Jeremy Minnier is very much like any typical 18 year-old. He’s in the high school band, he writes for the school newspaper and he’s interested in giving back to small Iowa community where he lives. Well he also happens to be the town’s new mayor. He beat the 76-year-old 1)incumbent by 16 votes in Tuesday’s election to become Mayor of Aredale, Iowa, a town with a whopping 74 residents.
Hostess: Jeremy, or Mr. Mayor, the 2)Mayor
elect, thank you so much for joining me.
Jeremy: Yeah, thanks for having me. Hostess: Anytime. OK, so, a lot of responsibility at age 18! I was just entering college and unsure of what I even wanted to do, perhaps, with my life. What made you decide to run for office?
Jeremy: Well, I actually didn’t run. It was, …
Hostess: Well you were a 3)write-in, …
Jeremy: …like I said, …
Hostess: …but at least to seek it, right?
Jeremy: Right, and there was a group of people that just thought that I needed to do this and that I could do it. I’ve been a leader my whole life. I’ve always volunteered in different things throughout
杰里米?米尼埃跟一个典型的18岁少年没多大区别。他是高中乐队的成员，他为校报撰稿，而且他对自己生活的这个艾奥瓦州小社区很感兴趣，乐于回馈。而他也碰巧成了这个小镇的新任镇长。他在周二的选举中以16票的优势击败了76岁的现任镇长，成为了这个拥有“多达”74名居民的艾奥瓦州小镇阿雷戴尔的镇长。
主持人：杰里米，镇长大人，当选镇长，十分感谢你接受我的采访。
杰里米：你好，谢谢邀请我。
主持人：任何时候都乐意。好了，那么，18岁时肩负的责任可多着呢！那时我才上大学，甚至或许连自己人生要干什么都不确定。是什么原因驱使你参选镇长的呢？
杰里米：嗯，我其实没有参选。那是，……
主持人：噢，你是个被选民填名的候选人，……
杰里米：……就像我说的，……
主持人：……但至少拉票了，对吧？
杰里米：对。有一群人觉得我应该干这个，而且觉得我能胜任。我从小到大都是个领导者。我总
the community, and I’ve been a president of our 4)FFA Chapter here at Hampton-Dumont, where I attend high school, …
Hostess: Right.
Jeremy: …and there’s just a lot of different things that I’ve done that…that they’ve encouraged me to do this.
Hostess: OK, but I mean, and that’s a nice resume, I think, for a lot of things where people wonder if it’s enough to handle being a mayor. As you pointed out, it was a write-in campaign. You got 24 votes compared to the eight that the incumbent had, but I also read that you were concerned about your town, and that the people…you wanted the 74 people who live there to be heard and not ignored.
Jeremy: Right. That’s one big thing. I…I think that the people have a lot of say in what their community should be like. I don’t think that a few certain people should be running the community. I…I think that everybody should be able to voice their opinion for what they think should be…
Hostess: Yeah.
Jeremy: …going on in their community.
Hostess: Are you worried they won’t take you seriously? You’re in the band, you’re in high school. I mean most people your age [are] worried about the prom, worried about where you’re gonna go to school, high…college. You think they’ll take you seriously?
是在社区里义务做不同的事。我是 “美国未来农民”组织汉普顿―杜蒙特（我上高中的地方）分部的一名主席。
主持人：对。
杰里米：我就是做了很多不同的工作，于是他们鼓励我去当镇长。
主持人：好的，但我是说，那是份不错的履历，但我觉得，出于很多原因，人们会产生怀疑：那样是否就足够资格当一名镇长了呢？正如你所指出的，那是个填名竞选。你获得24票而现任镇长只有8票，我也读到过说你关注自己的小镇，关注那里的居民……你想让居住在那里的74名居民的心声得到关注，不被忽略。
杰里米：对。那是一件大事。我觉得大家对于自己社区的发展有很多意见。我觉得这个社区不应该由少数特定的人来治理。我觉得每个人都可以表达自己的看法……
主持人：对。
杰里米：……就社区的发展。
主持人：你担心别人当你是儿戏吗？你是乐队成员，你在上高中。我是说，像你那么大的人大多都在担心毕业晚会，担心自己上什么大学。你觉得别人会当你是儿戏吗？
Jeremy: Well, that’s a lot of things that I’ve had asked to me. I’ve had a lot of people ask me that because I’m only 18.
Hostess: Right.
Jeremy: A lot of people say you’re only 18, you can’t do this, you don’t know what’s goin’ on. Well, we’re young adults. I’m a young adult. We are the future, we…we’re the next generation, we’re gonna be running it someday, running this country someday, and it’s just…you need to start somewhere, …
Hostess: Yeah. Yeah.
Jeremy: …and if you can start making a difference in the world today, just imagine what it would be like in generations to come. Hostess: Well, I love that you are taking this seriously. It is easy for people to see the headline, “18-Year-Old Mayor” and kind of 5)scoff at that, but I can tell by your 6)demeanor and your words that you take this as a serious opportunity in your life and for those 74 people now who are dependent on you, so don’t let them down. Thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.
杰里米：噢，那些都是我常被问到的问题。有很多人都这么问过我，因为我只有18岁。
主持人：对。
杰里米：很多人说，你只有18岁，你做不来的，你不清楚那是怎么回事。噢，我们是年轻的成年人。我是个年轻的成年人。我们是未来，我们是下一代，总有一天，我们会治理这个地方，总有一天会治理这个国家，那只是……你得从某个地方开始，……
主持人：对，对。
杰里米：……要是你今天就能开始改变世界，那想象一下未来的世代会变成怎样。
主持人：嗯，我喜欢你对这件事的严肃态度。人们轻易就看得到这个大标题――“18岁大的镇长”，并且对此有点嗤之以鼻，但凭你的言行，我可以说你将这件事视为一个严肃的机会――对于你自己的人生和如今依赖你的那74名居民而言都如此。所以，别让他们失望。十分感谢你接受我们的访问。我们十分感激。
翻译：未几