2007年12月英語(yǔ)六級(jí)考試閱讀沖刺模擬訓(xùn)練(8)

　　Debates among candidates are rare in most countries. But they have become a staple1 of American politics, particularly during the last 25 years. Americans like debates because the candidates can be compared in an unscripted, live performance. The candidates don't know what questions will be asked, nor what their opponent might say. History indicates that a bad performance, particularly a telling gaffe2, can badly damage a candidate in the polls. The debates are a “ key test” of the strength and abilities of the candidates, says CNN analyst Jeff Greenfield. A candidate cannot package himself in debates the way he can in party advertisements but must be quick on his feet3 to respond to unanticipated4 questions and criticisms, he adds.

　　The potential of debates to damage a vulnerable presidential hopeful is one reason why some candidates, particularly frontrunners10, are reluctant to risk their chances in such an uncontrolled environment--and the fewer debate rules there are,the less control the candidates have.But broadcast presidential debates,both in the primaries and in the general election,are now routine and expected by the American people.

　　Since 1987, the presidential debates have been organized by the bipartisan17 organization, the Commission on Presidential Debates. Its purpose is to sponsor and produce debates for the presidential and vice presidential candidates of the two major parties. In Election 2000, the commission set a threshold18 for the participation of third party candidates in the debates. They must show they have the support--as evidenced in a number of opinion polls--of at least 15 percent of the population.

　　Whatever the quality of the debates in Election 2000, they are unlikely to equal the most famous political debates in American history which occurred long before the invention of radio and television. In 1858, Stephen Douglas debated Abraham Lincoln for a U.S. Senate seat. The debates were held at seven sites throughout Illinois, one for each of the seven congressional districts. Douglas, a pro-slavery Democrat,was the incumbent19.Lincoln was anti-slavery. “ Honest Abe,” as he was endearingly called, lost the Senate race, but two years later was elected the first Republican president of the United States. The Lincoln Douglas debates are still heralded20 for the quality of the discourse at a crucial time in the nation's history.

　　Questions 1 to 5 are based on the passage above.

　　1. According to the first paragragh,why do Americans like debates among candidates?
　　A.The quality of the debates is heralded.
　　B.A telling gaffe may make candidates awkward.
　　C.Debates are rare in other countries.
　　D.They can make comparison among candidates.

　　2. We know from the passage that one of the reasons for some candidates dislike debating is that_____.
　　A.it is difficult to control the circumstance in debating
　　B.the American people don't expect it
　　C.it is impossible to make debate rules needed
　　D.they don't want to hurt their opponents

　　3.In 2000,the presidential debates were organized by_____.
　　A.third party candidates
　　B.the Commission on Presidential Debates
　　C.Democrats and Republicans
　　D.Non-government Organization

　　4.The Lincoln-Douglas debates are spoken highly of because_____.
　　A.Lincoln was the first Republican president of the US
　　B.the historic speeches made by Lincoln were excellent
　　C.Stephen Douglas was the incumbent at that time
　　D.Abraham Lincoln was anti-slavery

　　5.In the eyes of the author,the debates in Election 2000_____.
　　A.has become the best debates in American History
　　B.were the worst nightmare of any presidential hopeful
　　C.could not be as good as the Lincoln-Douglas debates
　　D.had close relationship with the Lincoln-Douglas debates

　　文章精要

　　說(shuō)明文。本文主要介紹了有關(guān)美國(guó)總統(tǒng)候選人之間辯論的情況。

　　斟詞酌句

　　1.staple n. 主食;主要產(chǎn)品;最重要的組成部分;訂書(shū)的，U形針
　　vt. 用訂書(shū)釘訂
　　adj. 主要的;經(jīng)常需要(或使用)的
　　*Rice is the staple food in many Asian countries. 大米是許多亞洲國(guó)家的主食。

　　2.candidate n. 候選人;投考者;申請(qǐng)求職者
　　*Abraham was the best candidate for the job. 亞伯拉罕是這項(xiàng)工作的最佳候選人。

　　3.vulnerable n. 脆弱的，易受傷的;易受攻擊的，難防御的
　　*We are vulnerable both by water and land,without either fleet or army. 由于沒(méi)有艦艇和軍隊(duì)，我們?cè)谒�路和陸路上都易受攻擊�?/P>

　　4.herald vt. 歡呼，宣傳;預(yù)示……的來(lái)臨(或發(fā)生)
　　n. 傳令官，信使，預(yù)兆，先兆
　　*Returning swallows herald spring. 歸來(lái)的燕子預(yù)告春天的來(lái)臨。

　　試題精析

　　1.選D。本題為主要細(xì)節(jié)正誤題。根據(jù)第一段中“Americans like debates because the candidates can be compared in an unscripted, live performance”可判斷最佳答案是D。

