2022年11月17日 VOA慢速英語：美國人可以就一件事達成一致：歡樂時光

 

In the American state of Massachusetts, Democrats and Republicans could find an issue to agree on: letting bars have happy hours. Happy hours are times at bars and restaurants when there are lower prices for drinks.
在美國馬薩諸塞州，民主黨人和共和黨人可以找到一個可以達成一致的問題：讓酒吧有歡樂時光。酒吧和餐館的歡樂時光是酒水價格較低的時候。
 
Massachusetts law bans bars and restaurants from having special discounts for alcoholic drinks. But a public opinion study, or survey, carried out by The Associated Press shows that about 6 in 10 people support the state legalizing happy hour.
馬薩諸塞州法律禁止酒吧和餐館對酒精飲料提供特別折扣。但美聯(lián)社進行的一項民意研究或調(diào)查顯示，大約十分之六的人支持國家將歡樂時光合法化。
 
The news agency calls its survey AP VoteCast. It asked U.S. voters their opinions on some of the most important issues affecting the nation. But the survey also covered other parts of society.
新聞機構(gòu)將其調(diào)查稱為 AP VoteCast。它向美國選民詢問了他們對影響國家的一些最重要問題的看法。但調(diào)查也涵蓋了社會的其他部分。
 
For example, AP VoteCast also explored Alabama college football, what Mississippi voters think about former football star Brett Favre and whether Tennessee voters like Taylor Swift.
例如，AP VoteCast 還探討了阿拉巴馬州的大學橄欖球、密西西比州選民對前足球明星布雷特法夫爾的看法以及田納西州選民是否喜歡泰勒斯威夫特。
 
These questions were part of a larger effort to understand how politics and culture are related. The survey covered topics ranging from state political issues to questions about the Bible.
這些問題是了解政治和政治如何影響的更大努力的一部分。文化有關(guān)系。該調(diào)查涵蓋的主題從國家政治問題到有關(guān)圣經(jīng)的問題。
 
In Alabama, college football can feel like a religion. One of its senators, Tommy Tuberville, coached at Alabama's Auburn University. The University of Alabama's Crimson Tide has won 18 national championships.
在阿拉巴馬州，大學橄欖球感覺就像一種宗教。其中一位參議員湯米·圖伯維爾 (Tommy Tuberville) 曾在阿拉巴馬州的奧本大學執(zhí)教。阿拉巴馬大學的 Crimson Tide 贏得了 18 次全國冠軍。
 
The AP survey found that about half of Alabama voters say they are Crimson Tide fans, compared with about 2 in 10 who favor Auburn. About 1 in 10 say they support both teams. But 25 percent of Alabama voters say they do not support either team.
美聯(lián)社調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，大約一半的阿拉巴馬州選民表示他們是 Crimson Tide 的粉絲，而支持奧本的選民中只有十分之二。大約十分之一的人表示他們支持這兩個團隊。但 25% 的阿拉巴馬州選民表示他們不支持任何一個團隊。
 
In Iowa, the survey explored voters' feelings about being the first state in the nation to choose their party's next presidential nominee. The process is called the Iowa caucus. It does not involve direct votes, but a series of speeches and open debate to decide which candidate to support. The process created problems in 2020 because Democrats had a delay in reporting results.
在愛荷華州，該調(diào)查探討了選民對成為全國第一個選擇本黨下一任總統(tǒng)候選人的州的感受。該過程稱為愛荷華州核心小組。它不涉及直接投票，而是通過一系列演講和公開辯論來決定支持哪位候選人。該過程在 2020 年產(chǎn)生了問題，因為民主黨延遲報告結(jié)果。
 
Six in 10 Iowa voters say they want their state to continue to hold caucuses rather than change to holding a direct vote. Voters for Democrats are about evenly divided following their party's caucus problems two years ago.
十分之六的愛荷華州選民表示，他們希望他們的州繼續(xù)舉行黨團會議，而不是改為舉行直接投票。兩年前，民主黨的黨團核心小組出現(xiàn)問題后，支持民主黨的選民幾乎平分秋色。
 
Pop singer Taylor Swift has criticized Republican lawmakers in Tennessee. She called one of that state's senators, Marsha Blackburn, "Trump in a wig," in a 2020 documentary.
流行歌手泰勒斯威夫特批評了田納西州的共和黨立法者。她在 2020 年的一部紀錄片中稱該州的一名參議員瑪莎·布萊克本為“戴假發(fā)的特朗普”。
 
But many Tennessee voters do not seem to care. About 4 in 10 have favorable feelings toward Swift. The AP survey found about 3 in 10 voters do not support the singer, most of them Republicans. But another 3 in 10 said they did not know enough to say how they felt about Swift. The music star recently had 10 songs in the top 10 positions of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
但田納西州的許多選民似乎并不在意。大約十分之四的人對斯威夫特有好感。美聯(lián)社調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，大約十分之三的選民不支持這位歌手，其中大多數(shù)是共和黨人。但另外十分之三的人表示，他們對 Swift 的了解還不足以表達他們的感受。這位音樂明星最近有 10 首歌曲進入 Billboard Hot 100 排行榜的前 10 名。
 
In Mississippi, Hall of Fame football player Brett Favre is not as popular with voters. An investigation this year showed he had misused $8 million meant for welfare programs. He even contacted the governor to see if the money could help build a football practice building at his former school, the University of Southern Mississippi.
在密西西比州，名人堂足球運動員 Brett Favre 不受選民歡迎。今年的一項調(diào)查顯示，他濫用了本應用于福利計劃的 800 萬美元。他甚至聯(lián)系了州長，看看這筆錢是否可以幫助他在他以前的學校南密西西比大學建造一座足球訓練大樓。
 
About 2 in 10 Mississippi voters said they had a favorable opinion of Favre, with most saying they support Republicans. About 4 in 10 had an unfavorable opinion of Favre, a group that was divided between voters supporting Democratic and Republican candidates.
大約十分之二的密西西比州選民表示他們對 Favre 有好感，其中大多數(shù)人表示他們支持共和黨。大約十分之四的人對 Favre 持負面看法，該群體分為支持民主黨和共和黨候選人的選民。
 
President Joe Biden was similarly rated in Mississippi. By 2-1, voters said they had more unfavorable than favorable opinions about both the Democratic president and the famous football player.
總統(tǒng)喬·拜登在密西西比州也獲得了類似的評價。到 2-1 時，選民表示他們對這位民主黨總統(tǒng)和這位著名足球運動員的負面看法多于正面看法。