Scotland’s experiment of allowing more than 109,000 Scottish teenagers aged 16 to 17 took part in the Scottish independence referendum (公民投票), in which Scotland finally decided not to become independent.
The age group only made up a small part of the 4.29 million total voters, but they have “demonstrated how the youngest voters can be some of the most enthusiastic in a mature democracy”, commented The Associated Press. Casting their ballots, they were “proud and passionate” to help their nation decide whether to break away from the UK after 307 years in union.
At age 16, Scottish residents are allowed to join the military, get married, and work. Eighteen is the legal drinking age, as well as the UK’s voting age. But in 2013, Scottish law was changed to allow 16- and 17-year-olds in Scotland to vote in the referendum. The government pushed for the change because “younger voters are more likely to vote with their hearts, not their heads—and embrace fundamental change by voting for the pro-independence Yes Scotland campaign”, NBC News said.
But when the decision was handed down, some worried that high school students might not be as informed as adult voters. However, many experts said that assumption was wrong.
Professor Jan Eichhorn of the University of Edinburgh insisted that Scottish teenagers were as likely to read newspaper articles and campaign materials as their parents. They would simply get these resources through social media.
“There’s no evidence to suggest that they’re less capable than adults of voting, from a research point of view,” Eichhorn told NPR.
Scotland’s move to let younger teenagers vote in the referendum has led to a discussion about whether the voting age ought to be lowered to 16, both in the UK and the US.
“By 16, most people have about as stable an ideology (思想意识) as they are going to get,” Professor Jason Brennan of Georgetown University wrote for CNN, arguing that the US should also think about allowing younger US citizens to vote.
1. The Scottish independence referendum was held on Sept. 18 ______.
| A．to encourage youngsters to be concerned with politics |
| B．to lower the minimum voting age to 16 for the referendum |
| C．to decide whether Scotland would become independent from the UK |
| D．to elect who would be the new leader of Scotland |
| A．Scotland gained its independence from the UK eventually. |
| B．It is possible for the USA to lower the voting age to 16 in the future. |
| C．All the people in Scotland thought highly of the government’s decision to lower the voting age to 16. |
| D．Scottish teenagers aged 16 are allowed to join the military, get married, work and drink alcohol now. |
| A．Admit to | B．Object to |
| C．Know about | D．Approve of |
| A．They are as informed and capable as adults of voting. |
| B．They make no difference to the voting result. |
| C．They are too enthusiastic to make informed decisions. |
| D．They are unwilling to be involved in the decision of the country’s future. |
相似题推荐
The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life. And yet the same revolutionary beliefs for which our forebears fought are still at issue around the globe, the belief that the rights of man come not from the generosity of the state but from the hand of God. We dare not forget today that we are the heirs（继承人）of that first revolution.
Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe (enemy) alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage and unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of those human rights to which this nation has always been committed, and to which we are committed today at home and around the world.
Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, to assure the survival and the success of liberty. This much we pledge (promise solemny) and more.
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from this responsibility. I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who serve it and the glow from that fire can truly light the world.
And so, my fellow Americans ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the Freedom of Man.
Finally, whether you are citizens of America or citizens of the world, ask of us here the same high standards of strength and sacrifice which we ask of you. With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing and His help, but knowing that here on earth God’s work must truly be our own.
1. What should friends and foes know?
| A．That the United States is powerful. |
| B．That a new generation of Americans are responsible for their government. |
| C．That the United States is governed by liberals. |
| D．The rights of man come from the hand of God. |
| A．To support liberty. |
| B．To abolish all forms of human poverty. |
| C．To visit each country at least once. |
| D．To support and friend. |
| A．How America can help them. |
| B．If America plans to invade their country. |
| C．What they can do for freedom. |
| D．What they can do for America. |
| A．Human beings have the power to put an end to all forms of poverty. |
| B．We should remember we are the first revolution. |
| C．Our nation has always been committed to human rights. |
| D．We should assure the survival and the success of liberty. |
【推荐2】Basic to any understanding of Canada in 20 years after the Second World War is the country’s impressive population growth. In September 1966 Canada’s population passed the 20 million mark. Most of this growth came from natural increase. The depression of the 1930’s and the war had held back marriages and the catching - up process began after 1945. The baby boom continued through the decade of the 1950’s, producing a population increase of nearly fifteen percent in the five years from 1951 to 1956. Undoubtedly, the good economic conditions of the 1950’s supported a growth in the population, but the expansion also derived (源自) from a trend toward earlier marriages and an increase in the average size of families. In 1957 the Canadian birth rate stood at 28 per thousand, one of the highest in the world.
