此进行改变。纽约和加州的选票率有迅速的大幅增加，这的确是很好的事，但仅靠自身的力量，无法在决策治理实现多数优势。
长句(But in a two-party system,) a party that prevails while consistently failing to capture a majority of votes will one day find it is no longer seen as exercising power legitimately by a majority of voters.
主干：A party will find it is no longer seen as ... 修饰party的是that的引导的定语从语，完整的是The party prevails while consistently failing to capture a majority of votes; while + 现在分词表示两个动作同时发生。find后面接的宾语从语，是一个完整的句子：it is no longer seen as exercising power legitimately by a majority of voters. exercise有行使、使用的意思，exercising power legitimately即合法地使用权力。
a governing majority：指在参议院获得大多数席位
What is the way out of this impasse? The main onus is now on the Democrats. For their own good, not to mention the country’s, they have to find ways to appeal in America’s heartland.
impasse: 绝境；僵局
onus: 责任；义务
heartland: （国家或地区的）腹地
appeal: （尤指向公众）呼吁，吁请，求助，恳求
僵局的出路会在何方？现在主要的责任落在民主党肩上。为了他们自己、更不用说为了国家的利益着想，他们必须找到方法，在美国中心腹地发起吁请。
That starts with exercising restraint. Yes, they should use their majority in the House to scrutinise a president who shows contempt for the norms that have constrained past presidents. They should look carefully at what has been going on in federal agencies, and investigate possible presidential abuses of power or misuse of the office for personal aggrandisement. But Democrats should resist the urge to use their majority in the House to take revenge, hounding the president in the way that Newt Gingrich and his Republican colleagues once hounded Bill Clinton. Prosecution should be left to prosecutors. It is not obvious, for instance, that there would be much to gain by investigating the circumstances of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court. There is certainly no ground to impeach him, as some Democrats want.
scrutinise: 细看，仔细审查
aggrandisement: （权力、重要性或财富的）扩大，提高，增加
ground: 原因，根据，理由
首先要行使限制权。是的，他们应该使用他们在众议院的多数席位，对总统的言行进行认真审查，这位总统对曾限制过往总统言行的条约不屑一顾。他们应该仔细观察联邦机构现在发生的情况，调查总统是否可能滥用权力或不当行使政府权力，来为个人牟利。但民主党人应该克制冲动，不要利用众议院多数席位施展报复的冲动，像纽特·金瑞奇和他的共和党同僚曾经围攻比尔·克林顿那样围攻总统。检控应该留给检察官来做。比如说，并没有明显根据显示，对大法官雷特·卡瓦诺当选最高法院的任命确认开展调查会有很大益处。没有理由去弹劾他——某些民主党人想这么做。
长句：They should (look carefully at what has been going on in federal agencies), and (investigate possible presidential abuses of power or misuse of the office for personal aggrandisement.)
主干是They should do A and do B。A 是 look carefully at what has been going on in federal agencies. look at 后面是 what 引导的名词性从句。B 是investigate sth. 宾语是possible presidential abuses of power/ misuse of the office for personal aggrandisement. abuses of power 和 misuse of the office是并列的。
背景：纽特·金瑞奇（Newt Gingrich，1943年），美国政治家。生于宾夕法尼亚州首府哈里斯堡，1978年当选佐治亚州国会众议员，后成为国会保守派共和党领袖，终结了民主党42年在众议院的统治地位，因此成就1995年当选《时代》周刊年度人物 [1] 。后和克林顿总统在预算上冲突激烈，又支持因莱温斯基案弹劾总统，1998年中期选举失利辞职，2012年参加总统竞选，中途宣布退出。
雷特·卡瓦诺(Brett Kavanaugh)，美国人，1965年出生，曾是大法官肯尼迪的法律助理。现任最高法院大法官。 2018年9月，卡瓦诺被指多年前曾性侵一名高中女生，他发出声明严正否认，该女子9月16日向美国《华盛顿邮报》透露身份，并接受访问。2018年9月28日，布雷特·卡瓦诺闯过国会参议院听证关。但在参议院全体投票前，联邦调查局将就性侵指控对他展开“补充背景调查”。
A second Democratic priority should be to show that they have the ideas and capacity for governing that can appeal to a broader swathe of voters. One way to do so is to make a good faith effort to work with the president and the Republicans. There are deals to be done on infrastructure and on drug prices. They also need to make immigration less toxic (see Lexington).
