VOA慢速英語(yǔ)：4名美國(guó)青少年競(jìng)選州長(zhǎng)

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US Teenagers Seeking Election as State Governor

美國(guó)青少年競(jìng)選州長(zhǎng)

At least four teenagers have launched campaigns for governor in two American states.

目前為止，已經(jīng)至少有4名青少年宣布參加美國(guó)兩個(gè)州的州長(zhǎng)競(jìng)選活動(dòng)。

The young people have declared their candidacy in states that do not have age requirements to serve as governor.

這4名青少年表示已經(jīng)參加競(jìng)選，而所競(jìng)選的州并沒(méi)有年齡要求。

Ethan Randleas is a 17-year-old from Wichita, Kansas. He was the most recent teenager to announce his candidacy. He wants to represent the Republican Party in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial elections.

Ethan Randleas今年17歲，來(lái)自堪薩斯州威奇托市。近期剛剛宣布參選。他想代表共和黨參加2018年的州長(zhǎng)選舉。

Two other Kansas teenagers have also launched campaigns. They are 17-year-old Republican Tyler Ruzich, of Prairie Village, and 16-year-old Jack Bergeson of Wichita. Bergeson wants to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.

另外兩名來(lái)自堪薩斯州的青少年也宣布參加競(jìng)選。他們分別是來(lái)自普雷里村的17歲的Tyler Ruzich，和來(lái)自威奇托市16歲的Jack Bergeson. Bergeson想要代表民主黨參選。

It is ironic that some of the candidates will not be able to vote for themselves because they must be 18 years old to vote.

但是諷刺的是，一些候選人不能為自己投票，因?yàn)橹挥?8歲才能行使投票權(quán)。

The current Kansas governor is Sam Brownback, who has served two four-year terms. State law prevents governors from serving more than two back-to-back terms. Other, non-teenage candidates are also hoping to be elected governor.

目前Sam Brownback任堪薩斯州州長(zhǎng)，已經(jīng)連任2個(gè)四年任期。而該州的法律禁止州長(zhǎng)連任超過(guò)兩屆。此外，其他一些候選人也希望可以當(dāng)選州長(zhǎng)。

Kansas officials say the state has no legal requirements for the office. “There’s nothing in the law – there’s no age, no citizenship, no residency, no nothing,” the state’s director of elections, Bryan Caskey told the The Hutchinson News.

堪薩斯州州的官員表示，本州法律對(duì)任職官員沒(méi)有限制。“對(duì)年齡、國(guó)籍、住址等均沒(méi)有法律要求。”堪薩斯州的選舉主任Bryan Caskey 向哈金森新聞表示。

 

Candidates only have to pay a small amount of money to get their name on the ballot. Ethan Randleas has started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money. He says he will need to raise $2,300 by June 2018 to be put on the Republican primary ballot.

候選人只需要支付少量資金來(lái)參加評(píng)選。Ethan Randleas已經(jīng)發(fā)起了“發(fā)現(xiàn)我，資助我 ”的活動(dòng)來(lái)募集資金。他需要在2018年6月前籌集2300美元，才能在共和黨初選中獲得選票。

Randleas calls himself a “conservatarian,” which he described as someone who supports a combination of conservative and libertarian values.

Randleas稱自己是“保守的自由派”，即支持保守觀和自由論的綜合者。

“We just had a president win on the campaign promise of draining the swamp,” he told the Kansas City Star newspaper. “And if you really want to drain the swamp, you get the complete outsiders, and that’s what I am.”

“在競(jìng)選中，我們剛有一位總統(tǒng)獲選” 他對(duì)堪薩斯城明星報(bào)說(shuō)道，“如果你真的想當(dāng)選，那么必須打敗所有的局外人員，而這就是我的初衷。”

Randleas also said he generally believes that the government should stay out of anything that does not involve the protection of life, liberty or property.

