《英美报刊文章阅读》第三版课件---第十四课.ppt

Lesson Fourteen-------------------------------Star Wars: The Next Version The New York Times, May 4, 2004  Part I. The U.S. President Election Elections for President and Vice President of the United States are indirect elections in which voters cast ballots for a slate of electors of the U.S. Electoral College, who in turn directly elect the President and Vice President. They occur quadrennially (every four years, since beginning with the year 1792) on Election Day, the Tuesday between November 2nd and 8th. The most recent election occurred on November 4, 2008, with the next one scheduled for November 6, 2012. Part I. The U.S. President Election Under the U.S. Constitution, the popular vote on Election Day is conducted by the various states and not directly by the federal government. Once chosen, the electors can vote for anyone, but —- with rare exceptions like an unpledged elector or faithless elector —- they vote for their designated candidates and their votes are certified by Congress in early January. The Congress is the final judge of the electors; the last serious dispute was in United States presidential election, 2000, in which the democractic nomanee, Al. Gore outnumered George W. Bush by 337.576 popular votes, but was defeated by the latter who got 271 elecoral voted, 4 more than the former. Part I. The U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election. Each of the 435 members of the House of Representatives represents a district and serves a two-year term. House seats are apportioned among the states by population. The 100 Senators serve staggered six-year terms. Each state has two senators, regardless of population. Every two years, approximately one-third of