swathe: 长条区域，大块区域；（尤指）长条田地，大块田地；部分；范围
good faith effort: 有诚意的努力
民主党的第二优先事项是展现出他们拥有治国的想法和能力，这能在更大的范围上吸引选民。一个做法是做出真诚的努力，与总统同共和党人合作。在基础建设和药品价格方面，他们可以达成协议。他们同样需要让移民政策更无害些。
In 2010, when Republicans won the House during Barack Obama’s presidency and proceeded to block everything Democrats wanted to do, the White House argued that it was unjust for half of one branch of the federal government to stand in the way of everything else. That was right then and it is right now. House Democrats should not declare, as Mitch McConnell once did, that they will oppose everything the president does. There should be no repeat of the hostage-taking that saw the Republican House flirt with a sovereign default during Mr Obama’s second term.
proceed to do: （做完某事后）接着做
hostage-taking: 劫持人质
flirt with: 玩弄; [法] 调戏，调情，卖俏;
sovereign: 君主；元首；最高统治者 ~ default: Sovereign default is a government's failure to repay its debts.主权违约
2010年巴拉克·奥巴马总统期内，当共和党赢得众议院、接着阻止所有民主党想做的事时，白宫争辩说，联邦政府一个分支的一半在妨碍所有其他事情的进行，这样不公平。这个论调那时是正确的，现在也是。民主党议员不该声称他们会反对总统所做的任何事——正如米奇·麦康奈尔曾做的那样。奥巴克第二个任期中，共和党的众议院玩弄主权违约，以此来劫持政府的情况不应该再重现。
背景：Mitch McConnell 米奇·麦康奈尔，男，1942年2月20日出生于阿拉巴马州，成长在肯塔基州南部。参议院多数党（共和党）领袖。1964年，毕业于Louisville大学。1967年，获得肯塔基大学法学院法学学位。1967年，参加美国陆军预备役的训练，因被诊断患有视神经炎而提前退出。与前妻育有三个女儿。1993年，与前美国劳工部部长的华裔女性赵小兰结婚。
sovereign default: 美国债务危机，是指一国以自己的主权为担保向外，不管是向国际货币基金组织还是向世界银行，还是向其他国家借来的债务。债务危机是指在国际借贷领域中大量负债，超过了借款者自身的清偿能力，造成无力还债或必须延期还债的现象。主权债务危机的本质是高赤字之下的主权信用危机。很多国家，随着救市规模不断扩大，债务的比重也在大幅度的增加，很多国家可能面临无法偿还未来的风险。国际金融危机的爆发使美国政府赤字大幅度上升，举债度日成为家常便饭，国债纪录屡创新高。截至2010年9月30日，美国联邦政府债务余额为13.58万亿美元，GDP占比约为94%，同年年底一举突破14万亿美元。2011年2月22日，在可供发债余额仅剩2180亿美元的时候，美国国会未就提高上限达成一致。终于在2011年5月，美国国债触顶，开创了14.29万亿美元的历史新高。面对这种情况，美国财长盖特纳忧心忡忡。他表示，由于采取了一些紧急措施以维持借债能力，美国政府支付开支最多能延迟到2013年8月2日。到了2013年8月2日，政府若不提高债务上限或削减开支，就会开始债务违约，无法偿还美国国债券本金和利息，这种情况可能让国际金融市场陷入混乱。
Plenty of Democrats will counsel against holding back, arguing that the scorched-earth strategy that the Republicans used when they had a majority in the House worked perfectly well for them. Why, they will ask, should Democrats be the party of compromise in the name of better government, when their opponents have so often refused to give an inch?
