英语博客：The U.S. Census.
时间：2019-01-31 作者：英语课 分类：英语博客 A cup of English
We can't move forward until you mail it back" is the saying on the recent campaign to get everyone to fill in their census 1 form. As required by the constitution, a census has to be conducted every ten years. We have all received the forms in the mail, and now it is up to us to fill them in and send them back. The data collected by the census will help determine which towns need roads, bridges, and other infrastructure 2. Schools, hospitals and senior citizens' homes will also be funded as part of the 400 billion dollars of federal money given for the needs of the country. It's tax money, of course, so it makes sense that we fill in the forms and get our communities what we need. If people fail to mail the census form back, a census taker will actually come to that house up to three times to get the paper work filled out. It is that important. Another thing that is important about the census is that it will determine how many seats our state will have in the House of Representatives. The way that works is as follows: each state has at least one representative in the House of Representatives, or 'the house' as it is commonly known. The more populated the state, the more representatives it can have. The number of representatives allowed is fixed 3 by law at 435, the highest number coming from California. All of these members can vote on issues like revenue bills, or to impeach 4 an official. You might already know that the house is part of Congress, it's position being under the Senate. So, I will fill in my census form, to let the government know that I am here, where I am from, what I do, and about my family. I certainly want us to have proper representation in the house, so the basic needs of our community can be met. Just think, the oldest recorded census was taken over 4000 years ago in China, during the Xia Dynasty. It has been a practical tool for governments ever since.
Grammar notes.
Related vocabulary: representative, state, member, to vote.
1. That woman over there is one of our state representatives; she visits Washington DC regularly.
2. Washington State is called the evergreen 5 state because of all of its forests.
3. We were members of the YMCA, but we gave up our membership last year.
4. It is very important to vote, to have a say in the country's future.
- A census of population is taken every ten years.人口普查每10年进行一次。
- The census is taken one time every four years in our country.我国每四年一次人口普查。
- We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
- We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。
- Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
- Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。
- We must impeach the judge for taking bribes.我们一定要检举法官收受贿赂。
- The committee decided to impeach the President.委员会决定弹劾总统。