Mr. Bono was all time following except______.
A.a press secretary
B.an entertainer
C.a congressman
D.a popular singer
A、Senate
B、House of Representatives
C、House of Lords
D、House of Commons
Part A
Directions: Read the following three texts. Answer the questions on each text by choosing A, B, C or D. Mark your answers on ANSWER SHEET 1.
The United States Congress is a bicameral legislature. Two Houses-Senate and House of Representatives make the laws. Before a bill may be sent to the President to sign, both houses must approve. When great agreement exists on a bill, the law moves quickly. However, most suggested laws are complex and relate to interests and conflicts which need debate and careful consideration.
Both houses of Congress use the committee system to handle the numerous bills. A bill is referred to the committee responsible for that category — whether taxation, foreign affairs, housing or whatever. In the committee the bill is studied, arguments are collected for and against, and advice is gathered from experts on the subject. Citizens have the chance to influence legislation through the committee system. If the committee votes favorably, the bill goes before the entire house. Usually committee approval means favorable action by the Senate and House of Representatives.
As a result, membership on the more important committees is eagerly sought. How long a senator or representative has served in Congress is most important in assigning committee memberships Usually the majority political party receives a majority of the memberships of each committee. In this way the party controls decisions because the real work and power of Congress lies in the system of committees. Some people protest that this system restricts laws, but most see this as the system that works best.
By using the context and word part clues, we may conclude that "bicameral" means ________.
A.Republicans and Democrats
B.two Houses
C.congressional system
D.law making procedure
It has been challenging for most twentieth-century American policy-makers
to recapture the memory of the early United States, Constitution and all, as a
revolutionary force-to ascertain, in other words, the original motives of our
Line founding fathers. The argument that the war was a revolution is essentially
(5) universal among the progressives like Turner, Becker, and Jameson, who
argue that the war was fought for, or at least caused, greater democracy in the
colonies, and generally agree that the war was a true revolution, not simply a
rejection of British tyranny.
Though this may be true-wars do tend to terminate Old Orders and
(10) ancient regimes-it is hardly a singular observation regarding the American
Revolution. A more salient hypothesis is that the fight for greater democracy
spawned not so much from a desire for change as an affirmation of the existing
order. Those gaining votes and other social privileges only wished to profit from
the existing system-these were no sans culottes beheading kings and
(15) aristocrats as the Frenchmen did in their frenzied Terror and Englishmen who
desired home governance, at first seeking to preserve local autonomy and
loyalty to the King, not to Parliament.
It was only after the initial conflict that the revolutionaries slipped into the
position of demanding sovereignty. Classwise, those ruling in 1770 also held
(20) power in 1790, while the Parliament, a bicameral legislature, was replaced by
the Congress, another bicameral legislature and the King supplanted by a
President, who could very easily have maintained his position for life. This
nearly created a tradition that the head-of-state-for-life would be chosen without
the benefit of heredity, a disastrous case suffered by twentieth-century
(25) Ugandans under Idi Amin. Furthermore, only propertied white males had
suffrage, both before and after the war, and the end of slavery was not exactly
accelerated by the war, though there were a few relatively minor gains for
blacks. Meanwhile, the economic system was not altered, nor was the class
structure, except to forbid a nobility that in any case had only a nominal
(30) existence in the colonies before the war.
What the colonists sought was control to which they had already been
accustomed. Parliament was not in the colonists' "chain of command" in 1700,
and for the House of Commons to attempt to place itself there was seen as a loss
to the colonists. Alteration was what they resisted, not what they sought; they
(35) largely felt that they were resisting an invasion of their political birthright, not
that they were breaking bold new political ground, and therefore, it would be
very convincing to argue that the war was fought as a reactionary response, not
as a radical one.
