单选题 Regardless of their political affiliation, in all countries women must overcome a host of stumbling blocks that limit their political careers. "Most obstacles to progress consist of (1) of various kinds," says the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), a Geneva-based organization (2) 139 parliaments, including the lack of time, training, information, self-confidence, money, support, motivation, women's networks and solidarity between women.
In every culture, prejudice and stereotypes (3) hard. The belief still holds (4) that women belong in the kitchen and (5) the children, not at election (6) or in the Speaker's chair. The media often reinforce traditional images of women, who, upon entering politics, also bear the brunt (正面冲击) of verbal and physical (7) .
In impoverished (贫穷的) countries (8) by civil conflicts and deteriorating economic and social conditions, women are (9) by the tasks of managing everyday life and looking after their families.
The IPU stresses the general lack of child-care facilities—often (10) a privileged few—the (11) of political parties to change the times and running of meetings and the weak backing women receive from their families. That support, which is (12) as well as financial, is (13) vital because women have internalized (14) images of themselves since the (15) of time and often suffer from low self-confidence.
Another obstacle is the lack of financial resources, especially as election campaigns become increasingly expensive. (16) , women encounter more or less open machismo (男子汉的高傲) in the (17) of closed political circles (18) entry to the "second sex. " Lastly, they (19) the lack of solidarity between women, (20) by the fact that the number of available positions is limited.

单选题 [A] deficiencies [B] deficits [C] defects [D] flaws

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】根据文章主题和下文的关键词lack，选择[A]，deficiencies“缺乏，不足”，其他选项不合文意。[B]deficits“赤字，逆差”；[C]defects“缺点，缺陷”；ED]flaws“瑕疵”。

单选题 [A] embracing [B] composing [C] comprising [D] constituting

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】IPU包括139个立法机构，所以选comprising“包括，构成”，其他表达方式如：comprise=be comprised of=consist of=be composed of=be made up of。其他选项不合文意或用法。[A]embracing“包括，包含”；[B]composing“组成，构成”，常用被动形式，be composed of；[D]constituting“组成，构成”，该句可改为“139 parliaments constitute the IPU”。

单选题 [A] persist [B] vanish [C] revive [D] die

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】偏见和陈规定式难以根除，所以选[D]，die hard意为“顽固得很，难以根除”。其他选项不合搭配或文意。[A]persist“坚持，持续”；[B]vanish“消失”；[C]revive“恢复，复苏”。

单选题 [A] sway [B] water [C] truth [D] proof

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】bear/hold sway(over)作为短语意为“统治，支配，有左右的力量”，其他选项不合文意或搭配。[B](hold)water常用于否定形式，意为“站不住脚”；[C]和[D]不符合搭配。

单选题 [A] with [B] to [C] among [D] into

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】妇女应该跟孩子们在一起，所以选[A]。belong可以与介词构成短语，意为“属于”，如：belong at/to/in/on/with等，不同介词的意思有所不同，而介词的选择取决于后面的名词。

单选题 [A] assemblies [B] conventions [C] associations [D] rallies

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】rallies“与政治相关的集会”，符合上下文文意，election rallies“选举集会”。因此排除其他选项。[A]assemblies“大规模的集会，集合”；[B]conventions“正式的大会”；[C]associations“协会，团体”。

单选题 [A] penalties [B] attacks [C] tortures [D] abuses

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】bear the brunt of“在……之中，首当其冲”，如：bear the brunt of the blame“成为众矢之的”；bear the brunt of attacks“受到攻击，抨击”。从政的妇女受到语言和人身的攻击，所以选attacks“攻击，抨击”。其他选项不合文意。[A]penalties“惩罚，处罚”，如：pay the penalty for“为……受处罚”；[C]tortures“折磨”；[D]abuses“侮辱，谩骂”。[C]和[D]用词程度过于严重。

单选题 [A] penetrated [B] compressed [C] intensified [D] racked

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】贫穷国家饱受国内冲突和不断恶化的经济社会状况的折磨，所以选racked“使痛苦，折磨”，如：be racked with doubt and pain“满腹疑虑，痛苦万分”。其他选项不合文意。[A]penetrated“渗入，穿透”：[B]compressed“浓缩，压缩”；[C]intensified“加剧，加强”。

