清華大學（後西醫）
111年
英文
第 39 題
📖 題組：
Reading 4
In analyzing the representation of white ethnic groups, it has been customary to use a framework I term responsive pluralism, which emphasizes the response of political elites to newly mobilized political forces that are demanding recognition. A key tenet of responsive pluralism is that all votes are equal and fungible. In other words, political elites---those with power---will entertain the possibility of a coalition with any group that possesses votes. In return for these votes, the elites will make available a stream of public goods in the form of patronage, symbolic recognition, and social services.
But for minorities, the situation is more complex and considerably less flattering to America’s preferred conception of its political traditions. Simply put, minorities have often faced constraints on their participation in the American polity due to their social and legal status. This situation has resulted in what I term stratified pluralism. As members of racial or other categories, they have often been defined out of the realm of full citizenship as it is usually understood in a democracy.
Blacks in particular could not vote for a long time so candidacies for office were not feasible. It was not until the democratic rights of citizenship were formally recognized by the polity that racial minorities could even compete as players in the electoral arena. Moreover, racism further hampered minority advancement even after the vote had been granted. In some cases, white voters simply refused to vote for minority candidates; in others, the elites themselves made it clear that they wished to limit or prevent minority representation. Minority votes were considered less desirable than white votes, and they were therefore less fungible as a commodity to be exchanged for public goods. Minorities were often incorporated into a dominant coalition only if a race-oriented agenda was abandoned by the minority leaders. As a consequence of stratified pluralism, widespread and efficacious minority officeholding has been the exception rather than the rule in U.S. history.
A group trying to elect representatives to office must use the electoral process to convert its demographic raw materials into positions of authority in government: in effect, the group tries to translate numbers into power. There is nothing automatic or mechanical about this process of conversion. It is conditioned by at least five distinct factors, each of which can intervene to prevent a group from being represented in office in relation to its proportion of the population: enfranchisement, mobilization, spatial concentration, favorable districts, and coalitions.
Reading 4
In analyzing the representation of white ethnic groups, it has been customary to use a framework I term responsive pluralism, which emphasizes the response of political elites to newly mobilized political forces that are demanding recognition. A key tenet of responsive pluralism is that all votes are equal and fungible. In other words, political elites---those with power---will entertain the possibility of a coalition with any group that possesses votes. In return for these votes, the elites will make available a stream of public goods in the form of patronage, symbolic recognition, and social services.
But for minorities, the situation is more complex and considerably less flattering to America’s preferred conception of its political traditions. Simply put, minorities have often faced constraints on their participation in the American polity due to their social and legal status. This situation has resulted in what I term stratified pluralism. As members of racial or other categories, they have often been defined out of the realm of full citizenship as it is usually understood in a democracy.
Blacks in particular could not vote for a long time so candidacies for office were not feasible. It was not until the democratic rights of citizenship were formally recognized by the polity that racial minorities could even compete as players in the electoral arena. Moreover, racism further hampered minority advancement even after the vote had been granted. In some cases, white voters simply refused to vote for minority candidates; in others, the elites themselves made it clear that they wished to limit or prevent minority representation. Minority votes were considered less desirable than white votes, and they were therefore less fungible as a commodity to be exchanged for public goods. Minorities were often incorporated into a dominant coalition only if a race-oriented agenda was abandoned by the minority leaders. As a consequence of stratified pluralism, widespread and efficacious minority officeholding has been the exception rather than the rule in U.S. history.
A group trying to elect representatives to office must use the electoral process to convert its demographic raw materials into positions of authority in government: in effect, the group tries to translate numbers into power. There is nothing automatic or mechanical about this process of conversion. It is conditioned by at least five distinct factors, each of which can intervene to prevent a group from being represented in office in relation to its proportion of the population: enfranchisement, mobilization, spatial concentration, favorable districts, and coalitions.
Which of the following is most likely to be considered by the author as in line with "America's preferred conception of its political traditions"?
- A Minorities have often faced constraints on their participation in the American polity.
- B Widespread and efficacious officeholding has remained difficult for white ethnic groups.
- C Political elites would respond to the demand of minorities in exchange for political donations.
- D All votes are equal and fungible.
- E Newly mobilized political forces are rarely granted the possibility of recognition they demand.
思路引導 VIP
請注意第二段開頭的轉折詞「But」，作者說少數族裔的處境「不如美國理想中的政治傳統那般美好」，這暗示了哪一個段落所描述的現象，才真正符合美國人心中「美好的政治傳統」呢？
🤖
AI 詳解
AI 專屬家教
段落轉折與概念對比
太棒了，你的閱讀敏銳度非常高，精準選出了正確答案 (D)！這道題目具有相當高的鑑別度，因為題幹詢問的關鍵句出現在第二段開頭，但真正的答案線索其實隱藏在第一段的對比架構中。 我們來看第二段首句：「但對少數群體而言，情況更為複雜，且遠不如美國對其政治傳統的偏好設想那般美好（less flattering to America’s preferred conception...）。」句首的 But 是解題關鍵，代表前一段所描述的「回應式多元主義（responsive pluralism）」正是美國人理想中美好的政治傳統。因此，回到第一段尋找該理論的核心原則，就能發現「所有選票皆平等且具可替代性（fungible）」正是其主張，完美對應選項 (D)。
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