特别广播英语第 178 课：The American Two-party System 美国的两党制-2

Moreover, because the rivalry of these parties is very old, most Americans know where they belong in the system. 此外，因为这些党的竞争历史很久，多数美国人知道自己属于两党中的哪一派。

As a consequence of the dominance of the major parties, most elected officials are either Republicans or Democrats. 作为两大党占优势的结果，多数当选官员不是共和党员就是民主党员。

Attempts to break up this old system have been made in every presidential election in the past one hundred years, but the system has survived all assaults. 在过去的100年里，每年的总统选举中都进行了一些打破旧体制的尝试，但这种体制经受住了所有的攻击继续存在。

How does it happen that the two-party system is so strongly rooted in American politics? 两党制是如何能如此坚实地扎根于美国政治中的呢？

The explanation is probably to be found in the way elections are conducted. 答案可能就在选举的运作方式中。

In the United States, unlike countries with a parliamentary system of government, we elect not only the President, but a large number of other officials, about 800,000 of them. 美国不同于政府议会制国家，我们不仅选举总统，而且还选举许多官员，他们大约有80万人。

We also elect congressmen from single-member districts. 国会议员也是从每区一票的选举中选出的。

For example, we elect 435 members of the House of Representatives from 435 districts (there are a few exceptions), one member for each district. 例如：我们从435个选区选举435名参议员，每一个选区选举一名参议员。

Statistically, this kind of election favors the major parties. 从统计学上来讲，这种选举对大党派有利。

The system of elections makes it easy for the major parties to maintain their dominant position, because they are likely to win more than their share of the offices. 选举制度使大党轻而易举地保持着他们的统治地位，因为他们赢得的席位可能比他们应得的份额多。