From cashier t o world's youngest prime minister

難詞探意

1. newbie /?nju?b?/ n. （尤指使用電腦）新手

2. coalition /?ko???l??n/ n. （尤指多個政治團體的）聯(lián)合體；聯(lián)盟

3. mock /m?k/ v. 蔑視；嘲弄

4. advocate /?dv?ke?t/ v. 提倡；擁護

When leaders from the European Council gathered for a group photo in Brussels last, it was hard to miss the classnewbie. Standing front and center among the neat rows of middleaged men was Finland's new prime minister—34-year-old Sanna Marin.

The young woman had a huge smile on her face. And as the world's youngest sitting prime minister, she now heads Finland's governingcoalitionof five parties—all of which have female leaders, and almost all under the age of 35. It is a remarkable line-up, given that the country's leaders have traditionally been older men.

Marin and her fellow coalition leaders don't look like your average senior politicians. The new prime minister is a big Rage Against the Machine fan, and a photo of Marin and her allfemale line-up was proudly shared on Instagram by the band's guitarist, Tom Morello. Marin's modest background doesn't like your average world leader's either. She and her mother lived in a rented apartment and despite not having much money, Marin wrote that they led a happy life full of love.

At 15, Marin's first summer job was at a bakery, and at high school she distributed magazines to earn extra cash. After graduating from high school, she worked as a cashier—a role Estonia's interior minister this weekmocked,calling her a “sales girl” and questioning her ability to run the country. Marin used the comments to suggest her political advantage, tweeting, “I'm extremely proud of Finland. Here children from poor families can educate themselves and achieve their goals in life. A cashier can become even a prime minister.”

Marin was the first member of her family to attend university.She entered politics at 20.Seven years later, she was elected Tampere City Council leader, and three years later she became an MP. “Sheadvocatesincreasing refugee intakes and raising taxes to support the welfare state. With her humble background and humanitarian policies, Marin gives the impression of a very principled person,” said Miettinen. “She doesn't avoid tough questions and she does very well in political debates on television, which is a very big part of Finnish culture.”

Reading

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1. What does the underlined word in paragraph 2 refer to?

A. There are five parties in Finland.

B. Marin is the world's youngest sitting prime minister.

C. Official leaders are under the age of 35 in Finland.

D. Female leaders under the age of 35 can be seen in every party in Finland.

2. What's paragraph 3 mainly about?

A. Marin's opinions about life.

B. Marin's poor life with her mother.

C. Marin's differences from average world leaders.

D. Marin's favorite band in her spare time.

3. What kind of person is Marin in Miettinen's opinion?

A. Principled.

B. Easy-going.

C. Ambitious.

D. Cautious.

Language

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Sentence for writing

Marin was the first member of her family to attend university. 馬林是她家第一個上大學的人。

【信息提取】the first/second/last... to do... 意為“第幾個做某事的……”。

【句式仿寫】湯姆是最后一個到達這兒的人。