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. On In order for women to gain half of the seats in Congress, more women need to run, 33 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.

A) bolsters

B) consequences

C) credentials

D) dramatically

E) enact

F) equity

G) especially

H) evasively

I) formidable

J) impetus

K) lavish

L) prioritize

M) suffices

N) sustained

O) tenured

答案解析：

此句中“the number of women...”是主语，“has”是谓语，“significant___”是宾语，“for all the policies”是状语。空格处需要一个名词作宾语。空格所在句句意：参与立法决策的女性数量对政府实施的所有政策都有重大的____。结合语境，这里说的是女性参与立法决策对政策有重大影响，“consequences”(结果;影响)符合，选 B。更多真题请微信搜索英语巴士小程序。

“that governments ___”是定语从句，修饰先行词“policies”，空格处需要一个动词，且与“policies”搭配。空格所在句句意：女性参与立法决策的数量对政府实施的所有政策都有重大影响。“enact”有“实施;颁布”的意思，“governments enact policies”表示政府实施政策，选 E。

这里列举了一些政策，空格处需要一个名词，与“paid family leave”和“gender - based violence”并列。空格所在句句意：例如带薪家庭假、薪酬____和基于性别的暴力。“equity”表示“公平;公正”，“pay equity”即薪酬公平，符合语境，选 F。

此句中“it”是主语，“women's sense”是宾语，空格处需要一个动词作谓语。空格所在句句意：此外，它____女性认为政府关心她们的关切这种意识。“bolsters”有“增强;支持”的意思，“bolsters women's sense”即增强女性的这种意识，选 A。

空格位于主句中，主句为简单的主系表结构，表语即a aprticularly ___ problem，可知空格处需要一个形容词修饰“problem”。空格所在句句意：虽然全球各国政府中女性代表不足，但在美国这是一个特别____的问题。“formidable”表示“艰巨的;难对付的”，“a particularly formidable problem”即一个特别艰巨的问题，符合语境，选 I。

空格位于the reason 的定语从句中，so ___ underrepresented 在从句中作表语，空格处需要一个副词修饰“underrepresented”。空格所在句句意：但女性在美国政府中代表如此____不足的原因并不是……。“dramatically”表示“显著地;极大地”，“dramatically underrepresented”即显著地代表不足，选 D。

空格在形容词 “similar” 之后，需要一个名词或动名词，与“similar”搭配。空格所在句句意：相反，几十年的研究表明，女性候选人与具有相似____的男性政治家筹集的资金一样多，获胜的频率也一样高。“credentials”表示“资格;资历”，“with similar credentials”即具有相似资历，选 C。

空格所在句主干部分结构完整，___ on Republican tickets y应作状语，修饰need，故空格处需要一个副词。空格所在句句意： 为了让女性获得国会一半的席位，需要有更多女性参选，尤其是在共和党的候选人名单上。especially (尤其是)符合句意，所以选G。

这里需要一个动词，与“to”构成不定式，作“require”的宾语补足语。空格所在句句意：这就要求共和党作为一个整体____招募女性。“prioritize”表示“优先处理;把……列为优先事项”，“prioritize recruiting women”即优先招募女性，选 L。

空格在冠词 “a” 和名词 “way” 之间，需要一个形容词修饰“way”。空格所在句句意：而不是只在一次选举周期中这样做，而是以一种____的方式。“sustained”表示“持续的;持久的”，“in a sustained way”即以一种持续的方式，选 N。