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NARRATOR:Listen to a conversation between a student and a political science professor.
MALE STUDENT:I'm not sure if you know, but I was elected to student government this year ...
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Oh, congratulations!I was in student government myself as an undergraduate.It taught me a lot about the political process.In fact, the experience solved my problem of what to do with my life—it really cemented my interest in becoming a political scientist.
MALE STUDENT:Cool. Anyway, um, the reason I came by is, we're getting ready to conduct a straw poll on campus.You know, hold an informal vote, since the general election's just a couple months away.We wanna get a feel for the student body's political leanings.Like, who students are planning to vote for, which political party people identify with, that sorta thing.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Oh sure. I helped students run a straw poll once, years ago.[remembering with distaste] It was a lotta work, mostly because we used paper ballots and stayed up all night counting 'em.[making a strong suggestion] But if you use computers ...
MALE STUDENT:Yeah, we're creating a Web site for it where students'll be able to vote online.Um, and we're looking for a faculty advisor to help, actually.I was hoping you might be interested…
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Oh, I'm flattered, John, but my schedule's so jammed.I'm teaching two seminars, your intro course, finishing up my research ...[slight pause] But, uh, what about Professor Klein?She's new in our department.Plus, she's a whiz with computers ...
MALE STUDENT:OK. I'll ask her.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:[changing topics] So, have you decided on a topic for your term paper yet?
MALE STUDENT:Not really.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Why not write about your straw poll?Since the paper's not due till after the election, you could include your results, maybe compare them with the real election results?
MALE STUDENT:But would that be enough? I mean, just comparing numbers?
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Well, no, you'd need to provide some analysis, too.But I was thinking—there's a couple of local ballot questions this year, you know, referenda that voters can either support or not support ...
MALE STUDENT:Right, there's one on whether to ban smoking in restaurants, and another one, uh ... I think it's whether to spend tax dollars for a new sports arena in the city.
FEMALE PROFESSOR:OK, here's an idea ...In regular elections, the vast majority of voters ignore referenda; they vote for their favorite candidates, but avoid ballot questions.We believe it's because voters aren't familiar with the questions or don't understand them.But actively educating people on ballot questions right before they vote can improve referendum participation rates ...
MALE STUDENT:[excited] In that case, maybe we could have our straw-poll Web site provide information on the ballot questions, like how each proposal would affect students ...
FEMALE PROFESSOR:Exactly. And when you write your paper, you could compare the students' referendum voting rate to the general public's, and include your own analysis of the results.Plus there's plenty of published research on referendum voting behavior.
MALE STUDENT:Thanks Professor Miller! I had no idea this straw poll could actually help me in my course work.
旁白：请听一段学生和政治学教授之间的对话。
学生：我不清楚您知不知道，但是我今年入选学生会了。
教授：哦，恭喜恭喜！我读大学的时候就是学生会的一员。它教给我很多关于政治事务的事情。实际上，这段经历帮我解决了未来的人生中要做什么的问题，它确实坚定了我成为政治学者的兴趣。
学生：好酷啊！总之，我到这儿来的理由是我们正在为大学里的非正式民意测验做准备。你知道，在大选几个月之前先举行一个非正式的投票。我们想了解一下学生群体的政治倾向。就像是学生们打算给哪些人投票、比较认同哪些政治团体，类似这样的事情。
教授：当然。我几年前帮助学生举办了一次这种非正式的民意测验。工作非常繁重，主要是因为我们当时使用的是纸质投票，然后要熬夜整晚来数票。但是如果你们用计算机的话……
学生：是的，我们在搭建一个可以让学生在线投票的网站。嗯，实际上，我们在寻找可以为我们提供帮助的指导教师。我希望您能有兴趣当我们的导师...
教授：哦，我太荣幸了，约翰。但是我的日程已经排得满满的了。我正在教着两个研讨班，还有你们的导论课程，再加上我还得完成研究。但是，你觉得克兰教授怎么样？她是我们系新来的教授。另外，她可擅长计算机了。
学生：好的，我去问问她。
教授：所以，你决定你的学期论文的题目了吗？
学生：还没。
教授：为什么不写一下你的非正式民意测验呢？因为你的论文直到选举结束后才交，你可以把你的结果写在论文里，或许可以把它们和真正的选举结果相比较。
学生：但是这就足够了吗？我的意思是，就仅仅比较数字？
教授：嗯，是不够，你还需要提供一些分析。但是我在想，今年当地的选票问题有两个，你知道的，全民公决的时候，投票者既可以支持也可以反对吧？
学生：对的。有个问题是在餐馆应不应该禁烟，还有一个……我记得应该是应不应该花纳税人的钱在城市里新建一个体育竞技场。
教授：啊，好的。我是这样想的。在定期的投票选举中，大多数的投票人会无视全民公决，他们会为自己最喜欢的候选人投票，但避开了投票上的问题。我们相信这是因为投票者对于这些问题不熟悉，或者是不理解。但是如果我们在选民们投票之前积极地教育他们关于投票上的问题的话，这可以增进全民公投的参与率。
学生：这种情况下，也许我们可以让我们的非正式民意测验网站提供关于选票问题的信息，比如每个提议会如何影响学生...
教授：就是如此。当写你的论文的时候，你可以对比学生在公投中的投票率和大众的投票率，并且把你对于结果的分析包含进去。另外，对于大众的公投行为分析有许多出版的研究成果。
学生：谢谢，米勒教授。我没想到这个非正式民意测验可以在我的课程论文上帮助我。
如果对题目有疑问，欢迎来提出你的问题，热心的小伙伴会帮你解答。