The age of adulthood is by definition arbitrary. If everyone matured at the same, fixed rate, it wouldn’t be a human process. Indeed, maturation happens at varying speeds across different categories within the same individual, so I’d say I was easily old enough to vote at 16, but nobody should have given me a credit card until I was 32, and I’ve got the county court judgment to prove it.
However, we broadly agree that there's a difference between a child and an adult, even if we might argue about the transition point. So the political theorist David Runciman's view that six-year-olds should be allowed to vote goes against any standard argument about the age of civic responsibility. Nobody would say that a six-year-old could be held criminally responsible, could be sent to war, could be capable of consent, could be given responsibility for anything. So allowing them the vote-along with, unavoidably, seven-year-olds who are even sillier, if anything-is quite an amusing proposal.
Runciman's argument is that this is the only way to rebalance political life, which is currently twisted in favor of the old, who don't (he added) ever need to demonstrate mental capacity, even long after they've lost it.
The first part of his case is self-evident: pensions are protected while children's centers are closed, concepts such as sovereignty(最高权威) are prioritized over the far more urgent business of the future: climate change. Nostalgia(怀念) for a past the young wouldn't even recognize plays a central role, which is completely unfair.
Most of the arguments against giving six-year-olds a vote are that children would end up voting for something damaging and chaotic, if someone made unrealistic promises to them, which could never be realized.
Well, it's not children's fault.
Having said that, children do tend towards the progressive, having a natural sense of justice (which kicks in at the age of six months, psychologists have shown, by creating scenes of great unfairness to babies, and making them cry) and an underdeveloped sense of self-interest. My kid, when he was six, made quite a forceful case against private property, on the basis that, since everybody needed a house, they shouldn't cost money, because nobody would want anyone else not to have one. Also, food should be free. It was a kind of pre-Marx communism, where you limit the coverage of the market to only those things that you wouldn't mind someone else not having.
On that particular day, when we were registered as voters, my kid was quite far to the left of me, but in the normal run of things, we're united, which brings us to the point of the problem: children obey you on almost nothing, but they do seem to believe in your politics until they're adolescent. So giving kids the vote is really just a way of giving parents extra votes. And what can stop us having even more children, once there's so much enfranchisement(选举权) in it for us?
Now, if parents could be trusted to use their influence wisely, and hammer into children the politics it will take to assure a better future, then I wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that, apart from, obviously, that culture is already wildly twisted towards parents, and I can imagine a few non-parents boiling with fierce anger. But that's not worth talking about anyway, because parents can't be trusted, otherwise we'd all already vote Green(绿党).
In short: no, six-year-olds should not get the vote; but while we're here, if any votes come up in the near future, which will have an impact on the next five decades of British political life, alongside EU migrants,16-year-olds certainly should be enfranchised.
1.The author refers to his age of adulthood to prove that .
A.people mature at different rates in various aspects
B.there's a common standard for the age of adulthood
C.a credit card is more difficult to get than the vote
D.certain rights are granted at different stages of life
2.People reject David Runciman's proposal because .
A.they don't think a child can grow into adulthood earlier
B.they are uncertain whether children can assume responsibility
C.they believe children are far from mature in many ways
D.they know the age to get the vote is not to be questioned
3.The author talks about his kid to indicate that .
A.children are good-natured and like to help people in need
B.children are simple-minded and can fall for an adult's trick
C.children are innocent and don't want to be involved in politics
D.children are in favor of a just society and tend to be idealistic
4.The author thinks allowing children the vote may lead to .
A.twisted culture B.misuse of rights
C.parents' objections D.unusual maturation
5.What is the main point of the passage?
A.Allowing children the vote is not altogether absurd.
B.There is a difference between adults and children.
C.Parents should introduce politics to their children.
D.The definition of adulthood is quite controversial.
In the United States, experts are calling for major changes to the admission process in higher education.
The National Center for Educational Statistics (or NCES) reported that U.S colleges and universities received more than million applications between 2013 and 2014 and admitted more than 5 million students. But the problem is not in the number of students, a new report says. The report is called ''Turning the Tide-Making Caring Common. ''
The report argues that the process schools use to choose students causes major problems. David Hawkins is the Executive Director for Educational Content and Policy. He says that most colleges and universities require many things from students when they apply.
Schools usually require an essay describing a student's interests or why they want to study at that school. The schools also ask for letters from teachers describing why a student is a good candidate. But, Hawkins says, schools are most concerned with a student's high school grades and standardized test results.
