单选题 Television has transformed politics in the United States by changing the way in which information is disseminated, by altering political campaigns, and by changing citizens' patterns of response to politics. By giving citizens independent access to the candidates, television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates. By centering politics on the person of the candidate, television accelerated the citizen's focus on character rather than issues.
Television has altered the forms of political communication as well. The messages on which most of us rely are briefer than they once were. The {{U}}stump speech{{/U}}, a political speech given by traveling politicians and lasting 1.5 to 2 hours, which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse, has given way to the 30 second advertisement and the 10 second "sound bite" in broadcast news. Increasingly the audience for speeches is not that standing in front of the politician but rather the viewing audience who will hear and see a snippet (片断) of the speech on the news.
In these abbreviated forms, much of what constructed the traditional political discourse of earlier ages has been lost. In 15 or 30 seconds, a speaker cannot establish the historical context that shaped the issues in question, cannot detail the probable causes of the problem, and cannot examine alternative proposals to argue that one is preferable to others. In snippets, politicians assert but do not argue.
Because television is an intimate medium, speaking through it required a changed political style that was more conversational, personal, and visual than that of the old-style stump speech. Reliance on television means that increasingly our political world contains memorable pictures rather than memorable words. Schools teach us to analyze words and print. However, in a world in which politics is increasingly visual, informed citizenship requires a new set of skills.
Recognizing the power of television's pictures, politicians craft televisual, staged events, called pseudo-events, designed to attract media coverage. Much of the political activity we see on television news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements.
单选题 What is the main point of the passage?
  • A. Citizens in the United States are now more informed about political issues because of television coverage.
  • B. Citizens in the United States prefer to see politicians on television instead of in person.
  • C. Politics in the United States has become substantially more controversial since the introduction of television.
  • D. Politics in the United States has been significantly changed by television.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查主旨大意。这是一道有关文章中心思想的问题，可从前两段的第一个句子来归纳出。第一段第一句“Television has transformed politics in the United States…(电视已经改变了美国的政治…)”；第二段第一句“Television has altered the forms of politics communication as well．(电视也改变了政治交流的方式。)”因此，选项 [D]为正确答案。
单选题 It can be inferred that before the introduction of television, political parties
  • A. had more influence over the selection of political candidates.
  • B. spent more money to promote their political candidates.
  • C. attracted more members.
  • D. received more money.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查细节理解。可从第—段第二个句子“By giving citizens independent access to the candidates，television diminished the role of the political party in the selection of the major party candidates．(通过使公民能独立地接近候选人，在选举主要的党派候选人时电视减小了政治团体的作用。)”得知，以前政治团体的作用更大，选项[A]正确。
单选题 The author mentions the "stump speech" in paragraph 2 as an example of
  • A. an event created by politicians to attract media attention.
  • B. an interactive discussion between two politicians.
  • C. a kind of political presentation types of the nineteenth century.
  • D. a style of speech common to televised political events.
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查词义猜测。在“stump speech”(树桩演讲)这个术语的后面，有个非限定性定语从句“which characterized nineteenth-century political discourse(它具有19世纪政治演讲的特征)”，它就是对“stump speech”解释和说明，说明“stump speech”是19世纪典型的政治演讲的例子，因此选项[C]正确。
单选题 The purpose of paragraph 4 is to suggest that
  • A. politicians will need to learn to become more personal when meeting citizens.
  • B. politicians who are considered very attractive are favored by citizens over politicians who are less attractive.
  • C. citizens tend to favor a politician who analyzes the issues over one who does not.
  • D. citizens will need to learn how to evaluate visual political images in order to become better informed.
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查段落大意。回答这道问题需要仔细研读第四段，找出主题句，并且尤其要注意信息词however之后的句子，“However，in a world in which politics is increasingly visual，informed citizenship requires a new set of skills．(在一个政治日趋视觉化的世界里，了解情况的公民需要一套新的技巧。)”他们需要这种技巧的原因，在段首已有交代，“…speaking through it required a changed political style that was more conversational，personal，and visual than that of the old-style stump speech． (通过电视演讲要求比老式政治演讲更多变的政治风格，即要更加口语化、个人化和视觉化)”，面对这些变化，答案[D]“citizens will need to learn how to evaluate visual political images in order to become better informed(公民需要学会如何评价视觉上的政治形象以获得更多的信息)”是正确的。
单选题 Which of the following statements is supported by the passage?
  • A. Political presentations today are more like advertisements than in the past.
  • B. Politicians today tend to be more familiar with the views of citizens than in the past.
  • C. Citizens today are less informed about a politician's character than in the past.
  • D. Politician speeches today focus on details about issues than in the past.
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 本题考查推理判断。由文章最后一句：“Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements．(新闻中的尖刻语言以及辩论中的问答听起来越来越像广告。)”可知[A]正确答案。