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  3. Election The focal point of American political life is the presidential election. More citizens participate in this process

Election The focal point of American political life is the presidential election. More citizens participate in this process

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问题                                  Election
    The focal point of American political life is the presidential election. More citizens participate in this process than in any other aspect of civic life, and their choice has enormous significance for the nation and, indeed, for the world. In the United States, the president technically is not directly elected by the people but by a body established under the Constitution called the Electoral College. Its members are supposed to mirror the wishes of the voters in their state.
    Recent Turnout(参与人数)
    However, between 1964 and 1988, turnout in presidential elections slowly declined, from 62% to 50%. In 1992, turnout increased slightly, to 54%. That is, of all citizens who could have registered to vote, barely half voted. This means that the winner of a presidential election might have received only one-fourth of the votes of potential voters.
    Who Does Not Vote?
    Before we can explain why some people do not vote, we need to see who the nonvoters are. The most important thing to remember is that voting is related to education, income, and occupation, that is, to socioeconomic class. For example, if you are a college graduate, the chances are about 80% that you will vote; if you have less than a high school education, the chances are only about half that. Differences between higher-and lower-income people are also quite large. Two out of three nonvoters have incomes below the average. This class gap in turnout is widening. Although voting among all groups of Americans has declined in the past 30 years, the proportion of college-educated persons who participated fell by less than 10% while that of high school-educated persons dropped by nearly 20%.
    Though many people take it for granted that those in the working class vote at lower rates than those in the middle and upper classes, in the United States these differences are far wider than in other nations and far wider than in nineteenth-century America. So there appears to be something unique about the contemporary American political system that inhibits voting participations of all citizens, but particularly those whose income and educational levels are below the average.
    Voting is also much more common among older than young people. The popular impression that young people often participate in politics was reinforced during the Vietnam years, when college campuses exploded with anti-war dissent. In fact, however, young people vote much less frequently than their elders. Those in their 40s and older have established their careers and families, and they have more time and money to devote to voting and other political activities.
    Why Turnout is Low?
    There are a number of possible reasons why Americans esp. low-income and young Americans, do not vote.
    One reason is that non-voters are satisfied: failing to vote is a passive form of consent to what government is doing.
    About one-third of a group of non-voters in the 1.990 election, when asked why they did not vote, gave reasons suggesting they were disgusted with politics. The public was condemning the lack of real issues in the campaign, the negative advertising, the constant attention paid by television to the polls telling people how they were going to vote. In fact, tnmout is inversely(成反比地) related to media spending; the more the candidates spend, the lower the turnout. In addition to the quality of the campaigns, some people think turnout has declined because the elections are so frequent, campaigns last so long and so many are contested that the public becomes bored, confused, or impatient. At the presidential level, the sheer quantity of coverage, much of it focused repetitively on "who’s winning", may simply bore people. Moreover, the continual public polling and the widely publicized results may lead some to believe they don’t need to vote.
    The necessity of registering has also been a major impediment to voting. About one-quarter of non-voters surveyed in 1990 indicated they did not vote because it was too difficult. One popular proposal is to allow voters to register when they go to the polling place on Election Day. This would reduce the costs of voting by reducing the time spent in finding and going to the registration office. Moreover, by allowing same-day registration, states would put fewer premiums on permanence of residence.
    Who Runs for President?
    Most people have little chance of being president: They are unknown to the public, they do not have the financial resources or contacts to raise the money needed for a national campaign, they have jobs they could not leave to mn a serious campaign, and their friends would probably ridicule them for even thinking of such a thing.
    But a few people are in a different position. Most candidates for president are, in fact, senators or governors. Vice presidents also frequently run, but until George Bush’s victory, they had not been successful in this century.
How a Candidate Wins the Nomination?
    The process to select the next president of the United States and determine which political party would control Congress and the 50 state governments in 2001 officially kicked off with the January 24 Iowa Caucuses(候选人提名会议)and the February 1 New Hampshire Primary Election. It ended with the November 7 general election and the January 20, 2001 inanguration(就职典礼).
    Presidential candidates try to win a majority of delegates at their party’s national nominating convention in the summer preceding the November election. Delegates to those conventions are elected in state caucuses, conventions, and primaries. Candidates must campaign to win the support of those who attend caucuses and conventions and of primary voters.
    Normally, candidates formally announce their candidacies in the year preceding the presidential election year. Then their aim is to persist and survive the long primary and caucus season that begins in February of election year and continues until only one candidate is left.
    The National Convention
    Once selected, delegates attend their party’s national nominating convention in the summer before the November election. Change in party rules have reduced the convention’s role from an arena where powerful party leaders came together and determined the party’s nominee to a body that approves a choice based on the outcome of the primaries and caucuses.
    With the beginning of radio coverage in 1924 and television coverage in 1940, the conventions have become media events. The parties try to put on a show that they hope will attract voters to their candidates.
The president elected on November 7,2000 took office on ______.
选项
答案January 20,2001
解析 本题相应信息在倒数第五段最后一句“It ended…the January 20,2001 inauguration”。关键是要理解题干中的“took office”一词。它的意思是“就职；上任”。它与原句中的“inauguration”属同义词。
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