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
The American Two-party System I. Introduction A. the oldest political【T1】______ around the world【T1】______ B. the classical exam
The American Two-party System I. Introduction A. the oldest political【T1】______ around the world【T1】______ B. the classical exam
admin
2017-03-07
28
问题
The American Two-party System
I. Introduction
A. the oldest political【T1】______ around the world【T1】______
B. the classical example of two-party system: the American political system
— the dominant parties: the Democratic and the【T2】______ parties【T2】______
— the two-party system survived all attempts to assaults
C. About dozen parties that nominate【T3】______【T3】______
D. Americans inevitably become one of the two parties because
— there is usually no other place to go
— most Americans know where they【T4】______ in the system【T4】______
II. Two-party system is so strongly【T5】______ because【T5】______
A The way【T6】______ are conducted: the Americans elect【T6】______
—【T7】______【T7】______
— about 800,000 of other【T8】______,【T8】______
— the congressman from single-member districts
B. Organization of the House of Representatives ensures that
— major party can maintain its【T9】______【T9】______
— major party is likely to win
III. The consequences of the system
A the【T10】______ production of majorities【T10】______
— the competition between two parties
— the【T11】______ of the victory of the winning party【T11】______
B. The peaceful【T12】______【T12】______
— the party in power can be overrun by the party out of power
— two-party system cannot be destroyed
— the【T13】______ can survive the defeat because of【T13】______
a)the possibility of mamtaining a【T14】______ of the opposition【T14】______
b)the attraction of the support of those opposed to the party in power
C. the tendency for the major parties to be【T15】______,【T15】______
e.g. business is conducted across party lines
D. The work of the government carried on despite of divided party control
【T1】
The American Two-party System
Good morning, everyone. Today I’d like to discuss with you the two-party system in America. Basically speaking, nowadays, no one now living in the United States can remember when the contest began between the Democratic and Republican parties. It has been going on for more than a century, making it one of the oldest political rivalries in the world.
The American political system is a classical example of the two-party system. When we say that we have a two-party system in the United States we do not mean that we have only two parties. Usually about dozen parties nominate presidential candidates. We call it a two-party system because we have two large parties and a number of small parties, and the large parties are so large that we often forget about the rest. Usually the small parties collectively poll less than 5 per cent of the vote cast in national elections.
The Democratic and Republican parties are the largest and most competitive organizations in the American community. They organize the electorate very simply by maintaining the two-party system. Americans almost inevitably become Democrats or Republicans because there is usually no other place for them to go. Moreover, because the rivalry of these parties is very old, most Americans know where they belong in the system. As a consequence of the dominance of the major parties, most elected officials are either Republicans or Democrats. Attempts to break up this old system have been made in every presidential election in the past one hundred years, but the system has survived all assaults.
When comes to this point, you may be wondering how does it happen that the two-party system is so strongly rooted in American politics? The explanation is probably to be found in the way elections are conducted. In the United States, unlike countries with a parliamentary system of government, we elect not only the President, but a large number of other officials, about 800,000 of them. We also elect congressmen from single-member districts. For example, we elect 435 members of the House of Representatives from 435 districts, one member for each district. Statistically, this kind of election favors the major parties. The system of elections makes it easy for the major parties to maintain their dominant position, because they are likely to win more than their share of the offices.
As it has been clearly showed that one of the great consequences of the system is that it produces majorities automatically. Because there are only two competitors in the running, it is almost inevitable that one will receive a majority. Moreover, the system tends slightly to exaggerate the victory of the winning party. This is not always true, but the strong tendency to produce majorities is built into the system.
In over 200 years of constitutional history, Americans have learned much about the way in which the system can be managed so as to make possible the peaceful transfer of power from one party to the other. At the level of presidential elections, the party in power has been overturned by the party out of power nineteen times, almost once a decade. In the election of 1860, the political system broke down, and the Civil War, the worst disaster in American history, resulted. Our history justifies our confidence in the system but also shows that it is not foolproof.
