The American party system is a
two-party system which is unlikely to become anything else. It is not just that
the two-party polarization has the weight of tradition behind it but also that
the two-party polarization is built into our constitutional and legal system.
Our entire electoral arrangements, the absence of proportional representation,
the exorbitant cost of political campaigns, the legal difficulties in getting on
and staying on the ballot in many states-all these things work against the rise
of minor parties. Also the single member legislative district,
the division of power between the nation and the states, the method of electing
a president with the winner itself, work to keep power in the hands of the two
major parties. Major parties (like the Federalists and the Whigs) have broken up
and been replaced as new parties have emerged in the past. But no minor party
has ever gradually risen to achieve the stature of a major party, and no third
party has lasted very long in any prominent capacity. All this
is not to say that third parties do not have a function in the American system.
However, their function is largely that of pressure groups, and in this respect
they are a curious combination of European special-interest parties and American
interest groups. They have at various times been useful in bringing to the fore
the interests of neglected groups in the public at large. The Populist party of
1890's as was a notable case in point. What happens
characteristically, however, is that as soon as third parties begin to make
their mark, one or both of the major parties appropriates enough of their
principles or program to absorb the discontent on which they were flourishing.
For this reason it has been said that third parties are like bees: once they
have stung they must die.
单选题
The word "exorbitant" (Line 4, Para. 1) means "______".
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】词意题。原文中的信息是“work against the rise of minor parties”的多个主语中的一个，是什么样的成本会导致小的政党无法发挥作用呢?在这样的语境下，我们可以清楚的看到，应该是过高的成本，选项中只有C项符合这样的分析，为正确选项。
单选题
According to the author, under the two-party system, the two parties will ______ .
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】考查细节。文章的开始是在讲小的党派在美国是没有办法站稳脚跟的，而两党制之下的两个主要政党之间尽管会有矛盾，但在一点上是一致的，就是不允许小党’成长起来，要保持两大政党对权力的掌握，在这一点上，原文对于两个主要政党的描述在第二段有这样一句话“to keep power in the hands of the two major parties”，更加强化了这样的观点，也就是B项所说的两个政党联合维护政权；A项出现的“each and every”是干扰选项经常出现的绝对化表述，需要考生警惕。
单选题
In this passage, the example of Populists is used to illustrate ______ .
【正确答案】
B
【答案解析】例证题。Populist出现在原文的第三段末尾处，原文是这么说的“The Populist party of 1890's as was a notable case in point．”它作为一个case出现，它要证明的是文章前面出现的观点，在这句话之前，我们可以找到“They have at various times been useful in brining to the fore the interests of neglected groups in the public at large．”这句话，也就是说，小党派可能不能最终于两大政党抗衡夺得政府的实际权力，但是它们发出的声音可以帮助人们去关注一些被人们忽视的问题，对比四个选项，B选项对这一概念进行了正确的阐述，是我们需要的答案。
单选题
When a third party begins to catch people's attention, the major parties will ______ .
【正确答案】
C
【答案解析】考查细节。“When a third party begins to catch people's attention．”这样的一个时间状语，在原文中对应的地方是“as soon as third parties begin to make their mark”，所以正确答案的出处在原文的位置就被我们确定下来了，在原文中我们可以找到这样的句子“one or both of the major parties appropriates enough of their principles or program to absorb the discontent on which they were flourishing．”也就是说，两个主要政党中的一个或者两个政党会一起施加影响，吸收小党提出的意见，这样一来，小的党派就更加没有存在的必要而最终消亡了，文章还有了一个形象的比喻来说明这样的问题，就是把小的党派比喻成蜜蜂，一旦蛰人，就要面临丧生的危险，选项中的C项表达了这样的意思“通过吸收它们的不同政见来导致小党的消亡”。
单选题
It can be inferred from this passage that ______ .
【正确答案】
A
【答案解析】推理题。因为上一个题目已经出现在了文章的末端，按照题目设计的顺序化一般原则，这里出现的题目应该是针对主题或针对文章中不同位置出现的细节信息来考查的。A项在原文第一段有所论述，“the two-party polarization has the weight of tradition behind it.”表明了两党制有传统的支撑，和A的阐述是一致的，所以A是正确选项；B项对应的原文是第二段的“Major parties(like the Federalists and the Whigs)have broken up and been replaced as new parties have emerged in the past．”，但 B项和原文对同一问题的阐述却恰好相反，应该排除；C项提到了原文出现的 Populist party，这是作者选择的一个具体的例子，借此认为这是美国唯一的第三方小党是没有依据的，也是错误的；需要考生关注的是，这里的the only是干扰选项常见的标志性词语，需要我们注意；D项在讨论以Populist party为代表的第三方的小党的作用，前面的第三个题目我们已经说明了Populist party的主要功能是引起民众关注被忽视的问题，这里的论述与原文要表达的意思不符合，应该排除。