VOA慢速英语2015 马里兰州史上最年轻的市长只有19岁

AS IT IS 2015-05-20 19-Year-Old Is Youngest Mayor in Maryland History 马里兰州史上最年轻的市长只有19岁

Brandon Paulin is the top official in the town of Indian Head, Maryland even though he is only 19 years old.

Mr. Paulin started the job this month. He says his first goal is to bring business back to the town. The area is about two and a half kilometers wide and sits between two rivers. About 4,000 people live there. It includes small businesses, old homes on tree-lined streets, and new townhouses along the highway. It is about an hour’s drive away from the U.S. capital of Washington, DC.

But on the way into the capital, the highway passes the remains¹ of closed businesses. The shops failed largely because of competition from shopping centers in larger cities. Mr. Paulin says when some people drive into Indian Head and see the empty buildings, they just turn around and leave.

He hopes to return the town to what it used to be — a friendly, successful place with natural beauty where people want to live and visit.

“Many, many years ago, Indian Head was a booming² town, and that’s what I want to get back," he said. “I want to entice³ businesses as much as I can, using business incentives⁵.”

Right now, the people who own the old, empty buildings are permitted to use their properties to reduce their taxes. Mr. Paulin wants to reverse⁶ the situation. He plans to charge owners a fee for empty buildings, and to increase the cost every year. That way, he says, owners will hurry to establish a new business.

Bryan Lyles lives in Indian Point and does not have a job. He hopes new businesses will come soon after meeting Mr. Paulin. Mr. Lyles, who is 26, says, “I think it’s awesome⁷ to have a young mayor.”

The owner of a local health food store where Mr. Paulin buys fruit drinks is also happy about the young mayor. Kelly Murphy says, “His age doesn’t bother me. I know he’s excited, and I feel when people get around him, we feel excited again. We’ve lost that for many years in this town.”

Mr. Paulin began participating in city politics when he was 10 years old. At that time, he urged town officials to put in signs urging drivers to be aware of pedestrians⁹ – people crossing the street on foot. Mr. Paulin succeeded. Since then, he says, he has been involved in the town government.

As mayor, Mr. Paulin earns only $6,000 a year. In comparison, most U.S. legislators make an average salary of about $40,000 a year.

Mr. Paulin lives at home and takes college classes online. His mother, Wendy Paulin, says her son accepts challenges and works on problems until he has a solution. 

Voters in small towns across the U.S. have elected several other 18- and 19-year-old leaders.

But people in Dorset, Minnesota set the record for a town’s youngest mayor. Only about 25 people live in Dorset. Each year, they put all the residents’ names in a hat and blindly select someone. In 2012, they chose Bobby Tufts to be their top official. Bobby was three-years-old. 

Words in This Story

booming – adj. growing or expanding very quickly

entice – v. attract someone especially by offering or showing something appealing or interesting

incentive⁴ – n. something that encourages a person to do something or to work harder

pedestrian⁸ – n. a person who is walking in a city or along a road

1 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

2 booming   

adj.急速发展的v.激增( boom的现在分词 )；猛涨；发出隆隆声；以低沉有力的声音说话

参考例句：

• The opera singer has a deep, booming, masculine voice. 这位歌剧演唱家有一副深沉而又浑厚有力的嗓音。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• He is booming as a teacher. 作为一位教师，他日趋成功。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 entice   

v.诱骗，引诱，怂恿

参考例句：

• Nothing will entice the children from television.没有任何东西能把孩子们从电视机前诱开。
• I don't see why the English should want to entice us away from our native land.我不明白，为什英国人要引诱我们离开自己的国土。

4 incentive   

n.刺激；动力；鼓励；诱因；动机

参考例句：

• Money is still a major incentive in most occupations.在许多职业中，钱仍是主要的鼓励因素。
• He hasn't much incentive to work hard.他没有努力工作的动机。

5 incentives   

激励某人做某事的事物( incentive的名词复数 )； 刺激； 诱因； 动机

参考例句：

• tax incentives to encourage savings 鼓励储蓄的税收措施
• Furthermore, subsidies provide incentives only for investments in equipment. 更有甚者，提供津贴仅是为鼓励增添设备的投资。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

6 reverse   

v.推翻，颠倒，反向；n.反面，逆境；adj.反向的

参考例句：

• His answer was just the reverse of what I expected.他的回答正好与我期望的相反。
• Please reverse the positions of two pictures.请把两张图片的位置倒转过来。

7 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

8 pedestrian   

n.行人，步行者；adj.徒步的，呆板的，通俗的

参考例句：

• The criminal pushed a pedestrian down and ran away.罪犯推倒了一个行人逃跑了。
• The city built a pedestrian overpass over the highway.城里在公路上建了一座过街天桥。

9 pedestrians   

n.步行者( pedestrian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Several pedestrians had come to grief on the icy pavement. 几个行人在结冰的人行道上滑倒了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Pedestrians keep to the sidewalk [footpath]! 行人走便道。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》