A、It’s a fund-raising event. B、It is a political party. C、It is a list of candidates. D、It is a statement of goals. D

In the United States today, there are two major parties—the Democratic Party and the Republican Party. Each political party is made up of members who share goals and ideas. Each party wants its goals and ideas to direct the actions of government. Parties suggest, or choose, people that they want in office. The suggested people are called candidates. Political parties select candidates to represent them in elections. Each party then works to get its candidates elected. Suggesting candidates is the major job of a party. But it is not the only thing that a party does. At national conventions, party members from every state gather together. They make up a platform. A platform is a statement of goals. The goals may be general or specific. For example, a general goal may be having better schools. A more specific goal may be raising teachers’ salaries. The platform creates unity for the party. It tells voters what the party stands for. A party must also do fund-raising. Fund-raising is a group of activities designed to bring in money. The party uses some of this money to pay for its day-to-day operation. But most of the money is spent on getting the party’s candidates elected.
Questions 19 to 21 are based on the passage you have just heard.
19. According to the passage, which of the four statements is not true about political parties?
20. What’s the main job of a party?
21. What’s a platform?