1、笔译三级综合能力语态练习试卷 5及答案与解析 0 The Federal Government 联邦政府 The Constitution When America broke away from Britain in 1775, she did not adopt a British Constitution. The British have always had an unwritten constitution, whereas every item of the American Constitution is clearly written down and numbered, a
2、nd can only be changed by a two-thirds majority vote of Congress. Yet in their different ways, the American and British forms of government did have one thing in common. They were both democratiC As for American society, it was more democratic than British society, in that it paid less attention to
3、class or wealth. Political Parties There are two major political parties in the USA, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. The policies of the two parties are not basically opposed to one another. Inside both parties there moderates and right-wringers, though the Democrats still have the re
4、putation of being somewhat more liberal than the Republicans. Voters are influenced by family traditions, but there are plenty of ordinary people who vote according to their hopes, fears and beliefs. There are no other political parties that can compete with the two big parties, though there are occ
5、asionally independents who stand for the presidency and manage to collect quite a few votes. There are no left-wing parties. Most Americans are in favor of free enterprise, believing that it may one day help them fulfill the American Dream. The President and Congress The President of the USA has mor
6、e power than any other president in the democratic world- except the French President. It is he who formulates foreign policy and prepares laws for the home front. He is leader of the nation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. He represents the USA and, since the USA is a super power, the ey
7、es of the whole world are on him. The fate of the world is in his hands, or so many people believe, and one careless, ill-prepared speech by him could precipitate a crises. Actually, a great deal of the Presidents power is controlled by Congress, the American name for “parliament“. It is Congress th
8、at declares war, not the President. Unlike the Prime Minister of Great Britain, or of Germany, he can make a treaty with a foreign power. But this treaty must be debated and agreed by Congress before it comes into force. The same control applies to laws at home. Congress has (on several occasions) r
9、efused to ratify treaties or given approval to laws proposed by the President. The USA is the only country, apart from France, where a president can rule with a parliament, the majority of whose members do not belong to his own political party. Some Americans have the feeling that idealism has gone
10、out of politics and that personal ambition and money have taken its place. The election campaign fro the Presidency is unique in the amount of money poured into it. The wooing of voters lasts for months. But before the campaign for the election of the President can begin, each political party has to
11、 choose its candidate for the Presidency. This can lead to some very close contests. Men aspiring to be elected as the party candidate employ top public relations and advertising men, who invent clever catch phrases and set about “selling“ their man. There are whistle stop tours by train, by plane,
12、by car. The candidate delivers countless speeches and shakes countless hands. This razzamatazz typifies American enthusiasm and extravagance. Big money is necessary to support a presidential candidates campaign and the candidate himself must be rich enough to pay his share. An attractive wife is an
13、advantage, too. Money is also needed to become the Governor of a state, or a successful Senator, or member of the House of Representatives. Yet from this small group many excellent men have become President, and the same is true of members of Congress. It is very unlikely that the President could ev
14、er become a dictator. Congress, the press and the people between them rule out such a possibility. The Supreme Court Perhaps the most effective safeguard of democracy is the Supreme Court, for one of its objects is to protect the individual against the government. It has the authority to cancel a la
15、w which it considers violates the Constitution. The Court sits for at least four days a week and any individual who has a grievance against the government can apply to it for help. The Supreme Court goes way back to 1787, the days of the Founding Fathers, and is one of the cornerstones of American d
16、emocracy. It gives judgement in disputes between States, or between a State and the Federal Government, and without invitation can declare a law made by Congress to be unconstitutional. The great Jefferson, who drew up the Declaration of Independence, saw to it, too, that there was a Bill of Rights
17、which every American could thrust under the nose of anyone who tries to rob him of his freedom as a democratic citizen. 1 One thing in common between the American and British form of government is that they were both_. （ A） constitutional （ B） unconstitutional （ C） democratic （ D） interested in clas
