元气满满的一周从一份外刊双语精读笔记开始。此文关注特朗普中期选举，在这篇报道中，我们可以学到：
各种好用小词，比如erect, check, vaunted...
表示“推动全面改革”的花式表达，翻译政府公文必备哦；
……
本篇双语笔记由知新共学外刊群笔记担当、CATTI二级翻译Zoe供稿。
篇幅不长，请及时消化哦。
双语
Two Years After Trump’s Victory, Voters Erect an Impediment to His Power 美国参众两院分属两党，特朗普权力遭制衡
Erect通常用于建筑方面，比如某大楼于某年建成，我们就可以说：The building was erected in 1900-1901. 该建筑建于1900-1901年间。
这里则为引申义：V-T If you erect a system, a theory, or an institution, you create it. 创建
比如本文章标题的搭配：Erect an impediment
Impediment: a situation or event that makes it difficult or impossible for someone or something to succeed or make progress阻碍，障碍(物)；绊脚石,
比如我们说，战争是人类进步的绊脚石：War is one of the greatest impediments to human progress.（注意介词搭配：to）
双语
The vaunted blue wave that Democrats had hoped for failed to fully materialize on Tuesday night, but the days of one-party control in Washington are now over. President Trump’s strength in rural areas kept the Senate in Republican control, but voters in urban and suburban districts across the country sent the White House a clear message: They want a check on the president.
周二晚上，民主党人大谈特谈、曾寄予厚望的蓝色浪潮未能完全实现，但华盛顿由一党控制的日子现在结束了。特朗普总统在农村地区的优势确保参议院依旧由共和党掌控，但全国城市和郊区的选民向白宫发出了一个明确的信息：他们希望对总统进行制衡。
笔记
Vaunted形容词：a plan, system, achievement etc that is vaunted is praised or talked about too much and in a way that is too proud被吹嘘的，被大肆赞扬的，比如：
There’s little sign that the much-vaunted IT investment is pulling France out of recession. 几乎没有什么迹象表明这被吹得神乎其神的信息技术投资在使法国走出萧条。
这里的check是【熟词生义】：[C usually singular,一般用单数] something that controls something else and stops it from getting worse, continuing to happen etc制止（手段），抑制（手段），控制，比如：
Higher interest rates will act as a check on public spending提高利率将起到控制公共支出的作用。
近义词：
Curb: to control or limit something in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect控制，抑制，约束，上一句就可以改写为：
The government raised interest rates to curb public spending.
背景
在美国，红色代表共和党，蓝色代表民主党。在西部沿海、东北部沿海畔州份的选民投票倾向较支持民主党，故有蓝州之说，这些州经济发达，人口众多且结构“多元化”（新移民较多）；而南部沿海和中部则较倾向于投给共和党，故有红州之说。
特朗普是共和党的。所以第一句才会有一个转折，虽然说没有完全被民主党取得全部的优势，但华盛顿由一党（共和党）控制的局面还是结束了。
双语
But after eight years in the minority, Democrats hoping to reclaim the White House in 2020 will also have to prove they are interested in governing — and temper the liberal ambitions of the party’s most ardent left-wingers.
但在成为众议院少数党八年之后，希望在2020年夺回白宫的民主党人还必须证明，他们有执政的兴趣，并能够缓和党内最激烈的左翼人士的自由主义野心。
笔记
Temper我们都知道有“脾气”的意思，比如He got a violent temper . 这个人脾气很火爆。不过这里显然是个动词：formal to make something less severe or extreme使缓和；使温和，比如：
The heat in this coastal town is tempered by cool sea breezes.清凉的海风消减了这座海滨小城的暑气。
什么东西需要去缓和呢？ Something severe or extreme. 那这里则是最激烈的左翼人士：
Ardent: ADJ Ardent is used to describe someone who has extremely strong feelings about something or someone. 热烈的 （注意该词释义中也有extremely这个词，不能滥用），比如：
He's been one of the most ardent supporters of the administration's policy. 他是政府政策的最热烈的支持者之一。
双语
Democratic leaders have already said they plan to use their first month in the House majority to advance sweeping changes to future campaign and ethics laws, including outlawing the gerrymandering of congressional districts and restoring key enforcement provisions to the Voting Rights Act. They also intend to press for infrastructure investment and legislation to control the climbing costs of prescription drugs — initiatives that will test whether Mr. Trump is willing to work with them.
民主党领袖已经放话，他们计划利用成为众议院多数党的第一个月，推进对未来竞选和道德法律的全面改革，包括废除国会选区的不公正划分，以及恢复《选举权法》(Voting Rights Act)的关键执行条款。他们还打算推动基础设施投资和立法，以控制不断攀升的处方药价格——这些举措将检验特朗普是否愿意与他们合作。
笔记
“推动全面改革”，常见的表达有：Promote a comprehensive/all-round/overall reform,本段给了我们新的选择：
Advance sweeping changes to….
Sweeping: affecting many things, or making an important difference to something影响大的；范围广的；彻底的, 比如对教育体制进行彻底/全面的改革：Make sweeping changes to education system，这样的表达常见于政府公文的翻译中。
此外，动词除了以上的advance/promote, 还可以用接下来的press for；
Gerrymandering ['dʒerimænd ə rɪŋ]是个专业词汇，注意使用范围：
when politicians change the size and borders of an area before an election, so that one person, group, or party has an unfair advantage〔为使某方在选举中占优而进行的〕不公正的选区重新划分；
双语
Democrats will also have to balance legislative ambitions with their efforts to satisfy the desires of their base to investigate the president. That could lead to gridlock.
民主党人还必须要找到一种平衡，一方面是实现立法上的抱负，一方面又要满足其选民的要求，对总统展开调查。这可能导致僵局的出现。
笔记
民主党目前面临着很多困难。又要实现立法抱负，同时还要想办法调查总统。如果搞不好，就会陷入僵局，gridlock:
a situation in which nothing can happen, usually because people disagree strongly〔由于强烈的意见分歧而造成的〕僵局，比如谈判陷入了僵局：The negotiation ended in gridlock. 这个词同时也可以指“交通僵局”，即交通阻塞。
近义词stalemate: a situation in which it seems impossible to settle an argument or disagreement, and neither side can get an advantage僵局；僵持;
双语
But they do have a lot to celebrate. Democrats not only won the districts they were favored in, but locked up many where they were not. In New York, Max Rose, a health care executive and Army veteran, ousted Representative Dan Donovan, the only Republican member of New York City’s congressional delegation, in a race that analysts had said leaned Republican.
但他们确实有很多值得庆祝的事情。民主党不仅在他们受欢迎的选区赢得了胜利，而且赢下了很多并不青睐他们的地方。在纽约，医疗企管人士和陆军退伍军人马克斯·罗斯(Max Rose)把纽约市国会代表团中的唯一共和党成员丹·多诺万(Dan Donovan)赶下了台，分析人士本来认为，这场选举有利于共和党人。
笔记
尽管面临着很多问题，民主党人还是有很多高兴的事儿，比如拿下了很多以前并不受青睐的地方。
Oust: to force someone out of a position of power, especially so that you can take their place强迫〔某人〕放弃职权，把…撵走〔尤指为取而代之〕,比如把某人赶下台就可以说:Oust sb. From power;
第二句很长，不过有一大部分是修饰那2个人名的了，可以看到修饰成分是介绍这个2个人的职业背景，所以直接加在人名前即可；
最后还有一个状语：in a race that ….
考虑到前面已经是一个完整的句子了，这里可以单独成句。需要注意的是时态：had said…
所以“本来”必不可少。
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