1、The Age of Majority 成年 In most countries, turning 18 marks the start of adulthood. But what does reaching this milestone, the age of majority, really mean? Will you be completely in charge of your own life and able to express yourself in new and exciting ways? What new responsibilities will this fre
2、edom bring? Here, three young people tell us what turning 18 means, or meant, to them. 在大多数国家,进入 18 岁便意味着成年。但是到达成年这里程碑到底意味着什么 呢?你将完全主宰自己的生活吗?你能够用新奇的、 激动人心的方式来表达自己吗? 获得这种自由又会带来什么新的责任呢?接下来,有三位年轻人会为我们讲述年 满 18 岁对他们意味着什么,或是曾经意味了什么。 Bethany 16, Victoria, Australia 贝萨妮贝萨妮 16 岁岁,澳大利亚维多利亚州澳大利亚维多利亚州 I cant wa
3、it to be 18. One reason is that although Ive been working ever since leaving school, I wont be voting in the next general election. Why? Because I still wont be old enough Surely, if youre old enough to earn a wage and pay taxes, you should be allowed to have a say on how the government spends them!
4、 Ive also been taking driving lessons, and in fact I will be taking my driving test on the very day I turn 18. My mum worries about me being behind the wheel. As an ambulance driver, shes seen a lot of car accidents involving teenagers and thinks the legal age for getting a driving licence should be
5、 21. But I think Im already mature enough understand that driving a car also means taking responsibility for my life and the lives of other people 我简直等不及想要到 18 岁了。其中一个原因是虽然我一毕业就工作了,但是我依 然不能在下一届大选中投票。为什么?因为我依然不满 18 岁。但是我认为如果一 个人已经工作并且交税了,那他应该对政府在支配税收方面有一定的话语权。我 也一直在学习驾驶,并且我会在 18 岁当天就去考驾照。 妈妈十分担心我开车,作
6、为 一名救护车司机,她目睹过太多涉及青少年的车祸,她认为考驾照的法定年龄应该 推迟到 21 岁。但是我觉得自己已经足够成熟,知道开车也意味着要对自己和他人 的生命负责。 Lin Ning 19. Shanghai China 林宁林宁 19 岁岁,中国上海中国上海 I celebrated my 18th birthday just before I went to university. I expected to feel instantly different, as if I had closed the door on my childhood and stepped into a
7、whole new adult world. But it wasnt like that. When I woke up the next day, there were still rules to obey and lessons to attend. In fact. the change has been more subtle and gradual than I imagined. Instead of being the selfish teenager I used to be, I have begun to feel more aware of other people
8、and to develop a stronger sense of social responsibility. To give an example, I will be signing an organ donation agreement this time tomorrow. This was a big decision for me and I made it without asking my parents (although I knew they would approve). Turning 18 also changed the way that society vi
9、ewed me. I was really surprised when a bank contacted me with a credit card offer. Of course. I would like to have more freedom with money and no doubt I will be getting a credit card at some point, but I currently dont have a stead income, so getting a credit card might tempt me to spend more money
10、 than I have 上大学前我刚满 18 岁。我曾经期待马上会有不一样的感觉,就好像自己关闭了童 年的大门,踏进一个全新的成人世界。但是事实并非如此。第二天我醒来时,仍然 有需要遵守的规则,需要参加的课程。事实上,这种变化比我想象的更微小,更平缓。 相比自己之前那个自私的青少年角色,我已经开始更多地关注别人,并且去培养更 强烈的社会责任感。比如说明天这个时候我将会签署器官捐赠意向书。这对我来 说是个重大的决定,做出这个决定我并未征求父母的意见(虽然我知道他们会同意 的)。 满 18 岁后,社会对待我的方式也改变了。 有家银行给我打电话让我办理信用 卡的时候,我非常惊讶。虽然我想在花钱方面
11、更为自由,而且毫无疑问我将在未来 的某个时间获得一张信用卡,但是我现在还没有稳定的收入,所以现在办理的话可 能会让我透支! Morgan 20, Florida, the US 摩根摩根 20 岁岁,美国佛罗里达州美国佛罗里达州 People say that 18 marks a new chapter in our lives, and that we should become more independent. I used to believe this, but the reality for me has been very different. I assumed Id alr
12、eady have a well-paid job and that Id be moving into a rented apartment as soon as I turned 18, but how wrong I was My librarians salary means that Ill be living at home with my parents for a while longer. Because I contribute to the household bills and my commute to work is quite expensive, I find
13、it hard to save any money. Ill be starting a new job next month, however, so maybe things will get easier. I know I could get a bank loan to pay the deposit on my very own apartment, but I dont feel ready to make that kind of commitment, and I do like my moms cooking I guess some responsibilities ar
