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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] was not asked 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 brain" implies  .

[A] New Hampshire pays too much attention to presidential races
[B] 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

答案：A D C B D

题目分析

16．答案为A，属推理判断题。对他的名字已经比较熟悉了。文章第一段中提到"和富有美丽的总统初选相比，在New Hampshire的州选举中，投票人对那些他们不认识的名字没有任何兴趣。而这就是之所以Tom Alciere去年参选获胜的缘故——他曾好几次落选公职。但那次他获得了55票而获胜。"答案A"经过他几次的参选，人们记住了他的名字"，答案B"他非常有魅力，给他的人民以魅力四射的震颤"，答案C"他赞成杀死警察"，答案D"他常常在投票名单上是最后一个".

17．答案为D，属推理判断题。文章第二段Mr. Alciere在选举中只是许诺为个人而奋斗，并未提到警察什么的，其实我们可以从文章分析出来，不是当时别人没有问他，而是他心里明白那会引起什么反应。答案A"宣布所有警察该死"，答案B"在广播脱口秀中发表愤怒"，答案C"从未被问起过关于警察的事"，答案D"和他的选民玩心计".

18．答案为C，属事实细节题。答案C"他污蔑他的选民只是为了引起人们的注意"，文中并没有这一点意思。答案A"许多选民在政府中有一定的声望"，答案B"记者对他仇恨警察这件事并不以为然"，答案D"’那些所谓愚蠢、肥胖、丑陋的老女人’在社会上还是有一定市场的".

19．答案为B，属推理判断题。文章第四段提到"无脑恐龙"是New Hampshire对政府蔑视的象征。说明人们不知乎本地政府的运作。答案A"New Hampshire给予总统选举太多的注意力"，答案B"关于人们对本州立法机构的运作的漠不关心"，答案C"一些人想和Alciere一样尖刻"，答案D"立法机构成员有精神问题".

　　20．答案为D，属推理判断题。文章最后一段提到Alciere的8项提议被通过后，他才辞职。答案A"拒绝离开"，答案B"永不付单"，答案C"被反对派领导驱逐下台"，答案D"Alciere辞职了，但新任者需要有一些妥协".