1. When your plan brings us great wealth, you will be rewarded for your sagacity.
A. good looks
B. mistakes
C. intelligence
D. huge appetite for herbs
2. Of course, I’m not saying that your plan is no good. I tend to be optimistic,
so I won’t be surprised when you succeed.
A. expecting the best to happen
B. needing glasses to see
C. full of gas
D. unselfish
答案【C,A】
Said a Melrose, Massachusetts, housing engineer in 1980, "Every politician is the same, regardless of whether he's in Boston or Washington. That's why a lot of us may choose not to vote this November." As a result, people are focusing efforts on the local level. There, one sees not apathy but intense political activity.
There has been a gradual but pronounced shift of power out of the hands of elected officials to direct ballot voting through local initiatives and referenda where people, not officials, decide by a majority vote a certain course of action. Politicians matter less and less. So there is a declining interest in national political elections. It is a natural consequence of the shift from a representative to a participatory democracy.
Political commentators and the media, of course, see this as anything but natural. We are constantly upbraided for apathy and for taking democracy for granted. And by now we all feel even guilty about it.
We should not. Low voter turnout does not automatically signal trouble in democracy.In any event, exceptionally high turnout is not necessarily the wonderful thing the commentators would have us believe it is. Worldwide, the highest turnouts occur in totalitarian states. For example, only one voter failed to turn out in Albania's 1978 general election; North Korea counts on a full 100-percent turnout; and in Romania and East Germany the vote hovers at around 99 percent.
Political analysis used to associate low turnout with apathy or ignorance. But as the electorate becomes better educated, more informed, and more assertive, that rationalization is becoming increasingly difficult to substantiate. Analysts are finally beginning to understand that voters are making a conscious decision not to participate.
We have pulled the essence of political power out of the hands of our elected representatives and reinvested it into two main areas: (1) the direct ballot vote of initiatives and referenda and (2) grassroots political activity. In both cases citizens, not politicians, decide on a course of action and live with it.
1. As used in the passage, pronounced most nearly means
A. marked.
B. outspoken.
C. recited.
D. uttered.
2. Which of the following best describes the author's attitude toward low voter turnout?
A. alarmed
B. undisturbed
C. guilty
D. worried
3. The underlined word upbraided means
A. criticized.
B. punished.
C. recognized.
D. rewarded.
4. The author mentions the voter turnout in some other countries to show that
A. high turnout is not necessarily a sign of democracy.
B. voter turnout in the U.S. is low.
C. the U.S. is less democratic than some other countries.
D. we take democracy for granted by not voting.
5. According to the passage, which of the following is the main reason for low voter turnout in national elections?
A. ignorance of the issues
B. lack of education
C. lack of interest in politics
D. shift in political focus
答案【A,B,A,A,D】
1.No word must ever leak out about this military action! It has to be a clandestine operation in order to succeed.
Which word is a synonym of "clandestine"?
a. family
b. useful
c. dangerous
d. secret
2. Put this medicine on your arm and rub it into your skin until it's invisible.
It will inhibit the infection's attempt to spread.
What does “inhibit” mean?
a. live in a certain place
b. block or slow down
c. itch or burn
d. help to do something important
答案【D,B】