counsel: （尤指对社会或个人问题）建议，劝告，忠告
hold back:（常指因恐惧或不愿让事情变得更糟而）退缩，不做
scorched-earth strategy: the act of an army destroying everything in an area such as food, buildings, or equipment that could be useful to an enemy 焦土策略（军队毁掉某个地区的食品、建筑、设备等一切可能为敌所用的东西的策略）
许多民主党人会劝告勿要畏缩不前，他们争辩说，共和党人在占据众议院多数席时，他们所采用的焦土策略发挥了完美的作用。为什么——他们会发问——民主党要因为更好的政府这一名义，成为那个做出妥协的政党，而他们的对手却如此经常性地对此不屑一顾？
For two reasons. First, it might just yield results. Admittedly, Mr Trump’s recent behaviour does not bode well. Accusing Democrats of facilitating the murder of policemen, as he did in the closing stages of the campaign, is not the best way to foster bipartisan spirits. Mr Trump could give up on the idea of signing any legislation in the next two years, preferring to rule by executive order, while ranting against the opposition.
yield: 产生；出产；得出
Admittedly: （尤用于不情愿地承认某事时）诚然，无可否认
bode: 预示；预兆
bipartisan: 为两党派所支持的；包括两个党派的
give up on: to expect someone or something to fail 预期…将会失败
rant: 怒吼；抱怨；叫嚷；大声责骂
有两个原因。第一，这样可能只会产出结果。无可否认，特朗普最近表现的征兆并不好。他指控民主党助长谋杀警方之风——正如同他在选举结束阶段做的那样——并不是培养两党精神的最好做法。特朗普可以预期到在接下去的两年内，他签署任何立法法案的想法都会失败，他会宁愿通过行政命令实行统治，同时对反对派大吼大叫。
背景： 中新网8月7日电 上周末，美国芝加哥共有72人遭遇枪击，其中12人死亡。对于枪支暴力的泛滥，警方将其归咎于帮派，而美国总统特朗普的律师朱利安尼则将矛头指向该市的民主党领导层。
just yeild results这里还是不太明白
But he may also surprise, proving more willing to deal with Democrats than other Republican presidents have been. The Trump motivating principle is self-interest rather than party loyalty. He has proved willing to discard some long-standing party positions, for good and ill. The role of dealmaker-in-chief could rather suit his ego.
但他也可能令人感到惊讶，证明他比以往的其他共和党总统更愿意与民主党打交道。激励特朗普行动的原则是个人利益，而不是对政党的忠诚。他已经被证明愿意抛弃一些长期存在的政党立场，无论是好还是坏。首席交易人的角色更适合他的自负。
Second, even if bipartisan efforts fail, behaving responsibly is in Democrats’ long-term interests. By and large, Democrats want the federal government to work well. Republicans, by contrast, still consider the words “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” to be a micro-aggression. Gridlock does nothing for confidence in government, which is something Democrats need if they are to win more voters’ confidence. Like it or not, they have more to lose from dysfunction than Republicans do.
by and large: 大体上; 总的来说，大体而言; 大致如此;
micro-aggression: 微歧视（microaggression），也就是不易被人察觉的细微的歧视行为。
第二，即使两党合作努力失败，负责任地行动也符合民主党的长远利益。总的来说，民主党人希望联邦政府能很好地运作。共和党人相比之下，仍然认为“我来自政府，我是来帮忙的”这句话是一种微歧视。僵局对民众树立对政府的信心无益，这是民主党想要赢得更多选民的信心所必需的。无论喜不喜欢，他们比共和党人更多从政府机能失调中失去的更多。
注：Republicans, by contrast, still consider the words “I’m from the government and I’m here to help” to be a micro-aggression. 个人理解指这是一种精英阶层对大众阶层的微歧视。
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