政黨的主張
In most elections, voters can choose from among several candidates.
在大多數選舉中，選民可以從幾位候選人中進行選擇。
voter(n.)選民cast a vote(phr.)投票choose from(phr.)從…當中做選擇candidate(n.)候選人、可能有…結局者e.g. Our team is a prime candidate for relegation this year.今年我們球隊最有可能降級
In Taiwan, for instance, there are now candidates from at least three parties — the Democratic Progressive Party, the Kuomintang and the Taiwan People’s Party.
以台灣為例，現在至少有三個政黨的候選人，包括民進黨、國民黨和台灣民眾黨。
for instance(phr.)舉例來說progressive(adj.)進步的，progress(n.)進步、前進
Despite each of these parties having different ideas, they all have one thing in common: their own political platforms.
儘管這些政黨的理念各不相同，但他們都有一個共同點：各自擁有自己的黨綱。
despite(prep.)儘管=in spite ofideology(n.)思想體系、意識形態have something in common(phr.)有…共同點，have nothing in common(phr.)沒有共同點
So what is a political party platform?
那麼黨綱是什麼呢？
In short, it is an official set of goals and policies for a political party.
簡單來說，它是一個政黨的一套官方目標和政策。
in short(phr.)總而言之、簡而言之in a nutshell(phr.)概括地說official(adj.)官方的goal(n.)目標，achieve(obtain) the goals達成目標policy(n.)政策insurance policy保險單
In most cases, these are written by groups of people within each party.
在大多數情況下，這些黨綱是由各政黨內部的一群人撰寫的。
in that case(phr.)既然如此
The main purpose of the platform is to organize the party’s ideas in order to let voters know what the party’s politicians and the candidates believe.
黨綱的主要目的是組織政黨的主張，讓選民了解黨內政治家和候選人的信念。
objective(n.)目標、目的inform(notify) sb. of sth.(phr.)通知、告知某人某事
And since political issues are always changing, these platforms are usually updated before each important election.
由於政治議題總是在變化，這些黨綱通常會在每次重要選舉前更新。
changeable(adj.)常變化的、可能變化的update(v.)更新，重音在第二音節update(n.)最新報導、最新進展，重音在第一音節
Although these platforms are official party statements, studies show that they are not fully followed by most party candidates.
儘管這些黨綱是政黨的正式宣言，但研究顯示，大多數政黨候選人並未完全遵從黨綱。
although(conj.)雖然=even though, much asto the letter(phr.)絲毫不差、不折不扣地
In fact, some research from the United States shows that Democrats in Congress only follow their party platforms 74% of the time, while Republicans follow theirs 89% of the time.
事實上，美國的一些研究顯示，國會中的民主黨人只有74％的時間會遵守黨綱，而共和黨則有89%的時間遵循黨綱。
conduct(do) research做研究follow(v.)遵守=abide by, comply with, conform to
Therefore, even though platforms are important guiding principles, politicians and candidates are not required to stick to their party’s platforms all of the time.
因此，儘管黨綱是重要的指導原則，但政治家和候選人並不需要始終遵從他們政黨的黨綱。
principle(n.)原則require sb. to do sth.(phr.)要求某人做某事stick to(phr.)堅持、遵守all of the time(phr.)始終、永遠=at all times=all the time