TED演讲:不存在'不投票'这种事(4)

 You might ask, well, here in America, who has time for this? 你也许会问，但这是美国，谁有时间折腾这些啊？

And I would tell you that the average American watches five hours of television a day. 我要告诉你，美国人平均每天看5小时的电视。

You might ask, who has the motivation? 你会问，谁有那个劲头啊？

And I'll tell you, any citizen who wants to be seen and heard not as a prop¹, not as a talking point, but as a participant, as a creator. 让我告诉你，那些希望被注意和被聆听的公民，不想当龙套，不为博眼球，而要成为参与者，创造者。

Well, how do we make this happen? Simply by making it happen. 好了，那到底要怎么做呢？很简单，付诸行动。

That's why a group of colleagues and I launched a new project called "The Joy of Voting." 这就是我和一群同事发起了一个新运动：“选举的快乐”的原因。

In four cities across the United States -- Philadelphia, Miami, Akron, Ohio, and Wichita, Kansas 在美国四个城市--费城，迈阿密，俄亥俄的阿克伦和堪萨斯的威奇托，

we've gathered together artists and activists², educators, political folks, neighbors, 我们召集了艺术家，活动家，教育家，政治人物，邻居

everyday citizens to come together and create projects that can foster this culture of voting in a local way. 普通市民每天相聚一起，创造了一个项目，来培育地域选举文化。

In Miami, that means all-night parties with hot DJs where the only way to get in is to show that you're registered to vote. 在迈阿密，有整夜的聚会，火辣的DJ，只要注册为选民就可以入内。

In Akron, it means political plays being performed in the bed of a flatbed truck that moves from neighborhood to neighborhood. 在阿克伦则是政治戏剧，演出在移动的平板拖车上进行，从一个小区到另一个小区。

In Philadelphia, it's a voting-themed scavenger³ hunt all throughout colonial old town. 在费城，是选举主题的寻宝游戏，遍布所有殖民古镇。

And in Wichita, it's making mixtapes and live graffiti art in the North End to get out the vote. 威奇托则是在城区北部创作混音带和现场涂鸦，那里是选举开始的地方。

There are 20 of these projects, and they are remarkable⁴ in their beauty and their diversity, and they are changing people. 这样的项目有20个，每一个都美轮美奂，丰富多彩。这些项目改变了人们的态度。

Let me tell you about a couple of them. 让我来给你们讲几个故事。

1 prop   

vt.支撑；n.支柱，支撑物；支持者，靠山

参考例句：

• A worker put a prop against the wall of the tunnel to keep it from falling.一名工人用东西支撑住隧道壁好使它不会倒塌。
• The government does not intend to prop up declining industries.政府无意扶持不景气的企业。

2 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 scavenger   

n.以腐尸为食的动物，清扫工

参考例句：

• He's just fit for a job as scavenger.他只配当个清道夫。
• He is not a scavenger nor just a moving appetite as some sharks are.它不是食腐动物，也不像有些鲨鱼那样，只知道游来游去满足食欲。

4 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。