SURFERS CALL it the washing machine(洗衣机（冲浪术语）). When a giant wave throws you off your board and plunges you underwater, you lose all sense of where you are. That is what befell(降临；发生于) Donald Trump and his party on November 3rd, as they were slammed(猛烈抨击；重击) by tens of millions of American voters. They have still to grasp just how much(理解……的程度) their country has changed.
冲浪者称之为“洗衣机”。当巨浪把你从冲浪板上掀翻、卷入水下时，你会完全失去方向感。11月3日，唐纳德·特朗普和他的政党就遭遇了这样的处境——他们被数千万美国选民迎头痛击。他们至今仍未意识到，这个国家已经发生了多么深刻的变化。
Already it is clear this was not a normal midterm swing(中期选举波动) against a sitting president, but the biggest wave-election(浪潮式选举) since the aftermath of Watergate(水门事件) more than 50 years ago. Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress, flipping seats(翻转席位) deep into once-safe red waters(红色水域（共和党票仓）), from South Carolina to Texas.
已经很清楚，这不是一次针对现任总统的寻常中期选举波动，而是自50多年前水门事件余波以来最大的选举浪潮。民主党赢得了国会两院的控制权，将席位翻盘至曾经稳如磐石的红色选区深处，从南卡罗来纳到得克萨斯。
The coming days will spell out(阐明；详细说明) two further lessons. One is that this is not just a triumph for Democrats, but also for American democracy. Voters cannot be taken for granted(被视为理所当然). If they are angry, they will turn against parties they have long supported. The other lesson, which follows from this, is that both parties now need to find a new way of doing politics—one that spends less time riling up their constituents and more getting things done on their behalf.(另一个由此得出的教训是，两党现在都需要找到新的政治运作方式——少花时间煽动选民，多花时间为他们办实事。)
未来几天将揭示另外两个教训。其一，这不仅是民主党的胜利，也是美国民主的胜利。选民不能被想当然地对待。如果他们愤怒，就会转而反对他们长期支持的政党。其二，由此得出的教训是，两党现在都需要找到新的政治运作方式——少花时间煽动选民情绪，多花时间为他们办实事。