According to the passage, Turner, Becker, and Jameson have done which of the following? Ⅰ. They failed to acknowledge the colonists' desire to affirm the existing order as a principle motive behind the American Revolution. Ⅱ. They have emphasized, but not sufficiently, the concept of the American Revolution as a genuine revolution. Ⅲ. As a group they have failed to reach agreement on the root causes of th
A.Ⅰ only
B.Ⅱ only
C.Ⅰ and Ⅱ only
D.Ⅱ and Ⅲ only
E.Ⅰ,Ⅱ, and Ⅲ
6. Overview of Senate The modern word Senate is derived from the Latin word senātus (senate), which comes from senex, 'old man'. The members or legislators of a senate are called senators. The Latin word senator was adopted into English with no change in spelling. Its meaning is derived from a very ancient form of social organization, in which advisory or decision-making powers are reserved for the eldest men. For the same reason, the word senate is correctly used when referring to any powerful authority characteristically composed by the eldest members of a community, as a deliberative body of a faculty in an institution of higher learning is often called a senate. This form adaptation was used to show the power of those in body and for the decision-making process to be thorough, which could take a long period of time. The original senate was the Roman Senate, which lasted until at least AD 603, although various efforts to revive it were made in Medieval Rome. In the Eastern Roman Empire, the Byzantine Senate continued until the Fourth Crusade, circa 1202–1204. Modern democratic states with bicameral parliamentary systems are sometimes equipped with a senate, often distinguished from an ordinary parallel lower house, known variously as the "House of Representatives", "House of Commons", "Chamber of Deputies", "National Assembly", "Legislative Assembly", or "House of Assembly", by electoral rules. This may include minimum age required for voters and candidates, proportional or majoritarian or plurality system, and an electoral basis or collegium. Typically, the senate is referred to as the upper house and has a smaller membership than the lower house. In some federal states senates also exist at the subnational level. In the United States all states with the exception of Nebraska (whose legislature is a unicameral body called the "Legislature" but whose members refer to themselves as "senators") have a senate. There is also the US Senate at the federal level. Similarly in Argentina, in addition to the Senate at federal level, eight of the country's provinces, Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Corrientes, Entre Ríos, Mendoza, Salta, San Luis (since 1987) and Santa Fe, have bicameral legislatures with a Senate. Córdoba and Tucumán changed to unicameral systems in 2001 and 2003 respectively. In Australia and Canada, only the upper house of the federal parliament is known as the Senate. All Australian states other than Queensland have an upper house known as a Legislative council. Several Canadian provinces also once had a Legislative Council, but these have all been abolished, the last being Quebec's Legislative council in 1968. In Germany, the last Senate of a State parliament, the Senate of Bavaria, was abolished in 1999. Senate membership can be determined either through elections or appointments. For example, elections are held every three years for half the membership of the Senate of the Philippines, the term of a senator being six years. In contrast, members of the Canadian Senate are appointed by the Governor General upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Canada, holding the office until they resign, are removed, or retire at the mandatory age of 75. 11. Which of the following statement about Senate is true according to the passage?
A、The first Senate originated from Greece.
B、Senate is always known as the lower house with a larger membership.
C、All states of the US have a Senate.
D、Senate members are selected through elections or appointments.
The U.S. Congress
Composition of the U.S. Congress
The U.S. Congress is the legislative branch of the Federal Government. It is a bicameral (两院制的 ) law-making body of more than 500 members. Its two chambers are respectively called the House of Representatives and the Senate. The American two-house legislature, a product of the compromise between big states and small ones, embodies the American principle of balances and checks. All bills must carry both houses before becoming law.
The Membership and Election of Both Chambers
The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Congress. The membership of the House is distributed among the states according to their different populations. Since 1910, the House has had a permanent membership of 435, with each representative representing about half a million Americans. Under the principle that each state is guaranteed at least one representative, Nevada, a state with a small population, sends only one representative to the House. California has more than 40 Representatives in the House because of its large population.
The election of Representatives is organized by the state legislature which divides the state into a number of districts known as Congressional districts. Each district, with a population of nearly half a million, elects one Representative to the House. A Representative's term of office is set at two years, but there is no limit to the number of his terms. A new Representative can hardly feel easy about his position. Hardly has he begun his work in the Congress when he finds it's time for him to seek re-election.
The Senate is the upper house of the US Congress. Representation in the Senate is based on the principle of state equality. The Senate is comprised of 100 Senators, two from each of the fifty states. Senators have been directly elected by voters of their respective states since 1913. Their term of office is six years. A Senator must be at least thirty years of age and a citizen for nine years.
Senators with Greater Prestige
Generally speaking, Senators are accorded greater prestige than their colleagues in the lower house. Many Representatives aspire to win the election to the Senate. Senators derive their prestige from the following facts. They are less numerous, for there are fewer than one-fourth as many Senators as Representatives, or Congressmen. Elected by the whole state instead of a single congressional district, most Senators represent more constituents than do House members. They are less worried by the problem of seeking re-electives. What's more, the Senate is vested with special powers which it does not share with the House. It has the power to ratify or deny proposed treaties, nominations proposed by the President. In line with the tradition of "senatorial courtesy," the Senate always rejects a nominee who is objected to by a Senator of the state from which he comes.