Randleas還表示自己認(rèn)為政府應(yīng)該只專注于保護(hù)生命、自由權(quán)以及財(cái)產(chǎn)的事情。

Jack Bergeson says he has been interested in the political process for as long as he can remember. But he decided to enter politics himself after watching Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year. The teenager describes himself as “a Bernie Sanders-style left-wing Democrat/Progressive.”

Jack Bergeson 表示從記事起，自己對(duì)政治就很感興趣。但是是在看完佛蒙特州的參議員伯尼•桑德斯，于去年參選民主黨總統(tǒng)選舉之后，自己下定決心進(jìn)入政治領(lǐng)域。這位青少年這樣描述自己“伯尼•桑德斯型的左翼民主黨/進(jìn)步人士。”

Like Sanders, Bergeson has campaigned for a higher minimum wage. He also supports reduced taxes for poor families, pay increases for teachers and the legalization of marijuana.

和桑德斯一樣，Bergeson支持提高最低工資標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，他還支持減少貧困家庭的稅收、增加教師的工資、使大麻合法化。

The third teen candidate in Kansas, Tyler Ruzich, says he decided to run after Bergeson announced his candidacy.

Bergeson 宣布參選之后，第三位來(lái)自堪薩斯州的青少年參選人Tyler Ruzich緊隨其后，宣布參選。

“I thought that was just so cool that someone my age was doing that,” Ruzich told the Kansas City Star. “He really started to tell me, well, why aren’t you throwing your hat in the race?”

“我覺(jué)得，在我這樣的年齡做這件事情，非常的了不起。”Ruzich 對(duì)堪薩斯城明星報(bào)說(shuō)道，“Bergeson真正意義上的告訴我，為什么不自己宣布參選呢?”

Since the parties have yet to nominate candidates, it is possible Kansas voters could be choosing between two teenagers next year.

目前為止，兩黨派尚未公布候選人員，很有可能明年堪薩斯州的選民會(huì)在這兩位青少年中進(jìn)行選擇。

On the East Coast, 13-year-old Ethan Sonneborn has launched a campaign for governor in Vermont. He sent out his own press release announcing the move. Sonneborn has repeatedly answered questions with interested media.

而在東海岸，13歲的Ethan Sonneborn宣布參加佛蒙特州州長(zhǎng)競(jìng)選。這位青少年自己舉辦了新聞發(fā)布會(huì)宣布了此舉。在發(fā)布會(huì)中Sonneborn多次回答了相關(guān)媒體的問(wèn)題。

“I'd rather lose a fight with a lot of visibility than lose a fight quietly,” he told the Burlington Free Press.

他對(duì)伯靈頓自由報(bào)說(shuō)到，“相比于悄無(wú)聲息地輸?shù)舾?jìng)選，我寧愿輸?shù)霓Z轟烈烈。”

On his Facebook page, Sonneborn talks about what he considers the main issues in his campaign. These include support for rebuilding infrastructure across Vermont and lowering taxes on the middle class. He also said he is “proud to be the most pro-choice, pro-gender equality candidate.”

Sonneborn在他的臉譜上談?wù)摿藢?duì)于競(jìng)選中自己認(rèn)為的主要問(wèn)題。這其中包括，對(duì)佛蒙特州基礎(chǔ)設(shè)施的重建還有減少對(duì)中產(chǎn)階級(jí)的稅收。他還表示“非常自豪成為支持公平?jīng)Q選，支持性別平等的候選人。”

Sonneborn told the Free Press that local Democratic Party officials have been slow to take him seriously. He also admitted it will be difficult trying to travel around the state while still attending school.

Sonneborn 向自由報(bào)表示當(dāng)?shù)氐拿裰鼽h官員對(duì)于以自己候選人的身份尚未嚴(yán)肅對(duì)待。他承認(rèn)，自己還在上學(xué)，想要在州內(nèi)巡回是很困難的。

But in the end, he said, he believes many of the state’s voters will see his age as a good thing, and give him their votes.

