考研英語經濟類閱讀理解專項訓練及答案

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　　考研英語經濟類閱讀理解專項訓練及答案：Anything to declare

Customs officers' powers are excessive, but so is smuggling

RICHARD EVANS, a retired lorry driver, and his family were travelling in Spain last summer when their camper van broke down. They left it to be brought ba

ck by the AA. But customs officers at Dover claimed it was being used for smuggling. They seized the vehicle and all its contents, including 9,000 cigarettes and 20 bottles of spirits. The van, worth £20,000 ($30,800), is still impounded. It even took Mr. Evans six Months to recover his 90-year-old mother-in-law's wheelchair.

Under European Union regulations, people may import an unlimited quantity of alcohol and tobacco, so long as it is for their own personal use. Had Mr. Evans been driving his van himself, he would probably have had no trouble. Cases like this are putting Customs and Excise's considerable powers under scrutiny. A recent stinging High Court judgment about another vehicle seizure said, "the mindset of those determining these policies has not embraced the world of an internal market where excise goods can move freely across internal frontiers." And, on September 18th, the EU announced that it was giving Britain two months to prove that customs officers were not breaching consumers' rights to shop freely in Europe. "Cross-border a fundamental right under EU law and should not be regarded as a form of tax evasion," said Frits Bolkestein, the internal market commissioner.

Customs officers have an impossible job. Excise duty and VAT on a pack of premium brand cigarettes account for 79% of the recommended retail selling price of £4.51. An identical pack costs £1.97 in Belgium. One in every five cigarettes smoked in Britain--some 17 billion altogether--has been smuggled. The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association reckons that 80% of hand-rolling tobacco is smuggled.

The main weapon Customs and Excise has in tackling abuse is to seize cars in which it suspects goods are being smuggled. Guidelines suggest "personal use" can mean only up to 800 cigarettes, for example. Anyone bringing in more can be asked to explain. In the past three years, customs officers have impounded more than 22,000 vehicles. Tellingly, only a fifth of seizures are contested, and fewer than 1% of appeals are successful. Officials say the value of cross-channel smuggling has fallen sharply in the past year, from £1.6 billion to £400m.

Some customs officers, though, have clearly been over-zealous. And the recent High Court case ruled that the legislation under which Customs and Excise operates wrongly reverses the burden of proof. The defendant must prove that he is not bringing in tobacco and so forth for a commercial purpose. It also said that customs officers must have "reasonable grounds" for searches: suspicion and instinct are not enough. The government is appealing.

The minister in charge of Customs and Excise, John Healey, accepts that there is an urgent need to respond to questions about the "legitimacy" of the Customs regime. But he says the charge that Customs are abusing their powers is wrong: "Customs," he says, "never stop at random, they never do blanket searches. They always have some ground for stopping people." Tell that to Mr Evans.

Economist; 9/21/2002, Vol. 364 Issue 8291, p52-53, 2p

注(1)：本文選自Economist; 9/21/2002, p52-53, 2p;

注(2)：本文習題命題模仿對象2004年真題Text 3;

could Richard Evans have avoided such a trouble?

[A]If the camper van didn’t break down on the way.

[B]If the amount of alcohol and tobacco were not too large.

[C]If he carried cigarettes and spirits for personal use.

[D]If he hadn’t asked others to drive the car.

does the EU feel about the behavior of Customs and Excise?

[A]Critical.

[B]Optimistic.

[C]Indifferent.

[D]Supportive.

can Customs and Excise check the smuggling effectively?

[A]By doing blanket searches.

[B]By seizing the suspect cars.

[C]By limiting shopping in Europe.

[D]By stopping at random.

is the charge against Customs and Excise?

[A]They are abusing their power.

[B]They deprive Europeans of their right to a free shop.

[C]They seize the car for no good reason.

[D]Their power is too excessive.

“Tell that to Mr Evans.”(Last Line, Paragraph 6), the author means _____________.