It won't do to neglect the importance of the Senate in foreign affairs. Without its cooperation and support, the President can hardly take any significant action in foreign relations. A Secretary of State on good terms with the Senators is always important for the President. Foreign countries must try to establish good relations with the US Senate if they intend to make a bargain with the United States.
The Work of the Two Chambers
The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice President who functions as a kind of chairman when the Senate is in session. The chief spokesman of the House is known as the speaker who is the leader of the majority party in the House. The Speaker is the most influential figure in the House because he directs his party's forces in legislative battles.
Leaders of Both Parties
Both parties have their leaders in the Congress, who are known as floor leaders.
Floor leaders are elected by their res
A.Y
B.N
C.NG
7. House of Representatives House of Representatives, one of the two houses of the bicameral United States Congress, established in 1789 by the Constitution of the United States. The House of Representatives shares equal responsibility for lawmaking with the U.S. Senate. As conceived by the framers of the Constitution, the House was to represent the popular will, and its members were to be directly elected by the people. In contrast, members of the Senate were appointed by the states until the ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment (1913), which mandated the direct election of senators. Each state is guaranteed at least one member of the House of Representatives. The allocation of seats is based on the population within the states, and membership is reapportioned every 10 years, following the decennial census. House members are elected for two-year terms from single-member districts of approximately equal population. The constitutional requirements for eligibility for membership of the House of Representatives are a minimum age of 25 years, U.S. citizenship for at least seven years, and residency of the state from which the member is elected, though he need not reside in the constituency that he represents. The House of Representatives originally comprised 59 members. The number rose following the ratification of the Constitution by North Carolina and Rhode Island in 1790; the first Congress (1789–91) adjourned with 65 representatives. By 1912 membership had reached 435. Two additional representatives were added temporarily after the admission of Alaska and Hawaii as states in 1959, but at the next legislative apportionment, membership returned to 435, the number authorized by a law enacted in 1941. The House of Representatives has two main duties: making laws and scrutinizing the work of the Government. The main task of the Senate is considering bills approved by the House of Representatives. The Senate makes only limited use of its right to scrutinize the work of the Government. Both chambers together constitute the States-General (the Parliament). The Government is obliged to provide both chambers with the necessary information, so as to enable Parliament to scrutinize the work of the Government properly. This obligation is laid down in the Constitution. The most significant role in the House of Representatives is that of speaker of the House. This individual, who is chosen by the majority party, presides over debate, appoints members of select and conference committees, and performs other important duties; speakers are second in the line of presidential succession (following the vice president). 13. Based on a law enacted in 1941, the number of House of Representatives was set as_____?
A、59
B、65
C、435
D、100
The panel—called the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States—was set up by the National Defense Authorization Act of 1997 and first met in January 1998. Its nine policymakers; technologists, and senior military officials had "unprecedented access to the most sensitive and highly classified information," said panel chairperson Donald Rumsfield, a former secretary of defense, at a press conference here. The panel found that liberalized export controls, increased international exchanges of students and scientific personnel, and leaks of classified information have resulted in "massive technology transfer" both from developed nations to rogue nations and between those countries themselves. Moreover, potential aggressors could minimize the technical challenge by settling for missiles with limited accuracy or reliability.
The report warns that nations with Scud missile technology, such as Iran, could test a long-range missile within about 5 years from deciding to pursue such a program. North Korea also has the technology for producing biological weapons, the panel noted. Test flights of their missiles that would be able to reach parts of Hawaii and Alaska could take place within 6 months of a decision. Because of the United Nations arms inspections, however, Iraq is lagging behind and would take 10 years from initiating an effort to posing a missile threat to the United States.
Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich called the report "the most important warning about our national security since the end of the Cold War," and urged the establishment of a bipartisan, bicameral committee to work with the Administration to decide: future policy. A White House spokesperson was noncommittal, saying that the report's recommendations on intelligence analysis would be taken into account, but that the administration stood by its March intelligence assessment. That report concluded that it is unlikely that countries other than Russia, China, or North Korea could deploy a ballistic missile capable of reaching any part of the United States before 2010.
The U.S. intelligence community and the Clinton Administration think that______
A.the U.S. will not be attacked by missile in the near future
B.other countries may attack the U.S. with missile right after they declare war
C.the U.S. may haw a sudden missile attack
D.the U.S. will never be attacked by missile
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