但是，在最后，他表示該州的很多選民會(huì)把自己的年齡視為優(yōu)勢(shì)，然后投票給自己。

I’m Bryan Lynn.

我是Bryan Lynn

[page]聽(tīng)力原文[/page]

At least four teenagers have launched campaigns for governor in two American states.

The young people have declared their candidacy in states that do not have age requirements to serve as governor.

Ethan Randleas is a 17-year-old from Wichita, Kansas. He was the most recent teenager to announce his candidacy. He wants to represent the Republican Party in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial elections.

Two other Kansas teenagers have also launched campaigns. They are 17-year-old Republican Tyler Ruzich, of Prairie Village, and 16-year-old Jack Bergeson of Wichita. Bergeson wants to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.

It is ironic that some of the candidates will not be able to vote for themselves because they must be 18 years old to vote.

The current Kansas governor is Sam Brownback, who has served two four-year terms. State law prevents governors from serving more than two back-to-back terms. Other, non-teenage candidates are also hoping to be elected governor.

Kansas officials say the state has no legal requirements for the office. “There’s nothing in the law – there’s no age, no citizenship, no residency, no nothing,” the state’s director of elections, Bryan Caskey told the The Hutchinson News.

Candidates only have to pay a small amount of money to get their name on the ballot. Ethan Randleas has started a Go Fund Me campaign to raise money. He says he will need to raise $2,300 by June 2018 to be put on the Republican primary ballot.

Randleas calls himself a “conservatarian,” which he described as someone who supports a combination of conservative and libertarian values.

“We just had a president win on the campaign promise of draining the swamp,” he told the Kansas City Star newspaper. “And if you really want to drain the swamp, you get the complete outsiders, and that’s what I am.”

Randleas also said he generally believes that the government should stay out of anything that does not involve the protection of life, liberty or property.

Jack Bergeson says he has been interested in the political process for as long as he can remember. But he decided to enter politics himself after watching Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination last year. The teenager describes himself as “a Bernie Sanders-style left-wing Democrat/Progressive.”

Like Sanders, Bergeson has campaigned for a higher minimum wage. He also supports reduced taxes for poor families, pay increases for teachers and the legalization of marijuana.

The third teen candidate in Kansas, Tyler Ruzich, says he decided to run after Bergeson announced his candidacy.

“I thought that was just so cool that someone my age was doing that,” Ruzich told the Kansas City Star. “He really started to tell me, well, why aren’t you throwing your hat in the race?”

Since the parties have yet to nominate candidates, it is possible Kansas voters could be choosing between two teenagers next year.

On the East Coast, 13-year-old Ethan Sonneborn has launched a campaign for governor in Vermont. He sent out his own press release announcing the move. Sonneborn has repeatedly answered questions with interested media.

“I'd rather lose a fight with a lot of visibility than lose a fight quietly,” he told the Burlington Free Press.

On his Facebook page, Sonneborn talks about what he considers the main issues in his campaign. These include support for rebuilding infrastructure across Vermont and lowering taxes on the middle class. He also said he is “proud to be the most pro-choice, pro-gender equality candidate.”

Sonneborn told the Free Press that local Democratic Party officials have been slow to take him seriously. He also admitted it will be difficult trying to travel around the state while still attending school.

But in the end, he said, he believes many of the state’s voters will see his age as a good thing, and give him their votes.

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Words in This Story

ironic – adj. strange or funny because it is different from what would be expected

libertarian – adj. political beliefs that promote civil liberties

swamp – n. wet and muddy land usually covered with water

minimum – adj. the least amount of something

marijuana – n. the dried leaves and flowers of the hemp plant, smoked as a drug

throw one’s hat into the race/ring – idiom. announce an intention to run for office

visibility – n. how well or far a person can see

infrastructure – n. basic equipment and structures (such as roads and bridges) needed for a country to function properly?

gender – n. the behavioral or cultural qualities usually linked to one sex