18、s and wealth 2 Every item of the American constitution is_. （ A） not numbered （ B） not written down （ C） challenged by a 2/3 majority of Congress （ D） clearly written down and numbered 3 American society was more democratic than British society, in that_. （ A） it paid less attention to class and wea
19、lth （ B） it had more liberal parties （ C） it welcomed socialism as well as capitalism （ D） voters were never influenced by family traditions 4 The President represents the USA and one careless, and ill-prepared speech would_. （ A） bring him an ill reputation （ B） deprive him of all the power he repr
20、esents （ C） bring about a crisis in the world （ D） shock the world into the war 5 Which of the following can prevent the President from doing exactly what he likes.? （ A） Congress. （ B） The Armed Forces. （ C） The press and the people. （ D） Congress, the press and the people. 5 Mass Protest Decries B
21、ush Abortion Policies 群众抗议谴责布什的堕胎政策 by Deborah Zabarenko WASHINGTON (Reuters)Protesters crowded the National Mall on Sunday to show support for abortion rights and opposition to Bush administration policies on womens health issues in one of the biggest demonstrations in US history. There was no offi
22、cial crowd count, but organizers claimed more than 1 million people participateD Pink-and purple-shirted protesters raised signs reading “Fight the Radical Right“, “Keep Abortion Legal“ and “US Out Of My Uterus“ and covered the Mall from the foot of Capitol Hill to the base of the Washington Monumen
23、t. Speakers ranged from actresses Whoopi Goldberg, Ashley Judd and Kathleen Turner to philanthropist Ted Turner, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Goldberg raised a wire coat hangera symbol of illegal abortions in the days before the Supreme Courts 1973 R
24、oe vs. Wade ruling recognizing abortion rightsand told the crowd, “We are one vote away from going back to this!“ She was referring to the nine-member high court, which has frequently decided abortion- related cases on a five-four vote. The abortion issue was the centerpiece of the marchs broad prot
25、est against the policies of President Bush, including his stance on funding international family planning. No US funds may be used for any family planning agency that mentions abortion to patients. “Vote That Smirk Out of Office,“ was a characteristically political placard targeting Bush, but Doroth
26、y Smith, 76, of Eldridge, Missouri, carried an emblem she made herselfa wire coat hanger draped with a sign reading “Never Again. “ “I can remember when abortion was just as common as it is now, but it killed a lot of women,“ Smith saiD Major sponsors included stalwarts of the abortion rights moveme
27、nt_NARAL Pro-Choice America, Feminist Majority, National Organization for Women, Planned Parenthood Federation of Americaas well as the American Civil Liberties Union, the Black Womens Health Imperative and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health. Some 1,400 groups attended the event,
28、including an international contingent with marchers from 57 countries. There were medical students who carried signs saying they planned to be the next generation of abortion providers, and there was a Texas group marching behind a banner that read, “Old Broads for Choice. “ As the march wound from
29、the Mall toward the White House and then turned onto Pennsylvania Avenue and toward Capitol Hill, abortion rights groups encountered antiabortion protesters. These protesters carried posters showing photographs of fetuses at eight weeks gestation and signs reading “Abortion kills Babies. “ March org
30、anizers claimed double the turnout of the last big abortion rights march in 1992, which drew 500,000, according to the US Park Police, who no longer gives official crowd counts. The biggest demonstration was an anti-Vietnam War rally in 1969, which drew 600,000. The largest gathering on the National
31、 Mall was the 1976 US bicentennial celebration. Though the march was billed as nonpartisan and included a contingent called Republicans for Choice, much of the days rhetoric was plainly aimed at Bush, a Republican who opposes abortion in most cases. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry vowed
32、 on Friday to champion abortion rights if electeD He received the endorsement of Planned Parenthoods Action Fund, the organizations political fund-raising ann. Neither Bush nor Kerry attended the march, but US Sen. Hillary Rodham Cfinton, a New York Democrat and former first lady, drew roars of appr
33、oval when she exhorted the crowd to register to vote. Volunteers were on hand to register new voters. Bush addressed an anti-abortion march in January, saying the effort to overturn the Supreme Courts 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which recognized a right to abortion, was “noble cause. “ 6 Which of the f