After the peak year of 1957, the birth rate in Canada began to decline. It continued falling until in 1966 it stood at the lowest level in 25 years. Partly this decline reflected the low level of births during the depression and the war, but it was also caused by changes in Canadian society. Young people were staying at school longer, more women were working, young married couples were buying automobiles or houses before starting families, rising living standards were cutting down the size of families. It appeared that Canada was once more falling in step with the trend toward smaller families that had occurred all through the Western world since the time of the Industrial Revolution.
Although the growth in Canada’s population had slowed down by 1966 (the increase in the first half of the 1960’s was only nine percent), another large population wave was coming over the horizon. It would be composed of the children who were born during the period of the high birth rate before 1957.
1. From paragraph 1 we know that in Canada during the 1950 ________.| A．Fewer people married. | B．The birth rate was very high. |
| C．Economic conditions were poor. | D．The population decreased rapidly. |
| A．Couples buying houses. | B．Better standards of living. |
| C．People getting married earlier. | D．People being better educated. |
| A．Nine percent. | B．Population wave. |
| C．The first half of the 1960’s. | D．Population’s slowing down. |
| A．Educational changes in Canadian society. |
| B．Canada during the Second World War. |
| C．Population trends in postwar Canada. |
| D．Standards of living in Canada. |
【推荐3】There are 132 rooms，32 bathrooms，and 6 floors to accommodate all the people who live in，work in，and visit the White House. There are also 412 doors，147 windows，28 fireplaces，7 staircases，and 3 lifts.
At various times in history，the White House has been known as the“President’s Palace”，the“President’s House”，and the“Executive Mansion”. President Theodore Roosevelt officially gave the White House its current name in 1901.
The White House can receive about 6,000 visitors a day. With five full-time chefs，the White House kitchen is able to serve as many as 140 guests and hors d’oeuvres（开胃小吃）to more than 1,000 people.
For recreation（娱乐），the White House has a variety of facilities available to people who live in it，including a tennis court，a jogging track，a swimming pool，a movie theater and a bowling lane.
The first US president to live in the White House was John Adams. Adams and his family moved to the White House in 1800，when the decoration of the building was not finished. And it was not until during Thomas Jefferson’s term（1801-1809）that the decoration was finally completed.
President John Tyler (1841-1845) was the first president to have his photo taken. President Theodore Roosevelt (1901-1909) was not only the first president to ride in a car，but also the first president to travel outside the country when he visited Panama. President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1932-1945) was the first president to ride in an airplane.
1. In normal cases, how many people visit the White House per day?| A．1,000. | B．6,000. |
| C．140. | D．570. |
| A．John Adams. | B．John Tyler. |
| C．Thomas Jefferson. | D．Theodore Roosevelt. |
| A．Between 1801and 1809. |
| B．Between 1901 and 1909. |
| C．Between 1841and 1845. |
| D．Between 1932 and 1945. |
| A．How to visit the White House. |
| B．American presidents. |
| C．The White House and some presidents who have lived in it. |
| D．How to protect the White House. |
【推荐1】Delivery workers will finally be able to charge their electric bicycles — and themselves — at new stations created out of repurposed news stands in New York City, Senator (参议员) Chuck Schumer announced on Monday.
The repurposed news stands, the first of their kind in the nation, will feature charging stations safe for e-bike batteries, bike parking, and a place for delivery workers to rest or ride out bad weather.
“You’ve been riding this bike a long time. You need a break. Maybe you’ve got to make a phone call. Maybe you have to take care of your personal needs, any of these things,” Schumer said. “They’re constantly out on the street, no place to rest, no shelter to protect them — imagine it’s pouring rain, or even snow and you still got to do this,” he said. “And so we’re going to take underutilized (未利用的) public space on our streets like this news stand right behind us. Very simple.”
And the stations, which will be designed by Manuel Mansylla, will not contain bathrooms — which were once a flashpoint (焦点) for delivery workers who were banned from using the restrooms at some of the very restaurants from which they were delivering food.
But thanks to new city laws that went into effect at the start of this year, including requiring restaurants to allow delivery workers to use their restrooms, that’s thankfully not the main concern anymore, said Gustavo Ajche, a delivery worker. “The bathroom is different. There’s no problem with that any more what we need here is more parking spaces,” he said.
Not everyone loves the idea of news stands being repurposed for e-bike charging stations. “After car chargers on the sidewalk, this is another facility of the city taking pedestrian (行人) space to create charging stations,” said Christine Berthet of CHEKPEDS, the pedestrian advocacy group that has long called for the creation of more public space for pedestrians.
