题文
Surprises often come in boxes. Birthday presents wrapped in colorful paper, brown paper packages mailed from a friend. No matter what kind of box it is, people like to open it up and see what's inside. In America, and in many other countries, one special kind of box contains the future. It's called a ballot box. What people put into the box on election day can change the course of history.Elections are the lifeblood of a democracy. The word democracy literally means "the people rule," an important concept in American history. In the mid-1700s, England began passing laws that made the American colonies angry. The colonists had to pay more and more taxes and enjoyed less and less freedom. They felt the government of England didn't represent their interests. On July 4, 1776, the colonies declared their independence from England. They wanted to establish a democracy where people could have a voice in government.
An effective democracy holds regular elections. In America, elections are held every two years for members of Congress. In these elections, all seats in the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate seats are up for grabs. In addition, every four years, voters go to the polls to elect the nation's president and vice-president. Voters also regularly cast their ballots for state and city government leaders and local school board members. Sometimes they also have to vote on a proposed law.
In the American electoral system, people don't really vote for presidential candidates. Instead, voters cast their ballots for "electors" who support each candidate. Each state has as many electors as the total number of its representatives in Congress. This equals two senators per state plus the number of its representatives in the House (which is based on the state's population). The candidate who has the most votes in a state wins all of the state's electors. To win the presidential election, a candidate must gain at least 270 of the 538 total electoral votes.
Over the years, the U.S. has made a number of election reforms. Some early reforms outlawed cheating, giving bribes and threatening voters. They also limited the amount of money candidates could receive from donors and spend on their campaigns. In 1870, black people gained the right to vote, and in 1920, that right was extended to women. In recent decades, laws against unfair rules for voting have been passed. No longer do people have to pay a special tax or pass a test in order to vote. In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18. Other reforms made voting easier for the blind, the disabled and people who couldn't read. In some areas, ballots had to be printed in languages besides English.
In November, Americans will again elect those who will represent them in government. Although some citizens aren't even registered to vote--and some registered voters don't bother to go to the polls--most Americans exercise their right to vote. They realize that their future is wrapped up in a special package--the ballot box. It's a package that must definitely be "handled with care."
小题1:According to the context, what does a “ballot box” mean in Chinese?A．彩票箱B．投票箱C．礼品箱D．保险箱小题2:Democracy means that ____.A．People couldn’t have a voice in a government.B．In America, elections are held every four years for members of Congress. C．Democracy is the lifeblood of elections.D．Basically “ the people rule”, and it’s very important in American history.小题3:How will the votes distributed if Romney got 20 votes while Obama received 17 votes in California in the election?A．Romney will win 20 votes in California. B．Obama will win 20 votes in California. C．Romney will win 37 votes in California. D．Obama will win 37 votes in California.小题4: Which one is RIGHT about election reforms?A．People have to pay a special tax to vote.B．There are bribes and threatening in elections now.C．People above eighteen years old can vote now.D．The disabled or the blind have tough access to voting.小题5: What’s the main idea of this passage?A．Birthday boxes in the U.S. B．Election systems in the U.S.C．Election reforms in the U.S.D．Democracy in the U.S. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型
答案
小题1:B
小题2:D
小题3:C
小题4:C
小题5:B
解析
本文主要讲了美国的选举系统，从民主制度开始，到选举制度，以及在此方面做出的一系列改革。让我们对美国的政治有了更深一步的理解。
小题1:词义猜测题。第一段从礼品箱过渡到投票箱，包括下文详解美国投票制度，由此得出答案为B。
小题2:细节理解题。A中couldn’t有误。B 不是民主的解释，且每四年有误。C中民主与选举位置颠倒。故选D。
小题3:推理判断题。从倒数第三段得出，美国选举最重要的规则是“胜者得全票”。一个个州分别统计，最后计算选举人票总数，谁超过270票即为赢家。所以此题答案为C。
小题4:细节理解题。A中投票不必缴税。B中贿赂与恐吓是早期选举时期存在的问题。C从倒数第二段最后一句“In 1971, the voting age was lowered to 18.”得出，18岁以上的公民现在可以投票选举了。D与文意想法。故选C。
小题5:本文讲述了美国的选举制度，故选B。
点评：词义猜测题体现了应用英语的重要能力，也是高考阅读理解中必考的题型。它不但需要准确无误地理解上下文，而且要有较大的泛读量，掌握或认识较多的课外词汇。考生应学会通过构词、定义、同位、对比、因果、常识、同义、反义及上下文线索等确定词义。
考点
据考高分专家说，试题“Surprises often come.....”主要考查你对 [政治经济类阅读 ]考点的理解。政治经济类阅读
政治经济类文章的概念：
要做好这类阅读，平时就要注意了解国内外发生的政治经济大事，掌握一定背景知识，对这类文章的叙述特点及内容安排有一定了解，还要扩展这方面的词汇。阅读这类文章，要抓住文章的核心，即文章整体和各段主要在说什么，也要注意段落之间的逻辑关系。
如何备考政治经济类阅读理解题：
【题型说明】政治经济类阅读文章是高考常选材料之一。该类文章时代气息浓郁，语言鲜活，但熟字新义词、超纲词及专业词语多，长句、难句多。政治类文章大多数是同学们感性趣的内容，读起来倒有似曾相识的感觉，经济类文章读起来就像是雾里看花，文章看完，一头雾水。再加之这类文章的命题侧重于词义猜测、推理判断和文章主旨，同学们对这类题材是望而生畏。
【备考策略】建立心理优势。针对不同体裁的文章，我们要采取相应的阅读方法和技巧。政治类文章多采用记叙文形式，我们可采取“顺读法”，以便抓关键语句，领会文章主旨；而经济类文章则多采用说明文形式，我们则可以采取“逆读法”，先读试题，再从文章中查找有用信息。若遇到的确难读的材料。千万不用着急，因为你觉得难，其他人也一定是同感。在高考前，我们就要有这种心理准备，高考试卷肯定有一、两篇难以阅读的材料。不过，我们平时可以有意识地从报刊杂志上找一些较难的阅读材料来阅读，以培养自己迎难而上的心理素质。
【答题方法】
1、寻找主干：
根据英语中五种基本句型结构，把句子中的主语、谓语、宾语、表语等主要成分找出来，其他成分如定语、状语、补语等则易于理解。找到了句子主干，句子的意思至少明白了一半。
2、剔除从句：
在一个长句中可能会出现若干个从句，在理解时，如果把各个从句剔除出来单独理解，然后把大意拼凑起来，整个长句的意思就会明白六、七分。
3、辨别分句：
一个长句如果是由几个并列、转折、递进、对比关系的分句组成，句中往往有表示这些分句关系的连接词，只要能弄清楚分句和分句之间的逻辑关系，再把各层分句的意思加以连贯，整个长句的句意基本上能跃然脑中。
4、寻找关键词：
如果一个句子看完，一点句意的感觉也没有，下下策就是抓住句中的关键词，通过关键词大体弄懂这个长句的意思。