单选题 [A] strapped [B] bandaged [C] restrained [D] inhibited

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】妇女受家庭事务的羁绊，只有[A]符合文意。strapped“捆扎”；[B]bandaged“用绷带扎缚”；[C]restrained“抑制，制止做不好的事”，常用搭配：restrain sb. from doing；[D]inhibited“抑制，阻止”。

单选题 [A] allowed for [B] put in for [C] reserved for [D] compensated for

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】儿童保育设施通常只为少数有特权的人所使用，所以选[C]。reserved for“注定把……给”；其他选项不合文意。[A]allowed for“考虑到”，如：allow for the possibility that they have been involved in the combat“考虑到他们已经参加战斗的可能性”；[B]put in for“申请”；[D]compensated for“弥补”。

单选题 [A] endeavor [B] persistence [C] stubbornness [D] reluctance

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】根据前面的lack，该空可能为负面意义的词，排除正面词[A]endeavor“努力”和[B]persistence“坚持不懈”；[C]stubbornness“顽固，固执”也不合文意。所以选reluctance“不情愿”。

单选题 [A] moral [B] mortal [C] orthodox [D] sensible

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】妇女得到的支持是道义上的，所以选[A]。moral“道义上，道德上的”，其他选项不合文意。[B]mortal“致命的，人世间凡人的”；[C]orthodox“传统的，正统的”；[D]sensible“明智的”。

单选题 [A] all the same [B] at most [C] all the more [D] above all

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】all the more意为“格外，尤其，更加”，其他选项不合文意或语气。[A]all the same“依然，照样地”；[B]at most“至多，不超过”；[D]above all“首要，尤其”。

单选题 [A] negative [B] obsolete [C] undesirable [D] vice

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】妇女的自我形象是负面的，所以选[A]。其他选项不合文意。[B]obsolete“过时的，已废弃的”；[C]undesirable“不受欢迎的”；[D]vice“副的”。

单选题 [A] commencement [B] threshold [C] dawn [D] outbreak

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】the dawn of time“时间的开端”，如：the dawn of Space Age“太空时代的开端”。其他选项不合文意或搭配。[A]commencement“着手，毕业典礼”；[B]threshold“入门，开端”，常用搭配：on/at the threshold of“在(重要事件)开始的初期”；[D]outbreak“爆发”。

单选题 [A] To make matters worse [B] In contrast
[C] By the same token [D] To sum up

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】这句与上句是并列递进关系，所以选[A]。To make matters worse意为“而且更糟糕的是”，其他选项不合文意。[B]In contrast“相对而言”；[C]By the same token“由于同样的原因，同样地”；[D]To sum up“总之”。

单选题 [A] form [B] fashion [C] pattern [D] format

【正确答案】 A

【答案解析】in the form of意为“以……形式”，其他选项的意思较片面。[B]fashion“式样，方式”，如：in an orderly fashion“以有序的方式”；[C]pattern“图样，模式”，如：a strange pattern of events“事件发生的奇怪模式”；[D]format“安排，样式”，如：the format of finals“期末考试的形式”。

单选题 [A] inspiring [B] barring [C] disapproving [D] banning

【正确答案】 B

【答案解析】barring“拦住，妨碍”，其他选项不合文意。[A]inspiring“鼓励，鼓舞”；[C]disapproving“不赞成”，常用做disapprove of“不赞成”；[D]banning“禁令，禁止”。

单选题 [A] convict [B] justify [C] highlight [D] regret

【正确答案】 D

【答案解析】妇女对她们之间缺乏团结应该感到遗憾，所以选[D]。其他选项不合文意。[A]convict“宣判，证明……有罪”；[B]justify“认为有理”；[C]highlight“强调”。

单选题 [A] deteriorated [B] solidified [C] aggravated [D] occurred

【正确答案】 C

【答案解析】妇女间缺乏团结被有限的职位所恶化，aggravated“恶化，加剧”。其他选项不合文意或语法要求。[A]deteriorated“恶化”，不及物动词，不能用于被动意义；[B]solidified“被加固”；[D]occurred“发生”，不及物动词，不能用于被动意义。