2022年11月17日 VOA慢速英语：美国人可以就一件事达成一致：欢乐时光

 

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.
在美国马萨诸塞州，民主党人和共和党人可以找到一个可以达成一致的问题：让酒吧有欢乐时光。酒吧和餐馆的欢乐时光是酒水价格较低的时候。
 
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.
马萨诸塞州法律禁止酒吧和餐馆对酒精饮料提供特别折扣。但美联社进行的一项民意研究或调查显示，大约十分之六的人支持国家将欢乐时光合法化。
 
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.
新闻机构将其调查称为 AP VoteCast。它向美国选民询问了他们对影响国家的一些最重要问题的看法。但调查也涵盖了社会的其他部分。
 
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 还探讨了阿拉巴马州的大学橄榄球、密西西比州选民对前足球明星布雷特法夫尔的看法以及田纳西州选民是否喜欢泰勒斯威夫特。
 
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.
这些问题是了解政治和政治如何影响的更大努力的一部分。文化有关系。该调查涵盖的主题从国家政治问题到有关圣经的问题。
 
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.
在阿拉巴马州，大学橄榄球感觉就像一种宗教。其中一位参议员汤米·图伯维尔 (Tommy Tuberville) 曾在阿拉巴马州的奥本大学执教。阿拉巴马大学的 Crimson Tide 赢得了 18 次全国冠军。
 
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.
美联社调查发现，大约一半的阿拉巴马州选民表示他们是 Crimson Tide 的粉丝，而支持奥本的选民中只有十分之二。大约十分之一的人表示他们支持这两个团队。但 25% 的阿拉巴马州选民表示他们不支持任何一个团队。
 
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.
在爱荷华州，该调查探讨了选民对成为全国第一个选择本党下一任总统候选人的州的感受。该过程称为爱荷华州核心小组。它不涉及直接投票，而是通过一系列演讲和公开辩论来决定支持哪位候选人。该过程在 2020 年产生了问题，因为民主党延迟报告结果。
 
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.
十分之六的爱荷华州选民表示，他们希望他们的州继续举行党团会议，而不是改为举行直接投票。两年前，民主党的党团核心小组出现问题后，支持民主党的选民几乎平分秋色。
 
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评了田纳西州的共和党立法者。她在 2020 年的一部纪录片中称该州的一名参议员玛莎·布莱克本为“戴假发的特朗普”。
 
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.
但田纳西州的许多选民似乎并不在意。大约十分之四的人对斯威夫特有好感。美联社调查发现，大约十分之三的选民不支持这位歌手，其中大多数是共和党人。但另外十分之三的人表示，他们对 Swift 的了解还不足以表达他们的感受。这位音乐明星最近有 10 首歌曲进入 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，名人堂足球运动员 Brett Favre 不受选民欢迎。今年的一项调查显示，他滥用了本应用于福利计划的 800 万美元。他甚至联系了州长，看看这笔钱是否可以帮助他在他以前的学校南密西西比大学建造一座足球训练大楼。
 
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.
大约十分之二的密西西比州选民表示他们对 Favre 有好感，其中大多数人表示他们支持共和党。大约十分之四的人对 Favre 持负面看法，该群体分为支持民主党和共和党候选人的选民。
 
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.
总统乔·拜登在密西西比州也获得了类似的评价。到 2-1 时，选民表示他们对这位民主党总统和这位著名足球运动员的负面看法多于正面看法。