(1) Debates among candidates are rare in most countries. But they have become a staple of American politics. Americans like debates because the candidates can be compared in an unscripted, live performance. History indicates that a bad performance, particularly a telling gaffe, can badly damage a candidate in the polls. The debates are a "key test" of the strength and abilities of the candidates.

(2) The unforgettable debate quip that can deflate a candidacy is the worst nightmare of any presidential hopeful. "There you go again", Ronald Reagan's memorable retort to President Jimmy Carter, was a line that stuck with both viewers and commentators in the 1980 presidential campaign. Carter went on to lose the election, polls showed mostly because of the economy. But Carter's debate performance didn't help.

(3) The potential of debates to damage a vulnerable presidential hopeful is one reason why some candidates, particularly frontrunners, are reluctant to risk their chances in such an uncontrolled environment. But broadcast presidential debates, both in the primaries and in the general election, are now routine and expected by the American people.

(4) It was not always so. Face-to-face presidential debates began their broadcast history in 1948 when Republicans Thomas Dewey and Harold Stassen faced each other in a radio debate during the Oregon Republican presidential primary. The first broadcast television debates between the two major party nominees were in 1960 when Senator John F. Kennedy faced Vice President Richard Nixon. The debates were considered crucial to Kennedy's narrow victory. Interestingly, Americans who heard the debate on radio thought Nixon had won. But the far larger television audience applauded Kennedy's performance, testimony to the importance—in the television age—of image as well as substance. The point is Americans are concerned not just with a leader's policies and ideology, but also with his character and temperament. In the contentious atmosphere of a debate, such personal attributes are easier for voters to judge than in pre-packaged campaign commercials or formal speeches.

(5) Since 1987, the presidential debates have been organized by the bipartisan organization, the Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD). 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 threshold 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.

(6) 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. Douglas, a pro-slavery Democrat, was the incumbent. 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 heralded for the quality of the discourse at a crucial time in the nation's history.

单选题

What might be the utmost challenge in the debates for the presidential candidates according to the first paragraph?

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】

推理题。首段第4句中的particularly一词强调了在辩论中即席发言不能出错，再结合第3句中的un-scripted，live等词可以推断该段暗示对总统候选人最大的挑战是他们必须学会如何辩论，并在辩论中随机直变，D是正确的推断。选项C为强干扰项。但是speech与debate是两回事，原文讨论的是debate和如何在debate中显示实力，与speech关系不大；选项B也具有一定的干扰性。perform和poll等词都在原文出现，但该段的主题是debate。而不是大选前应该如何表现自己。事实上，排除这两个选项，紧扣该段主题是关键。

单选题

The failure of Carter is used to illustrate the importance of a candidate’s________.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】

主旨题。关于Carter的例子是为了说明第2段首句这个主题句的，而该段末句是对Carter的例子的一个小结。两句话中的debate quip和debate performance等词都表明这个例子是为了说明候选人在辩论时口才很重要，因此选B。选项C最具干扰性，该段倒数第2句指出Carter落败主要因为他的经济政策，但未提及他的ideology。且接着的末句but一词表明该段倒数第2句的内容不是重点。此外，该段的主题只与辩论的技巧有关，与候选人推行的政策无关，因此选项C不对。紧扣该段主题是解题的关键。