Althoughthetopmeninsmugglingbusinessmustworktogether,mostofasyndicate’ssmallfry,especiallythemules,knowonlytheirimmediatecontacts.Ifcaughtthereislittletheycangiveaway.Amuleprobablywillnotevenknowthenameofthepersonwhogiveshimhisinstr uctions,norhowtogetintouchwithhim.Usuallyheevendoesnotknowthepersontowhomhehastomakedelivery.Hewillbetoldjusttosittightinacertainhotelorbaruntilsomeonecontactshim.Inthiswayifheisblown,comingthroughairportcustomshecannotunwittinglyleadagentstothenextlinkinthechain.Allthepersonsatthereceivingenddoistohangaroundtheairportamongthewaitingcrowd,andseethatthemulecomesthroughsafely.Ifhedoesnot,heisdimplywrittenoffasaloss.Tomakeidentificationofmuleseasier,severalsyndicateshavedevisedtheirown“clubties”sothatamulewearingonecanimmediatelybepickedout.
Mulesoftenreceivecarefultr ainingbeforeembarkingontheirfirstjourney.OneBeirutorganization,forexample,usesaroomwiththreeairlineseatsinit.Therethetr aineemulessitforhoursonendwearingweightedsmugglingvestsbeneaththeirclothes,sothattheybecomeaccustomedtostandingupafteralongflightinanaturalway,andwithoutr evealingwhattheyarecarrying.AnoutfitinBrusselsmaintainedacomfortable apartmentwherethemulescouldrelaxandgetafirmgriponthemselvesonthenightbeforetheirfirstjourney;theywerehelpedtodressbeforesettingoutfortheairportinthemorning.Moreoftenthannotacourierwillnotknowpreciselywhereheisgoingorwhatflightnumberisuntilheisactuallyhandedhisticketsattheairport.Thispreventsthecarelessboastinsomebarortoagirlfriendthenightbefore.
Mulesoccasionallyrunoffwiththegoodstokeeptheprofitthemselves.Asinsuranceagainstthis,asyndicateoftensendsahigh-uponthesameplanetokeepawaryeyeoncouriers,particularlynewones.Eventhenthingscangobadlywrong.Oneinternationalcurrencysmugglerwhowashavingtr oublegettingmoneyoutofBritainwasofferedhelpbyagroupofmenwhosaidtheywereinapositionto“fixthing”–forafeeofcourse.Foolishly,thesmuggleragreedtoaccepttheirhelp.WhenhegottoLondon’sHeathrowAirport,hehandedovertooneofthemenablacksuitcasecontainingnearly$90,000incash,destinedforFrankfurt.Justtokeepaneyeonthings,thesmugglerwentalongonthesameplane.WhentheylandedatFrankfurthewashandedbackhissuitcase.Hebeatastr aightpathtothemen’stoilet,openedthecase,andfoundonlyoldclothes.Thecourierhadswitchedsuitcaseenroute,butthesmugglercouldhardlyruntothepoliceandcomplainthat“themanwhowassmugglingmoneyoutofEnglandformehasstolenit.”
1.Whatisa“mule”? [A]Apersonwhosendssmugglinggoodsforasyndicateiscalledmule. [B]Apersoninchargeofsmugglinggoodsiscalledmule. [C]Apersonwhomakesdeliveryforasyndicateiscalledmule. [D]Apersonwhoreceivesinstr uctionsfromasmuggleriscalledmule. 2.Thesentence“ifheisblown”inline(6)isclosestinmeaningto [A]ifheisarrested. [B]ifheisrecognized,butnotnecessarilyarrested. [C]ifheisrecognizedandarrested. [D]ifherunsaway. 3.Whydoestheauthorgiveanexampleinthelastparagraph? [A]Toshowhowasmuggleriscaught. [B]Toshowasmugglerisafraidofthepolice. [C]Toshowtokeepawaryeyeoncouriersisuseless. [D]Toshowmulesmaykeeptheprofitforthemselves. 4.howdoesamulework? [A]Jointly. [B]Independently. [C]consciously. [D]Separately.