The Education Conservancy is an organization that fights to make higher education equal and available. Lloyd Thacker is the Executive Director of the Education Conservancy, saying that the college admission process has changed a lot.
''Over the past 30 years, college admissions have become more complex. '' He says that ranking systems for colleges and universities are a big part of the problem.
U.S. News and World Report is a media company that creates a list of what it calls ''America's Best Colleges''. The company bases the list on information collected from colleges and universities across the country. This information includes results of standardized tests like the SAT from all of a school's students. Higher average test results help put schools higher on the list.
Thacker claims, ''Too many students are learning to do whatever it takes in order to get ahead, even if that means sacrificing their own individuality, their health, their happiness and behavior…''
''The impact on students and on parents is that college is all about where you go. The rank has nothing to do with the quality of education that goes on at the college''.
The Harvard report states that the best way to change the admission process is by changing college applications.
1.When choosing students, colleges and universities attach greatest importance to .
A.their teachers' opinion B.their personal interest
C.their academic performance D.their reasons for application
2.The media company ranks the schools on the basis of .
A.peoples' attitude towards the schools
B.employment rate of its graduates
C.the schools' teaching quality
D.information like test results
3.Which of the following does Lloyd Thacker probably agree with?
A.Colleges are supposed to admit more and more students.
B.It is necessary to apply for a proper university by referring to the rank.
C.There is little relationship between colleges rank and the quality of education.
D.The better the applicants grades are, the more likely they will be admitted.
4.Which of the following is the best title of the passage?
A.Higher Rankings Matter a Great Deal
B.Colleges Look to Change Admission Process
C.Colleges Admission Process Makes a Difference
D.Testing Results Determine Students' Fate
Many electronic parts are made of hard materials that break easily. That makes them tough to use in products that need to bend. Now, Sam Yoon and his team have developed a thin mesh (网状物) that can both bend and conduct electricity.
His team started out with something called acrylonitrile, a clear liquid often used to make thin plastic fibers. Yoon and his team mixed this material with another liquid, which acted as a solvent. A solvent is something that can make other substances into liquids. Then, they squeezed the mix through a very tiny pipe: As the mixture was sprayed through the air, the solvent evaporated(挥发)and the acrylonitrile molecules linked up to make long chains, creating a type of plastic known as PAN. The researchers continually squeezed the mixture through the pipe. A single long PAN fiber was created. The scientists moved the pipe back and forth as the PAN was squeezed out. It ended up creating a layer that looked something like a spider’s web.
PAN, like most plastics, doesn’t conduct electricity. So the team’s next step would normally be to add a coating of metal so that electricity could flow through it. But it could be tough sticking such coatings on PAN. So the researchers added an extra step. They sprayed a thin coating of an inert metal onto the PAN. Inert metals, like gold, typically don’t react with other materials. The researchers then added another layer of PAN fiber at the top of the first, web-like layer. They provide temporary support, helping the metal-sprayed base resist sinking during the next step.
The researchers connected the fiber-covered frame to a negatively changed electrode. Then they dipped the fiber-covered frame into a solution that included the liquid copper. The team turned on the electric current for about one minute to make it run through the solution. The copper in the solution was attached to all of the fibers. But it stuck only to those that wore a metal jacket. Besides adding a thin layer of copper that conducts electricity, this process helped bond the PAN strands together at places, where they touched each other, Yoon notes.
The researchers then attached all of the fibers to a thin, clear layer of plastic, which had sticky backing, like a Band-Aid. Finally, the team dipped all of these into a liquid that made any of the PAN fibers that lacked a copper jacket into liquids. Only those that can be used to conduct electricity were left. Because the fibers were very thin and widely separated, light waves easily travel through the mesh. The copper coating acted just like a wire, permitting electricity to flow freely across it.
1.The team used another liquid in the process to .
A.make acrylonitrile evaporate B.turn acrylonitrile into plastic fibers
C.make acrylonitrile conduct electricity D.conduct electricity instead of acrylonitrile
2.What should the team do first when using PAN?
A.Make it easy to break. B.Make it react with other materials.
C.Make it conduct electricity. D.Find a way to make it into a liquid.
3.What does the underlined word those in the last paragraph refer to?
A.The thin plastics. B.Just the copper coatings.
C.All the PAN fibers. D.All the copper-coated fibers.
3D TV, Without the Glasses
If you’re thinking about buying a 3D TV, you might want to wait a while. Researchers have developed new 3D technology that doesn’t need any special glasses to work its magic. The new technology could advance the development of 3D on mobile devices, too.
