时代周刊:美国选民恢复正常了吗?(1)

Are American voters acting¹ normal again?

美国选民恢复正常了吗?

By Molly Ball

文/莫莉·波尔

EVER SINCE DONALD TRUMP² CAME ALONG,

自从唐纳德·特朗普出现在民众的视线中以来，

politics has been upside down and backward,

美国的政治就一直在颠倒和倒退，

the conventional wisdom rendered useless and the old rules thrown out the window.

传统的智慧变得一无是处，旧的规则也被弃若敝履。

Political professionals regard the American voter warily³, never sure when the next weird⁴ surprise might come.

政治专家们谨慎地看着选民，永远都摸不透何时会再次出现奇怪的意外。

Would Republicans vote for a man accused of pursuing teens for sex?

共和党人会投票给一个被控把青少年作为性爱追求对象的男人吗?

Roy Moore nearly won a Senate seat in Alabama despite such allegations, which he denies.

尽管罗伊·摩尔同样陷入了这类指控，这些指控被他矢口否认了，他还是差点赢得了阿拉巴马州的参议员席位。

Could a Democrat⁵ capture a congressional district Trump won by 20 points?

特朗普以20个百分点的优势争取到的国会选区民主党人能否拿下?

Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania did just that.

宾夕法尼亚州的康纳·兰姆就做到了。

In these topsy-turvy times, anything is possible.

在这个颠三倒四的时代，任何事情都可能发生。

And so, on May 9, the so-called experts braced⁶ for the latest insanity⁷.

所以，5月9日那天，所谓的专家们准备好了迎接新一轮的疯狂。

But instead, in the first major round of primary voting ahead of this fall’s midterm elections,

然而，在今年秋季中期选举前的第一轮大型初选中，

Republican and Democratic voters made generally conventional choices.

共和党和民主党的选民居然普遍做出了传统的选择。

In primaries in West Virginia, Ohio and Indiana,

在西弗吉尼亚州、俄亥俄州和印第安纳州的初选中，

voters eschewed⁸ the most out-of-the-mainstream candidates, and both party establishments exhaled⁹.

选民们绕开了那些最脱离主流的候选人，两党都长吁了一口气。

In West Virginia, Republican voters chose Patrick Morrisey, the state attorney general,

西弗吉尼亚州的共和党选民选了州检察长帕特里克·莫里西

as their Senate nominee¹⁰ to challenge the Democratic incumbent¹¹, Joe Manchin.

作为己方对抗民主党现任参议员乔·曼钦的候选人。

A former Washington lobbyist who positioned himself as the conservative in the race,

作为在竞选中把自己定位为保守派的一名前华盛顿说客，

Morrisey edged out a sitting Congressman¹², Evan Jenkins,

莫里西击败了在任国会议员埃文·詹金斯，

as well as the race’s most notorious contender, Don Blankenship,

也击败了本次选举中名声最不好的竞选者唐·布兰肯希普，

a former coal-company CEO who spent a year in prison for mine-safety violations¹³ after an explosion that killed 29 miners.

后者曾是某煤炭企业的总裁，其煤矿发生爆炸导致29名矿工死亡后，因煤矿安全违规被判了一年监禁。

In the final days of the campaign, Blankenship released a bizarre ad

在竞选的最后几天，布兰肯希普发布了一则颇为怪异的广告，

in which he assailed¹⁴ the unpopular Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, for favoring “Chinapeople” over Americans.

并在广告中抨击了不得人心的参议院多数党领袖、肯塔基州议员米奇·麦康奈尔，称他喜欢“中国人”超过喜欢美国人。

Trump, presumably without intending any irony¹⁵, warned voters that Blankenship was too crazy to win a general election,

特朗普大概没带任何讽刺意思地警告选民道，布兰肯希普为了赢得大选变得太疯狂了，

comparing him to Moore, the Republican candidate who managed to lose the Alabama race in December.

为此，他还把布兰肯希普和去年12月在阿拉巴马州竞选中失利的共和党候选人摩尔做了比较。

The voters listened, giving Washington Republicans what they see as a better chance at taking the seat.

选民们听取了特朗普的意见，给了华盛顿的共和党人一个他们认为更有可能获得这个席位的机会。

Manchin is personally popular, but Trump won the state by 42 points in 2016.

作为个人，曼钦的人气并不低，但2016年时特朗普还是以42个百分点的优势赢得了该州。

In Ohio, it was Democrats¹⁶ who were on edge, thanks to a late surge by a colorful but unconventional candidate.