[A]Evans should learn a lesson from his experience

[B]what John Healey has said is good for Evans

[C]he does not believe what John Healey has said

[D]Evans should understand what he has experienced

答案：DABAC

篇章剖析

本文采用提出問題——分析問題的模式，非常客觀地分析了海關工作確實是一件非常棘手，但也確實非常必要的工作，但在工作中有些官員表現得過於“熱情”，有濫用職權的嫌疑，所以招致了一些公民的指控。第一段以理查德·埃文斯的經歷爲例，指出他在海關遇到的麻煩;第二段指出海關和貨物稅收部門的強大權力受到了密切關注;第三段指出走私現象非常嚴重;第四段指出關稅及國產稅務部門在對付走私時使用的武器主要是沒收有走私嫌疑的車輛;第五段指出最高法庭訴訟案的新規定;第六段指出海關官員的反應。

詞彙註釋

AA=Automodile Association of Great Britain汽車協會

impound [Im5paJnd]vt.關在欄中, 拘留, 扣押, 沒收

scrutiny [5skru:tInI; (?@) 5skru:tEnI]n.詳細審查

seizure [5si:VE(r)]n.抓, 捉, 沒收, 查封, 奪取

breach [bri:tF]vt.打破, 突破

evasion [I5veIV(E)n]n.逃避, 藉口

VAT=Value-Added Tax 增值稅, 附加價值稅;

premium [5pri:mIEm] adj 質優價高的;質量或價值極高的：

reverse [rI5v:s] vt顛倒，倒轉;撤消或廢除(法令等)

burden of proof n.提供證據之責任

defendant [dI5fend(E)nt]n.被告

legitimacy [lI`dVItImEsI]n.合法(性), 正統(性), 正確(性), 合理(性)

at random adv.胡亂地, 隨便地

難句突破

A recent stinging High Court judgment about another vehicle seizure said, "the mindset of those determining these policies has not embraced the world of an internal market where excise goods can move freely across internal frontiers."

主體句式：a judgment said …

結構分析：本句是一個簡單句，關鍵是理解其中一些詞彙的含義。“stinging”在此句的含義是“棘手的”;在引用的話中，“mindset”的意思是“思想傾向”，“determining these policies”之前省去了“who are”，這就變成了現在分詞做後置定語來修飾“those”;“embrace”的意思是“接受”;“where”引導定語從句來修飾“internal market”。

句子譯文：高級法院最近審理另一起棘手的機動車扣留案件時說明：“決定這些政策的那些人，在思想意識裏並沒有接受歐盟境內市場。在這個市場裏，徵稅貨物在各成員國之間是可以自由流通的。”

題目分析

1.答案爲D，屬推理判斷題。原文對應信息是：“Had Mr. Evans been driving his van himself, he would probably have had no trouble.”本句是虛擬語氣 。表示與過去事實相反，從句用過去完成時，主句用“would have done”。但有時會把“if”省略，把“had”提前，本句就屬於這種現象。

2.答案爲A，屬情感態度題。句子“A recent stinging High Court judgment about another vehicle seizure said, "the mindset of those determining these policies has not embraced the world of an internal market where excise goods can move freely across internal frontiers."”中顯然包含了批評的含義;接下來的句子也是順承這一含義的：“And, on September 18th, the EU announced that it was giving Britain two months to prove that customs officers were not breaching consumers' rights to shop freely in Europe.”，我們可看出歐盟也是不贊成海關的一些做法的;從歐盟內部市場委員Frits Bolkestein的話：“Cross-border a fundamental right under EU law and should not be regarded as a form of tax evasion”，我們更加看出歐盟對待海關的一些做法的態度究竟如何。

3.答案爲B ，屬事實細節題。原文對應信息是“The main weapon Customs and Excise has in tackling abuse is to seize cars in which it suspects goods are being smuggled.”。從給出的數據“In the past three years, customs officers have impounded more than 22,000 vehicles. Tellingly, only a fifth of seizures are contested, and fewer than 1% of appeals are successful.”，我們可看出這一手段確實非常有效。

4.答案爲A，屬事實細節題。原文對應信息是：“But he says the charge that Customs are abusing their powers is wrong.”。

5.答案爲C，屬推理判斷題。從文章來看，作者非常客觀地分析了海關工作確實是一件非常棘手，但也確實非常必要的工作，但在工作中有些官員表現得過於“熱情”，有濫用職權的嫌疑，所以招致了一些公民的指控。雖然關稅及國產稅務爲之也做了辯解，但是並不使人信服，所以在文章最後，作者說了一句：“Tell that to Mr Evans.”。

參考譯文

有東西要報關嗎?

