A. It would lessen corruption at the presidential level.
B. It would result in a more democratically elected government.
C. It would reduce the role of political calculations in presidential decisions.
D. It would promote a presidency more responsive to the will of the people.
63．Why does the author think that a six-year presidency is antidemocratic?
A. It would result in a President less responsive to the will of the people.
B. It would leave no way of removing an unpopular President from power.
C. It would undermine time-tested electoral procedures.
D. It would give an unfair advantage to one portion of the electorate.
64．The
“acknowledge and heed” (Line 4, Para. 4) could be best interpreted as meaning _____.

A. ask for and follow
B. recognize and clarify
C. believe in and out into practice
D. pay attention to and consider

65．What
do the comments of Gouvemeur Morris and George Washington (Para. 6) suggest?


A. Presidents should be guaranteed two terms in office.
B. The experience gained in one presidential term is valuable for the next.
C. The behavior of a President can best be evaluated over two terms of office.
D. Experience is not a guarantee of continued excellence in office.【答案与解析】
61．
C第一段最后一句Quite right: it is a terrible idea for a number of reasons, among them is that it is at war with the philosophy of democracy.表示作者认为“单个六年总统任期”该提议十分糟糕，因为是与民主理念相违背的。接着第二段讲的是该提议基于的基本思想。接着后面段落都是作者和其他人对该提议的反驳。因此，作者是不支持“单个六年总统任期”提议的，认为总统应该被允许连任。

62．
C由第二段内容可知，支持 “单个六年总统任期”的人认为如果总统可以连任，为了连任他就会轻易地作出虚假的承诺，对于一些难题迟迟不做决定。但如果只能任职六年的话，总统就不用承受政治上的诱惑和压力，就能在任职期间为国家做好事了。所以C项 “减少总统做决定时政治上的盘算”正确。

63．
A由第三段倒数第二句It assumes that the less responsive a President is to popular desires and needs, the better President he or shewill be.可知支持 “单个六年总统任期”的人以为，总统对人民普遍的渴求和需求越是不回应，他就越算是个更好的总统。因此可以看出作者认为该提议会导致总统更加不关心民众的意愿。

64．Dacknowledge and heed应与前面ignore and override意思相反。

65．
B由倒数第二段第二句Forbidding a President to run again, Gouvemeur Morris said, is “as much as to say that we should give him thebenefit of experience, and then deprive ourselves of use of it.可知Morris认为禁止连任就相当于是说，我们给了总统获得管理国家的经验的机会后，又剥夺了运用这些经验的机会。说明Morris认为首个任期内获得的经验是价值的。


Passage TWO
Graduation speeches are a bit like wedding toasts. A few are memorable. The rest tend to trigger such thoughts as, “Why did I wear such uncomfortable shoes?”
But graduation speeches are less about the message than the messenger. Every year a few colleges and universities in the U.S. attract attention because they’ve managed to book high-profile speakers. And, every year, the media report some of these speakers’ wise remarks.
Last month, the following words of wisdom were spread: “You really haven’t completed the circle of success unless you can help somebody else move forward.” (Oprah Winfrey, Duke University).
“There is no way to stop change; change will come. Go out and give us a future worthy of the world we all wish to create together.” (Hillary Clinton, New York University).
“This really is your moment. History is yours to bend.” (Joe Biden, Wake Forest University).
Of course, the real “get” of the graduation season was first lady Michelle Obama’s appearance at the University of California, Merced. “Remember that you are blessed,” she told the class of 2009, “Remember that in exchange for those blessings, you must give something back As advocate and activist Marian Wright Edelman says, ‘Service is the rent we pay for living ... it is the true measure, the only measure of success’.”
Calls to service have a long, rich tradition in these speeches. However, it is possible for a graduation speech to go beyond cliché and say something truly compelling. The late writer David Foster Wallace’s 2005 graduation speech at Kenyon College in Ohio talked about how to truly care about other people. It gained something of a cult after it was widely circulated on the Internet. Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs’ address at Stanford University that year, in which he talked about death, is also considered one of the best in recent memory.
But when you’re sitting in the hot sun, fidgety and freaked out, do you really want to be lectured about the big stuff? Isn’t that like trying to maintain a smile at your wedding reception while some relative gives a toast that amounts to “marriage is hard work”? You know he’s right; you just don’t want to think about it at that particular moment. In fact, as is the case in many major life moments, you can’t really manage to think beyond the blisters your new shoes are causing.
That may seem anticlimactic. But it also gets to the heart of one of life’s greatest, saddest truths: that our most “memorable” occasions may elicit the fewest memories. It’s probably not something most graduation speakers would say, but it’s one of the first lessons of growing up.
66．
According to the passage, most graduation speeches tend to recall _____ memories.

