单选题 If you ask a Swiss person who their president is, they likely won't be able to tell you. And it's not because they are politically apathetic or uninformed. In Switzerland, citizens don't vote for their president. In this small alpine country, citizens elect a new Parliament every four years, and the Parliament chooses a group of seven councilors from different parties. They are the head of state. The presidency rotates among the members every year. But the keystone of Swiss democracy is the regular use of referendums, in which citizens vote on everything from their town's new sports center to the country's immigration policy. As Michael Bechtel, professor of political science at the University of St. Gallen, explains, in a direct democracy there is a stronger incentive for political elites to take into account citizen preferences when making choices. It might sound like a panacea for Occupy Wall Street types, but this is actually a complex system with both advantages and disadvantages. Voting in Switzerland is easy. With no need to register, every citizen receives a ballot for each vote, which can be returned by mail. And decisions aren't final. If a law has already been passed, people can still overturn it by getting 50,000 signatures in 100 days. The bill then has to be voted on by the public. And if that wasn't enough, Swiss citizens can also suggest their own laws by " popular initiative ." If 100,000 people ask for a change in the constitution, the Parliament is obligated to discuss it and submit the proposal to a popular vote. To be sure, there are pitfalls. Popular votes can lead to a tyranny of the majority, making it easy to discriminate against small groups. In 2009, a law was passed with 57 percent of the votes in favor of banning the construction of mosque towers even if the government emphatically opposed the ban. This system also slows down the law-making process and makes it more difficult to get on the same page with international rulings like those of the European Union. Could other nations benefit from direct democracy? Maybe, but the preconditions are high. Besides being a well-educated electorate with basic rights, they must be able to see past party lines." It comes down to how much you trust your fellow citizens," says Klaus Dingwerth, political scientist and fellow at the Global Public Policy Institute.

单选题 Why does the author say that Swiss people may not be able to tell the name of their president?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干定位到第一段第三句：In Switzerland，citizens don't vote for their president．可以推断出瑞士总统并不是由瑞士公民直接投票选出来的，所以D项选项正确。A项选项说“瑞士人不关心政治"，由原文中it's not because they are politically apathetic or uninformed可知该说法错误，可排除，同理也可排除B项选项。C项选项“总统的选举与瑞士公民无关"，这一点在原文中并未体现，故也无从推断，可排除。

单选题 The head of state of Switzerland is made up of ______.

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干定位到原文第二段第一句和第二句：In this small alpine country，citizens elect a new Parliament every four years，and the Parliament chooses a group of seven councilors from different parties．They are the head of state．正确理解句子间的逻辑关系才能得出正确答案，瑞士政府首脑是由议会从不同的党派中选出的七位议员组成的，所以C项选项正确。A项选项的parliament由选民直接选出，并不是政府首脑，可排除。因为七位议员并不是从议会中选出的，所以B项选项错误，可排除。D项选项中的president不是政府首脑的组成人员，故该选项可排除。

单选题 According to Michael Bechtel, direct democracy ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干定位到第三段第一句：...in a direct democracy there is a stronger incentive for political elites to take into account citizen preferences when making choices．“直接民主让政治精英有更强烈的动机在作出选择时将公民的意愿考虑在内。”A项选项与原文同义，故为正确选项。B项选项中的top priority原文中并未体现，所以可排除。根据It might sound like a panacea(灵丹妙药)for Occupy Wall Street types…可知，C项选项的说法太过于肯定，与原文不符，因此可排除。D项选项的说法侧重“优点”，而原文意思为“优缺点并重”，故可排除。

单选题 According to the passage, which of the following is true about voting in Switzerland?

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】解析：细节题。根据题干定位到第四段和第五段。问题为“下列关于瑞士投票的说法，哪一项是正确的?”根据第五段中“And decisions aren't final．If a law has already been passed，people can still overturn it by getting 50，000 signatures in 100 days.”可知，C项选项正确。A项选项说“瑞士的每个人都有投票的权利”，而原文说的是citizens，所以该选项可排除。B项选项说“瑞士公民只能通过互联网收到一张选票”，原文中并未提及瑞士公民收到选票的方式，所以B项项可排除。由第五段的Swiss citizens can also suggest their own laws by "popular initiative"只能推断出瑞士公民可以通过全民决议建议自己的法律，但是法律最后的制定并不是由他们决定的，而且popular initiative并不等同于popular vote，所以D项选项可排除。

单选题 According to the passage, popular vote ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】解析：推理题。根据题干定位到第六段第二句：Popular votes can lead to a tyranny of the majority，making it easy to discriminate against small groups．“全民公投会导致多数群体独裁暴政，并易引发歧视少数群体的事件。”多数人的暴政意味着少数要服从多数，所以B项选项正确。A项选项的说法在原文中并未体现，可排除。根据政府对清真寺塔事件的态度可知，政府对“全民公投”所持的态度是并不完全赞同，而不足不欢迎，所以C项选项错误，可排除。由第七段可知，瑞士的直接民主制度是可以在其他国家施行的，只不过前提条件很苛刻，所以D项选项错误，可排除。