海關官員權利過大，走私行爲過甚

理查德·埃文斯是一位退休的貨車司機。去年夏天，他和家人在西班牙旅行的時候，他們開的露營車出了故障。他們把車留給汽車協會，由他們負責拖回去。但是多佛港口的海關官員卻聲稱此車被用來走私。他們沒收了這輛汽車以及車上的所有物品，其中包括9，000支香菸和20瓶烈性酒。直到現在，這輛價值20，000英鎊(相當於30，800美元)的露營車仍然被扣押着。埃文斯先生甚至還花費了六個月的時間才得以取回他那年高九旬的岳母的輪椅。

歐盟法規規定，只要是個人使用，對帶入境的酒和煙的數量並不限制。假如埃文斯是自己開車的話，那麼他很可能就不會有任何麻煩。類似這樣的案例使海關和貨物稅收部門的強大權力受到了密切關注。高級法院最近審理另一起棘手的機動車扣留案件時說明：“決定這些政策的那些人，在思想意識裏並沒有接受歐盟境內市場。在這個市場裏，徵稅貨物在各成員國之間是可以自由流通的。”9月18日，歐盟宣佈：給英國兩個月的時間來證明其海關官員沒有侵犯消費者可以在歐洲自由購物的權利。內部市場委員Frits Bolkestein說：“根據歐盟法律，跨境購物是公民的基本權利，不應該被視爲逃稅行爲。”

海關官員的工作相當棘手。一包高級香菸所徵收的貨物稅和增值稅是其建議零售價4.51英鎊的79%。而同樣一包煙在比利時售價1.97英鎊。在英國，人們吸的每五支菸中就有一支——總共約170億——是走私過來的。菸草製造商協會估計有80%的手卷煙是走私來的。

關稅及國產稅務部門在對付這一弊端時使用的武器主要是沒收有走私嫌疑的車輛。條例規定的“個人使用”，打個比方，只限800支香菸。攜帶超出此數量者，將被要求做出解釋。在過去三年裏，海關扣留的車輛超過22，000輛。這樣做有明顯的效果，這些扣押案例中只有五分之一的案例是有爭議的，上訴案件的勝訴率還不足1%。海關官員宣稱去年跨境走私物品的價值從16億大幅度下跌到4億英鎊。

然而，有些海關官員明顯表現得過於積極。最近的最高法庭訴訟案規定，海關方面執行有誤的那項法規把雙方提供證據的責任進行了交換。被告必須證明自己沒有出於商業目的而攜帶菸草等物品。還規定海關官員必須有進行收查的“合理依據”：光靠懷疑和直覺是不夠的。政府部門也在做此呼籲。

關稅及國產稅務約翰·希利表示，確實迫切需要對海關係統合法性問題做出反應。但他認爲，有關海關濫用職權的指控是錯誤的。“海關，”他說，“從來不隨意截停，也從不做地毯式搜查。他們攔住某些人都是有理由的。”把這話說給埃文斯先生吧。

　　考研英語經濟類閱讀理解專項訓練及答案：Free thinkers

Can free source-code stop Microsoft?

FOCUS on what you do best. This age-old strategy has worked well for RealNetworks, Microsoft's main competitor in multimedia software for the Internet. No

w, the smaller Seattle-based firm is trying a novel way to contain the software giant. On October 29th, it released the underlying recipe, or source-code, of its RealPlayer software and will soon do the same for its other programs--giving away a big chunk of its intellectual property.

This may sound like a desperate echo of 1998, when Netscape, struggling in Microsoft's chokehold, published the source-code of its web browser (an initiative that yielded few real results until this June, when the first serious new version of the open-source browser, Mozilla, was released). Yet RealNetworks is not playing defence. It is trying to encourage the creation of a common multimedia software infrastructure for every kind of file format and device, thus thwarting Microsoft's ambitions in this promising market.

The firm hopes that others in the industry (volunteer programmers, media firms and hardware makers) will take the code, called Helix DNA, improve it and make it run on new devices, such as mobile phones and home stereos, turning RealNetworks' software into an industry standard. Clever licensing terms are supposed to ensure that this standard does not splinter and that the firm still makes money.

Individual developers, universities and other non-profit organisations can modify the software as they please, and even redistribute it for free, so long as they also publish the source-code for their changes. This is a sort of payment in kind, for RealNetworks is then allowed to use these contributions. Firms, on the other hand, must pay royalty fees if they distribute more than 1m copies of the code. They also have to make sure that their software works with other Helix DNA products. The software's development community already has 2,000 members. And several hardware makers back the effort. But there are risks. Afraid of piracy, media groups are suspicious of anything that might be related to hackers (although they also do not want to depend on, and pay for, technology controlled by Microsoft). The self-created competition could also hurt RealNetworks if customers decide its commercial products, which will be based on the open source-code but with extra features, are not worth paying extra for.

