20.Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?
20.你们州的一位参议员是谁？
Answer:
答案：
Answers will vary. [For District of Columbia residents and residents of U.S. territories, the answer is that D.C. (or the territory where the applicant lives) has no U.S. Senators.]
答案是多样的。（哥伦比亚区和边境地区的民众会说没有参议员）
Explanation:
解释：
If you are walking outdoors in the United States, especially in front of a university, library, or public building, don’t be too surprised (or shocked) if you are asked to participate in a letter-writing campaign to your U.S. Senator. American citizens who are unhappy about something that the government is doing can communicate (or speak) with their representatives, which include senators from their state. A letter-writing campaign is an attempt to get many people to write to their senator on a single topic. For organizations, writing letters to senators or other representatives is an effective way to do advocacy (or to show what they think and to tell the government how things should be done).
走在美国的大街上，尤其是大学，图书馆或公共建筑附近，若被问到参与本州呈书参议员的运动时，你都不会觉得奇怪。美国民众如果对政府做的某件事不满意，他们会与包括参议员的代表们沟通。呈书运动是试图让更多的人为某一论题写信给参议员。对组织来说，呈书参议员或其他代表是辩护（或表达自己的想法告诉政府某件事的处理方法）的有效方式。
When the Senate is going to vote on an important topic, some advocacy groups start a letter-writing campaign to show that the issue is important and to try to get a senator to vote a certain way. When a senator receives many letters from his or her constituency (or the people who live in an area that the senator represents), then the senator knows that the topic is important for many of the people who elected him or her. This information might help the senator decide to vote a certain way.
当参议院准备投票某一主题时，用户组织会发起呈书运动说明此主题的重要性并得到参议员的投票。当参议员收到多份本州选民的呈书时，他知道此主题对选民很重要。这些信息可能会促使参议员投票。
Sometimes the people who organize letter-writing campaigns have pre-printed (or already written) letters that people can just sign (or write one’s name) and send to the senator’s office. Other organizations request (or ask) that people write their own letter. This is more effective than a pre-printed letter, because it shows the senator that that person cares enough about the topic to take the time to write a letter about it. Sometimes people also call their senator’s office when they have strong feelings about a topic.
有时候组织呈书运动的人会事先写好呈书，别人只用签字然后寄到参议员办公室。其他组织要求人么你自己写呈书，这比事先写好的呈书更有效率，向参议员证明人们足够关心该议题愿意花时间写呈书。有时候人们若对某议题有强烈感想也会直接打电话到参议员办公室。
If you are a citizen of the United States and you want to find out who your senator is and to get his or her contact information, such as their address, telephone number, or email address, you can go to the official website for the U.S. Senate and look at the list of senators representing all 50 states.
美国公民如果想知道自己州参议员的联系信息，如地址，电话，邮箱等，可登陆美国参议院官方网站查看50个州参议员的列表。
Glossary
词汇
20.Who is one of your state’s U.S. Senators?
20.你们州的一位参议员是谁？
surprised - shocked because something happened but was not expected
Surprised—因预料之外的事发生感到震惊
*Marandah was surprised when her husband brought home roses for her last night.
*马兰达的老公昨天晚上带回来的玫瑰让她感到很吃惊。
letter-writing campaign - an attempt to get many people to write to someone on a single topic, usually to change that person's opinion about something or to ask him or her to do something related to that topic
Letter-writing campaign—试图让许多人为某一议题写给某人，通常为改变此人的观点或请求此人为议题做点事
*Virginia organized a letter-writing campaign to get the Senator to vote to renew the Clean Air Act.
*佛吉尼亚州组织了一次呈书运动，为了让参议员为更新净化空气法案投票。
advocacy - efforts to show people what one thinks and to tell the government how things should be done; public support for a cause or issue
Advocacy—努力向人们展示自己的想法，告诉政府某事的做事方法；公开支持某事
*After their son was shot, they became involved in anti-gun advocacy programs.
*自从儿子被枪杀后，他们就加入了反枪支活动。
constituency - the group of voters in a specific area; the people who live in an area that an elected official represents
Constituency—特定区域的一组选民；政府议员代表区域的民众
*Senator DeFazio's constituency is growing rapidly as more people move to the area.
*俄勒冈州参议员选区人民因外地搬迁至此所以数量急剧增加。
pre-printed - already written and printed
Pre-printed—事先写好打印好的
*The bank gives its customers pre-printed checks when they open a new bank account.
*银行在客户新开户时提供事先打好的票据。
to sign (something) - to write one's name on something, usually to show approval or agreement
To sign (something)—将某人名字写于某物上，通常指同意
*Please make sure that you've signed the check before you mail it to us.
*请确保支票在寄出去之前是签了字的。
to request - to ask someone to do something; to ask for something
To request—要求某人做某事；请求某事
*The hiring manager requested telephone numbers for three of my previous employers.
*招聘经理要我之前三名员工的电话号码。
contact information - information about how one can be reached, such as one's address, telephone number, fax number, or email address
Contact information—能联系到某人的信息，如地址，电话，传真或邮箱
*Do you think it’s a good idea to put your contact information on the Internet where other people can find it?
*你觉得将联系方式放到网上便于他人找到是个好方法吗？