A. great
B. trivial
C. unforgettable
D. unimaginative

67． “But graduation speeches are less about the message than the messenger” is explained in the paragraph _____.

A. first
B. last but one
C. final
D. same

68．The
graduation speeches mentioned in the passage are related to the following themes EXCEPT _____.

A. death
B. success
C. service
D. generosity

69．It
is implied in the passage that at great moments people fail to _____.

A. remain clear-headed
B. keep good manners
C. remember others’ words
D. recollect specific details

70．What
is “one of the first lessons of growing up”?


A. Attending a graduation ceremony.
B. Listening to graduation speeches.
C. Forgetting details of memorable events.
D. Meeting high-profile graduation speakers.
【答案与解析】

66．
B第一段graduation speeches are a bit like wedding toasts. A few are memorable. The rest tend to trigger such thoughts as, ‘Why did I wear such uncomfortable shoes?’说明毕业演讲有点像婚礼上的致辞，有少数片段是难忘的，但是其余的时刻总让我们回想起当时的细节，比如我为什么要穿那双不舒服的鞋呢。说明大多数毕业演讲只能使我们想起一些琐碎、平常的事情。

67．
D同段的第二句Every year a few colleges and universities in the US attract attention because they’ve managed to book high-profile speakers. And, every year, the media report some of these speakers’ wise remarks.说明在毕业演讲上，演讲者比演讲内容还要重要。每年都有些大学请来高调的演讲者。这句正是对题干句子的解释，是在同一段落。

68．
D文章中举了几个有名的毕业演讲，关于死亡、成功、为社会服务。但没有提到以慷慨为主题的演讲。

69．
C由倒数第二段第三句You know he ’s right; you just don’t want tothink about it at that particular moment可知，在重要的时刻，当演讲者在演讲时，你知道他说的是正确的，但当时往往不会思考他说的话。说明毕业生并不会记住演讲者的话。

70．
C由最后一段第二句our most ‘memorable’ occasions may elicit thefewest memories可知，我们往往会遗忘重要时刻的细节。


Section B: Short Answer Questions [30 points; 20 minutes] Directions: In this section, there are two passages, each with five questions. Read the passages carefully. Then answer the questions by using
the information from each passage. Please write your answers on the Answer
Sheet.
Passage THREE
The kids are hanging out. I pass small bands of Students, in my way to work these mornings. They have become a familiar part of the summer landscape.
These kids are not old enough for jobs. Nor are they rich enough for camp. They are school children without school. The calendar called the school year ran out on them a few weeks ago. Once supervised by teachers and principals, they now appear to be “self-care”.
Passing them is like passing through a time zone. For much of our history, after all, Americans arranged the school year around the needs of work and family. In 19th-century cities, schools were open seven or eight hours a day, 11 months a year. In rural America, the year was arranged around the growing season. Now, only 3 percent of families follow the agricultural model, but nearly all schools are scheduled as if our children went home early to milk the cows and took months off to work the crops. Now, three-quarters of the mothers of school-age children work, but the calendar is written as if they were home waiting for the school bus.
The six-hour day, the 180-day school year is regarded as something holy. But when parents work an eight-hour day and a 240-day year, it means something different. It means that many kids go home to empty houses. It means that, in the summer, they hang out.