考研英语阅读理解精读100篇【信息技术类】

考研英语阅读理解精读100篇unit37
Unit 37
Las Vegas, where every born loser is told he is a potential winner, has always had a way with words. Prostitution is technically illegal in the city. But a private "dance" in one's hotel room is not--even if that's just a euphemism for what a "Hot Nude Blonde" does to cheer up a visiting conventioneer.
 
How exactly these private dancers know which hotel rooms to visit, though, has become a thorny question. On March 14th, as The Economist went to press, a hearing began at the Nevada Public Utilities Commission to investigate a complaint brought by Eddie Munoz against Central Telephone, a local subsidiary of Sprint. Mr Munoz operates an in-room "adult entertainment" service. He also publishes the Las Vegas Informer, a free paper that lists telephone numbers for his dancing troupe.
 
He alleges that rival operators have hacked into the Las Vegas telephone network and systematically diverted calls made from hotel rooms to the numbers listed in the Informer to their own services. These rivals then send out their own entertainers to do the dancing--and to collect the fees that should rightfully be his. Mr Munoz says that in the heady days of the early 1990s he was making $20,000 a month from his cut of the money earned by his dancers.
 
Telephone firms habitually deny that hackers can break in. Sprint maintains that it "has neither found nor been presented with any evidence to date that calls have been diverted". Others are not so sure. Hilda Brauer, who protested that call-poachers had driven her "Sexy Girls" service out of business, brought a lawsuit against Sprint and her rivals in 1998, but dropped it when her money ran out. In 1998 the FBI arrested six gangsters who were scouring Las Vegas to recruit a telephone hacker they believed was working for a successful call-girl service (although nobody found him).
 
Mr Munoz has now hired Kevin Mitnick, a hacker who boasted last year to SecurityFocus, an online technology journal, that he used to break into Las Vegas switching systems. Mr Mitnick has diverted Mr Munoz's telephone lines to an office in Los Angeles; a temp there relays the requests for dancers back to Mr Munoz in Las Vegas. The aim is to cut Sprint out of the loop.
 
The hearings may shed more light on how the world's oldest profession has taken phone-hacking in its well-practised stride. And then, no doubt, as the fuss dies down, it will discreetly dim the lights and get on with business as usual。
 
注（1）：本文选自Economist；3/16/2002, p36-36, 1/3p；
注（2）：本文习题命题模仿对象2002年真题text 4第1题（1），text 3第5题（5），第4题（4）；2001年真题text2第2题（2）；2004年真题text 1第3题（3）；
 
1.       From the first paragraph we learn that in Las Vegas_________________.
 
[A] prostitution is strictly prohibited
[B] prostitution goes on in the name of private dance
[C] private dance has taken the place of prostitution
[D] people lose money more often than they win
 
2.       Mr. Munoz made the complaint because____________.
 
[A] the local telephone company failed to provide satisfactory service
[B] his rivals competed with him through illegal means
[C] his dancers stopped dancing for him
[D] he could no longer collect fees from his dancing troupe
 
3.       The word “call-poacher” (Line 3, Paragraph 4) most probably means __________.
 
[A] a person who breaks in other people’s telephone conversations
[B] a person who eavesdrops other people’s telephone conversations
[C] a person who harasses others by making telephone calls
[D] a person who diverts other people’s telephone calls
 
4.       We can draw a conclusion from the text that_____________.
 
[A] the competition in call-girl service is a fierce one
[B] public attention on the hearings will last for a relatively long period
[C] people know very little about the world’s oldest profession
[D] telephone-hacking will be used less due to the hearings
 
5.       The author’s attitude towards the issue seems to be ___________.
 
[A] critical
[B] positive
[C] biased
[D] objective
 
答案：BADAA 
 
篇章剖析
本篇文章是一篇说明文，介绍了黑客技术如何和最古老的卖淫行业联姻的事情。第一段介绍了变相卖淫的拉斯维加斯私人舞女。第二段和第三段介绍了一起舞蹈团体之间为了争夺顾客而转接服务电话的所引发的诉讼。第三段介绍了电话公司的说法并简单回顾了有关历史。第四段介绍了该案原告针对竞争对手的电话黑客手段所采用的黑客反击手段。最后一段对全文进行总结并得出结论：当这些喧闹平息下来时，这一行当会小心翼翼地避开公众的注意，然后照常经营下去。
 
词汇注释
prostitution[] n. 卖淫
euphemism[] n. 委婉的说法
conventioneer[] n. <美>与会者,会议代表
thorny[] adj. 棘手的；伤脑筋的
subsidiary[] n. 子公司
troupe[] n. 舞蹈团
allege[] v. 〈法〉指控
hack[] v. 非法手段接近或进入别人的电子系统以谋取不当利益
divert[] v. 使转向, 使转移
heady[] adj.
poacher[] n. 偷猎者, 侵入者
scour[] v. 急速穿行
call-girl  n. 应召女郎
switching system  n. （电话的）交换系统
temp[] n. 临时雇员
relay[] v. 转播
loop[] n. (契约中的)漏洞
discreetly[] adv. 谨慎地, 小心地
 