　　2.選A。本題為主要細(xì)節(jié)正誤題。第二段說(shuō)“some candidates, particularly frontrunners10, are reluctant to risk their chances in such an uncontrolled environment”，由此可知，這些候選人擔(dān)心無(wú)法控制辯論情況，A選項(xiàng)與其意思一致。

　　3.選B。本題為主要細(xì)節(jié)正誤題。從第三段“　Since 1987, the presidential debates have been organized by the bipartisan17 organization, the Commission on Presidential Debates”可以判斷自1987年以來(lái)包括(2000年)的總統(tǒng)辯論由共和、民主兩黨組成的“總統(tǒng)辯論委員會(huì)”組織實(shí)施。

　　4.選B。本題為主要細(xì)節(jié)正誤題。文章最后一段“The Lincoln Douglas debates are still heralded20 for the quality of the discourse at a crucial time in the nation's history”表明，他們之間的辯論由于其演說(shuō)質(zhì)量而今仍被人們稱(chēng)頌，B選項(xiàng)與其意思一致。

　　5.選C。本題為觀點(diǎn)態(tài)度推斷題。從最后一段“Whatever the quality of the debates in Election 2000, they are unlikely to equal the most famous political debates in American history……”可推知。

　　全文翻譯

　　候選人之間的辯論在大多數(shù)國(guó)家都很稀奇，但它們?cè)诿绹?guó)政治生活中已司空見(jiàn)慣，特別是在過(guò)去的25年里。美國(guó)人喜歡辯論，因?yàn)樗麄兛梢愿鶕?jù)候選人現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的即席發(fā)言，對(duì)他們進(jìn)行比較。候選人不知道人們將會(huì)向他們提出什么問(wèn)題，也不知道對(duì)手將會(huì)怎樣回答。歷史表明，如果候選人表現(xiàn)不佳，特別是失言之舉，會(huì)使他們?cè)诖筮x中嚴(yán)重受損。CNN的分析家杰夫·格林菲爾德說(shuō)，辯論是對(duì)候選人的實(shí)力和能力的“嚴(yán)峻考驗(yàn)”。他還補(bǔ)充說(shuō)，在辯論中，候選人不能夠像在制作本黨競(jìng)選廣告那樣包裝自己，而必須迅速對(duì)事先毫無(wú)準(zhǔn)備的問(wèn)題和批評(píng)做出回答。

　　辯論有可能對(duì)一個(gè)脆弱的總統(tǒng)候選人造成傷害，這就是一些總統(tǒng)候選人，特別是那些在競(jìng)選中領(lǐng)先的人，不愿意在這些無(wú)法控制的環(huán)境中冒險(xiǎn)的原因之一——辯論的規(guī)則越少，候選人就越無(wú)法控制。但是，不管是在初選，還是在大選中，總統(tǒng)電視辯論現(xiàn)在都已經(jīng)成為慣例，且為美國(guó)人民所期待。

　　自1987年以來(lái)，總統(tǒng)辯論由共和、民主兩黨組成的“總統(tǒng)辯論委員會(huì)”組織實(shí)施。它的作用是，發(fā)起并實(shí)施兩大黨總統(tǒng)和副總統(tǒng)候選人辯論。在2000年競(jìng)選中，該委員會(huì)規(guī)定了第三黨候選人參加辯論的條件：他們必須在多次民意測(cè)驗(yàn)中證明，至少擁有15%的選民支持率。

　　不管2000年的競(jìng)選辯論質(zhì)量如何，它們都不大可能與美國(guó)歷史上最著名的政治辯論相比，那時(shí)世界上還沒(méi)有發(fā)明收音機(jī)和電視。1858年，斯蒂芬·道格拉斯與亞伯拉罕·林肯為競(jìng)選美國(guó)參議員席位，展開(kāi)辯論。辯論在伊利諾伊州的七個(gè)國(guó)會(huì)選區(qū)舉行，每區(qū)舉行一場(chǎng)。在職民主黨參議員道格拉斯親奴隸制，而林肯則持反奴隸制立場(chǎng)。被親昵地稱(chēng)之為“誠(chéng)實(shí)的埃布”的林肯在參議院選舉中失敗，但兩年之后，卻當(dāng)選為美國(guó)第一位共和黨總統(tǒng)。林肯與道格拉斯之間的辯論，在美國(guó)歷史上關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，因其演說(shuō)質(zhì)量而至今仍被人們稱(chēng)頌。

相關(guān)推薦：2007年大學(xué)英語(yǔ)四六級(jí)講義——四級(jí)寫(xiě)作（上）

更多信息請(qǐng)?jiān)L問(wèn)：考試吧四六級(jí)欄目

＞＞＞來(lái)四六級(jí)論壇看看吧

＞＞＞四六級(jí)博客圈，你開(kāi)博了嗎？