We have heard a good deal in recent years about the declining importance of the two major political parties. It is the mass media, we are told, that decide the outcome of elections, not the power of the parties. But it is worth noting that no independent or third-party candidate has won any important election in recent years, and in the last nationwide campaign, the two major parties raised and spent more money than ever before in support of their candidates and platforms. It seems clear that reports of the imminent demise of the two-party system are premature at best.

1. Which of the following is an assumption made in the argument above?
(A) The amount of money raised and spent by a political party is one valid criterion for judging the influence of the party.
(B) A significant increase in the number of third-party candidates would be evidence of a decline in the importance of the two major parties.
(C) The two-party system has contributed significantly to the stability of the American political structure.
(D) The mass media tend to favor an independent or third-party candidate over a candidate from one of the two major parties.
(E) The mass media are relatively unimportant in deciding the outcome of most elections.

2. Which of the following, if true, would most strengthen the argument above?
(A) The percentage of voters registered as independents is higher today than ever before.
(B) In a recent presidential campaign, for the first time ever, an independent candidate was invited to appear in a televised debate with the major-party candidates.
(C) Every current member of the U.S. Senate was elected as the candidate of one of the two major parties.
(D) In a recent opinion poll, most voters stated that a candidate’s party affiliation was an insignificant factor in judging his or her fitness for office.
(E) In the last four years, the outcome of several statewide elections has been determined by the strength of the third-party vote.

选a c

主要是题目没有看懂。。尤其是最后一句话，是说这两个party还不成熟吗？那它是从哪里推出来这样的结论的？

我觉得原文的意思是:最近我门听到了一些好消息就是两个主要的政党的重要性被削弱了,现在是大众来决定选举结果,而不是政党.但也不值得看中那些还没有独立的或第三党派的后选人已经赢得了重要的选举,而且在去年的全国活动中,两个主要的党派花了更多的钱来支持他们的后选人,结论:那些看起来很清楚的报道关于两个主要党派的让位还不成熟

我觉得最后一句不是说党派不成熟,是不第一句话现在说有点早

谢谢楼上的回复，我知道我在那里犯错误了。

我觉得题目的意思是：最近我们听到了一些消息就是两个主要的政党的重要性被削弱了,现在是大众来决定选举结果,而不是政党.但是值得注意的是：1（尽管两个当被削弱了）也没有第三个党派或个人在这几年赢得任何重要的选举。2而且在去年的全国选举中,两个主要的党派花了更多的钱来支持他们的后选人,结论:关于两个党派正被慢慢削弱的言论言之尚早。

作者从花了更多的钱推出言论言之尚早。所以选A

对就是这个意思,有些逻辑题,太TMD变态,只要你一个词没注意到理解意思就会不对,好在这里有好多高手帮忙指点,要不脑袋想暴了也不知道怎么回事,不过我也是菜鸟,以后还得互相学习