难句突破
In 1998 the FBI arrested six gangsters who were scouring Las Vegas to recruit a telephone hacker they believed was working for a successful call-girl service (although nobody found him).
主体句式：The FBI arrested six gangsters
句子译文：本句是一个复杂句，宾语gangsters带有一个who引导的定语从句，在这个定语从句里又含有一个省略了whom的定语从句，该从句修饰hacker。
句子译文：1998年，联邦调查局逮捕了6个黑帮成员，当时这些黑帮成员正在拉斯维加斯四处招募一名电话黑客，他们相信这个电话黑客是为一个生意兴隆的应召女郎业务工作的（虽然谁也没有找到他）。
 
题目分析
1. 答案为B，属事实细节题。作者在第一段中提到，虽然法律上禁止卖淫，但并不禁止宾馆房间的私人“舞蹈”和以“热辣裸体女郎”娱乐会议代表的活动。隐含的意思是卖淫活动只是换了个旗号而已。
2. 答案为A，属事实细节题。根据文章第二段，这起投诉是针对电话公司的，原因是电话公司没有阻止Mr. Munoz的对手利用技术手段将原本打给他手下舞女的电话转接到自己人那里。作为投诉诉由，自然是电话公司服务有问题。
3. 答案为D，属猜词题。根据文章第二段，Mr. Munoz的对手利用黑客截获他手下的电话，而称这些人为call-poacher的Hilda Brauer也有类似经历，并且因此被挤出市场。可见call-poacher就是转接他人电话的人。
4. 答案为A，属推理判断题。根据上文，Mr. Munoz和Hilda都遭受了来自竞争对手的不正当竞争，而Mr. Munoz为了对付对手，也聘请了电脑黑客来帮他争夺顾客，可见“应召女郎”服务的竞争相当激烈。
5. 答案为A，属推理判断题。作者在介绍事情的来龙去脉时是以一种客观的口吻。但从文章开篇和结尾的词汇选择情况来说（Las Vegas has a way with words；fuss, etc），作者对整件事情持一种批判态度。
 
参考译文
拉斯维加斯是一个擅于词令的地方，在那里，每一个天生的输家都被说成是潜在的赢家。虽然按照该市的法律卖淫为非法行为，但在自己酒店房间里的不公开的“舞蹈”却不算违法---哪怕那只是“热辣金发裸女”用以娱乐来访的会议代表而使用的委婉说法。
 
可是，这些私人舞女究竟是怎样知道该去哪个旅馆房间的现在却成了一个棘手的问题。据《经济学人》报道，3月14日，内华达公用事业委员会举行听证会，调查艾迪•穆尼奥兹投诉中央电话公司一事。这家电话公司是斯普林特（Sprint）公司在当地的一个子公司。穆尼奥兹经营着一个室内“成人娱乐”业务。他还出版登有其舞蹈团电话号码的免费报纸《拉斯维加斯快报》。
 
他指控其竞争对手闯入拉斯维加斯电话网并且有系统地将旅馆打给《快报》所列号码的电话转接到他们自己的服务人员那里。然后这些竞争对手就派出自己的舞女去跳舞---并且收取本应该属于他的那份钱。穆尼奥兹说在1990年初生意红火的时候他每个月可以从手下的舞女们那里收20000美元的份钱。
 
电话公司按照一贯的做法否认有黑客闯入其网络。斯普林特公司声称其“既没有发现也没有人提交任何有明确日期的证据说明电话呼叫被转接了”。但这种说法令人难以信服。希尔达•布劳尔在1998年曾经起诉斯普林特公司和她的竞争对手，但最后由于钱用光了而撤诉。她断言是那些电话猎手把她的“性感女郎”服务挤出了市场。1998年，联邦调查局逮捕了6个黑帮成员，当时这些黑帮成员正在拉斯维加斯四处招募一名电话黑客，他们相信这个电话黑客是为一个生意兴隆的应召女郎业务工作的（虽然谁也没有找到他）。
 
穆尼奥兹现在已经雇用了凯文•米特尼克。这位电脑黑客去年曾向一份网络技术刊物《安全聚焦》夸耀自己闯入拉斯维加斯的交换系统之事。米特尼克已经将穆尼奥兹的电话线转接到了洛杉矶的一个办公室；那里的一个临时雇员再把召舞女的电话转接回拉斯维加斯穆尼奥兹那里。这么做的目的就是要绕过斯普林特公司。
 
这次听证会也许会让世人更清楚地了解这个世界上最古老的职业是如何将电话黑客纳入其熟悉的领域的。无疑，接下来当这些喧闹平息下来时，这一行当会小心翼翼地避开公众的注意，然后照常经营下去。

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