Bioethics Panel Gives Yellow Light to Anthrax Vaccine Trial in Children
A U.S. bioethics committee has said that the country may consider testing the anthrax vaccine in children. The panel advises that the vaccine be tested in progressively younger age groups and includes the caveat(警告) that testing should only take place if risks are “minimal.”
Evolution via Roadkill
We usually think of evolution happening over thousands or millions of years, but it can be surprisingly speedy-literally. In just 3 decades, highway-dwelling swallows(燕子)have evolved shorter wingspans(翼展) to better dodge oncoming cars.
Patients Should Get DNA Information, Report Recommends
Would you want to know if you were at risk for cancer? What about a fatal heart condition? A group of genetics experts, along with the influential American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, have recommended that anyone whose genome is sequenced for any medical reason must be told about their genetic susceptibility to serious health problems, regardless of whether they want to know.
Congress Completes Work on 2013 Spending Bill
This week, the U.S. Congress passed a bill to fund the government until the end of the fiscal(财政的) year, and research agencies now know how much to spend in 2013. The so-called continuing resolution retains the sequester and its $85 billion cut in discretionary spending. The bill throws NASA’s planetary programs a lifeline and gives the National Science Foundation a bit of a boost, but the National Institutes of Health’s funding stays flat at 2012 levels-bad news for biomedical research.
Making Moonshine Safe to Drink
Home-brew drinkers in developing countries often risk blindness or even death from methanol poisoning when they drink. Now, scientists have made a reusable wireless chip that can analyze a drink’s methanol content and warn users of any danger. In 2 years, they hope to develop a product that can send results directly to a cell phone.
1.If you are concerned about your future health, you will probably be interested in .
A.3D TV, Without the Glasses
B.Patients Should Get DNA Information, Report Recommends
C.Congress Completes Work on 2013 Spending Bill
D.Making Moonshine Safe to Drink
2.Which of the following can replace the underlined word dodge?
A.Fly. B.Avoid. C.Move. D.Leave.
3.Most probably, you will read the above information in .
A.a product introduction B.a tour guide
C.a web page D.a newspaper
An expert suggested that certain criminals should be sent to prison in their own home. When the scheme was first put forward publicly, many people_________to it or had serious _________about it. One very experienced social worker opposed the scheme in a television interview. When_________ to explain the basis for his opposition, he thought for a moment and_______confessed, ''Well, I guess, because it's novel. That's my_______reason. ''
Advocates of the scheme pointed out that courts frequently sentenced first offenders to community service of some kind ___________send them to prison. The shame of having a criminal___________was an adequate deterrent(威慑), and nothing_______was achieved by sending some types of condemned people to prison.
Some critics rushed to take extreme cases. ''_______a murderer is allowed free in the community like this, what is to prevent him from__________somebody else? ''This argument__________the fact that nobody proposed to allow condemned murderers to use the bracelet(手镯)system. One criticism put forward was that an offender could ________his bracelet and leave it at home or give it to a friend to__________while he himself went off to commit another crime. The________to this was that the bracelet would be made________the computer could immediately detect any attempts to take it off or tamper with (胡乱摆弄) it.
A most serious objection to the scheme was that the________life of prison was intended to be part of the deterrent to crime. A prisoner who was allowed to live at home would suffer no particular____________and thus not be deterred from repeating his crime.
No immediate________was taken on the proposal. It was________too revolutionary and needed to be examined very carefully. However, the idea was not rejected. Several governments ________experts to investigate the scheme and make recommendations for or against it.
1.A.disapproved B.objected C.disagreed D.opposed
2.A.reservations B.thoughts C.wonders D.suggestions
3.A.asked B.forced C.allowed D.encouraged
4.A.immediately B.deliberately C.bravely D.finally
5.A.first B.only C.special D.personal
6.A.other than B.more than C.better than D.rather than
7.A.record B.punishment C.sentence D.service
8.A.creative B.negative C.positive D.impressive
9.A.If B.When C.Though D.As
10.A.robbing B.stealing C.killing D.cheating
11.A.denied B.ignored C.questioned D.objected
12.A.put on B.set aside C.give away D.take off
13.A.wear B.hide C.play D.use
14.A.reaction B.reply C.approach D.agreement
15.A.in case B.even if C.so that D.or else
16.A.easy B.disgusting C.harsh D.desperate
17.A.injury B.discomfort C.illnesses D.tests
18.A.determination B.decision C.reaction D.action
19.A.more B.far C.enough D.even
20.A.regulate B.undertook C.appointed D.submitted
—Thanks for picking me up, Cindy.
—________.
A.No problem B.All right C.With pleasure D.That’s right
