题目内容
【题目】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 (选票) 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
【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.
【答案】
【1】C
【2】B
【3】D
【4】A
【解析】
试题分析：本文从社会热点苏格兰公投事件出发，从而引出关于缩小拥有人民投票权的最低年龄至16岁的讨论，针对16岁青少年是否有自主的思想意识的问题进行了探讨。是一篇关于社会热点问题讨论的阅读。
【1】细节分析题。从第二段后面的非限定性定语从句得知，这场苏格兰公投结果是苏格兰最终还是属于英国，，则可推断出这一事件是针对苏格兰是否独立而举行的全民投票。故选C. A, D都未提及；B是这一事件附带的结果，并不是这场公投的主要目的。
【2】细节分析题。选项A，从第二段可知苏格兰并未独立，错误；选项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，在这个决定下发后，有一部分人是持怀疑态度的。并不是所有人都赞成的。错误；选项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岁，可以参军、结婚、工作，但在18岁才能喝酒，错误。故选B.最后一段“arguing that the US should also think about allowing younger US citizens to vote.”也可推断出美国降低最低投票权的年龄的可能性。
【3】词义猜测题。A. 承认；允许 B. 反对 C.知道；了解 D.赞成；支持 。embrace原意为“拥抱；接受，包含”，故选D.句意：通过给苏格兰独立投赞成票来赞成这一基础性的变化。
【4】细节分析题。第六段“They would simply get these resources through social media”可知青少年是有条件对事件了解的，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.”没有证据证明他们投票的能力比成年人小。由此可知，16岁青少年与成年人投票能力是一样的。故选A.
