单选题 Public officials and candidates for public office routinely use public opinion polls to keep track of what the people are thinking. An important question is the degree to which these polls should guide leaders in their actions. There are arguments for and against the use of polls as the basis for policy decisions.
Polls can contribute to effective government by keeping political leaders from getting too far out of line with the public"s thinking. In a democratic society, the effectiveness of a public policy often dep. ends on the extent of its public support. When a policy is contrary to the public"s desires, people may choose to disregard or undermine it, thus making it counterproductive or inefficient. Further, when government pursues a course of action with which a large proportion of the public disagrees, it risks a loss of public confidence, which can have a negative effect on its ability to lead. The Reagan administration, flying high from 1981 to 1985 ,was brought low in 1986 by public reaction to news of its secret sales of weapons to Iran. The administration had not paid sufficient attention to polls that revealed the deep antagonism American still felt toward Iran be cause the Ayatollah Khomeini"s regime has held sixty-three American hostages in 1979 - 1981.
However, leaders can also do a disservice to the public they represent by using poll results as a substitute for policy judgment. "Effective government", as Walter Lippmann wrote, "cannot be conducted by legislators and officials who, when a question is presented, ask themselves first and last not what is the truth and which is the right and necessary course, but what does the Gallup Poll say?" During his presidential term, Jimmy Carter proposed five consecutive inflation-fighting programs, changing his plans with each shift in public sentiment without having invested the political capital necessary to get Congress and the country behind any of the efforts. The nation -- and Carter -- would probably have been better served by a steadfast commitment to a single course of action.

单选题 Paragraph 2 mainly implies that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据题干定位到第二段，此段主要讲述民意调查有助于政府高效率地执政，可见民意调查的重要性，因此选D民意调查在民主社会非常重要。A里根政府在其执政后期失去了公众的支持，这只是用来说明作者观点的一个例子；B执政者应该懂得赢得公众对其政策的支持，而文章强调的是政策应该顺应民意，而不是让民意去顺应政策；C由领导者决定民意的价值，与原文内容相反。

单选题 The word" antagonism" (Line 8, Para. 2) probably means ______.

单选题 What Walt Lippmann means is that ______.

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】由题干Walt Lippmann定位到第三段第二句，当出现问题时，立法者和政府官员不是综合考虑，自己判断事情的真相以及要采取何种正确和必要的行动，而是去询问“盖洛普”民意调查的结果，因此不能把高效的政府交给他们去管理。可见执政者要有自己的头脑和见解，因此排除B，选D。领导者在自己合理的判断的基础上决策要当机立断，坚决执行，但并非不尊重公众意见，因此排除C；A与Lippman所说内容无关，故排除。

单选题 The Carter example shows that for a leader ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】由题干Carter定位到第三段第三句和第四句，卡特在总统任期内，连续提出了五个抑制通货膨胀的计划，每次都因为公众的情绪而改变计划，没有动用必要的政治资本，使国会和国家避免受到任何公众情绪的影响。如果卡特当时能坚定地致力于一个行动方针的话，那么结果对国家对卡特总统个人都有利。另外本段第一句表明，舆论不能取代政策，因此选A在面临不利的公共舆论的时候理性的判断很重要。B艰难的时候舆论更加重要，文中第三段第一句表明，以民意调查的结果来取代政策的判断损害公众的利益，因此排除B；C与原文内容不符；D原文未提及，故排除。

单选题 The passage is mainly about ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】本题考查文章主旨。纵观全文，文章主要讲述在政府制定政策时，舆论有有利的一面也有不利的一面，因此要慎重对待舆论，谨慎地利用民意调查的结果，因此选B。国家领导人面对公众舆论，应有自己的主见，不应盲目屈从于舆论，因此排除A；政府制定政策并非总是与公众的想法一致，因此排除C；民意调查并非对制定政策毫无作用，只是政府制定政策时应慎重对待民意调查，因此排除D。