单选题

(C)

I am an American. I believe that the American presidency is the most important job in the world. It"s a job that goes up for grabs (争夺) every four years. The candidate (候选人) who wins in November of 2000 will take office the following January and be the first new U.S. president of the twenty-first century.
The election campaign (运动) is a long one. Some say it begins right after the election and goes on for the next four years. That"s probably untrue, but it does last a long time. Those who have their eyes on the job have to start gathering support and building campaign organizations early.
Some believe that the campaign for president should be shorter. I disagree. A long campaign is an endurance contest. It gives the candidates a chance to show their strengths and forces them to overcome their weaknesses. The close examination makes it much less likely that the voters (选民们)will accidentally choose an unqualified candidate to be their leader.
Personally, I enjoy the contest. It"s a long-distance race that produces a winner who may have a profound effect on all our lives. The debates and November election are the sporting events that really matter !

单选题 The author thinks highly of the American presidency only because ______.

单选题 Some people believe the election campaign can be as long as ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 我们可以从第2段第2句知道，有的人认为选举运动在选举一结束就开始了，然后持续四年(Some say it begins right after the election and goes on for the next four years．)。因此，答案是A)。

单选题 The author prefers a longer campaign because ______.

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】[解析] 第3段解释了作者同意选举运动拖长一点的原因。特别是最后1句话，说明了重要的原因：使选民不太可能偶然挑选一位不合格的候选人作为他们的领袖(…makes it lesslikely that the voters will accidentally choose an unqualified candidate to be their leader)。由此我们可以推断，正确答案是A)。

单选题 Personally, the author tends to think that ______.

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】[解析] 短文最后1段说作者喜欢竞选，他把选举运动比喻为长跑比赛(a long-distancerace)，获胜者可能对我们大家的生活产生深刻的影响(…a winner who may have a profoundeffect on all our lives)。由此可以推断出，作者认为长时间的选举运动是重要的，也是必要的。因此，答案是B)。