问答题 A proposal to change long-standing federal policy and deny citizenship to babies born to illegal immigrants on U.S. soil ran aground this month in Congress, but it is sure to resurface-kindling bitter debate even if it fails to become law.
At issue is "birthright citizenship" —provided for since the Constitution"s 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. Section 1 of that amendment, drafted with freed slaves in mind, says: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."
Some conservatives in Congress, as well as advocacy groups seeking to crack down on illegal immigration, say the amendment has been misapplied over the years, that it was never intended to grant citizenship automatically to babies of illegal immigrants. Thus they contend that federal legislation, rather than a difficult-to-achieve constitutional amendment, would be sufficient to end birthright citizenship.
"Most Americans feel it doesn"t make any sense for people to come into the country illegally, give birth and have a new U.S. citizen," said the spokesman of the federation of American immigration reform. "But the advocates for illegal immigrants will make a fuss; they"ll claim you"re punishing the children, and I suspect the leadership doesn"t want to deal with that."

【正确答案】

【答案解析】本月，一项意在改变长期存在的联邦政策、拒绝给予在美非法移民所生子女的公民身份的提案在国会遭搁浅，但是这个提案定将再次露面——即使不能立法，也会引发激烈争论。 [解析] 这是一复合句，在由连词but引导的状语从句中还套了一个条件句，主句的主语(a proposal...)较长，含有两个不定式短语作定语，后一不定式又包含一个由过去分词短语充当的定语。主句谓语ran aground为固定搭配，是比喻用法，由“(使)触礁，(使)搁浅，”转为“(计划等)受阻”的意思。如：
Our plans for rebuilding have run aground, as the council has refused to allow the necessary money.理事会拒绝批给必要经费，我们的重建计划受阻。

问答题 At issue is "birthright citizenship"—provided for since the Constitution"s 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868. Section 1 of that amendment, drafted with freed slaves in mind, says: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

【正确答案】

【答案解析】争论的焦点是“与生俱来的公民权”——自1868年批准的宪法第14条修正案以来就对这一权利做了规定。以获得自由的奴隶为本意而起草的该修正案第一款规定：“凡在美国出生或归化美国、且受美国管辖之人，皆为美国公民。” [解析] 原句是一个主从复合句，根据汉语习惯，译成两个独立句。

问答题 Some conservatives in Congress, as well as advocacy groups seeking to crack down on illegal immigration, say the amendment has been misapplied over the years, that it was never intended to grant citizenship automatically to babies of illegal immigrants. Thus they contend that federal legislation, rather than a difficult-to-achieve constitutional amendment, would be sufficient to end birthright citizenship.

【正确答案】

【答案解析】国会中的一些保守派以及主张对非法移民进行严厉打击的团体认为，此修正案多年来都应用不当，因为其本意并非是自动给予非法移民的子女公民权。所以他们主张通过联邦立法——而不是难以实现的宪法修正案——就足以终结与生俱来的公民权。 [解析] 英语被动句的翻译可根据汉语特点和上下文语境，译成汉语的被动句式，也可译为汉语主动句。如，
Tourism is believed to have positive impact on local economy.人们相信旅游对当地经济是有积极影响的。(被动句正译)
Implementation of international human rights standards must be pursued with vigor.贯彻国际人权标准的工作必须大力进行。(被动句正译)
The Chinese government speaks very highly of the policies adopted by Hong Kong SAR government.中国政府高度评价香港特区政府采取的政策。(主语转化为宾语)
The problem of refugees should be dealt with in an integrated manner.难民问题的处理应采用综合的方法。(主语转化为宾语)
也可把by开始的短语转译成“由于”或“因为”开始的短语或从句，如：
Such a viewpoint, particularly prominent in the developing countries, is reinforced by the widely-held belief that it is not the peaceful application of nuclear energy that is endangering the survival of mankind.这种观点在发展中国家尤为重要，这种观点的强化是因为存在着一种普遍特有的信念，即和平利用核能并没有危及人类的生存。
It is a long way from Peking to London. The distance has sometimes seemed compounded by historical and political gaps in our outlooks.北京和伦敦相距遥远。这个距离有时似乎更加扩大了，因为历史上、哲学上和政治上，我们的观点差异甚大。

问答题 Most Americans feel it doesn"t make any sense for people to come into the country illegally, give birth and have a new U.S. citizen, said the spokesman of the federation of American immigration reform. "But the advocates for illegal immigrants will make a fuss; they"ll claim you"re punishing the children, and I suspect the leadership doesn"t want to deal with that."

【正确答案】

【答案解析】大多数美国人认为，非法进入美国的人在美国生儿育女，这些新生儿却拥有美国公民身份，这是讲不通的。美国移民改革联合会的发言人说：“但是非法移民的提倡者定会小题大作：他们会说你们是在惩罚孩子，因此我料想我们的领导人不会愿意面对这些问题。” [解析] 原文中的宾语从句是以it作主语的句子结构，it指代位于句尾的不定式短语。译成汉语时可把从句的逻辑主语(for people中的people)译成主语，it指代的部分译成谓语部分。再如：
It therefore becomes more and more important that, if students are not to waste their opportunities, there will have to be much more detailed information about courses and more advice.因此，如果学生好好利用他们上大学的机会，就应该为他们提供大量关于课程方面更为详尽的信息和更多的指点。这个问题显得越来越重要了。