【正文】 n news has been crafted by politicians, their speechwriters, and their public relations advisers for televised consumption. Sound bites in news and answers to questions in debates increasingly sound like advertisements. 10. What is the main point of the passage? (A) Citizens in the United States are now more informed about political issues because of television coverage. (B) Citizens in the United States prefer to see politicians on television instead of in person. (C) Politics in the United States has bee substantially more controversial since the introduction of television. (D) Politics in the United States has been significantly changed by television. 11. The word disseminated in line 2 is closest in meaning to (A) analyzed (B) discussed (C) spread (D) stored 12. It can be inferred that before the introduction of television, political parties (A) had more influence over the selection of political candidates (B) spent more money to promote their political candidates (C) attracted more members (D) received more money 13. The word accelerated in line 6 is closest in meaning to (A) allowed (B) increased (C) required (D) started 14. The author mentions the stump speech in line 8 as an example of (A) an event created by politicians to attract media attention (B) an interactive discussion between two politicians (C) a kind of political presentation typical of the nieenth century (D) a style of speech mon to televised political events 15. The phrase given way to in line 10 is closest in meaning to (A) added interest to (B) modified (C) imitated (D) been replaced by 16. The word that in line 12 refers to (A) audience (B) broadcast news (C) politician 14 (D) advertisement 17. According to the passage, as pared with televised speeches, traditional political discourse was more successful at (A) allowing news coverage of political candidates (B) placing political issues within a historical context (C) making politics seem more intimate to citizens (D) providing detailed information about a candidates private behavior 18. The author states that politicians assert but do not argue (line 18) in order to suggest that politicians (A) make claims without providing reasons for the claims (B) take stronger positions on issues than in the past (C) enjoy explaining the issue to broadcasters (D) dislike having to explain their own positions on issues to citizens 19. The word Reliance in line 21 is closest in meaning to (A) abundance (B) clarification (C) dependence (D) information 20. The purpose of paragraph 4 is to suggest that (A) politicians will need to learn to bee more personal when meeting citizens (B) politicians who are considered very attractive are favored by citizens over politicians who are less attractive (C) citizens tend to favor a politician who analyzed the issue over one who does not (D) citizens will need to learn how to evaluate visual political images in order to bee better informed 21. According to paragraph 5, staged political events are created so that politicians can (A) create more time to discuss political issues (B) obtain more television coverage for themselves (C) spend more time talking to citizens in person (D) engages in debates with their opponents 22. Which of the following statements is supported by the passage? (A) Political presentations today are more like advertisements than in the past. (B) Politicians today tend to be more familiar with the views of citizens than in the past. (C) Citizens today are less informed about a politician39。s character than in the past. (D) Political speeches today focus more on details about issues than in the past. Questions 2333 The spectacular aurora light displays that appear in Earth39。s atmosphere around the north and south magic poles were once mysterious phenomena. Now, scientists have data from satellites and groundbased observations from which we know that the aurora brilliance is an immense electrical discharge similar to that occurring in a (5) neon sign. To understand the cause of auroras, first picture the Earth enclosed by its magosphere, a huge region created by the Earth39。s magic field. Outside the 15 magosphere, blasting toward the earth is the solar wind, a swiftly moving plasma of ionized gases with its own magic filed. Charged particles in this solar wind speed (10) earthward along the solar wind39。s magic lines of force with a spiraling motion. The Earth39。s magosphere is a barrier to the solar winds, and forces the charged particles of the solar wind to flow around the magosphere itself. But in the polar regions, the magic lines of force of the Earth and of the solar wind bunch together. Here many of the solar wind39。s charged particles break through the magosphere and enter Earth39。s (15) magic field. They then spiral back and forth between the Earth39。s magic poles very rapidly. In the polar regions, electrons from the solar wind ionize and excite the atoms and molecules of the upper atmosphere, causing them to emit aurora radiations of visible light. The colors of an aurora depend on the atoms emitting them. The dominant greenish (20) white light es from low energy excitation of oxygen atoms. During huge magic storms oxygen atoms also undergo high energy excitation and emit a crimson light. Excited nitrogen atoms contribute bands of color varying from blue to violet. Viewed from outer space, auroras can be seen as dimly glowing belts wrapped around each of the Earth39。s magic poles. Each aurora hangs like a curtain of light (25) stretching over the polar regions and into the higher latitudes. When the solar flares that result in magic storms and aurora activity are very intense, aurora displays may extend as far as the southern region