19.We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
19.美国参议院几年选举一次？
Answer:
答案：
Six (6)
6年
Explanation:
解释：
U.S. senators serve (or work in their public position) for six-year terms that are staggered, which means they don’t all begin and end at the same time. One-third of the senators are elected every two years. With staggered terms, there are always some senators who have experience and can guide the new senators. This gives the Senate continuity.
美国参议员交错任期6年，也就是他们不会同时开始不会同时结束工作。三分之一的参议员每两年一选。通过交错任期，有经验的参议员可以引导信任参议员，这样参议院可以持续发展。
In any organization, continuity (or the way that something stays the same over time) is extremely important. The United States Senate is no exception (or no different). If all the senators started and ended their terms (or the period of time they work in their public position) at the same time, then all the new senators would begin at the same time and nobody, or only very few people, would know how Senate meetings should be. All of the senators would be trying to learn their new job at the same time and the Senate would not run very smoothly or easily until they did.
对任何组织来说，连续性都是极其重要的，美国参议院也不例外。如果所有参议员同时开始或结束任期，那新任的参议员没人或很少有人会知道参议院会议如何举行，所有参议员都要同时熟悉新工作，在他们胜任工作之前参议院得工作就很难流畅进行。
State legislators (or people who make laws in the government at the state level) used to elect (or choose) senators. However, since 1913, senators have been elected directly by the votes of the citizens who live in their state. Once a senator is elected, he or she can serve for the full six years before having to run for election (or try to get the public position through votes) again. Sometimes, however, senators are expelled (or forced to leave) before their term ends. This has happened only 15 times so far and the last time was in 1862. Since then, the Senate has tried to expel some senators, but those senators have resigned (or chosen to leave that job) before the other senators could make them leave.
参议员曾经由州立法部选举，但自从1913年，参议员直接由当地州的民众选举。一旦参议员当选，他可以任期6年后在进行下一轮选举。但有时候参议员也会在任期结束之前被开除。这种情况截止目前只发生过15次，最近一次是在1862年，从那以后，参议院有试图开除一些议员，但这些议员在被开除之前自己离职了。
When a vacancy (or an open position) is available, maybe because a senator has resigned or died, there is usually a special election to find a new senator to represent that state. Senators who are elected this way finish the time left in the previous senator’s six-year term and usually do not serve the full six years.
如果因参议员离职或死亡出现的岗位空缺，该州会举行特别的选举选出新的议员。这些新选的议员任期是之前参议院任期剩余的年限，通常不满6年。
Glossary
词汇
19.We elect a U.S. Senator for how many years?
19.美国参议院几年选举一次？
to serve - to work in a public position; to work in a government job
To serve—任公众职位；在政府部门工作
*Colin Powell was the first African American to serve as the U.S. Secretary of State.
*科林.鲍威尔是美国第一位非裔国务卿。
staggered - beginning and ending at different times
Staggered—开始和结束不在同一时期
*If all of the students registered for classes on the same day, the computer system would be very slow, so instead, their registration is staggered by the first letter of their last name.
*如果所有的学生在同一天注册，电脑系统会非常慢，因此，他们被按姓氏的第一个字母排列错开注册。
continuity - the way that something stays the same over time
Continuity—某物一直保持同一状态的姿势
*The hospital tries to give patients continuity when they are moved from one department to another.
*医院试图让并病人从一幢楼移到另一幢楼时保持持续性。
to be no exception - to be no different; to be the same
To be no exception—一样；相同
*Everyone has to get at least 60% to pass the test, and your son is no exception.
*每个人都必须达到60%通过考试，你儿子也不例外。
term - the length of time that a person has a job
Term—一个人工作的期限
*How long is the term for the mayor of New York City?
*纽约市长的任期是多久？
to run for election - to try to be elected to a public position; to trytogeta public job through votes
To run for election—试图当选公众职位；试图通过选举得到政府工作
*Did you ever run for election to the student government at your school?
*你有竞选过你们学校的学生会么？
to expel - to force someone to leave an organization
To expel—强迫某人离开组织
*The student was expelled from high school when he brought aguntoschool.
*这名学生因携带枪支入校而被开除。
to resign - to chose to leave a job; to choose to leave a public position before one has finished the normal period of time
To resign—选择离开工作；在正常结束任期之前离开政府职位
*When the company president found out that she had cancer, she resigned so that she could get treatment.
*当公司领导发现她得了癌症时，她离职去治疗了。
vacancy - an open position; an opening, especially in an organization
Vacancy—开放的职位；机构的空缺岗位
*Do you know if there are any vacancies in the company's marketing department? I'd love to work there.
*你知道这家公司的市场部有空余职位吗？我想去。