High 3 · Reading series
Lesson 13 · The Conversation after the Vote
Audio track 13
Listen first
Listen once before opening the English passage.
Open the English passage and hover for word help
The student council voted to move our school festival indoors because of uncertain weather. The decision passed by a narrow margin. Those who had planned outdoor performances looked disappointed, and some supporters acted as if the vote had ended the discussion.
It had settled one question: where the festival would be held. It had not settled how performers could adapt their work or what equipment the smaller rooms would require. We held a meeting with the groups most affected, including those who had voted against the move. Their suggestions changed the room plan and the order of performances.
A student asked whether listening afterward made the vote meaningless. I thought the opposite. The vote gave us a direction; conversation helped us carry it out without pretending the minority had disappeared. We published the reasons for the decision and the changes that followed.
A majority can make a decision. It cannot automatically provide every detail or erase the costs that others will bear. Democracy at school continued the morning after the count.
Check your understanding
After reading, state the main idea in one sentence and find a line that supports it.
Chinese translation
天气不稳，学生会投票决定把校园节移到室内。决议以微弱优势通过。筹备户外演出的同学很失望，有些赞成者却像是投票已经结束全部讨论。
投票只确定了一个问题：活动在哪里办。演出如何调整、小房间需要什么设备，仍未解决。我们召集受影响最大的团队，包括投反对票的人。他们的建议改变了房间安排和节目顺序。
一位同学问，投票后继续听意见，是否使投票失去意义。我想恰恰相反：投票给出方向，交谈帮助我们实施，而不假装少数人的困难已消失。我们公开决定的理由和后续改动。
多数人可以作决定，却不能自动给出所有细节，也不能抹去别人将承担的代价。在学校里，民主并不会在计票后的早晨停止。
Key words and expressions
Key terms have Chinese explanations. Hover over dotted words in the English passage for word help and pronunciation when available.
- voted
- 投票；决定活动转室内。
- uncertain
- 不确定的；天气影响方案。
- narrow margin
- 微弱优势；赞成票仅略多。
- settled
- 解决；地点确定但细节未定。
- adapt
- 调整；户外演出需改变。
- affected
- 受影响的；演出团队最明显。
- minority
- 少数方；反对者仍需参与。
- majority
- 多数方；投票可给方向。
- erase
- 抹去；不能忽略执行代价。
- bear
- 承担；有人要承受改变影响。
Background notes (Chinese)
表决解决主要方向，不替代执行时的协商。尤其在场地改变后，少数方提出的具体需求仍需要进入计划。