精听建议：

先完整地把一条新闻听一到三遍，争取掌握大意。然后，一句一句精听，力争每句话都听明白。遇到实在不懂的地方，再听写。

下面的文本材料中空缺部分里面要填的词都很简单，不过是一些值得注意的连读或者典型的美式发音哦，有些语速比较快。试试看，你能不能全部写对？

（参考文本，欢迎指出错误^^）

Lesson14 The Government of the United States
Washington, Lincoln, Eisenhower, Kennedy — some of the great names of American history, the names of her presidents.
These days, the American President is 1 the most powerful men in the world. He can make war, or peace. He can touch the lives of millions 2 different countries, but the President cannot do just what he wants. The Congress must agree first.
In some ways, the United States is like fifty small countries and not 3 . Every state has its own governor, its own police, and its own laws. For example, in some states you can buy an alcoholic drink when you are 18. In others, you must wait until you are 21.
The government of the whole country (the 'federal' government) works from Washington, the capital city. This is where Congress is based. Congress has two parts, the Senate, and the House of Representatives. There are 100 members of the Senate (called Senators), two from each state. The President cannot act without the Senate's agreement. The House of Representatives has 4 members. Like the senators, they can make new laws.
Americans choose a new President every four years. The election is a great 5 . It is serious business, of course, but the Americans make sure that it is fun too.