14、e more about attitude than age 人们都说 18 岁意味着翻开人生的新篇章,我们应该变得更独立。我曾经也这样认 为,但是事实并非如此。 我以为我到 18 岁就能有一份新水不错的工作,能搬进自己 租的公寓,我是多么异想天开呀!作为一个图书管理员,我的工资只够我继续长时 间和父母住在一起。因为我要分担家庭账单,而且我的通勤费用很高,所以我发现 攒钱非常困难。下个月我会开始一份新工作,也许情况能有所好转。我知道我可 以通过货款来支付购买自己公寓的订金,但我还无法向银行做出这种重大的承诺, 而且我真的很喜欢吃妈妈做的饭。我觉得要想负起一些责任,更多的是关乎态度, 而不是年龄
15、。 The Little Prince 小王子小王子 Once when I was six years old I saw a magnificent picture in a book, called True Stories from Nature, about the primeval forest.It was a picture of a boa constrictor In the act of swallowing an animal. Here is a copy of the drawing. 我六岁的时候在一本书里看到了一张非常震撼的图。书的名字是大自然的真实 故事 ，讲
16、的是原始森林。那张图片上有一条蟒蛇正在吞掉一只动物。这是那张 图的摹本: In the book it said: Boa constrictors swallow their prey whole,without chewing it. After that they are not able to move， and they sleep through the six months that they need for digestion 书上写着:“蟒蛇把猎物整个吞下，完全不咀嚼。吞下以后一蟒蛇就动不了了。消 化食物需要六个月，因此蟒蛇就睡六个月。“” I pondered deepl
17、y,then,over the adventures of the jungle. And after some work with a colored pencil I succeeded in making m first drawing. My Drawing Number One. It looked like this: 那个时候，我深深地思考着原始丛林里的奇遇。我用一支彩色铅笔，成功画出了 我的第一幅画作。我的“一号画作”是这样的: I showed my masterpiece to the grown-ups, and asked them whether the drawin
18、g frightened them 我把我的杰作给大人看，问他们有没有被我的画吓到。 But they answered: Frighten? Why should anyone be frightened by a hat?” 但他们回答:“吓到?为什么有人会被一顶帽子吓到? My drawing was not a picture of a hat. It was a picture of a boa constrictor digesting an elephant. But since the grown-ups were not able to understand it, I ma
19、de another drawing: I drew the inside of the boa constrictor, so that the grown-ups could see it clearly. They always need to have things explained. My Drawing Number Two looked like this 我画的不是帽子，而是一条正在消化一头大象的蟒蛇。但由于大人们没有看懂， 我又画了一幅:我画出了蟒蛇身体的内部，这样大人就能看清楚了。所有事情都 非要你跟他们解释清楚，他们才能懂。我的“二号画作”是这样的: The grown
20、-ups response, this time, was to advise me to lay aside my drawings of boa constrictors. whether from the inside or the outside, and devote myself instead to geography, history arithmetic and grammar. That is why, at the age of six, I gave up what might have been a magnificent career as a painter. I
21、 had been disheartened by the failure of my Drawing Number One and my Drawing Number Two. Grown-ups never understand anything by themselves, and it is tiresome for children to be always and forever explaining things to them 这次， 大人的回答是建议我把不管是蟒蛇内部还是外部的画都放到一边，然后转 而专心学习地理、历史、算术和语法。所以，六岁的时候，我放弃了可能会十分 辉煌的
22、画家职业道路。“一号画作”和二号画作”的失败使我心灰意冷。大人从来 没法自己弄慬任何事情，小孩永远要给他们解释是很辛苦的。 So then I chose another profession, and learned to pilot airplanes I have flown a little over all parts of the world: and it is true that geography has been very useful to me. At a glance I can distinguish China from Arizona. If one gets
23、lost in the night, such knowledge is valuable 所以后来我选了另一个职业，我开始学习驾驶飞机。世界上每个地方我差不多都 去过;地理对我确实很有用。我一眼就能分辨中国和亚利桑那州。如果晚上迷路 了，这样的知识很有价值。 In the course of this life, I have had a great many encounters with a great many people who have been concerned with matters of consequence. I have lived a great deal am
24、ong grown-ups .I have seen them intimately, close at hand. And that hasnt much improved my opinion of them. 在生命历程中，我多次遇到过很多关心大事的人。我在大人之中生活了很久。我 密切地观察过他们，近在咫尺地看过。然而我对他们的看法还是没有改观。 Whenever I met one of them who seemed to me at all clear-sighted, I tried the experiment of showing him my Drawing Number
25、One, which I have always kept. I would try to find out, so, if this was a person of true understanding. But, whoever it was, he, or she, would always say: 每一次我遇到一个看上去头脑完全清楚的大人，我都会给他看我一直带着的“一 号画作”，想看看这个人是不是能真正地理解。但是，不论这个人是谁，他(她) 总是会说: That is a hat“ 那是顶帽子。 Then I would never talk to that person about
26、 boa constrictors, or primeval forests, or stars. I would bring myself down to his level I would talk to him about bridge, and golf, and politics and neckties. And the grown-up would be greatly pleased to have met such a sensible man 然后我就不再跟那个人聊任何有关蟒蛇、原始森林或是星星的事情了。我就会把 自己降低到他的层次，跟他聊桥梁、高尔夫、政治、领带。而这个大人就会很高 兴能遇到这样一个明智的人 (Excerpt from The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery) 节选自安托万德圣埃克苏佩里的小王子
