Question

【題目】EDINBURGH, Scotland (AP) —they arrived before polling stations even opened, dressed for the school day in striped ties and blazers, dress slacks and tartan skirts, book bags over their shoulders —and, for the first time in British history, ballot (選票) cards in hands on September 18.

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 (思想意識) 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

【2】According to the passage, we can learn ______.

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.

【3】What does the underlined word “embrace” (in para.4) probably mean?

A. Admit toB. Object to

C. Know aboutD. Approve of

【4】What is Jan Eichhorn’s opinion of the Scottish teenagers aged 16 to 17?

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.

Answer 1

【答案】

【1】C

【2】B

【3】D

【4】A

【解析】

試題分析：本文從社會熱點蘇格蘭公投事件出發(fā)，從而引出關(guān)于縮小擁有人民投票權(quán)的最低年齡至16歲的討論，針對16歲青少年是否有自主的思想意識的問題進(jìn)行了探討。是一篇關(guān)于社會熱點問題討論的閱讀。

【1】細(xì)節(jié)分析題。從第二段后面的非限定性定語從句得知，這場蘇格蘭公投結(jié)果是蘇格蘭最終還是屬于英國，，則可推斷出這一事件是針對蘇格蘭是否獨立而舉行的全民投票。故選C. A, D都未提及；B是這一事件附帶的結(jié)果，并不是這場公投的主要目的。

【2】細(xì)節(jié)分析題。選項A，從第二段可知蘇格蘭并未獨立，錯誤；選項C，第五段“But when the decision was handed down, some worried that high school students might not be as informed as adult voters.”可知，在這個決定下發(fā)后，有一部分人是持懷疑態(tài)度的。并不是所有人都贊成的。錯誤；選項D，第四段“At age 16, Scottish residents are allowed to join the military, get married, and work. Eighteen is the legal drinking age”可知，在16歲，可以參軍、結(jié)婚、工作，但在18歲才能喝酒，錯誤。故選B.最后一段“arguing that the US should also think about allowing younger US citizens to vote.”也可推斷出美國降低最低投票權(quán)的年齡的可能性。

【3】詞義猜測題。A. 承認(rèn)；允許 B. 反對 C.知道；了解 D.贊成；支持 。embrace原意為“擁抱；接受，包含”，故選D.句意：通過給蘇格蘭獨立投贊成票來贊成這一基礎(chǔ)性的變化。

【4】細(xì)節(jié)分析題。第六段“They would simply get these resources through social media”可知青少年是有條件對事件了解的，第七段“‘There’s no evidence to suggest that they’re less capable than adults of voting, from a research point of view,’ Eichhorn told NPR.”沒有證據(jù)證明他們投票的能力比成年人小。由此可知，16歲青少年與成年人投票能力是一樣的。故選A.