Improving society

When pop band Teens in Times took the stage, an intense roar rose up. Xiao Min was one of the many screaming teens in the packed stadium. She had skipped quite a few of her classes in school to see the show.
流行乐队时代少年团一出场，全场都沸腾了。在人潮拥挤的体育馆中，小敏是众多欢呼呐喊的青少年观众中的一个。为了看这场演出，她翘了学校好多节课。

Xiao Min’s friend, Qiu Xiling, 17, a student from Tongzhou Senior High School in Jiangsu province found that there were a large number of teenagers following their favorite entertainers. They tracked their tours and traveled to airports to get a glimpse of their idols. This led to their grades dropping and more arguments with their parents.
江苏省通州高级中学的17岁学生邱曦铃是小敏的朋友。她注意到大量的青少年都在追星。他们会追踪明星的行程，去机场只为看偶像一眼。这导致他们的学习成绩下降，与家长频繁发生争吵。

“Such stories are all too common. I want to do something to wake them up,” Qiu said. Qiu and three other students drafted a proposal to address this issue and submitted it to the 2020 Model Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (Model CPPCC）. It was organized by the Central Committee of the Communist Youth League of China and All-China Students’ Federation. Among 1,605 entries, Qiu’s team’s proposal was chosen as one of the 10 best.
“这样的故事屡见不鲜。我想做些什么唤醒他们，”邱曦铃说。针对这一问题，邱曦铃和其他三名学生起草了一项提案，并将它提交至2020年全国青少年模拟政协提案征集活动。该活动由共青团中央及全国学联组织。在1605件模拟提案作品中，邱曦铃团队的提案被评为全国十佳模拟政协提案作品。

Since September, Qiu and her team have worked diligently to design questionnaires and survey students of different ages. They got over 300 responses. During their research, they heard many stories about teenagers who believed becoming a celebrity was an instant way to wealth and fame.
从去年九月开始，邱曦铃及其团队就开始努力设计调查问卷，调研不同年龄段的学生。他们收到300多份反馈。在调研期间，他们倾听了很多青少年的故事，这些青少年都认为当艺人是名利双收的捷径。

As a result, these teens became more aggressive or strayed from mainstream values. Qiu’s team suggested that the celebrities’ income, as well as their production companies, be strictly monitored.
因此，这些青少年变得更加急功近利，偏离了主流价值观。邱曦铃团队建议，艺人收入及其经纪公司应受到严格监管。

Their proposal was not the only one that focused on significant issues in the sphere of education.
不光他们的提案关注了教育领域重大问题。

The Model CPPCC also rewarded proposals focusing on campus violence, preschool education and agriculture education in primary and secondary schools.
模拟政协还表彰了有关校园暴力、学前教育和中小学农业教育的提案。

Yang Xiaoting, a senior student from Liangguan Middle School in Lijiang, Yunnan province, turned her attention to the untended farmlands. “Many people move from the countryside to the city for temporary work, leaving behind their children,” Yang said. “Without their parents around, the children grow up with little knowledge of how to farm. It will possibly lead to a vicious cycle of wasted resources.”
来自云南省丽江市梁官中学的学生杨晓婷则将目光投向被人淡忘的农田。“很多人都进城打工，把孩子留在了村里，”杨晓婷表示。“没有父母在身边，这些孩子对农耕知之甚少。这可能导致浪费资源的恶性循环。”

To address this issue, Yang suggested compiling farming textbooks, setting up farming tool exhibition halls, visiting agricultural technology stations and encouraging students to experience farm work firsthand.
为解决这一问题，杨晓婷建议编写农业教科书，设立农具展览馆，参观农业技术站，并鼓励学生们亲身体验农耕活动。

“Young people are an important part of society,” Yang said. “If we want to make changes, we can start with the issues that are currently affecting our generation.”
“年轻人是社会的重要成员，”杨晓婷说。“如果我们想要做出改变，可以从目前正影响我们这代人的事情做起。”

以上文章内容选自《21世纪学生英文报高中版》，详情请见《21世纪学生英文报高中版》高三742期