The second major party is able to survive a defeat because the statistical tendency that exaggerates the victory of the winning party operates even more strongly in favor of the second party a-gainst the third, fourth, and fifth parties. As a result, the defeated major party is able to maintain a monopoly of the opposition. The advantage of the second party over the third is so great that it is the only party that is likely to be able to overturn the party in power. It is able, therefore, to attract the support of everyone seriously opposed to the party in power. The second party is important as long as it can monopolize the movement to overthrow the party in power, because it is certain to come into power sooner or later.
Another consequence of the two-party system is that whereas minor parties are likely to identify themselves with special interests or special programs and thus take extreme positions, the major parties are so large that they tend to be moderate. Evidence of the moderation of the major parties is that much business is conducted across party lines. What happens when the Democrats control one house of Congress and the Republicans control the other? About the same volume of legislation is passed as when one party controls both houses, although some important legislation is likely to be blocked temporarily. It is possible to carry on the work of the government even when party control is divided because party differences are not fundamental.
Finally, to sum up the lecture today. As we know that it is not an easy job to fully understand the two-party system in the United States of America. Therefore, I hope this lecture will at least give a gist of the history of the two-party system and how it works as one of the most complete political systems in the world.
选项
答案
rivalries∥competitors
解析
讲座开篇就提到了美国两党之间的竞争,“是世界上最早的政治竞争(rivalries)之一”。由此可知答案为rivalries,或其同义词competitors。要点提示词one of后的信息是常考之处,笔记中不可忽视。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/j77O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
WheneverIspeaktoeducatorsandinterestedlaypeopleaboutneuroplasticity—theabilityoftheadultbraintochangeinfunctio
InterculturalLearningManyteachersmaywonder"WhatamIactuallydoing?"sometimes.Itdoesn’tseemenoughtoteachgram
JudgingbythewildlycheeringaudienceattheorgyofconsumerismthatwasOprahWinfrey’s"UltimateFavouriteThings"show,Am
Russiaputoffitsmannedspacecraftmissionbecause
EnglishforSpecificPurposesESP:EnglishforSpecificPurposesESL:EnglishasaSecondLanguageI.DifferencesbetweenESPa
Inthelongest-termstudyofitskind,researcherspittedtwopopulardietsheadtohead—alow-fatAmericanHeartAssociation
T.S.Eliotwasaleaderofthe______movementinEnglishpoetryandagreatinnovatorofversetechnique.
诸位毕业同学:你们现在要离开母校了,我没有什么礼物送你们,只好送你们一句话罢。这一句话是:“不要抛弃学问。”以前的功课也许有一大部分是为了这张毕业文凭,不得已而做的,从今以后,你们可以依自己的心愿去自由研究了。趁现在年富力强的时候,努力做一种专门
A、Theydidn’twanttodressconservatively.B、Theysmokedmorecigarettesthanbefore.C、Theyonlydrankwinewithpeersinpubl
随机试题
手工钨极氩弧焊焊枪的作用不包括()。
辩护词的结束语应归结全篇辩护词的中心观点,并随之提出具体的
古人云:“奢靡之始.危广之渐。”这警示领导者在生活作风上应该【】
“金元四大家”中,被称“养阴学派”的医家是
甲、乙二人订立货物买卖合同。甲开具可转让提单一张交给乙。乙后将此提单背书转让给丙,丙不慎将其丢失。则下列说法错误的有:()
某公司计划投资兴建某建设项目,正在进行投资估算和可行性研究,收集到的投资估算资料如下。1.固定资产投资估算的资料(1)某项目拟全套引进国外设备,有关设备购置费估算数据如下:①设备总重100t,离岸价格(FOB)200万美元(美元对人
乘坐国内航班的旅游者在托运的行李中有高档相机,行李在途中丢失,相关航空公司应()
根据下面材料回答问题。2001到2012年间,中国对匈牙利出口同比增量最高的年份,当年的贸易顺差为多少亿美元?
下列关于纯音掩蔽的描述中,不正确的是()。(2018年)
A、女的不愿意帮忙B、女的这个周末没空儿C、男的这个周末回家D、男的这个周末很忙B对话中“我周末回家,你要是有什么事儿等我回来再帮你做吧”这句话,说明女的这个周末没有空儿,所以选B。
最新回复
(
0
)