Smuggling

    It is not unusual for a pet ¹ to be sent by air cargo ²  from ColumbiatoNew York, but last December"s shipment of a 4-year-old sheep dog caught a New York Kennedy Airport Customs inspector"s eye ³. The dog looked to be on its last legs ⁴, and there was an unusual lump on the side of its body. An X-ray and emergency surgery revealed the presence of 10 condoms tightly packed with five pounds of cocaine that had been surgically implanted in the dog"s abdomen一yet another first for" Customs in the war on drugs ⁵.

    When it comes to transporting drugs, the methods used are only as limited as a smuggler"s imagination ⁶. Kilo bricks of cocaine ⁷ are routinely concealed beneath false bottoms ⁸ of containers that hold poisonous snakes. "You"ve got snakes that are 12 feet long," says a United States Fish and Wildlife Service agent一and sometimes the drug is in the snake. "Who"s going to pull it out and feel it?"

    In 1994, United States Customs seized 204,391 pounds of cocaine,559,286 pounds of marijuana ⁹ and 2,577 pounds of heroin ¹⁰. Just how much actually flows into the country is anyone"s guess. Some Customs officials estimate that only 10 percent of the drugs coming into the country are ever seized. InMiami, the District Attorney won"t even prosecute small fry. "It"s got to be over five kilos of cocaine, above a kilo of heroin and more than 5,000 pounds of marijuana or it"s not something that we"re going to stop the presses on ¹¹,"says Tom Cash, a retired agent.

    Given this deluge ¹², one can only wonder if agents are ever confounded by some of the smuggling methods. "There are things we haven"t seen before, "says John McGhee, a Miami Customs special agent, "but nothing really surprises us."

 

词汇：

emergency /i"mə: dʒənsi/ n．紧急情况

surgery /"sə:dʒəri/n．外科手术，外科；手术室，诊所

condom /"kəndəm/n．避孕套

surgically /"sə:dʒəri/adv．以外科手术的方式，通过外科手术

implant /im"pla: nt/vt．植人，插人，嵌人；灌输，牢固树立；移植

abdomen /"æbdəmen/n．腹部

kilo /"kiləu/n．千克；千米

attorney /ə"tə:ni/n．检察长，检察官；律师，代理人

prosecute / "prɔsikju: t/vt．起诉，告发

deluge / "delju: dʒ/n．洪水般的泛滥；洪水；大雨，暴雨

confound /kən"faund/vt．使吃惊，使惊惶失措；混淆，使（思想等）混乱

 

注释：

1．pet：爱畜，宠物

2．air cargo：空运货物，空运邮件

3．…caught a New York Kennedy Airport Customs inspector"s eye.……引起了纽约肯尼迪海关一位检查员的注意。catch somebody"s eye：被人看到，引起某人注意。又如：The dress in the window caught her eye when she passed the store．当她经过店铺时，橱窗里的那件连衣裙引起了她的注意。

4．The dog looked to be on its last legs．那只狗看上去奄奄一息。be on one"s last legs：濒于死亡。又如：By the mid-1980s, the copper industry in the U. S. was on its last legs．到了20世纪80年代中期，美国的铜业已经衰落了。

5．...yet another first for Customs in the war on drugs.……这是反毒战争中该海关创下的又一个第一。

6．When it comes to transporting drugs, the methods used are only as limited as a smuggler"s imagination．说到运输毒品，走私者所使用的方法只要他们想得到的都用。when it comes to用于引入另一个话题或同一个话题的不同方面。又如：Most of us know that we should cut down on fat. But knowing such things isn"t much help when it comes to shopping and eating．我们中的大多数人都知道应该少吃肥肉，不过一到买东西和吃饭的时候，这些道理也就顾不上了。

7．cocaine：可卡因

8．false bottoms：夹层的假底板，活板

9．marijuana：大麻毒品

10．heroin：海洛因

11．…or it"s not something that we"re going to stop the presses on...：……或者说这个数量应是新闻界感兴趣的。

12．Given this deluge：考虑到走私毒品的数量如此之大。given something：考虑到，把……考虑进去。

Which of the following could best replace the expression"small fry" in the third paragraph?

A:Small dogs B:Small sheep dogs C:Small smugglers D:Small ringleaders

对于爱立信设备，有关Small Restart & Large Restart，哪种说法正确（）？

A:Small Restart会清除已经建立的通话 B:Large Restart会保持正在建立的通话 C:Small Restart会保持正在建立的通话 D:Large Restart会清除已经建立的通话

