(单词翻译:单击)
Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898 at the end of the Spanish-American War.
波多黎各是在1898年美西战争结束后成为美国领地的。
Spain ceded (or gave) Puerto Rico to the United States.
西班牙将波多黎各割让给了美国。
Since then, Puerto Rico has been a U.S. territory.
至此，波多黎各就一直是美国的领地。
The head of state (or most important political leader) of Puerto Rico is the president of the United States.
波多黎各的国家元首（或最重要的政治领导人）是美国总统。
But Puerto Rico also has its own government which mirrors (or is very similar to) the U.S. government.
但波多黎各还有自己的政府，它与美国政府十分相似。
Puerto Rico's government has three branches or parts just like the U.S. government does.
就像美国政府那样，波多黎各政府有三个部门或部分。
These branches are the executive (which enforces laws), the legislative (which makes laws), and the judicial (which decides what laws mean).
这些部门分别是行政（它执法）、立法（它制定法律）和司法（它诠释法律的含义）部门。
In the United States, the head or leader of the executive branch is the president.
在美国，行政部门的领导人是总统；
In Puerto Rico, the head of the executive branch is called a governor.
而在波多黎各，行政部门的领导人是总督。
The 50 states in the United States have representation in Congress (or the national government), meaning that people from those states can vote in the national legislature.
美国的50个州在国会（或国家政府）都有代表，也就是说那些州的人能在国家的立法机构中投票。
As a territory, Puerto Rico doesn't have this same representation, but it does have a nonvoting delegate, which is a person who is elected to be part of the U.S. Congress but cannot vote there.
作为美国领地的波多黎各却没有这样的代表，但它有无投票权代表，也就是被选进美国国会但不能在那投票的人。
An interesting thing is that Puerto Ricans who live in Puerto Rico are prohibited from voting in the U.S. presidential elections, meaning that they cannot help decide who will be the next U.S. president.
一件有趣的事是生活在波多黎各的波多黎各人被禁止在美国总统选举中投票，也就是说他们不能决定谁将成为下一届美国总统。
But Puerto Ricans who live in a U.S. state can vote to decide who will be the next U.S. president.
但是生活在美国任意一个州的波多黎各人可以投票决定谁将成为下一届美国总统。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
