2020考研英語閱讀理解模擬自測題Text 4

Text 4

Compared with the glamorous thrill of the presidential primary, state elections in New Hampshire do not grip the voter—all those unfamiliar names, way down at the end of the ballot. That, at least, is the current explanation of how Tom Alciere managed to get elected to the state legislature last November. After an uneventful campaign of hand-shaking and sign-waving, this Republican from Nashua, who had lost several previous bids for office, won a seat by 55 votes. Whereupon his constituents learned that he was an advocate of killing policemen.

Mr. Alciere had not tried to conceal this. He posted vigorous notes on Internet discussion boards; one, in October, declared that “nobody will ever be safe until the last cop is dead.” He often joined in radio talk shows, sometimes describing himself as “Angry Tom”. But in his election campaign Mr. Alciere was much mistier: he promised only to fight for individual freedom. He later said that he did not bring up his opinions about the police because nobody asked.

This has prompted some soul-searching among journalists, and others, who failed to spot Angry Tom behind Candidate Tom. Mr. Alciere blames the voters. In one Internet message, he called his constituents “a bunch of fat, stupid, ugly old ladies that watch soap operas, play bingo, read tabloids and don’t know the metric system.” These people, be it noted, are part of the New Hampshire electorate that is so often admired for its maverick charm, wielding much power in the choice of America’s presidents through its first-in-the-nation primary.

The point is that New Hampshire pays attention to presidential races, but considers its own state law makers pretty unimportant. As Ken Gidge, a radio talk show host, puts it, quite possibly “a dog-catcher in a particular community has more power.” New Hampshire’s legislature has 400 members who face re-election every two years and earn an annual salary of $100. The legislature is a “dinosaur with a tiny little brain”, a symbol of New Hampshire’s disdain for government, says Arnie Arnesen, a political science professor at Franklin Pierce College. She claims that, in the past, some of its members have been found to have mental problems. No doubt others held opinions as pungent as Mr. Alciere’s; but they did not have an Internet on which to publicize them.

At first, Mr. Alciere refused to leave his seat, insisting he was “not a nut”. Then he said that he would step down, if 11 law makers pledged to bring his pet bills to a roll-call vote. He wants to legalize drugs, ban involuntary commitments to mental institutions, and replace state schools with online education. On January 10th, a compromise was reached: another freshman Republican agreed to submit eight of his proposals, and Mr. Alciere resigned. Some think he should have been kept around—to remind voters that they sometimes get what they deserve.

16. Tom Alciere could have been elected to the state legislature because ______.

A) people were familiar with his name for his several attendance campaigns

B) he was a charming person and gave thrills to his people

C) he approved of killing policemen

D) he was always the last one on the ballot list

17. In the election campaign, Mr. Alciere ______.

A) declared that all the cops should be killed

B) showed his anger on radio talk shows

C) didn’t answer the questions about the police issue

D) only played tricks with his constituents

18. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) Some New Hampshire electorate has a little prestige in government.

B) Journalists didn’t pay enough attention to Alciere’s hatred to police.

C) Tom blamed his voters just to draw people’s attention.

D) The “stupid, fat, ugly old ladies” are a little popular in society.

19. The legislature is a “dinosaur with a tiny little brain（Lines 4~5, Paragraph 4）”, which implies ______.

A) New Hampshire pays too much attention to presidential races

B) some of the legislature members have mental problems

C) some people want to be as pungent as Mr. Alciere

D) there is indifference of the people on its own state governing

20. Mr. Alciere at last ______.

A) refused to leave his seat

B) would never pay his pet bills

C) resigned with some compromises accepted by the legislature

D) was expelled from the position by the opposite leader

題目分析

16. A 細節(jié)題。文章第一段中提到“和富有魅力的總統(tǒng)初選相比，在新罕布什爾州的州選舉中，投票人對那些他們不熟悉的名字沒有任何興趣。而這就是Tom Alciere去年參選獲勝的緣故。他曾好幾次落選公職，但那次他獲得了55票而獲選。A“經(jīng)過他幾次的參選，人們記住了他的名字”；B“他非常有魅力，給他的人民以魅力四射的震顫”；C“他贊成殺死警察”；D“他常常在投票名單上是最后一個”。因此A最符合題意。

17. D 細節(jié)題。文章第二段Mr. Alciere在選舉中只是許諾為個人而奮斗，并未提到警察，對此舉文章用了misty的比較級來形容Alciere，misty意為“模糊的，不清楚的”。當時他沒談及關(guān)于警察的問題，因為他心里明白那會引起什么反應。A“宣布所有警察該死”；B“在廣播脫口秀中發(fā)表憤怒”；C“沒有回答有關(guān)警察的問題”；D“和他的選民玩心計”。Alciere說當時沒有人問有關(guān)警察的問題，也就無從說他是否回答了這些問題，排除干擾項C。D更能體現(xiàn)misty一詞，因而選D。

18. C 細節(jié)題。C“他污蔑他的選民只是為了引起人們的注意”，文中并沒有這一點意思；A“許多選民在政府中有一定的聲望”；B“記者并沒有過多關(guān)注他仇恨警察這件事”；D“那些所謂‘愚蠢、肥胖、丑陋’的老女人在社會上還是有一定市場的”，這三個選項都能從文中找到。

19. B 語義題。由第四段可知“dinosaur with a tiny little little brain”是Arnie的評價。她接下來聲稱部分立法人員被證實精神有問題，因而我們可推知她之前的評價是基于此的，故選B“立法機構(gòu)成員有精神問題”。A“新罕布什爾州給予總統(tǒng)選舉太多的注意力”；C“一些人想和Alciere一樣尖刻”；D“人們對本州立法機構(gòu)的運作方式漠不關(guān)心”。這三項均不符合題意。

20. C 細節(jié)題。文章最后一段提到Alciere的8項提議被通過后，他才辭職。A“拒絕離位”；B“永不付寵物賬單”（bill在文中的含義為“議案”）；C“Alciere與立法機關(guān)達成部分妥協(xié)后辭職了”；D“被反對派領(lǐng)導驅(qū)逐下臺”。因此C為正確答案。