A normal American wouldn't have time to read all of those bills and find out how his or her representative is voting.
普通美国人是没有时间阅读所有这些法案,并弄清楚他或她的众议员是如何投票的。
That would be a full-time job!
这可是个全职工作!
Fortunately, many organizations try to gather (or collect) this information, summarize it (or say the most important ideas in fewer words), and share that information with voters, so that they can make informed decisions.
所幸的是,许多组织会努力收集、总结(用较少的文字表达最重要的思想)这些信息并与选民分享,这样他们就可以作出合理的决定。
Some groups provide biographical information (or information about a person's life) about representatives, as well as their voting records (or a list of how a person has voted on all decisions during a certain period of time).
一些组织提供众议员的履历(某人的人生历程资料),以及他们的投票记录(在某一段特定时间内,某人关于所有决定的投票列表)。
People can quickly read this information to determine how well their representative is representing them.
人们能快速阅读这些信息,决定他们众议员代表他们的程度如何。
The website for the U.S. House of Representatives provides the roll call votes, or lists of how representatives have voted over time.
美国众议院网站提供唱名表决名单,或者说是众议员们一直以来是如何进行投票的名单。
However, the other organizations make this information easier to understand, because they also explain what the votes mean for each bill and show changes in a representative's votes over time.
然而,其它组织会让这样的信息更加通俗易懂,因为他们还会解释这些投票对每个法案意味着什么并表明随着时间的推移,众议员们的投票变化。
Many people study the voting records published by these organizations before they decide who they want to vote for.
许多人在投票之前都会研究这些组织公布的投票记录。