托福 新托福 56 - Representative Government in Colonial North America
题目
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
9.The word "absurd” in the passage is closest in meaning to
  • A.dangerous
  • B.illegal
  • C.inefficient
  • D.ridiculous
  • 正确答案:
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    阅读原文 中文译文

    Before 1750, colonists in North America had ittle occasion to think of themselves as a distinct people. There was no American government, no single political organization in which all the colonies joined to manage their common concerns. There was not even a wish for such an organization except among a few eccentric individuals. America, to the people who lived in it, was stilla geographic region, not a frame of mind.

    Asked about nationality, the typical American colonist of 1750 would have said English or British. In spite of substantial numbers of Dutch, Germans, and Scotch-lrish, English people and English institutions prevailed in every colony, and most colonists spoke of England as home even though they had never been there. Yet no American institutions were quite like their counterparts in England; the heritage of English ideas that went with these institutions was So rich and varied that colonists were able to select and develop those that best suited their situation and forget others that meanwhile were growing prominent in the mother country. This variety sometimes led to regional differences: in some ways New Englanders were set off from Virginians even more than from people in England. But some ideas, institutions, and attitudes became common in all the colonies and remained uncommon in England. Although colonial Englishmen were not yet aware that they shared these Americanisms with one another or that English people in England did not share them, many of the characteristic ideas and attitudes that later distinguished United States nationalism were already present by the mid-eighteenth century.

    English people brought with them to the New World the political ideas that still give English and American government a close resemblance. But American colonists very early developed conceptions of representative government that differed from those in England. Representative government in England originated in the Middle Ages, when the king called for men to advise him. They were chosen by their neighbors and informed the king of his subjects' wishes. Eventually, their advice became SO compelling that the king could not reject it, and the representatives of the people, organized as a legislature known as the House of Commons, became the most powerful branch of the English government.

    At first, the House of Commons consisted of representatives from each county, or shire, and from selected boroughs. Over the centuries many of these boroughs became ghost towns with only a handful of inhabitants, and great towns sprang up where none had existed before. Yet the old boroughs continued to send members to the House of Commons, and the new towns sent none. Moreover, only a fraction of the English population could participate even in county elections. In order to vote, a man had to own property that would, if rented, yield him at least 40 shillings yearly. Few could meet the test. A number of English people thought the situation absurd and said so. But nothing was done to improve it; in fact, a theory was devised to justify it. A member of the House of Commons, it was said, represented not the people who chose him but the whole country, and he was not responsible for any particular constituency. Not all Englishmen could vote for representatives, but all were virtually represented by every member of the Commons.

    The assemblies of American colonial representatives were more democratic. Although every colony had property qualifications for voting, probably the great majority of adult white males owned enough land to meet them. Moreover, the system for apportioning representation was more balanced. New England colonies gave every town the right to send delegates to the legislature. Outside New England, the unit of representation was usually the county. The political organization of new counties and the extension of representation seldom kept pace with the rapid advance of settlement westward, but nowhere was representation So uneven or irrational as in England.

    American colonists knew nothing of virtual representation. A colonial representative was supposed to be an agent of the people who chose him. He was supposed to look after their interests first and those of the colony second. In New England, where town meetings could be called at any time, people often gathered to tell their delegate how to vote on a particular issue.

