Class Presentation: Should the Voting Age Be Sixteen?

Okay, everyone, let's settle down, please.

好了，同学们，安静一下。

Maya's up first today. Maya, whenever you're ready!

今天 Maya 第一个上。Maya，准备好了就开始吧！

Um, thanks, Mr. Brooks. Okay... here goes.

呃，谢谢 Brooks 老师。好吧……开始了。

So, today I'm going to talk about the voting age.

那么，今天我要讲的是投票年龄。

Here's my question: should sixteen-year-olds be allowed to vote?

我的问题是：16岁的人应该有投票权吗？

Wait, seriously? Like, in real elections?

等等，真的假的？是真正的选举吗？

Yes, really! And it's not as crazy as it sounds.

对，真的！而且这没有听起来那么离谱。

Austria lowered its voting age to sixteen back in 2007.

奥地利早在2007年就把投票年龄降到了16岁。

And in Brazil, sixteen-year-olds can vote if they want to.

在巴西，16岁的人如果愿意也可以投票。

Let me start with my first argument.

我先说第一个论点。

At sixteen, lots of us have part-time jobs and pay taxes.

16岁的时候，我们很多人已经在打工，也在交税。

So why don't we get a say in how that money is spent?

那为什么我们对这些钱怎么花没有发言权呢？

In Scotland, sixteen-year-olds can now vote in local elections.

在苏格兰，16岁的人现在可以在地方选举中投票。

And guess what? Lots of them actually turned up to vote!

你们猜怎么着？他们中很多人真的去投票了！

Some studies suggest people who vote young keep voting for life.

一些研究表明，年轻时就投票的人往往一辈子都会坚持投票。

Okay, but honestly? Most people our age don't follow the news.

好吧，但说实话？我们这个年纪的人大多都不看新闻。

Ha, my cousin thinks the Senate is a kind of pasta.

哈，我表弟还以为参议院是一种意大利面呢。

Ha! Okay, fair point, but adults get things wrong too.

哈！好吧，有道理，但大人也会搞错啊。

Plenty of grown-ups never read the news either.

很多大人也从来不看新闻。

Hmm... yeah, I guess that's true.

嗯……好吧，好像也是。

To be fair, there are good arguments against it, too.

公平地说，反对的理由也很有道理。

Some people worry that teenagers would just copy their parents.

有些人担心青少年只会照搬父母的选择。

Others say we're too easily influenced by social media.

也有人说我们太容易受社交媒体影响。

Honestly, I think those concerns deserve to be taken seriously.

说实话，我觉得这些担忧值得认真对待。

So, here's my conclusion.

那么，我的结论是这样的。

If we can work and pay taxes, we deserve a voice.

既然我们能工作、能交税，我们就应该有发言权。

But schools should teach us how elections work first.

但学校应该先教我们选举是怎么运作的。

Okay, that's it! Does anyone have any questions?

好了，就这些！大家有什么问题吗？

Wow, Maya, that was really well done!

哇，Maya，讲得真好！

I loved how you showed both sides of the argument.

我很喜欢你把正反两方面都讲到了。

Next time, though, try not to read from your notes so much.

不过下次尽量别那么频繁地看稿子。

Oh, I'm sorry! I was so nervous at the start.

哦，对不起！我一开始太紧张了。

Seriously? You didn't look nervous at all!

真的假的？你看起来一点都不紧张！

Alright, everyone, let's give her a big round of applause!

好了，大家给她热烈的掌声！