RealNetworks' move is another sign that the software industry is going hybrid. Mixing elements of proprietary software, where the source-code is tightly controlled, with open-source programs enables firms to expand a market, harvest the ideas of others and, they hope, still make money. Even Microsoft is edging this way: it recently announced that partners can now look at--but not modify or re-use--the source-code for Passport, its controversial digital-identity service.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Economist; 11/2/2002, Vol. 365 Issue 8297, p64-65, 2p

注(1)：本文選自Economist; 11/2/2002, p64-65, 2p;

注(2)：本文習題命題模仿對象2004年真題Text 1;

is the RealNetworks’ new way of stopping Microsoft?

[A]By selling its intellectual property.

[B]By doing what it is good at.

[C]By releasing the free source-code.

[D]By severe competition with Microsoft.

h of the following can be a disadvantage of releasing the source-code?

[A]It can bring about self-created competition.

[B]It can defeat Microsoft’s ambitions in this market.

[C]It can use the improved software.

[D]It can get royalty fees from some firms.

expression “a desperate echo”(Line 1, Paragraph 2) most probably means ________.

[A]a useless repetition

[B]a poor resemblance

[C]a shabby product

[D]a dangerous copy

does the move of RealNetworks suggest?

[A]Microsoft fails to control the software market.

[B]Software market is becoming a mixed market.

[C]RealNetworks wants to make more money.

[D]Software market is not fixed and stable.

h of the following is true according to the text?

[A]Netscape had a sheer failure for its publishing the source-code.

[B]RealNetworks wants to occupy the source-code market.

[C]RealNetworks wants to make profits by releasing the free source-code.

[D]Microsoft has to change its managing strategy.

答案：CADBC

篇章剖析

本文介紹了RealNetworks網絡公司如何通過公佈RealPlayer播放器軟件祕訣(即源碼)，試圖牽制微軟公司的做法。第一段指出RealNetworks試圖用一種新方法——公佈RealPlayer播放器軟件祕訣(即源碼)來牽制微軟這個軟件屆巨人;第二段指出RealNetworks網絡公司主動出擊，想要牽制微軟的野心;第三段和第四段詳細介紹這一方案如何操作、如何實施、以及如何獲利;第五段指出軟件業的新跡象，以及對微軟的影響。

詞彙註釋

chokehold n. 掐脖子

thwart [WwC:t] vt. 反對; 阻撓, 挫敗, 妨礙;成功地抵制, 頂住, 使...希望破滅, 使...企圖破產

splinter vt., vi. (使)裂成碎片, (使)分裂，

royalty n. 版稅，上演稅;特許權使用費，專利權使用費，專利權稅

edge vi. 徐徐移動, 側着移動, 謹慎前進

難句分析

This may sound like a desperate echo of 1998, when Netscape, struggling in Microsoft's chokehold, published the source-code of its web browser (an initiative that yielded few real results until this June, when the first serious new version of the open-source browser, Mozilla, was released).

主體句式：This may sound like a desperate echo of 1998 …

結構分析：本句句形結構並不複雜，關鍵是理解個別詞的含義。“desperate echo”的含義是“危險的仿效”;“when”並列連詞，相當於“and just at that time”，意思是“在那時”;“struggling in Microsoft's chokehold”做伴隨狀語來修飾“Netscape”，其中“chokehold”的意思是“掐脖子”;“web browser”的意思是“網絡瀏覽器”;括號裏的句子做進一步的補充說明，其中an initiative之前省去了“which was”;“that”引導定語從句來修飾“an initiative”;定語從句中“when”還是並列連詞，“Mozilla”是“open-source browser”的同位語。

句子譯文：這聽起來似乎像是1998年的一次危險的仿效。那年，因被微軟“掐着脖子”而做生死掙扎的Netscape公司發表了其網絡瀏覽器的源碼(在今年6月它推出了真正意義上的最新版開放原碼瀏覽器——Mozilla——之前，這種主動出擊幾乎沒有給它帶來任何實際效果)。

題目分析

1.答案爲C，屬事實細節題。文章在開頭提到“集中注意力做你最拿手的事”這一古老的策略對微軟公司在因特網多媒體軟件領域的主要競爭對手RealNetworks網絡公司十分奏效。現在，RealNetworks網絡公司要使用一種新辦法，那就是“it released the underlying recipe, or source-code, of its RealPlayer software and will soon do the same for its other programs--giving away a big chunk of its intellectual property.”。

2.答案爲A，屬事實細節題。原文對應信息是：“The self-created competition could also hurt RealNetworks if customers decide its commercial products, which will be based on the open source-code but with extra features, are not worth paying extra for.”

