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  3. Public officials and candidates for public office routinely use public opinion polls to keep track of what the people are thinki

Public officials and candidates for public office routinely use public opinion polls to keep track of what the people are thinki

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问题    Public officials and candidates for public office routinely use public opinion polls to keep track of what the people are thinking. An important question is the degree to which these polls should guide leaders in their actions. There are arguments for and against the use of polls as the basis for policy decisions.
   Polls can contribute to effective government by keeping political leaders from getting too far out of line with the public’s thinking. In a democratic society, the effectiveness of a public policy often dep. ends on the extent of its public support. When a policy is contrary to the public’s desires, people may choose to disregard or undermine it, thus making it counterproductive or inefficient. Further, when government pursues a course of action with which a large proportion of the public disagrees, it risks a loss of public confidence, which can have a negative effect on its ability to lead. The Reagan administration, flying high from 1981 to 1985 ,was brought low in 1986 by public reaction to news of its secret sales of weapons to Iran. The administration had not paid sufficient attention to polls that revealed the deep antagonism American still felt toward Iran be cause the Ayatollah Khomeini’s regime has held sixty-three American hostages in 1979 - 1981.
   However, leaders can also do a disservice to the public they represent by using poll results as a substitute for policy judgment. "Effective government", as Walter Lippmann wrote, "cannot be conducted by legislators and officials who, when a question is presented, ask themselves first and last not what is the truth and which is the right and necessary course, but what does the Gallup Poll say?" During his presidential term, Jimmy Carter proposed five consecutive inflation-fighting programs, changing his plans with each shift in public sentiment without having invested the political capital necessary to get Congress and the country behind any of the efforts. The nation -- and Carter -- would probably have been better served by a steadfast commitment to a single course of action.
The Carter example shows that for a leader ______.
选项 A、rational judgment is important in face of unfavorable public opinion
B、public opinion is all the more important in difficult time
C、it is advisable to ignore public opinion in handling bad economic situations
D、it is important to be on good terms with both the Congress and the public
答案A
解析 由题干Carter定位到第三段第三句和第四句，卡特在总统任期内，连续提出了五个抑制通货膨胀的计划，每次都因为公众的情绪而改变计划，没有动用必要的政治资本，使国会和国家避免受到任何公众情绪的影响。如果卡特当时能坚定地致力于一个行动方针的话，那么结果对国家对卡特总统个人都有利。另外本段第一句表明，舆论不能取代政策，因此选[A]在面临不利的公共舆论的时候理性的判断很重要。[B]艰难的时候舆论更加重要，文中第三段第一句表明，以民意调查的结果来取代政策的判断损害公众的利益，因此排除[B]；[C]与原文内容不符；[D]原文未提及，故排除。
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