Section A: Banked Cloze
Directions: In this section, there is a passage with ten blanks. You are required to select one word for each blank from a list of choices given in a word bank following the passage. Read the passage through carefully before making your choices. Each choice in the bank is identified by a letter. Please mark the corresponding letter for each item on Answer Sheet 2 with a single line through the centre. You may not use any of the words in the bank more than once.
The slow progress of women in elective office is frustrating for some political observers and experts — including myself. Achieving gender equality in Congress is an important goal. This is because the number of women involved in legislative decisions has significant (26) ______ for all the policies that governments (27) ______. Female legislators are more likely than men to introduce, speak about and work to pass policies that disproportionately affect women and girls, such as paid family leave, pay (28) ______ and gender-based violence.
Having more women in Congress also fosters a greater sense of connection between female voters and government. In addition, it (29) ______ women’s sense that government cares about their concerns and inspires young women to become more politically engaged.
While women are underrepresented in governments around the globe it is a particularly (30) ______ problem in the United States. Currently, the U.S. ranks 73rd in the world when it comes to female representation in government.
But the reason women are so (31) ______ underrepresented in U.S. government is not because they face resistance from voters or struggle to raise money. On the contrary, decades of research shows that female candidates raise as much money and win as often as male politicians with similar (32) ______.
Rather the slow progress of women in politics is a tale of two political parties. In the next Congress, there will be 107 female Democratic lawmakers and 42 female Republican lawmakers in the Senate and House combined.
In order for women to gain half of the seats in Congress, more women need to run, (33) ______ on Republican tickets. This will require the Republican Party as a whole to (34) ______ recruiting women — and not just for one election cycle but in a (35) ______ way.
Answers & Explanations (答案与解析)
Section A: Banked Cloze
26. B (consequences)。解析：空格在形容词
significant 之后，作谓语动词 has 的宾语，需要填入名词。句意：“参与立法决策的女性人数对于政府……的所有政策都有重大______”。此处 consequences 意为“后果，影响”，符合语境。27. E (enact)。解析：空格位于定语从句
that governments ______ 中，充当谓语，需要填入动词原形。与政策（policies）搭配，表示“制定，通过”政策的词是 enact。28. F (equity)。解析：空格前是
pay（工资），并与 paid family leave 和 gender-based violence 并列，需要填入名词。pay equity 指“薪酬公平”，是社会政策中的常见术语，符合语境。29. A (bolsters)。解析：空格在主语
it 之后，需要填入动词的单三形式。句意：“此外，它______了女性认为政府关心她们诉求的感觉”。选项 bolsters 意为“增强，支持”，完美契合。30. I (formidable)。解析：空格修饰名词
problem，需要填入形容词。句意：“女性代表不足是全球性现象，但在美国是一个特别______的问题”。下一句提到美国排名第73位，说明问题很严重，formidable 意为“艰难的，严重的”，最合适。31. D (dramatically)。解析：空格修饰形容词
underrepresented，需要填入副词。句意：“但在美国政府中女性代表人数如此______不足的原因并不是选民阻力”。选项 dramatically 意为“戏剧性地，显著地”，加强了程度。32. C (credentials)。解析：空格在形容词
similar 之后，需要填入名词。句意：“女性候选人筹款和获胜的频率与具有相似______的男性政治家相当”。credentials 意为“资历，背景”，符合竞选语境。33. G (especially)。解析：空格位于
run（竞选）之后，修饰后续短语。前文提到民主党和共和党女性人数差异巨大（107 vs 42），因此需要更多女性竞选，尤其是（especially）代表共和党参选。34. L (prioritize)。解析：空格在
require sb. to ______ 结构中，需要填入动词原形。句意：“这将要求共和党作为一个整体来______招募女性工作”。选项 prioritize 意为“优先考虑”，最符合逻辑。35. N (sustained)。解析：空格修饰名词
way。句意：“不仅仅是为了一个选举周期，而是以一种______的方式”。破折号前后的对比说明这种招募必须是长期的，sustained 意为“持续的”，完美匹配。【核心搭配与高分句型】
elective office：民选公职（women in elective office）
legislative decisions：立法决策（involved in legislative decisions）
pay equity：薪酬公平（disproportionately affect women... such as pay equity）
on the contrary：相反地（On the contrary, decades of research shows...）
when it comes to：当谈到...时（when it comes to female representation）
prioritize doing sth.：优先处理某事（prioritize recruiting women）
全文翻译
女性在民选职位上的进展缓慢令一些政治观察家和专家——包括我自己——感到沮丧。在国会实现性别平等是一个重要的目标。这是因为参与立法决策的女性人数对政府制定的所有政策都有着重大的影响。女性立法者比男性更有可能提出、讨论并努力通过那些对妇女和女童影响尤为显著的政策，如带薪家庭假期、薪酬平等和基于性别的暴力。
国会有更多女性也促进了女性选民与政府之间更强的联系感。此外，它增强了女性对政府关心她们所关注的问题的感觉，并激励年轻女性更加积极地参与政治。
虽然女性在全球各国政府中的代表性都不足，但在美国这是一个尤为突出的问题。目前，就女性在政府中的代表性而言，美国在全球排名第73位。
但女性在美国政府中代表性如此严重不足的原因，并不是因为她们面临选民的抵制或是难以筹集资金。相反，几十年的研究表明，女性候选人与具有相似资历的男性政治家筹集的资金一样多，获胜的频率也一样高。
更确切地说，女性在政治上的进展缓慢是两个政党的故事。在下届国会中，参众两院合计将有107名民主党女性议员和42名共和党女性议员。
为了让女性在国会中获得一半的席位，需要有更多女性参选，尤其是在共和党选票上。这将需要共和党作为一个整体优先考虑招募女性——不是仅仅一个选举周期，而是以可持续的方式。