Dear Residents of Ward Five,
On 12 October the city council will hold an open meeting on the new town charter. Every household is entitled to send one speaker.
Speakers have three minutes each. Please sign your name at the door before 6:45 p.m. Those who arrive after that time may listen, but may not speak.
Written comments are also welcome. Send them to my office by 5 October; I will read the first twenty aloud at the meeting.
The hall has no parking at all, so please come by bus.
Yours sincerely,
Alice Ho, Council Member
第五選區的居民您好：
十月十二日，市議會將針對新的鎮章程召開公開會議。每一戶都有權推派一位發言人。
每位發言人有三分鐘。請於晚上六點四十五分前在門口簽名。逾時抵達者可以旁聽，但不得發言。
也歡迎書面意見。請於十月五日前寄到我的辦公室；我會在會議上朗讀前二十份。
會場完全沒有停車位，請搭公車前來。
敬祝安好
議員 何愛麗絲
Know Your Constitution — four free talks at the Public Library, third floor.
Every talk runs from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. No booking is needed for Talks 1 to 3. Talk 4 includes a writing workshop, so seats are limited to 25; call 02-8871-4400.
Please bring a pen. Tea is served from 6:30.
認識你的憲法——四場免費講座，於公共圖書館三樓舉行。
每場講座皆為晚上七點到八點半。第一至第三講不需報名。第四講含寫作工作坊，名額限二十五人；請電洽 02-8871-4400。
請自備一支筆。六點半起供應茶水。
In many countries, fewer young adults vote than their parents did at the same age. Boredom is the usual explanation, but a recent study points elsewhere. Young voters, it found, do care about politics; what they cannot stand is the language it is written in.
When one national congress rewrote its public papers in plain English, questions from ordinary readers rose by a third. In a second test, voting stations were moved onto university campuses, and turnout there climbed sharply.
Neither change cost much. The lesson, the researchers say, is that young people are not lazy, only badly served.
在許多國家，年輕成人的投票率低於他們父母同齡時的水準。一般的解釋是無聊，但最近一項研究指出了別的原因。研究發現，年輕選民其實在乎政治；他們受不了的是政治所使用的語言。
當某國國會把公開文件改寫成淺白英文後，一般讀者提出的問題增加了三分之一。在第二項測試中，投票所被移到大學校園內，該處的投票率大幅上升。
這兩項改變都花不了多少錢。研究人員說，這告訴我們年輕人並不懶惰，只是被服務得很差。
A national poll asked 1,200 adults which task the next government should finish first.
| Task | City voters | Country voters |
|---|---|---|
| Lower housing costs | 41% | 19% |
| Better hospitals | 24% | 36% |
| Cleaner rivers | 21% | 28% |
| Faster trains | 14% | 17% |
The poll was taken in May, one month before the election.
一項全國民意調查詢問 1,200 位成年人，下一屆政府應優先完成哪一項任務。
| 任務 | 城市選民 | 鄉村選民 |
|---|---|---|
| 降低住房成本 | 41% | 19% |
| 改善醫院 | 24% | 36% |
| 整治河川 | 21% | 28% |
| 加快鐵路 | 14% | 17% |
此調查於五月進行，即選舉前一個月。