Introduction

Does our age affect the way we vote? And do our political views change as we get older? It's what Sam and Neil are discussing in 6 Minute English - as well as teaching some related vocabulary.

This week's question

What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote?

A: 1929

B: 1950, or

C: 1970

Listen to the?programme to find out the answer.

Transcript

Note: This is not a word for word transcript??

Neil

Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.

Sam

And I'm Sam.

Neil

Sam, do you remember the first time you voted?

Sam

No?I don’t, but I remember being very keen to do it. It would have been the first election after my 18th birthday.

Neil

So, over the many, many, many years since then …

Sam

… eh, not so much with the ‘manys’ if you don’t mind Neil!

Neil

In the very, very few years since then …

Sam

That’s more like it!

Neil

In the years since then, have your political views changed very much?

Sam

I think my political views are a lot better informed now. I think the decisions I make are based on a better understanding of the political situation – but I still generally agree with the same things I did when I was younger, I think.

Neil

There is a belief that as we get older we become more right-wing in our political views and opinions. Is this true and if so, why? We’ll be finding out a little bit more about this, but first a question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote?

A: 1929

B: 1950, or

C: 1970

So, what do you reckon then Sam?

Sam

Well, they were all before my time. I’m going to say 1950 – that sounds about right – it was the decade in which teenagers were invented, after all!

Neil

OK. Well, I will reveal the answer later in the?programme. James Tilley is a professor of politics at the University of Oxford. He appeared recently on BBC Radio 4’s?programme?Analysis and was asked why, if it is true, do we become more right-wing as we get older. What does he think?

Professor James Tilley?

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the most?plausible?explanation is that people just generally become a bit more?resistant to?change as they get older and I think also that they also tend to perhaps, become less?idealistic.

Neil

So, what reasons does he give?

Sam

Well, he talks about what he thinks are the most?plausible?explanations.?Plausible?is an adjective which means something is believable; it’s reasonable and it makes sense.

Neil

And what are the?plausible?explanations?

Sam

Well, he says that generally, as we get older, we like to have more stability in our lives, we don’t like change, in?fact?we are?resistant?to change. That means we are against change. When we are younger we might like the idea of revolution, we might be very?idealistic. This means, for example, we might think that we can and should change the world to make things better. This would cause big changes in the world which when we are older and more settled in our lives, do not seem like such a good idea.

Neil

Let’s listen again.

Professor James Tilley?

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the most?plausible?explanation is that people just generally become a bit more?resistant to?change?asthey get older and I think also that they also tend to become less?idealistic.

Neil

Professor Tilley goes on to explain more about why being?resistant?to change might lead people to support more right-wing policies.

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent?a platform?which is perhaps more?favourable?to?thestatus quo, it’s perhaps more about?pragmatism?than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people.

Neil

So, what is seen as the appeal of moving to the right?

Sam

Political parties have a particular set of policies. This is sometimes known as their?platform. Professor Tilley says that if their?platforms?support the?status quo, they might be more attractive to older people.?The?status quo?is a Latin phrase we use in English to refer to the situation as it is now – that is, one that is not going to change. Traditionally it’s parties of the?centreright?that seem to be more supportive of the?status quo.

Neil

So, as we get older he says our political views are less about idealism and more about?pragmatism.?Pragmatism?is being practical and realistic about what can be achieved and how it can be achieved.

Sam

But of course this doesn’t apply to everyone and just because people seem to move more to the right as they get older doesn’t mean that they completely change their politics.

Neil

Let’s hear Professor Tilley again.

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent?a platform?which is perhaps more?favourable?to the?status quo, it’s perhaps more about?pragmatism?than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people.

Neil

Right, let’s get the answer to our question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote?

A: 1929

B: 1950, or

C: 1970

Sam, what did you say?

Sam

I thought it was 1950.

Neil

Well, you’re wrong I’m afraid. The correct answer is1970. 18-year-olds have been allowed to vote in the UK since 1969 and the first general election after then was in 1970. So, a bit later than you thought, Sam, but congratulations to anyone who did get that right. OK, let’s remind ourselves of our vocabulary.

