Mules Although the top men in smugglingbusiness must work together, most of

题文

Mules
Although the top men in smuggling（走私）business must work together, most of a syndicate’s（集团）small fry, especially the mules, know only their immediate contacts. If caught there is little they can give away. A mule probably will not even know the name of the person who gives him his instructions, nor how to get in touch with him. Usually he even does not know the person to whom he has to make delivery. He will be told just to sit tight in a certain hotel or bar until someone contacts him. In this way if he is blown, coming through airport customs he cannot unwittingly lead agents to the next link in the chain. All the persons at the receiving end do is to hang around the airport among the waiting crowd, and see that the mule comes through safely. If he does not, he is dimply written off（报废；注销）as a loss. To make identification of mules easier, several syndicates have devised their own “club ties” so that a mule wearing one can immediately be picked out.
Mules often receive careful training before embarking on their first journey. One Beirut organization, for example, uses a room with three airline seats in it. There the trainee mules sit for hours on end wearing weighted smuggling vests beneath their clothes, so that they become accustomed to standing up after a long flight in a natural way, and without revealing what they are carrying. An outfit in Brussels maintained a comfortable apartment where the mules could relax and get a firm grip on themselves on the night before their first journey; they were helped to dress before setting out for the airport in the morning. More often than not a courier will not know precisely where he is going or what flight number is until he is actually handed his tickets at the airport. This prevents the careless boast in some bar or to a girl friend the night before.
Mules occasionally run off with the goods to keep the profit themselves. As insurance against this, a syndicate often sends a high-up on the same plane to keep a wary eye on couriers, particularly new ones. Even then things can go badly wrong. One international currency smuggler who was having trouble getting money out of Britain was offered help by a group of men who said they were in a position to “fix thing” – for a fee of course. Foolishly, the smuggler agreed to accept their help. When he got to London’s Heathrow Airport, he handed over to one of the men a black suitcase containing nearly $90,000 in cash, destined for Frankfurt. Just to keep an eye on things, the smuggler went along on the same plane. When they landed at Frankfurt he was handed back his suitcase. He beat a straight path to the men’s toilet, opened the case, and found only old clothes. The courier had switched suitcase en route, but the smuggler could hardly run to the police and complain that “the man who was smuggling money out of England for me has stolen it.”
小题1:What is a “mule”?
A A person who sends smuggling goods for a syndicate is called mule.
B A person in charge of smuggling goods is called mule.
C A person who makes delivery for a syndicate is called mule.
D A person who receives instructions from a smuggler is called mule.
小题2:The sentence “if he is blown” in line (6) is closest in meaning to
A if he is arrested.                  B if he is recognized, but not necessarily arrested.
C if he is recognized and arrested.     D if he runs away.
小题3:Why does the author give an example in the last paragraph?
A To show how a smuggler is caught. 
B To show a smuggler is afraid of the police.
C To show to keep a wary eye on couriers is useless.
D To show mules may keep the profit for themselves.
小题4:how does a mule work?
A Jointly.                   B Independently.
C consciously.               D Separately. 题型：未知 难度：其他题型

答案

小题1:C
小题2:B
小题3:D
小题4:D

解析

这是一篇介绍走私分子（绰号为骡子）的文章，采用一般到具体的写作手法。先从走私集团对具体走私分子实行单线，单方面联系，分配任务，以免他被逮住后出卖更多的人，危及走私集团。接货地点的人根据各集团自制的识别标志“会员联系信号带”和走私者联系。随后是具体培训走私分子，防范措施及出岔子等一般面谢佐以具体例子作说明，如：贝鲁特走私集团培训和从伦敦运送美金到法兰克福的事件。
答案详解
小题1: mule，骡子是为走私集团交货人的称呼，绰号。
A. 是为走私集团具体运送走私货物的人。只运送，不交货不能成为骡子。B.负责走私货物的人。也不对，负责者不一定运送和交货。D.从走私者那里接受指示的人。更不对。
小题2: blown原义为：欠账了的，被炸毁的，坏了等。这里指：走私分子在过海关，机场检查处出事，不一定被逮捕。
A.逮捕。C.认出，逮捕。D.逃跑。都不符合blown原义。
小题3:说明走私分子会把利益归己。最后一段第一句“有时，走私分子带着货物逃跑，把利益归己”。走私集团为防范此事，常常派遣高级人物监视走私人，特别是新走私者，也于事无补。这段的具体例子：“走私者和委托人同机飞行，到法兰克福机场，9万美金也是不翼而飞，走私者已经捞到手。”就是说明走私者可以为自己留下财路。
A.走私者被捕之事，例子中没有提及。B.走私者不去警察局报案，并不易定是害怕警察局，而是报不了。C.监督毫无用处。是副线。
小题4:单个干。这在第一段一开始就点明：“走私商的上层人物（头面人物）必须一起工作，而大多数辛迪加的小组织，特别是走私分子，他们只知道他们的直接联系人。一旦他们被逮捕，就没有什么可以出卖的。一个骡子甚至连给他指示的人的姓名都不知道，也不知道如何和此人联系”。
A.共同干。B.独立干，走私分子不是独立，大多数是在监督之下。C.有意识地干，上下都是有意识地干。

考点

据考高分专家说，试题“Mules Although the t.....”主要考查你对 [社会现象类阅读 ]考点的理解。

社会现象类阅读

社会现象类阅读概念：

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社会现象类阅读解题技巧：

这类文章通过写人记事来揭示文章的主题，显示其社会意义，一般采用顺序或倒叙来叙述。题目经常是一些细节问题。考查的方面可以是原因和其中引发的思考。阅读这类文章要理清思路。
1、浏览试题，明确要求。
      在阅读文章前，最好先浏览一下文章后面的题干和选项。知道了问题后再去看文章，可使思路更敏捷，而且也便于阅读时留意文中出现的与选项有关的信息。
2、通读全文，抓住主要内容。
      在不影响理解的前提下，尽可能地阅读以便在尽可能短的时间内理解文章或段落的内容。阅读时，如遇到不熟悉的单词、词组或一时看不懂的句子，不要停下来苦思冥想，继续读下去，通过上下文的词语和句子可能就理解了。
3、抓住中心思想和段落大意。
      通读全文时，要特别注意主题句。每篇文章或每个段落都有与文章有关的句子，尤其是科技、政论性文章的主题句一般都在文章的开头或结尾，插在中间的很少。所以，文章的第一段或开头的第一、二个句子往往包含着文章的中心思想、作者的意图或全文的概述，因此要特别注意，彻底理解。
4、有针对性地仔细阅读，找寻所需信息。
      在前面的基础上，可进行有针对性地阅读了。把与问题无关的内容一扫而过，而对于和问题有关的内容认真阅读，还可以用笔在下面做出记号。再把这些信息与问题的要求结合起来，逐条分析，综合判断，找出正确答案。
5、进行合理的推理判断。
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6、认真复读，验证答案。
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