华盛顿邮报 特朗普密友麦卡锡怎么了？(1)

 

    This week, we're taking you inside a new Congress and how the balance of power is undergoing some seismic¹ shifts...as House Democrats² are out and Republicans are now in control.

    本周，我们将带你走进新一届国会，看看格局是如何发生巨变的……民主党人退出众议院，共和党人现在掌权众议院。

    434 Representatives-elect have recorded their presence. A quorum³ is present.

    434名当选的众议院议员已登记出席。出席人数达到法定人数。

    Can you tell us what happened on the floor today at the House of Representatives?

    你能告诉我们今天在众议院发生了什么吗?

    The House of Representatives met for the first time in this Congress, and the first thing that the House does is try to elect a speaker.

    众议院举行了本届国会的首次会议，众议院的首要议程就是试图选举议长。

    And I say "try to" because, on the first ballot⁴, they failed to do so.

    我说“试图”是因为，在首轮投票中，他们没有选出议长。

    Kevin McCarthy, the presumptive speaker since Republicans won back the House, had to win a majority of the votes, and he came up well short of that.

    假定议长凯文·麦卡锡在共和党人赢回众议院后必须赢得多数选票，而他的支持率却低得多。

    There were 19 Republican members of the House who voted for somebody else, leaving him well shy of the majority that he needed.

    众议院有19名共和党议员把票投给了其他人，这让麦卡锡远远没有达到他需要的多数选票。

    So what that means is, we've made a little bit of history here.

    这意味着，我们多少开创了点历史。

    We go to multiple ballots⁵ to elect the speaker for the first time since 1923. That's 100 years ago.

    我们经历了自1923年以来的首次需要多次投票来确定议长。上次发生这种事是100年前了。

    And so beyond that, what happens from here, nobody really knows.

    除此之外，没人知道接下来会发生什么。

    But what we do know is that this is a pretty inauspicious start for Kevin McCarthy in what is really his second bid to become speaker.

    但我们知道的是，这对凯文·麦卡锡来说是一个相当不吉利的开始，这实际上是他第二次竞选议长。

    Today, as the new members of Congress settle in, we're spilling the tea on the drama behind their first big vote for the new House speaker, and why some Republicans think Kevin McCarthy ain't it.

    今天，国会新成员逐渐适应了工作环境，我们将爆料新众议院议长的首次重大投票背后的闹剧，以及为什么一些共和党人不支持凯文·麦卡锡。

    So, this is a pretty wild way to kick off the year.

    这是开启新年的疯狂方式。

    And we're just talking to you now, Aaron, right after the first round of voting after 2:00 p.m. this afternoon.

    亚伦，今天下午两点第一轮投票刚刚结束，我们现在正和你连线。

    But, you know, embarrassment⁶ aside, why is this such a big deal? How unusual is this?

    但是，撇开尴尬不谈，为什么这是件大事? 这有多反常?

    Of course, as you say, it's been 100 years since anything like this has happened, but could you break it down a little bit more for us?

    当然，就像你说的，这样的事情100年前发生过了，但你能给我们详细分析一下吗?

    Yeah. So, I think there's a real question about whether this is symbolic⁷, at least going into this vote, whether this was going to be some symbolic rebuke⁸, an effort to gain some concessions⁹ on the House rules.

    好的。我认为真正的问题是，至少在这次投票中，这是否具有象征意义，这是否会有一些象征性的谴责，为了在众议院规则上获得一些让步所做的努力。

    There is a contingent¹⁰ of the House GOP that basically wants to change the rules to empower rank-and-file lawmakers on committees, on certain procedural matters like being able to remove a speaker.

    众议院共和党的一批人希望改变规则，希望在某些程序事项上能赋予委员会中的普通议员权力，比如能够罢免议长的权力。

    These are all kind of some of the many asks of this group of lawmakers who held out.

    这些都是这群抵制新议长的议员提出的众多要求中的一部分。

    I think the fact that there was this many defections makes the road back for McCarthy more difficult than I think even some people thought it was going to be.

    我认为有这么多的叛变使得麦卡锡的回归之路比我认为的、甚至比一些人想象的还要困难。

    There was a group of about five holdouts that had indicated they were hard-nosed on McCarthy heading into this, and that would have been enough by itself to prevent him from winning.

    大约有5名抵制者表示，他们坚决反对麦卡锡当选议长，这本身就足以阻止他获得胜选。

    The fact that there were 19 on the first ballot means that McCarthy needs to win back a lot of these members, and they're all asking for different things, so that's not an easy task.

    事实上，在第一轮投票中有19名议员没有选麦卡锡，这意味着麦卡锡需要赢回这些议员中很多人的选票，他们的要求各有不同，所以这并不是件简单的事儿。

1 seismic   

a.地震的，地震强度的

参考例句：

• Earthquakes produce two types of seismic waves.地震产生两种地震波。
• The latest seismic activity was also felt in northern Kenya.肯尼亚北部也感觉到了最近的地震活动。

2 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》

3 quorum   

n.法定人数

参考例句：

• The meeting is adjourned since there is no quorum.因为没有法定人数会议休会。
• Three members shall constitute a quorum.三名成员可组成法定人数。

4 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

5 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 embarrassment   

n.尴尬；使人为难的人(事物)；障碍；窘迫

参考例句：

• She could have died away with embarrassment.她窘迫得要死。
• Coughing at a concert can be a real embarrassment.在音乐会上咳嗽真会使人难堪。

7 symbolic   

adj.象征性的，符号的，象征主义的

参考例句：

• It is symbolic of the fighting spirit of modern womanhood.它象征着现代妇女的战斗精神。
• The Christian ceremony of baptism is a symbolic act.基督教的洗礼仪式是一种象征性的做法。

8 rebuke   

v.指责，非难，斥责 [反]praise

参考例句：

• He had to put up with a smart rebuke from the teacher.他不得不忍受老师的严厉指责。
• Even one minute's lateness would earn a stern rebuke.哪怕迟到一分钟也将受到严厉的斥责。

9 concessions   

n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权

参考例句：

• The firm will be forced to make concessions if it wants to avoid a strike. 要想避免罢工，公司将不得不作出一些让步。
• The concessions did little to placate the students. 让步根本未能平息学生的愤怒。

10 contingent   

adj.视条件而定的；n.一组，代表团，分遣队

参考例句：

• The contingent marched in the direction of the Western Hills.队伍朝西山的方向前进。
• Whether or not we arrive on time is contingent on the weather.我们是否按时到达要视天气情况而定。