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    最新提问
    • wx_6697
      觉得B C 意思一样,不知道选哪个
    • wx_5576
      这道题C为什么对,E为什么不对?
    • wx_5576
      B为什么不能选啊?
    • wx_6697
      TPO30 passage 2 Q5我选的 D,不明白为啥不对?
    • wx_6697
      鑫哥,TPO6passage3Q5 答案是给错了吗?好多人都选A
    • wx_6697
      这题也很容易选错选成了D
    • wx_6697
      这道题A为什么错了
    • 芊儿
      为什么这道题不选c??a中的variety不是应该对应文中的differentiating 吗??求解!
    • wx_1000
      这道题不选E是因为太细节了吗
    • 王金阁
      这个题为什么不选C啊。。。
    • 芊儿
      这道题的D选项不是和文中的better able to reproduce in open settings相对应么??
    • 风荨火
      有大佬解释一下这个为啥选D嘛?
    • 以沫
      请问这个D 在哪里提现?为什么D错?
    • 芊儿
      第六题 的C选择为什么不对,感觉A是明显驳斥啊...
    • wx_6697
      鑫哥,这道题D是从哪里看出来的
    • wx_6697
      这题选的A,根据是Joly’s calculations clearly supported those geologists who insisted on an age for Earth far in excess of a few million years.想问鑫哥为啥不选A
    • wx_6697
      这题我选的是C依据是into a new habitat outside of its natural range, it may adapt to the new environment and leave its enemies behind.C为啥错了呢?鑫哥
    • wx_8861
      F选项的weather-related destruction在哪里体现了呢?原文最后一段的开头Among the costs里的costs是不是打错了?应该是coast?
    • wx_6697
      求问这道题B为啥不选,原文依据:viable seeds of pioneer species can be found in large numbers on some forest floors.
    • 与托福的斗争史
      与托福的斗争史 去解答 去解答
      这题为什么选C?
    • 小雨淅沥哗啦的下
      小雨淅沥哗啦的下 去解答 去解答
      B哪里错了
    • 小雨淅沥哗啦的下
      小雨淅沥哗啦的下 去解答 去解答
      B为啥不对
    • 李浩然
      B选项错误,是因为残缺么?
    • wx_100
      请问在做题的时候如何排除c呢。看了答案,感觉是该选a的,但是当时做题脑子一热,就特别钟爱c,也没看其他选项。。求敲醒。。
    • wx xxxxx
      请问鑫哥,这段开头有写As one pesticide replaces another为什么不是对应a new pesticide is developed?
    • wx_7695
      鑫哥,从哪里看出来这个masks 不是use呀,原文说了wear呀
    • haiyuqiao
      @鑫哥,这题the damage will continue 不应该对应前面的 the target species evolves resistance to it,然后As one pesticide replaces another,不应该是结束了time cycle 吗
    • wx_2065
      鑫哥,想知道E错在哪里?
    • wx_7695
      鑫哥,B选项 cannot extended to earlier geological periods. 原文说的意思是后来的进化无法估计吧
    • wx_2163
      B为什么不选
    • wx_7780
      鑫哥,这个哪里看不use了。BD是修饰错,C是无中生有,怎么能直接选出A?
    • 100
      看到第一句话,以为是中心句就选了A... 为什么不能选A呢
    • 100
      为什么选b?
    • gu33
      请问下 这里选D的原因是 因为 evolutionary approach 对应着 原文的 Rates of evolution 嘛? 这里我选了C。。不是很懂 插入句和 D的关系 求解答
    • 我是啦啦啦
      我是啦啦啦 去解答 去解答
      这个题A哪里错了?是因为主语不对吗?这个C比A多一步推理啊
    • haiyuqiao
      鑫哥,D选项里的19世纪出现了很多假设,原文中并没有提到啊
    • wx_7060
      为什么选a 呢。我觉得a是细节。F哪错了?
    • wx_1105
      我想问一下,这道题为什么不能选A呢?
    • wx_8122
      D为什么不选
    • wx_1655
      f选项哪里说了
    • chaulaw
      鑫哥,原文是below经济损害水平,D是一触发经济损害就用,这也对吗?
    • chaulaw
      interclan婚姻是对的吗?不是只在自己的family结婚扩大家族吗?
    • wx_6697
      鑫哥,这道题答案是不是错了,好多人选D 我也选的D求解答
    • wx_6697
      这道题应该是一道易错题,每个选项的都有,然而我选的A错了,求解
    • wx_6697
      鑫哥,这题的C是怎么得到的?B也没有找到啊?难道不是应该选B
    • wx_6697
      鑫哥,还有这个,好多人选A答案是不是错了
    • wx_6697
      求问D是从哪里得出来的,我选的B呀哎呀
    • wx_4185
      it is difficult to say how far they were intended to be portraits rather than generalized images 这句话怎么理解呢
    • 此楠楠
      请问下这个插入题怎么选的呢?
    • 此楠楠
      求鑫哥讲解下A选项。。。 Even though in error, Joly’s calculations clearly supported those geologists who insisted on an age for Earth far in excess of a few million years.