名校最新大学英语四级阅读精讲的系列讲义：(143)

　　There are two major parties in Britain today,the Conservative Party and the Labour Party,which have been in power by turns since 1945.The two party system of Britain was formed in the course of the development of the capitalist state and the political parties.In order to strengthen the state machine,the British bourgeosie have let it come into being and exist in one form or another form since the 17th century.P.S.Tregidgo once said: The more parties there are,the less likely it is that any one of them will be strong enough in Parliament to outvote all the others;but when there are only two,one of them is sure to have a majority o f seats.This helps to ensure a strong and stable government. This may be the reason why the British have the two party system.

　　The division into two parties grew out the establishment of a Protestant Church of England in the 16th century.Because of a purely religious difference of opinion,the Puritans were separated from the broad body of the Anglican Church.The non Puritan Anglicans were on the side of the King and Church,and their supporters were called by their opponents Tories. The Puritans were for Parliament and trade,and their supporters were called by the Tories Whigs .The Tories and the Whigs were in power a long time.In 1833,the Tory party split into two and its name was changed to Conservative.In the 1860s the Whigs became Liberals.From that time on,the Liberals and the Conservatives were in office by turns until 1922.The policies they put into effect were sometimes different,but they were both controlled by the rich.

　　The working class became more and more unwilling to follow the Conservatives and the Liberals.They wanted to have their own party.So the Labour party was formed by the trade unions.After 1922 the Labour Party gradually replaced the Liberal Party to become one of the two major parties in Great Britain.

　　1.What does it stand for in the third line?

　　A)The two party system. B)The state machine.

　　C)The Partiament. D)The capitalist state.

　　2.We can learn from what P.S Tregidgo once said that ____.

　　A)if there are parties in Britain,none of them will be strong enough to have con trol in the government

　　B)the more patients there are,the more likely it is that they will have the deci sive say in the government

　　C)the two party system contributes to the establishment of a powerful and long lasting government

　　D)if there are only two parties in Britain,it will be easy for the government to control them

　　3.What can we infer from the forming of the Tory Party and the Whig Party?

　　A)These two parties originally believed in different religions.

　　B)These two parties were established under the influence of different religious believes.

　　C)The British King and the Parliament supported different religions becaused they were for the two party system.

　　D)The British King and the Parliament were supported by different parties for political reasons.

　　4.According to the passage,why was the Labour Party established in Britain?

　　A)Because the trade unions did not do much good for the working people.

　　B)Because the Liberal Party were not strong enough to defeat the Conservative Party.

　　C)Because the working people would not like to be members outside the Liberal Party.

　　D)Because neither of the two major parties was the parties for the working people.

　　5.Which of the following is true concerning the Tory Party or the Whig Party?

　　A)The Whig Party no longer exists in Britain.

　　B)The Tory Party has kept its unity until the present day.

　　C)The Whig Party has taken the place of the Liberal Party.

　　D)The Tory Party has taken the place of the Conservative Party.

　　答案与解析：

　　1.A 本题要求读者指出第3行的 it 指代什么。A为两党制，B为国家机器，C为议会，D 为资本主义政府，从原文可知，资产阶级是为了强化国家机器，而让两党制形成并存在的。 故答案为A。

　　2.C 本题要求读者指出从P.S.特莱吉欧说的话中可得知什么。A意思是：如果英国有政党的话，哪个党也不能控制政府。B意思是：政党越多，他们就越有可能在政府中有决定性的发言权。C意思是：两党制有利于建立一个有力的持久的政府。D意思是：如果英国只有两个政党，政府会很容易控制他们。从原文可知，A，B，D都不符合原文，故正确答案为C。

　　3.B 本题要求读者指出从托利党和辉格党的形成可得出什么推论。A意思是：这两个党原来属于不同的宗教信仰。B意思是：这两个党是受不同的宗教信仰影响而建立起来的。C意思是：英国的国王和议会支持不同的宗教因为他们拥护两党制。D意思是：英国的国王和议会由于政治上的原因受不同的党派的支持。从原文可知，由于继宗教上的原因，英国国教分化为清教徒和非清教徒，这两支后来发展为辉格党和托利党。所以正确答案为B。

　　4.D 本题要求读者指出英国工党是为什么建立的。A意思是：因为工会没有为工人阶级谋多少利益。B意思是：因为自由党对抗不过保守党。C意思是：因为工人阶级不想成为自由党外的成员。D意思是：因为当时的两大政党都不代表工人阶级利益。从原文可知，工党的建立起因是工人阶级不愿受自由党和保守党的控制，且这两大党都是富人的党。所以正确答案为D。

　　5.A 本题要求读者指出关于托利党和辉格党的正确叙述。A意思是：在英国辉格党已经不存在了。B意思是：直到今天托利党还保持着完整统一。C意思是：辉格党取代了自由党。D 意思是：托利党取代了保守党。从原文可知，辉格党发展成后来的自由党，自由党又为工党 取代。所以正确答案为A。