首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
Democracy is so much a part of our national identity that it almost seems a birthright. But the irony is that, even as we hope t
Democracy is so much a part of our national identity that it almost seems a birthright. But the irony is that, even as we hope t
admin
2010-01-10
82
问题
Democracy is so much a part of our national identity that it almost seems a birthright. But the irony is that, even as we hope to spread democracy elsewhere, we risk preaching the virtues of a form of government we no longer practice ourselves. The upcoming elections, our proudest celebration of democracy, will highlight some of the threats to our government "by the people".
Technically, every vote is counted. But will the ballot you cast really make a difference? Not likely, unless you live in one of about 17 battleground states where the contest between President Bush and Senator Kerry could easily go either way. If you come from a state that is already locked up by one of the parties and most of us do — your vote won’t carry much weight. That’s because of our idiosyncratic electoral college system.
Rather than being elected directly by the people, the President would be chosen by a group of electors appointed by the state legislatures — with the number of electors determined by the state’s total number of representatives to Congress and U.S. Senators. By allotting two Senators to each state, our founders enabled small states to wield an influence greater than their populations alone would warrant, ensuring that the most populous states wouldn’t decide every Presidential election. But here’s the rub: When it comes to those electoral votes, it’s winner-take-all (except in Maine, and Nebraska). Get more popular votes, even if only by one, and you grab all of the state’s electoral votes.
There’s yet another way that the electoral system undermines our vote. In 2000, the Presidential campaigns largely ignore the 33 states that weren’t up for grabs. Even California, Texas and New York — states offering many electoral votes but little partisan competition — fell by the wayside. If victory or defeat depended on the popular vote, then candidates would have to work for each one. Instead, they decide which states are in play, and go after the voter there. They rarely visit other places and the majority of us don’t experience a real campaign.
Here’s one idea that could help us in future Presidential elections. In a number of countries, they have a system of direct popular vote, but with a critical provision, in the event that no one wins by a majority, they hold an "instant runoff". That’s done by allowing voters to register not only their first choice among the candidates, but also their second and third, if a run-off is needed (say, if the winner among several candidates has less than 50 percent of vote). You can eliminate the candidate with the lowest tally, and transfer his or her supporters to the second choice on their ballots. This process can play out until there is a clear victor. This system give weight to every person’s vote — something our system of electors will never do. Only a Constitutional amendment, however, can bring about this change.
The word "rub" in the 3rd paragraph most probably means______.
选项
A、the act of rubbing
B、the trouble
C、the solution
D、the conflicting idea
答案
B
解析
这是道上下文理解题。解题句是第三段的“By allotting two Senators to each state, our founders enabled small states to wield an influence greater than their populations alone would warrant, ensuring that the most populous states wouldn’t decide every Presidential election.But here’s the rub: When it comes to those electoral votes,it’s winner-take-all(except in Maine, and Nebraska). Get more popular votes, even if only by one,and you grab all of the state’s electoral votes.”通过分配每个州两名参议员的名额,我们的先辈们使得各个小州拥有比它们人口比例更大的影响力,保证了即使人口众多的大州也不能左右总统选举的结果。但是矛盾的是,在决定选举票数的时候,得票多者却可以独揽胜局(除了马里兰州和内布拉斯加州)。只要获得哪怕多一张的选票,你就左右了整个州的选票结果。“rub”是指摩擦,困难的意思,在这篇文章中指的也是碰到的问题,故选B。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/E6cO777K
本试题收录于:
NAETI中级口译笔试题库外语翻译证书(NAETI)分类
0
NAETI中级口译笔试
外语翻译证书(NAETI)
相关试题推荐
Manyyoungpeoplebelievethatwarisstupidandunnecessary.Tothem,toloseone’slifeonthebattlefieldis______.
WhatarethechallengesfacingmultinationalsthatwanttobuildtheirbrandsinChina?—Ithinkthefirstthingisignorance.T
TheEuropeanonlinefashionbusinessisfierce.Justaskbackersofone-timehighfliers.Likeboo.com,theurbansportswearret
Insomecountries,______iscalled"equality"doesnotreallymeanequalrightsforallpeople.
Norevolutionsintechnologyhaveasvisiblymarkedthehumanconditionasthoseintransport.Movinggoodsandpeople,theyhav
Modernindustrialsocietygrantslittlestatustooldpeople.Infact,suchasocietyhasasystemofbuilt-inobsolescence.The
Recently,officialsatthislevelallseemtobeexhausted,thoughfewofthemhaveevermadeanycomplaint.
首先,我感谢莱文校长的邀请,使我有机会来到世界著名学府耶鲁大学,同青年朋友和老师们相聚在一起。进入耶鲁大学的校园,看到莘莘学子青春洋溢的脸庞,呼吸着书香浓郁的空气,我不由回想起40年前在北京清华大学的求学岁月。当年老师们对我的教诲,同学们给我的启发,我至今
尊敬的梅莱斯•泽纳维总理阁下,尊敬的各位国家元首和政府首脑阁下,尊敬的非洲联盟委员会主席阿尔法•乌马尔•科纳雷阁下,各位代表团团长、部长和大使阁下,女士们,先生们://我很高兴来到亚的斯亚贝巴,与出席中非合
下面你将听到的是一段有关海洋的讲话。海洋是全球生命支持系统的一个不可缺少的组成部分。海洋不仅是自然资源的宝库,同时也是我们人类居住环境的重要调节器。中国政府高度重视海洋的开发和保护,不断加强海洋综合管理,促进海洋产业的协调发展。中国已经
随机试题
关于非突触化学传递,错误的是
患者风湿腰膝疼痛已多年,并见经来腹痛,经血紫黯、多血块,舌质淡边有瘀点,脉弦紧。治疗宜选用( )。
6~7个月婴儿应会的动作是
在医疗实践活动中分配医疗收益与负担时。类似的个案适用相同的准则。不同个案适用不同的准则。这所体现的医学伦理学基本原则是
患者女,30岁,停经40天,下腹隐痛2天、加重1天入院。查体:面色苍白,四肢湿冷,体温不升,脉搏126次/分,血乐75/50nlmHg,此时最适宜的体位是
天癸显示了()。
下列情况中应计算缴纳城镇土地使用税的是()。
A、选择B、投影C、自然连接D、并A由关系R到关系S为一元运算,排除C和D。关系S是关系R的一部分,是通过选择之后的结果,因此选A。
WithextensionworkalreadyunderwayattheCapitalInternationalAirport,planshavebeenunveiledforasecondairportforBei
Directions:Inthissection,youwillhearapassagethreetimes.Whenthepassageisreadforthefirsttime,youshouldlisten
最新回复
(
0
)