Text 1
Optimation Ltd. , a polymer packaging and converting specialist, is one small company that is suffering. Its highly specialised engineering work is in great demand but a lack of qualified staff has hindered growth.
"We have a number of potential clients awaiting a visit to discuss new projects, but we are tied up on existing orders because we are short of the necessary skills on the shop floor," Helen Mitchell, the company’s founder, says.
And according to Alice Teague, the education and training officer at the Federation of Small Businesses, Ms. Mitchell’s experience is not unique. Many small businesses suffer skill shortages--particularly those at the technical craft level such as engineering and construction companies.
"Small companies tend to be more vulnerable to skill shortages because they are unable to offer the same pay or benefits as larger companies so they struggle in the recruitment market."
This is borne out by the experiences of Optimation. "Last year, we lost one of our best engineers to a rival company who offered him a better package. Being able to afford the salaries such skills demand is difficult for us," Ms. Mitchell says.
The government-funded Learning and Skills Council (LSC) says that apprenticeships offer a solution to the skill shortage problem. "By addressing skills gaps directly apprenticeships can make businesses, small or large, more productive and competitive," Stephen Gardner, the LSC’s director of worked based learning, says. "Apprenticeships allow businesses to develop the specialist skills they need for the latest technology and working practices in their sector."
There are 160 different apprenticeships available across 80 different industry sectors. They are open to businesses of all sizes and offer work-based training programmes for 16 to 24-year-olds. The training is run in conjunction with the Sector Skills Council to ensure industry specific skills are taught.
Businesses are responsible for the wages of apprentices but the LSC contributes between ￡1,500 and ￡10,000 towards the cost of the training, depending on the industry sector.
Slack ＆ Parr Ltd. , a manufacturer of precision equipment for the aerospace industry, is one small company that has benefited from the scheme. More than 50 percent of the Kegworth-based company’s employees started as apprentices.
"We opened an on-site training centre to ensure apprentices benefited from the highest quality of training," Richard Hallsworth, the managing director, says. "Sixteen of our former apprentices are now in management positions. The scheme works for us because it helps keep costly external recruitment to a minimum."
But Ms. Teague of the FSB warns that apprenticeships might not suit all small businesses.
The apprenticeship scheme offers valuable vocational training but often small companies don’t have sufficient time or resources to devote to the apprentice. In the past there has also been a problem of poor quality candidates and low completion rates.
"But some of these problems are being addressed. I know the Learning and Skills Council is looking at how small businesses might be able to share apprentices and so lessen the risk. Completion rates also seem to be improving so the scheme is certainly worth investigating. "

The text is chiefly concerned with（）

A:reminding the small companies to fill the skills gap. B:analyzing the present difficult situation that small companies are in. C:showing the priority of larger companies in the market. D:suggesting the reasons that small companies are suffering.

The speaker claimed that (no other) modem nation devotes (so small) a portion of its wealth to public assistance and health (than) the United States (does).

A:no other B:so small C:than D:does

Passage Five
There’re only 800 people in Fairfield, and most of them do the same thing at the same time every week day. Every morning, Monday through Friday, when the big clock strikes seven, old Bruce Hunt walks past the Farmers’ Bookshop. He’s on his way to work at the bus-station. And when Bruce walks ’past the book shop, Robert Brown opens his shop next door and waves to Bruce. When Robert waves to Bruce, you can set your watch and you know it’s seven.
If you miss Bruce and Robert, you can set your watch when Miss Mary Smith opens the door of the post office. You know it’s seven fifty-five. She has five minutes to get ready for work--to put away her raincoat and take off her hat and coat. Rain or shine, Miss Mary Smith brings raincoat. "You never can tell what the weather will be like when it’s time to go home," she always says.
One after another the shops along Main Street open for the day. The clothes shop and the fruit shop get open for business. When Mr. King opens the bookshop, the clock above the shop strides nine.
But every weekday, people go to bed early in Fairfield. The streets are quiet, and the houses are dark when the big clock over the Farmers’ Bookshop strikes ten o’clock. The small town is getting ready for tomorrow.

Choose the best title for this passage.（）

A:A Small Town. B:Life in a Small Town. C:Shops in a Small Town. D:A Clock in a Small Town.

Passage Five
There’re only 800 people in Fairfield, and most of them do the same thing at the same time every week day. Every morning, Monday through Friday, when the big clock strikes seven, old Bruce Hunt walks past the Farmers’ Bookshop. He’s on his way to work at the bus-station. And when Bruce walks ’past the book shop, Robert Brown opens his shop next door and waves to Bruce. When Robert waves to Bruce, you can set your watch and you know it’s seven.
If you miss Bruce and Robert, you can set your watch when Miss Mary Smith opens the door of the post office. You know it’s seven fifty-five. She has five minutes to get ready for work--to put away her raincoat and take off her hat and coat. Rain or shine, Miss Mary Smith brings raincoat. "You never can tell what the weather will be like when it’s time to go home," she always says.
One after another the shops along Main Street open for the day. The clothes shop and the fruit shop get open for business. When Mr. King opens the bookshop, the clock above the shop strides nine.
But every weekday, people go to bed early in Fairfield. The streets are quiet, and the houses are dark when the big clock over the Farmers’ Bookshop strikes ten o’clock. The small town is getting ready for tomorrow.

Choose the best title for this passage.（）

A:A Small Town. B:Life in a Small Town. C:Shops in a Small Town. D:A Clock in a Small Town.

{{B}}第三篇{{/B}}

Which of the following could best replace the expression "small fry" in the third paragraph?

A:Small dogs. B:Small sheep dogs. C:Small smugglers. D:Small ringleaders.