第3134期:Filibuster.

It's what they do when they don't want something to happen, filibuster, an effort to prevent a vote in the USSenateby extending debate. 这就是他们不想让某事发生时会采取的手段——冗长辩论，这是一种通过延长辩论来阻止美国参议院投票表决的做法。

TheSenateprides itself on being a deliberative body where debate is vital to decision making. 参议院以自己是一个审议机构而自豪，在那里辩论对决策至关重要。

Senaterules allow debate on a measure to continue until three-fifths--60 out of the 100 senators--vote to end it. 参议院规则允许对一项议案进行辩论，直到五分之三（即100名参议员中的60名）投票决定终止辩论为止。

At one time, a two-thirds vote was needed, butSenaterules changed in 1975. 曾经需要三分之二的多数票，但参议院规则在1975年进行了修改。

So when asenatoror group of senators want to block something, they take the floor and keep talking. 当某位参议员或一群参议员想要阻止某项议案时，他们就会持续发言。

In recent decades, the mere threat of a filibuster has been enough to halt action on almost any bill that lacks the support of 60 senators. 近几十年来，仅凭冗长辩论的威胁就足以阻止任何缺乏60名参议员支持的法案推进。

But the use of the filibuster was ended for approval of judicial appointments in 2013 and for Supreme Court approvals in 2017. 但是，冗长辩论在2013年终止适用于司法任命的批准，并在2017年终止适用于最高法院的批准。

The term filibuster is derived from a Dutch word for "pirate". “filibuster”一词源自荷兰语中意为“海盗”的单词。

The record for the longest filibuster is held bySenatorStrom Thurmond of South Carolina, who spoke for 24 hours and 18 minutes inoppositionof the Civil Rights Act of 1957. 最长的冗长辩论记录由南卡罗来纳州参议员斯特罗姆·瑟蒙德保持，为反对1957年《民权法案》连续演讲了24小时18分钟。