Culture cannot be simply a matter of politics, of course. [1] Politics, after all, is concerned with influencing the institutions of the state and these are of limited use in affecting the culture. Not even the totalitarian state has been able to achieve the cultural goals it set itself, the democratic state is an even less likely agent of cultural change, and indeed, in the American tradition of democracy, it should not aim to be that. Consequently, a cultural agenda cannot be a political agenda only. It will have to be pursued in many different institutions, most importantly in the institutions of civil society. All the same, every one of the major cultural issues is also a political issue, because of the way in which the immense powers of the state have been used to promote various ideological purposes. The courts have played a quite deplorable role in this. [2] Not surprisingly, then touch of American politics in recent decades has been over the so-called “social” or “values” issues, which in effect are cultural issues. That is, these issues have involved conflicts over the questions of who we are and how we are to live together.
[3] The dynamics of the two-party system has been very unhelpful in the search for viable positions on the middle ground. [4] Since the early nineteen-seventies the Democratic Party has almost completely identified itself with the agenda of the cultural Left (considerably less so with other Left positions, such as those on economic or foreign policy). Given the importance of highly organized pressure groups, especially in the primary process, the captivity of the Democratic Party to the culture of “the sixties” has been massive. The Republican picture is hardly more encouraging. An increasingly vocal segment of that party’s constituency has taken radically anti-“progressive” positions on the cultural issues. And again, these groups have had an influence far beyond their numerical strength because of their strategic role in the mechanics of elections, especially on tile primary level. [5] Consequently, individuals taking less than “politically correct” positions, as defined by the respective orthodoxies, have found themselves to be pariahs in either party. It is safe to assume that both Democratic and Republican leaders have catered to these polarized groupings in a more or less cynical manner. [6] Thus, for instance, traditionally Democratic labor officials are not very credible when they express enthusiasm for gay rights, neither are “country-club” Republicans when they voice outrage over abortion or the decline of sexual morality.
1. According to the passage, “every one of the major cultural issues is also a political issue” owing to the fact that _____.
2. The author deems that _____.
3. All of the following statements about the two-party system are implied in the passage EXCEPT that _____.
4. The passage is mainly concerned with _____.
5. The word “credible” in the last sentence probably means _____.
问题1选项
A.culture simply expresses itself as a matter of politics
B.culture plays different roles in different states
C.political parties use culture as a tool to promote their ideologies
D.politicians set cultural goals and thus change culture at their pleasure
问题2选项
A.American courts, in effect, serve the purpose of democracy
B.“social” or “value” issues in recent decades are no more than culture issues
C.culture influences the institutions of the state
D.a cultural agenda simply reflects the aims of the current administration
问题3选项
A.neither party objectively stands on the middle ground on cultural issues
B.either party rejects those who hold different political viewpoints
C.the Republican Party has been identified as the right-wing party
D.both Democratic and Republican leaders are hypocritical in promoting cultural progress
