又中又英｜Swing states

Many Americans have switched their attention from the presidential election on November 5 to the Paris Olympics. But attention on the election will be in full swing after the Olympics end on August 11. If something is in full swing, it means it has reached its highest level of activity. Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris will hit the campaign trail to urge their supporters to vote. Their campaign offices and eligible groups will spend millions of dollars on TV ads attacking their opponents. To hit the campaign trail means to travel to different parts of the country to speak to voters at rallies.

The US has 50 states, with some that are loyal to the Republican Party and others that are loyal to the Democratic Party. The states that support Republican candidates are known as red states. Those that support Democratic candidates are called blue states. The red states are mostly in the middle and south of the US, such as Kansas and Texas. Most blue states are on the east and west coasts, such as New York and California. But the swing states mostly decide who is elected president. A swing state means a state where the Democrats and Republicans have similar voter support.

These states are also called toss-up states or battleground states where Trump and Harris will campaign the hardest. The 2024 swing states are Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Arizona, and Georgia. Biden became president in the 2020 election after narrowly winning several swing states, including Georgia and Wisconsin. Trump was elected president in 2016 after winning six battleground states.

许多美国人都已将注意力从十一月五日的总统大选，转移至巴黎奥运了。但当奥运于八月十一日结束后，对于大选的关注又会是 in full swing——若某事情是 in full swing，意即它密锣紧鼓、如火如荼地进行。前总统唐纳德‧特朗普与现任副总统贺锦丽，都将会开展他们竞选活动的路程（hit the campaign trail），鼓动他们的支持者投票。他们的竞选办及合资格的团体将会花上数以百万计的美元，投放电视广告攻击他们的对手。To hit the campaign trail是指穿州过省去全国不同的地方，于集会上向选民讲话。

美国有五十个州，一些对共和党非常忠诚，另一些则对民主党非常忠诚。支持共和党候选人的州分被称为红州，而支持民主党候选人的州分则被称为蓝州。红州大多位处美国中部及南部，例如堪萨斯州和德州；大部分的蓝州则在东岸及西岸，例如纽约和加州。然而，摇摆州（swing states）多会决定谁能当选总统。A swing state就是游离的州分，民主党和共和党在当地有相近票数的选民支持。

这些州又会被称为像掷硬币决胜负的 toss-up states，又或 battleground states，特朗普和贺锦丽会在这些州分中最落力地拉票。二零二四年的摇摆州（swing states）是威斯康辛州、宾夕凡尼亚州、密西根州、北卡罗莱纳州、内华达州、亚利桑那州以及乔治亚州。于二零二零年选举中，拜登险胜取得几个摇摆州（swing states），包括乔治亚州和威斯康辛州之后，就当选成为总统。特朗普则是于二零一六年赢了六个战场州（battleground states）之后，当选成为总统的。

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Michael Chugani褚简宁
中译：七刻