Sam

Yes, first we had?plausible. An adjective that means ‘believable and possible’.

Neil

Being?resistant to?something means you are against it and don’t want it to happen.

Sam

If you are?idealistic?you have a clear and simple moral view of how things should be.

Neil

This contrasts with one of our other words,?pragmatism, this noun is the idea of being realistic and practical about what can be achieved.

Sam

A?platform?can describe the policies and ideas of a political party or politician. And?thestatus quo?is the unchanging situation as it is now.

Neil

OK, thank you?Sam. That’s all from us in this?programme. Do join us again and if you can’t wait you can find lots more from BBC Learning English online, on social media and on our app. Goodbye!

Sam

Bye!

Vocabulary

plausible

believable, possible

resistant to

against

idealistic

having a clear and simple moral view of how things should be

platform

the policies of a political party or politician

the status quo

the situation as it is now?

pragmatism

the idea of being realistic and practical about what can be achieved.

==================================

雙語版Transcript

Neil

Hello. This is 6 Minute English, I'm Neil.

大家好，這里是六分鐘英語，我是尼爾。

Sam

And I'm Sam.

我是薩姆。

Neil

Sam, do you remember the first time you voted?

薩姆，你還記得你第一次投票嗎？

Sam

No I don’t, but I remember being very keen to do it. It would have been the first election after my 18th birthday.

不，不記得了，但我記得我非常想去投票。它會(huì)是我18歲生日后的第一次選舉。

Neil

So, over the many, many, many years since then?…

所以，從那以后的許多許多年里......

Sam

…?eh, not so much with the ‘manys’ if you don’t mind Neil!

額，別介意，尼爾，沒有那么多的“許多”！

Neil

In the very, very few years since then?…

在那之后的幾年里......

Sam

That’s more like it!

這才像話！

Neil

In the years since then, have your political views changed very much?

在那之后的幾年，你的政治觀點(diǎn)有很大改變嗎？

Sam

I think my political views are a lot better informed now. I think the decisions I make are based on a better understanding of the political situation – but I still generally agree with the?same things I did when I was younger, I think.

我認(rèn)為我的政治觀點(diǎn)現(xiàn)在更明智。我認(rèn)為我所做的決定是基于對(duì)政治形勢(shì)的更好的理解——但我仍然大體上同意我年輕時(shí)所做的事情。

Neil

There is a belief that as we get older we become more right-wing in our political views and opinions. Is this true and if so, why? We’ll be finding out a little bit more about this, but first a question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote?

有一種觀點(diǎn)認(rèn)為，隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，我們?cè)谡斡^點(diǎn)上變得更右翼一些。這是真的嗎？如果是那樣的話，那是為什么？我們會(huì)找到更多關(guān)于這個(gè)主題的內(nèi)容，但首先有一個(gè)問題。英國(guó)首次18歲的年輕人可以投票的大選是在什么時(shí)候？

A: 1929

B: 1950, or

C: 1970

So, what do you reckon then Sam?

那么，薩姆，你怎么認(rèn)為？

Sam

Well, they were all before my time. I’m going to say 1950 – that sounds about right – it was the decade in which teenagers were invented, after all!

嗯，它們都在我所處的時(shí)代之前。我選1950年——聽起來是對(duì)的——畢竟那是青少年出現(xiàn)的年代。

Neil

OK. Well, I will reveal the answer later in the programme. James Tilley is a professor of politics at the University of Oxford. He appeared recently on BBC Radio 4’s programme Analysis and was asked why, if it is true, do we become more right-wing as we get older. What does he think?

好的，好吧，我將在稍后的節(jié)目中揭曉答案。詹姆斯·蒂利是牛津大學(xué)政治學(xué)教授。他最近做客BBC廣播4頻道的Analysis節(jié)目并被問道，如果這是真的，為什么隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，我們會(huì)變得更右翼。他是怎么認(rèn)為的呢？

Professor James Tilley

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the most?plausible?explanation is that people just generally become a bit more?resistant to?change as they get older and I think also that they also tend to perhaps, become less?idealistic.