3.答案爲D ，屬猜詞題。從文中“when Netscape, struggling in Microsoft's chokehold, published the source-code of its web browser”我們可判斷RealNetworks網絡公司和Netscape公司的做法一樣;從句子“an initiative that yielded few real results until this June, when the first serious new version of the open-source browser, Mozilla, was released.”我們可判斷Netscape公司的做法是極不成功的，危險的。

4.答案爲B，屬事實細節題。原文對應信息是：“RealNetworks' move is another sign that the software industry is going hybrid.”，理解這句話的關鍵是要知道什麼是“hybrid”。接下來的句子做出瞭解釋“Mixing elements of proprietary software, where the source-code is tightly controlled, with open-source programs enables firms to expand a market”，在這句話中注意詞組“mix … with”。

5.答案爲C，屬事實細節題。文章兩次提到了“make money”，一句是“Clever licensing terms are supposed to ensure that this standard does not splinter and that the firm still makes money.”，另一句是“they hope, still make money.”。從這些句子我們可看出“賺錢”是RealNetworks網絡公司實施這一新舉措的目的。

參考譯文

自由思想家

免費源碼能阻止微軟嗎?

“集中注意力做你最拿手的事”這一古老的策略對微軟公司在因特網多媒體軟件領域的主要競爭對手RealNetworks網絡公司十分奏效。目前，這家位於西雅圖的公司正試圖用一種新方法來牽制微軟這個軟件屆巨人。10月29日，這家公司發佈了取得領先地位的RealPlayer播放器軟件祕訣，即源碼，並將很快對其它程序採取同樣的行動——出售其知識產權的一大部分。

這聽起來似乎像是1998年的一次危險的仿效。那年，因被微軟“掐着脖子”而做生死掙扎的Netscape公司發表了其網絡瀏覽器的源碼(在今年6月它推出了真正意義上的最新版開放原碼瀏覽器——Mozilla——之前，這種主動出擊幾乎沒有給它帶來任何實際效果)。但RealNetworks網絡公司並不是在打防禦戰。它正大力創建一個對每一種文件格式和裝置都適用的公共多媒體軟件基礎結構，這樣，它就在這個很使人看好的市場上有力地牽制住了微軟的野心。

該公司希望業內其它公司(志願參加的程序設計公司、傳媒公司和硬件製造公司)將採用這種被稱作Helix DNA的代碼，對它加以改進，並在其新裝置(如移動電話和家用音響等裝置)上運行，最終把RealNetworks公司的軟件變成一種行業標準。精明的許可證發放條款應保證這一標準不被像切蛋糕似的分成碎塊，保證公司仍有錢可賺。

個體開發商、大學和其它非盈利性組織，只要他們也能把其更改後程序的源碼公佈於衆，可根據他們的意願對該軟件進行修改，甚至可以免費發放。這實際上是一種實物支付方式，因爲到了那個時候，RealNetworks公司也可使用這些改進的軟件成果。另一方面，如果其它公司能銷售1百萬以上的源碼，他們須支付特許權使用費。他們還要保證他們的軟件與Helix DNA產品兼容。軟件開發業已擁有2000餘名成員。一些硬件製造商也支持這一舉動。但存在風險。由於擔心被盜版，傳媒組織對一切與黑客有關的舉動都表示懷疑(儘管他們也不想依賴微軟、向它支付技術使用費或在技術上受控於微軟)。其商業產品以開放源碼爲基礎，但具有極佳的特點。如果客戶認爲這些產品不值得他們額外付錢的話，那麼，自我製造的競爭也可能會傷害RealNetworks公司。

RealNetworks公司的舉動表明了另一種跡象，即軟件業正在成爲混合模式。把那些源碼受嚴格控制的專有軟件成分(組件)與開放源碼程序加以混合就能使公司拓展市場，集思廣益，並且——他們希望——仍可賺錢。連微軟公司也正以這種方式小心翼翼地行事：最近微軟公司發出公告，說合夥人現在可以查看——但不能更改或重複使用——Passport(微軟有爭議的數字驗證服務)的源碼。