1. What service can delivery workers expect from the repurposed news stands?| A．Charging their phones. | B．Selling them e-bike batteries. |
| C．Repairing their bikes. | D．Offering them shelter. |
| A．They are underutilized. | B．They are necessary. |
| C．They are simple to construct. | D．They are gaining popularity. |
| A．They get more parking spaces. | B．They can use car chargers on the sidewalk. |
| C．They can use restaurant bathrooms. | D．They get extra pay for working in bad weather. |
| A．Critical. | B．Unclear. | C．Tolerant. | D．Favorable. |
【推荐2】Li Jianguo, a 49-year-old teacher at the Tianjin Vocational Institute, is set to be named as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers”—an annual public award sponsored by the Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the Ministry of Education.
Li has stood out by taking the lead in the training of students in vocational skills, gaining a number of honors including being named as a national role model teacher. He has mentored(指导) seven national-level technique experts and a team of 14 technique masters. One of his students, Guo Jinpeng, who graduated from the institute in 2007, became a college teacher at the Chengdu Auto Vocational and Technical School and was named as a national role model teacher in 2019.
Li’s nomination as one of the “2022 most beautiful teachers” reflects that China is focusing on the importance of vocational education and aims to foster(培养) more leading personnel with the spirit of craftsmanship in the manufacturing industry.
At an international vocational and technical education conference in Tianjin last month, Li noted that there is no difference between vocational education and ordinary education, and vocational education is not secondary nor should it ever be treated as less than ordinary education. “Vocational education has the mission of fostering a quality workforce and technical experts for the country. The hardworking spirit is the key to building any ordinary people into leading personnel,” he said.
Li joined the institute in 1993 and later founded a machinery engineering practice center, providing free training t0 7,500 people a week. In 2015, he led a team of teachers to work for 40 days to repair 124 machine tools in the center. Li has devoted himself to building the country’s first additive manufacturing technique and application center at the institute to satisfy the thirst for the country’s human resources in 3D printing.
1. Why does the author mention Guo Jinpeng in paragraph 2?| A．To show the achievements of Li Jianguo. | B．To make a comparison with Li Jianguo. |
| C．To publicize national role model teachers. | D．To praise national-level technique expert |
| A．It is secondary to ordinary education. |
| B．It has nothing to do with hardworking spirit. |
| C．It is more important than ordinary education. |
| D．It should develop qualified and skilled talents. |
| A．Boring. | B．Productive. | C．Challenging. | D．Well-paid. |
| A．China Sponsoring Annual Award for Teachers |
| B．China Aiming to Develop More Leading Personnel |
| C．Different Education Training Different Kinds of Students |
| D．A Vocational Teacher to Be Awarded as One of the “Most Beautiful Teachers” |
【推荐3】Tencent announced yesterday that it will limit the daily time for youngsters to play its popular King of Glory game after parents and schools in Shanghai and other areas complained their children had become addicted to playing it.
From tomorrow, children younger than 12 will only be allowed to play the game for a maximum (最大值) of one hour a day, and after 9 p.m., they will be banned from logging into it, said Tencent. Those older than 12 will be able to play a maximum two hours a day.
The game system will remind players the time they have been playing and young players will be forced to log out when the time is up.
Tencent claimed these were the strictest measures in China’s game industry to prevent addiction and the company expected they would ease parents’ anxiety.
The company also said it had updated its system for parents to keep tabs on their children using its games.
Since February, parents can receive messages when children log in and spend money on the game after they connect children’s game accounts with their mobile phone numbers.
Now, parents can connect phones, tablets or computers that their children use to play games, so that they can keep an eye on the children even if they have several game accounts, Tencent said.
Song Zhe, a father of a Shanghai high school student, welcomed the measures but was not sure if they would be sufficiently effective. “I like the system that could lock up the devices as children can register many accounts,” he said, “but children are so clever that they can always think out counter measures.”
1. What can we infer from Paragraph 2?| A．Kids under 11 could play the game for at most 7 hours in a week. |
| B．Girls under 8 are able to log in the game at 10 p.m. |
| C．Those older than 16 are able to play the game all the time. |
| D．Children over 13 can log in the game after playing 3 hours in a day. |
| A．be related to | B．pay no attention to | C．have an eye on | D．keep contact with |
| A．The game system was absolutely welcomed by him. |
| B．Children were too dull to break out of the system. |
| C．He was uncertain about the effectiveness of the system. |
| D．Children could register lots of accounts to unlock the devices. |
| A．In an advertisement. | B．In a history textbook. |
| C．In a technological magazine. | D．In a newspaper. |