年齡影響我們政治觀點(diǎn)的這個(gè)問題是一個(gè)棘手的問題。我認(rèn)為可能最合理的解釋是，隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，人們通常會(huì)變得更抗拒改變。我認(rèn)為他們也可能變得不那么理想主義。

Neil

So, what reasons does he?give?

所以他給出了什么理由？

Sam

Well, he talks about what he thinks are the most?plausible?explanations.?Plausible?is an adjective which means something is believable; it’s reasonable and it makes sense.

好的，他談到了他認(rèn)為最合理的解釋?！癙lausible”是一個(gè)形容詞，意思是某事是可信的；它是合理的，言之有理的。

Neil

And what are the?plausible?explanations?

什么是合理的解釋呢？

Sam

Well, he says that generally, as we get older, we like to have more stability in our lives, we don’t like change, in fact we are?resistant?to change. That means we are against change. When we are younger we might like the idea of revolution, we might be very?idealistic. This means, for example, we might think that we can and should change the world to?make things better.?

This would cause big changes in the world which when we are older and more?settled?in?our?lives,?do?not?seem?like?such?a?good?idea.

好吧，他說通常隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，我們希望生活更加穩(wěn)定，我們不喜歡改變，事實(shí)上，我們抗拒改變。那意味著我么反對(duì)改變。我們年輕的時(shí)候可能喜歡變革，我們可能非常理想主義。這意味著，例如，我們可能認(rèn)為我們能夠而且應(yīng)該改變世界去使一切變得更好。這會(huì)造成世界發(fā)生巨大改變，當(dāng)我們老了，生活安定下來時(shí)，這似乎不是一個(gè)好主意。

Neil

Let’s listen again.

讓我們?cè)俾犚槐椤?/span>

Professor James Tilley

The question that age affects our political views is a tricky one. I think probably the?most?plausible?explanation is that people just generally become a bit more?resistant to change?as they get older and I think also that they also tend to become less?idealistic.

年齡影響我們政治觀點(diǎn)的這個(gè)問題是一個(gè)棘手的問題。我認(rèn)為可能最合理的解釋是，隨著年齡的增長(zhǎng)，人們通常會(huì)變得更抗拒改變。我認(rèn)為他們也可能變得不那么理想主義。

?

Neil

Professor Tilley goes on to explain more about why being?resistant?to change might lead people to support more right-wing policies.

蒂利教授繼續(xù)解釋了更多關(guān)于為什么抗拒變革可能會(huì)導(dǎo)致人們更多地支持右翼政策。

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent?a platform?which is perhaps more favourable to?the status quo, it’s perhaps more about?pragmatism?than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people.

所以，如果右翼黨派代表的是一個(gè)可能更有利于現(xiàn)狀的綱領(lǐng)，它可能更多的是實(shí)用主義，而不是理想主義，那么那可能對(duì)老年人的吸引力比對(duì)年輕人更大。

Neil

So, what is seen as the appeal of moving to the right?

所以傾向于右翼是什么呢？

Sam

Political parties have a particular set of policies. This is sometimes known as their?platform. Professor Tilley says that if their?platforms?support the?status quo, they might be more attractive to older?people.?The status?quo?is a Latin phrase we?use in English to refer?to the situation as it is now – that is, one that is not going to change. Traditionally it’s parties

of the centre right that seem to be more supportive of the?status quo.

黨派有一套特定的政策。這有時(shí)被稱為他們的綱領(lǐng)。蒂利教授說，如果他們的綱領(lǐng)支持現(xiàn)狀，它們可能對(duì)老年人更有吸引力?！艾F(xiàn)狀”是一個(gè)拉丁語短語，我們?cè)谟⑽闹杏脕碇脯F(xiàn)在的情況，也就是說，一個(gè)不會(huì)改變的情況。傳統(tǒng)上似乎中右翼黨派更支持現(xiàn)狀。

Neil

So, as we get older he says our political views are less about idealism and more about?pragmatism.?Pragmatism?is being practical and realistic about what can be achieved and how it can be achieved.

