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

　　說明文。本文主要介紹了有關美國總統(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;訂書的，U形針
　　vt. 用訂書釘訂
　　adj. 主要的;經(jīng)常需要(或使用)的
　　*Rice is the staple food in many Asian countries. 大米是許多亞洲國家的主食。

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

　　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. 由于沒有艦艇和軍隊，我們在水路和陸路上都易受攻擊。

　　4.herald vt. 歡呼，宣傳;預示……的來臨(或發(fā)生)
　　n. 傳令官，信使，預兆，先兆
　　*Returning swallows herald spring. 歸來的燕子預告春天的來臨。

　　試題精析

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

　　3.選B。本題為主要細節(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”組織實施。

　　4.選B。本題為主要細節(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質量而今仍被人們稱頌，B選項與其意思一致。

　　5.選C。本題為觀點態(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)國家都很稀奇，但它們在美國政治生活中已司空見慣，特別是在過去的25年里。美國人喜歡辯論，因為他們可以根據(jù)候選人現(xiàn)場的即席發(fā)言，對他們進行比較。候選人不知道人們將會向他們提出什么問題，也不知道對手將會怎樣回答。歷史表明，如果候選人表現(xiàn)不佳，特別是失言之舉，會使他們在大選中嚴重受損。CNN的分析家杰夫·格林菲爾德說，辯論是對候選人的實力和能力的“嚴峻考驗”。他還補充說，在辯論中，候選人不能夠像在制作本黨競選廣告那樣包裝自己，而必須迅速對事先毫無準備的問題和批評做出回答。

　　辯論有可能對一個脆弱的總統(tǒng)候選人造成傷害，這就是一些總統(tǒng)候選人，特別是那些在競選中領先的人，不愿意在這些無法控制的環(huán)境中冒險的原因之一——辯論的規(guī)則越少，候選人就越無法控制。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，且為美國人民所期待。

　　自1987年以來，總統(tǒng)辯論由共和、民主兩黨組成的“總統(tǒng)辯論委員會”組織實施。它的作用是，發(fā)起并實施兩大黨總統(tǒng)和副總統(tǒng)候選人辯論。在2000年競選中，該委員會規(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驗中證明，至少擁有15%的選民支持率。

　　不管2000年的競選辯論質量如何，它們都不大可能與美國歷史上最著名的政治辯論相比，那時世界上還沒有發(fā)明收音機和電視。1858年，斯蒂芬·道格拉斯與亞伯拉罕·林肯為競選美國參議員席位，展開辯論。辯論在伊利諾伊州的七個國會選區(qū)舉行，每區(qū)舉行一場。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。被親昵地稱之為“誠實的埃布”的林肯在參議院選舉中失敗，但兩年之后，卻當選為美國第一位共和黨總統(tǒng)。林肯與道格拉斯之間的辯論，在美國歷史上關鍵時刻，因其演說質量而至今仍被人們稱頌。

相關推薦：2007年大學英語四六級講義——四級寫作（上）

更多信息請訪問：考試吧四六級欄目

＞＞＞來四六級論壇看看吧

＞＞＞四六級博客圈，你開博了嗎？