问题4选项
A.the operation of the two-party system
B.culture in a political sense
C.culture in different institutions
D.cultural agenda of the two parties
问题5选项
A.deserving to be believed
B.deserving praise or approval
C.capable of being realized
D.capable of being respected
第1题:C
第2题:B
第3题:C
第4题:B
第5题:A
第1题:
【选项释义】
According to the passage, “every one of the major cultural issues is also a political issue” owing to the fact that _____. 根据这篇文章，“每一个主要的文化问题也是一个政治问题”，因为_____。
A. culture simply expresses itself as a matter of politics A. 文化只是把自己表达成一个政治问题
B. culture plays different roles in different states B. 文化在不同的国家扮演着不同的角色
C. political parties use culture as a tool to promote their ideologies C. 政党利用文化作为宣传其意识形态的工具
D. politicians set cultural goals and thus change culture at their pleasure D. 政治家们设定文化目标，从而随心所欲地改变文化
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到第一段第六句“然而每一项重大文化问题（cultural issues）同时又是政治问题，因为在促进实现各种意识形态目标（various ideological purposes）时都有强大国家权力的使用”可知，答案C恰是这一观点句的正确表述。故选C项。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“文化只是把自己表达成一个政治问题”不符合原文第一段第一句“当然，文化不仅仅是一个政治问题（cannot be simply a matter of politics）”，属于曲解原文；
B选项“文化在不同的国家扮演着不同的角色”原文没有提及，属于无中生有；
D选项“政治家们设定文化目标，从而随心所欲地改变文化”原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第2题:
【选项释义】
The author deems that _____. 作者认为_____。
A. American courts, in effect, serve the purpose of democracy A. 实际上，美国法院是为民主服务的
B. “social” or “value” issues in recent decades are no more than culture issues B. 近几十年来，“社会”或“价值”问题无非是文化问题
C. culture influences the institutions of the state C. 文化影响国家的制度
D. a cultural agenda simply reflects the aims of the current administration D. 文化议程只是反映了现政府的目标
【考查点】事实细节题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第一段倒数第二句“那么近几十年来美国政治大多是关于所谓的社会或价值问题（social or values issues），其实是文化问题（cultural issues）”，所以选项B符合原文。
【干扰项排除】
A选项“实际上，美国法院是为民主服务的”，与原文第一段倒数第三句“法院（courts）在这方面扮演了一个相当可悲的（deplorable）角色”不符，属于曲解原文；
C选项“文化影响国家的制度”，与原文第一段第二句“政治（Politics）毕竟与影响国家制度（institutions of the state）相关联，而这些制度对文化的影响是有限的（limited）”不符，属于曲解原文；
D选项“文化议程只是反映了现政府的目标”原文没有提及，属于无中生有。
第3题:
【选项释义】
All of the following statements about the two-party system are implied in the passage EXCEPT that _____. 关于两党制的下列所有陈述都隐含在文章中，除了_____。
A. neither party objectively stands on the middle ground on cultural issues A. 在文化问题上，两党都没有站在客观的中间立场
B. either party rejects those who hold different political viewpoints B. 两党都拒绝持有不同政治观点的人
C. the Republican Party has been identified as the right-wing party C. 共和党被认定为右翼政党
D. both Democratic and Republican leaders are hypocritical in promoting cultural progress D. 民主党和共和党领导人在推动文化进步方面都是虚伪的
【考查点】推理判断题。
【解题思路】根据题干定位到原文第二段第一句“两党制的动态性对于寻找可行的中间立场（positions on the middle ground）一直毫无作用（unhelpful）”可知，选项A符合原文；根据第二段的倒数第三句“因此，那些持被各正统学说定义为非正确政治立场的个人（individuals taking less than ‘politically correct’ positions）已经发现自己在两党中的任何一派中都处于底层地位（pariahs in either party）”可知，选项B符合原文；根据第二段的倒数第二句“可以毫无顾虑地说，两党派的领导们或多或少地都以自私自利的态度（more or less cynical manner）来迎合这些极端的群体”可知，选项D符合原文。所以除了C选项，其他文章都提到了。
【干扰项排除】
A、B、D选项属于反向干扰。
第4题:
【选项释义】
The passage is mainly concerned with _____. 这篇文章主要是关于_____。
A. the operation of the two-party system A. 两党制的运作
B. culture in a political sense B. 政治意义上的文化
C. culture in different institutions C. 不同机构的文化
D. cultural agenda of the two parties D. 双方的文化议程
【考查点】主旨大意题。
【解题思路】文章主要是围绕政治意义上的文化问题这一中心展开了全面详细的论述，所以选项B符合。
【干扰项排除】
A、C、D选项不符合文章主旨，属于曲解原文。
第5题:
【选项释义】
The word “credible” in the last sentence probably means _____. 最后一句中的credible可能指_____。
A. deserving to be believed A. 值得相信的
B. deserving praise or approval B. 值得表扬或赞许的
C. capable of being realized C. 能够实现的
D. capable of being respected D. 能够被尊重的
【考查点】词义推测题。
【解题思路】根据关键词credible定位到原文最后一段最后一句“因此，当传统的民主党劳工官员热衷于为同性恋者争取权利的时候，就显得不是……同样，当乡村俱乐部共和党人表达对堕胎或性道德堕落的愤怒时，也……”结合选项，可知A符合语境。
【干扰项排除】
B、C、D选项不符合词义，属于曲解原文。