所以，他說隨著我們年齡的增長(zhǎng)，我們的政治觀點(diǎn)更多的是實(shí)用主義而不是理想主義。實(shí)用主義是對(duì)可以實(shí)現(xiàn)的以及如何實(shí)現(xiàn)所持的實(shí)事求是的態(tài)度。

Sam

But of course this doesn’t apply to everyone and just because people seem to move more to the right as they get older doesn’t mean that they completely change their politics.

但當(dāng)然這并不適用于所有人。僅僅因?yàn)槿藗冸S著年齡增長(zhǎng)似乎越來越傾向于右翼并不意味著他們完全改變了自己的政治立場(chǎng)。

Neil

Let’s hear Professor Tilley again.

讓我們?cè)俾犚槐榈倮淌谒f的。

Professor James Tilley

So, if parties on the right represent?a platform?which is perhaps more favourable to

the?status quo, it’s perhaps more about?pragmatism?than it is about idealism, then that might be more attractive to older people than younger people.

所以，如果右翼黨派代表的是一個(gè)可能更有利于現(xiàn)狀的綱領(lǐng)，它可能更多的是實(shí)用主義，而不是理想主義，那么那可能對(duì)老年人的吸引力比對(duì)年輕人更大。

?

Neil

Right, let’s get the answer to our question. What was the first UK general election in which 18-year-olds could vote?

好的，讓我們揭曉問題的答案。英國(guó)首次18歲的年輕人可以投票的大選是在什么時(shí)候？

A: 1929

B: 1950, or

C: 1970

Sam, what did you say?

薩姆你選的是什么？

Sam

I thought it was 1950.

我認(rèn)為是1950年。

Neil

Well, you’re wrong I’m afraid. The correct answer is1970. 18 year-olds have been allowed to vote in the UK since 1969 and the first general election after then was in 1970. So, a bit later than you thought, Sam, but congratulations to anyone who did get that right. OK, let’s remind ourselves of our vocabulary.

好吧，恐怕你答錯(cuò)了。正確答案是1970年。從1969年起英國(guó)允許18歲的年輕人投票，在那之后的第一次大選是在1970年。所以，比你認(rèn)為的要晚一些，薩姆，但是恭喜那些答對(duì)的人。好了，讓我們回憶一下我們的詞匯。

Sam

Yes, first we had?plausible. An adjective that means ‘believable and possible’.

是的，首先我么學(xué)了“plausible”。一個(gè)形容詞，意思是“可信的和可能的”。

Neil

Being?resistant to?something means you are against it and don’t want it to happen.

抗拒某事意味著你反對(duì)它，不希望它發(fā)生。

Sam

If you are?idealistic?you have a clear and simple moral view of how things should be.

如果你是理想主義的，那么你對(duì)事情應(yīng)該如何發(fā)展有一個(gè)清晰而簡(jiǎn)單的道德觀。

Neil

This contrasts with one of our other words,?pragmatism, this noun is the idea of being realistic and practical about what can be achieved.

這和我們的另一個(gè)單詞“實(shí)用主義”形成了對(duì)比，這個(gè)名詞是說對(duì)于可能實(shí)現(xiàn)的目標(biāo)要實(shí)事求是。

Sam

A?platform?can describe the policies and ideas of a political party or politician. And?thestatus quo?is the unchanging situation as it is now.

“綱領(lǐng)”可以形容一個(gè)黨派或政治家的政策和思想。“現(xiàn)狀”是現(xiàn)在不變的狀態(tài)。

Neil

OK, thank you Sam. That’s all from us in this programme. Do join us again and if you can’t wait you can find lots more from BBC Learning English online, on social media and on our app. Goodbye!

好的，謝謝你，薩姆。以上就是本期節(jié)目的全部?jī)?nèi)容。歡迎再次加入我們。

Sam

Bye!