34、ollowing is true according to the passage? （ A） Government officials estimated that more than one million people participated in the demonstration. （ B） The police counted the number of people who participated in the demonstration as more than one million. （ C） The organizers called on more than one
35、 million people to participate in the demonstration. （ D） According to the organizers of the demonstration, there were more than one million people who took part in the demonstration. 7 Speakers at the demonstration included Gloria Steinem who_. （ A） is a woman whose job is to design icons for compu
36、ter software （ B） is a woman whom many female people admire （ C） is looked as a symbol for womens rights movement （ D） is looked as a person adored by those who are active in womens rights movement 8 By saying “We are one vote away from going back to this“ Goldberg meant that_. （ A） only one vote ma
37、y lead us the situation after 1973 when abortion was considered as belonging to womens choice （ B） we are very close to the old situation before 1973 when abortion was considered as illegal （ C） we need one more vote to support Bushs policies concerning womens health （ D） we need one more vote to op
38、pose Bushs anti-abortion policy 9 Which of the following is NOT correct according to the passage? （ A） The crowd consisted of people who were against Bushs anti-abortion policy. （ B） The crowd consisted of people both for and against Bushs anti-abortion policy. （ C） In the march there was a group of
39、 people from or supporting the Republican Party. （ D） The general message of the demonstration was opposing the Republican governments policies on womens health issues. 10 According to this passage, Bushs anti-abortion stance was most clearly shown_. （ A） in the last paragraph （ B） by the title of t
40、he passage （ C） in Dorothy Smiths words （ D） in John Kerrys words 10 Rising Prices Cause House “Apartheid“ 涨价导致房屋的 “种族隔离 ” The Government has admitted that soaring house prices have left people on average incomes, such as teachers and nurses, locked out of buying their first homes across large parts
41、 of southern England, including London and most of the South East. A spokeswoman for the Deputy Prime Minister, John Prescott, admitted last night that there was now an effective “housing apartheid“, with people in their own homes pulling further and further away from those yet to get on the propert
42、y ladder. With house prices rising at between 15 and 20 percent a year, incomes, which are rising at between 5 and 10 percent a year, cannot keep up. “Increasing housing supply is a national priority. In large areas of the wider South East, house purchase remains out of reach for families with avera
43、ge household incomes,“ the official said A new report out tomorrow will reveal the full scale of the housing crisis. The study by Cambridge University for the housing charity Shelter reveals that the Government will need to spend 3.5 billion a year to solve the housing problem. More than 50,000 new
44、homes are needed every year to help people on lower incomes to have their own homes. By 2014 a city the size of Leeds will need to be built. Critics point out that, without the money, millions of people employed in the public sector will be unable to move to the South East to fill vacancies. Without
45、 a new influx of staff, many hospitals and schools say that they will struggle to maintain standards. The Government is now expected to announce a package of measures in the Budget to try to help first-time buyers. The Treasury is considering raising the point at which people have to pay stamp duty,
46、 a tax paid on every house purchase. The present threshold of 60,000 has remained unchanged since 1993, despite house prices increasing by 160 percent in that time. Gordon Brown, the Chancellor, faces being accused of maintaining the threshold as a way of raising more tax because as house prices ris
47、e more and more people are dragged into paying the surcharge. More than 75 percent of all first-time buyers now pay the tax. “The Government has to act,“ said Adam Sampson , the director of Shelter. The lack of affordable housing has a destabilising effect on the economy and its cost in human terms
48、is massive. “Successive governments have spoken about the growing housing crisis. It has now got to the point where it cannot be ignored any longer. Housing should be given the same priority as the other key areas of public life, health and education. “ The report says that more than three-quarters
49、of all new homes are needed in the South of England, with about 20 percent in the North and the Midlands. Shelters figures on housing demand will form the basis of a Treasury review of housing to be published at the time of the Budget next week. The review, by Kate Barker, is likely to say that tens of thousands of new houses are needed and that planning restrictions should be relaxed so that housing developments can be built more easily. She will also criticise a culture of nimbyis
