②　But as recently as in 1968, jury selection procedures conflicted with these democratic ideals. In some states, for example, jury duty was limited to persons of supposedly superior intelligence, education, and moral character. Although the Supreme Court of the United States had prohibited intentional racial discrimination in jury selection as early as the 1880 case of Strauder v. West Virginia, the practice of selecting so-called elite or blue-ribbon juries provided a convenient way around this and other antidiscrimination laws.

③　The system also failed to regularly include women on juries until the mid-20th century. Although women first served on state juries in Utah in 1898, it was not until the 1940s that a majority of states made women eligible for jury duty. Even then several states automatically exempted women from jury duty unless they personally asked to have their names included on the jury list. This practice was justified by the claim that women were needed at home, and it kept juries unrepresentative of women through the 1960s.

④　In 1968, the Congress of the United States passed the Jury Selection and Service Act, ushering in a new era of democratic reforms for the jury. This law abolished special educational requirements for federal jurors and required them to be selected at random from a cross section of the entire community. In the landmark 1975 decision Taylor v. Louisiana, the Supreme Court extended the requirement that juries be representative of all parts of the community to the state level. The Taylor decision also declared sex discrimination in jury selection to be unconstitutional and ordered states to use the same procedures for selecting male and female jurors.

1.1.From the principles of the US jury system, we learn that ________.

A both literate and illiterate people can serve on juries

B defendants are immune from trial by their peers

C no age limit should be imposed for jury service

D judgment should consider the opinion of the public

解析：选D。D推理判断题。定位至第一段。该段阐述了陪审团制度的原则，其中包括“判决应代表社会的良知，而不仅仅是法律条文”。由此可推知，判决需要考虑公众的普遍观念和良知，而不仅仅是机械地应用法律，故D选项正确。A与“最低文化水平资格”原则矛盾；B与“被告有权接受同龄人审判”原则矛盾；C与“最低年龄资格”原则矛盾。

2.2.The practice of selecting so-called elite jurors prior to 1968 showed ________.

A the inadequacy of antidiscrimination laws

B the prevalent discrimination against certain races

C the conflicting ideals in jury selection procedures

D the arrogance common among the Supreme Court judges

解析：选A。A细节理解题。定位至第二段最后一句。该句明确指出：“挑选所谓的精英或蓝带陪审团的实践为绕过这条及其他反歧视法律提供了便利。” 这说明当时的反歧视法律存在漏洞，可以被轻易规避，因此A选项正确。B选项过于具体，精英陪审团也排斥低教育水平者等，不限于种族。C选项是现象本身，而非该实践所“表明”的问题。

3.3.Even in the 1960s, women were seldom on the jury list in some states because ________.

A they were automatically banned by state laws

B they fell far short of the required qualifications

C they were supposed to perform domestic duties

D they tended to evade public engagement

解析：选C。C细节理解题。定位至第三段。该段最后一句明确说明：“这种做法的理由是声称家庭需要女性（women were needed at home）”。因此，女性被认为应该履行家庭职责是她们被自动排除在陪审团之外的原因，故C选项正确。

4.4.After the Jury Selection and Service Act was passed, ________.

A sex discrimination in jury selection was unconstitutional and had to be abolished

B educational requirements became less rigid in the selection of federal jurors

C jurors at the state level ought to be representative of the entire community

D states ought to conform to the federal court in reforming the jury system

解析：选B。B细节理解题。定位至第四段。该段第二句明确指出：“该法案废除了对联邦陪审员的特殊教育要求”。废除特殊教育要求意味着教育要求变得不那么严格和苛刻，故B选项正确。A和C描述的是1975年“泰勒诉路易斯安那州案”裁决的内容，发生在法案通过之后，且针对的是州一级，并非该法案的直接规定。D选项在文中未提及。

5.5.In discussing the US jury system, the text centers on ________.

A its nature and problems

B its characteristics and tradition

C its problems and their solutions

D its tradition and development

解析：选D。D主旨大意题。文章第一段阐述了美国陪审团制度所秉承的民主理想与原则（即其传统核心）。第二段和第三段则从历史发展的角度，分别叙述了这些原则在过去（1968年及以前）如何因精英遴选和性别歧视而未能得到贯彻，揭示了制度发展初期的问题。第四段则介绍了从1968年《陪审团遴选与服务法案》到1975年泰勒案裁决这一新的发展时期，通过改革使制度更符合其民主传统。全文以时间为线索，清晰地展现了该制度从传统理念到历史实践中的偏离，再到不断完善和发展以回归其传统的过程。因此，D选项“其传统和发展”最全面地概括了文章的中心思想。