俄亥俄州坐立不安的则是民主党人，这要“感谢”最近崛起的一位颇为有趣又标新立异的候选人。

But the establishment’s preferred candidate for governor, former state attorney general Richard Cordray,

但当局更中意的州长候选人，该州的前检察长理查德·科德雷，

easily defeated Dennis Kucinich, the far-left former Congressman and two-time presidential aspirant¹⁷.

轻松击败了丹尼斯·库西尼奇这位极左的，曾两度竞选总统的前国会议员。

Cordray is hardly a corporate-friendly Democrat—

科德雷很难说得上是一个亲企业型的民主党人——

he was handpicked for his last job, director of the bank watchdog Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, by liberal warrior¹⁸ Elizabeth Warren—

他的上一职位是银行监管机构“消费者金融保护局”局长一职，当时是自由斗士伊丽莎白·沃伦亲自挑选他担任的——

but he lacked Kucinich’s crusading zeal¹⁹ and new-age vibes.

但他缺乏库西尼奇那种十字军般的热忱和新时代的那种律动。

1 acting   

n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的

参考例句：

• Ignore her,she's just acting.别理她，她只是假装的。
• During the seventies,her acting career was in eclipse.在七十年代，她的表演生涯黯然失色。

2 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

3 warily   

adv.留心地

参考例句：

• He looked warily around him,pretending to look after Carrie.他小心地看了一下四周，假装是在照顾嘉莉。
• They were heading warily to a point in the enemy line.他们正小心翼翼地向着敌人封锁线的某一处前进。

4 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

5 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

6 braced   

adj.拉牢的v.支住( brace的过去式和过去分词 )；撑牢；使自己站稳；振作起来

参考例句：

• They braced up the old house with balks of timber. 他们用梁木加固旧房子。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The house has a wooden frame which is braced with brick. 这幢房子是木结构的砖瓦房。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 insanity   

n.疯狂，精神错乱；极端的愚蠢，荒唐

参考例句：

• In his defense he alleged temporary insanity.他伪称一时精神错乱，为自己辩解。
• He remained in his cell,and this visit only increased the belief in his insanity.他依旧还是住在他的地牢里，这次视察只是更加使人相信他是个疯子了。

8 eschewed   

v.（尤指为道德或实际理由而）习惯性避开，回避( eschew的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I eschewed upbraiding, I curtailed remonstrance. 我避免责备，少作规劝。 来自辞典例句
• Moreover, she has a business plan, an accessory eschewed by cavalier counterparts. 此外，她还有商业计划，这是彬彬有礼的男设计师们回避的一点。 来自互联网

9 exhaled   

v.呼出，发散出( exhale的过去式和过去分词 )；吐出（肺中的空气、烟等），呼气

参考例句：

• He sat back and exhaled deeply. 他仰坐着深深地呼气。
• He stamped his feet and exhaled a long, white breath. 跺了跺脚，他吐了口长气，很长很白。 来自汉英文学 - 骆驼祥子

10 nominee   

n.被提名者；被任命者；被推荐者

参考例句：

• His nominee for vice president was elected only after a second ballot.他提名的副总统在两轮投票后才当选。
• Mr.Francisco is standing as the official nominee for the post of District Secretary.弗朗西斯科先生是行政书记职位的正式提名人。

11 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

12 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

13 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

14 assailed   

v.攻击( assail的过去式和过去分词 )；困扰；质问；毅然应对

参考例句：

• He was assailed with fierce blows to the head. 他的头遭到猛烈殴打。
• He has been assailed by bad breaks all these years. 这些年来他接二连三地倒霉。 来自《用法词典》

15 irony   

n.反语，冷嘲；具有讽刺意味的事，嘲弄

参考例句：

• She said to him with slight irony.她略带嘲讽地对他说。
• In her voice we could sense a certain tinge of irony.从她的声音里我们可以感到某种讥讽的意味。

16 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》

17 aspirant   

n.热望者；adj.渴望的

参考例句：

• Any aspirant to the presidency here must be seriously rich.要想当这儿的主席一定要家财万贯。
• He is among the few aspirants with administrative experience.他是为数不多的几个志向远大而且有管理经验的人之一。

18 warrior   

n.勇士，武士，斗士

参考例句：

• The young man is a bold warrior.这个年轻人是个很英勇的武士。
• A true warrior values glory and honor above life.一个真正的勇士珍视荣誉胜过生命。

19 zeal   

n.热心，热情，热忱

参考例句：

• Revolutionary zeal caught them up,and they joined the army.革命热情激励他们，于是他们从军了。
• They worked with great zeal to finish the project.他们热情高涨地工作，以期完成这个项目。