Question

Surprises often come in boxes. Birthday presents wrapped in colorful paper, brown paper packages mailed from a friend. No matter what kind of box it is, people like to open it up and see what's inside. In America, and in many other countries, one special kind of box contains the future. It's called a ballot box. What people put into the box on election day can change the course of history.
Elections are the lifeblood of a democracy. The word democracy literally means "the people rule," an important concept in American history. In the mid-1700s, England began passing laws that made the American colonies angry. The colonists had to pay more and more taxes and enjoyed less and less freedom. They felt the government of England didn't represent their interests. On July 4, 1776, the colonies declared their independence from England. They wanted to establish a democracy where people could have a voice in government.
An effective democracy holds regular elections. In America, elections are held every two years for members of Congress. In these elections, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs. In addition, every four years, voters go to the polls to elect the nation's president and vice-president. Voters also regularly cast their ballots for state and city government leaders and local school board members. Sometimes they also have to vote on a proposed law.
In the American electoral system, people don't really vote for presidential candidates. Instead, voters cast their ballots for "electors" who support each candidate. Each state has as many electors as the total number of its representatives in Congress. This equals two senators per state plus the number of its representatives in the House (which is based on the state's population). The candidate who has the most votes in a state wins all of the state's electors. To win the presidential election, a candidate must gain at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes.
Over the years, the U.S. has made a number of election reforms. Some early reforms outlawed cheating, giving bribes and threatening voters. They also limited the amount of money candidates could receive from donors and spend on their campaigns. In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women. In recent decades, laws against unfair rules for voting have been passed. No longer do people have to pay a special tax or pass a test in order to vote. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18. Other reforms made voting easier for the blind, the disabled and people who couldn't read. In some areas, ballots had to be printed in languages besides English.
In November, Americans will again elect those who will represent them in government. Although some citizens aren't even registered to vote--and some registered voters don't bother to go to the polls--most Americans exercise their right to vote. They realize that their future is wrapped up in a special package--the ballot box. It's a package that must definitely be "handled with care."
【小題1】According to the context, what does a “ballot box” mean in Chinese?

A．彩票箱

B．投票箱

C．禮品箱

D．保險(xiǎn)箱

【小題2】Democracy means that ____.

A．People couldn’t have a voice in a government.

B．In America, elections are held every four years for members of Congress.

C．Democracy is the lifeblood of elections.

D．Basically “ the people rule”, and it’s very important in American history.

【小題3】How will the votes distributed if Romney got 20 votes while Obama received 17 votes in California in the election?

A．Romney will win 20 votes in California.

B．Obama will win 20 votes in California.

C．Romney will win 37 votes in California.

D．Obama will win 37 votes in California.

【小題4】 Which one is RIGHT about election reforms?

A．People have to pay a special tax to vote.

B．There are bribes and threatening in elections now.

C．People above eighteen years old can vote now.

D．The disabled or the blind have tough access to voting.

【小題5】 What’s the main idea of this passage?

A．Birthday boxes in the U.S.	B．Election systems in the U.S.
C．Election reforms in the U.S.	D．Democracy in the U.S.

Answer 1

【小題1】B
【小題2】D
【小題3】C
【小題4】C
【小題5】B

解析試題分析：本文主要講了美國的選舉系統(tǒng)，從民主制度開始，到選舉制度，以及在此方面做出的一系列改革。讓我們對美國的政治有了更深一步的理解。
【小題1】詞義猜測題。第一段從禮品箱過渡到投票箱，包括下文詳解美國投票制度，由此得出答案為B。
【小題2】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。A中couldn’t有誤。B 不是民主的解釋，且每四年有誤。C中民主與選舉位置顛倒。故選D。
【小題3】推理判斷題。從倒數(shù)第三段得出，美國選舉最重要的規(guī)則是“勝者得全票”。一個(gè)個(gè)州分別統(tǒng)計(jì)，最后計(jì)算選舉人票總數(shù)，誰超過270票即為贏家。所以此題答案為C。
【小題4】細(xì)節(jié)理解題。A中投票不必繳稅。B中賄賂與恐嚇是早期選舉時(shí)期存在的問題。C從倒數(shù)第二段最后一句“In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18.”得出，18歲以上的公民現(xiàn)在可以投票選舉了。D與文意想法。故選C。
【小題5】本文講述了美國的選舉制度，故選B。
考點(diǎn)：政治類短文閱讀。
點(diǎn)評：詞義猜測題體現(xiàn)了應(yīng)用英語的重要能力，也是高考閱讀理解中必考的題型。它不但需要準(zhǔn)確無誤地理解上下文，而且要有較大的泛讀量，掌握或認(rèn)識較多的課外詞匯。考生應(yīng)學(xué)會(huì)通過構(gòu)詞、定義、同位、對比、因果、常識、同義、反義及上下文線索等確定詞義。