Section B
Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D.
听力原文: A deadly infectious outbreak swept through a small city in Zaire, Africa last spring, killing more than one hundred people. The killer was a rare virus that caused most victims to bleed to death. As scientists rushed to control the outbreak, people in the U.S. wondered "Could it attack here?" "We are foolish if we think it couldn't come to our country," say doctors. The virus can be highly infectious. If you come in contact with a victim's blood or other body fluids, you can get sick too. It only takes one infected person to start such a disease. That's what scientists believe happened in Zaire. The healthcare workers who treated the first victims there soon fell ill too. The problem was they had no protective equipment to prevent themselves from being infected. International rescue workers brought equipment to prevent themselves from being infected soon after the outbreak, occurred. Now the disease appears to be under control. One big mystery is that no one knows where the virus comes from or where it will strike next. Some scientists say that the virus lies inactive in the cells of some kind of plant, insect or other animal. Then it somehow finds a way to infect humans. Scientists are now headed into the jungles of Africa to find out where the virus lives. Once they find the virus, they also hope to find ways to combat it.
(27)
A. Through food.
B. Through air.
C. Through insects.
D. Through body fluids.
A recent case in Australia shows how easily fear can frustrate an informant's good intentions. In December, a woman wrote anonymously to the country's antitrust watchdog, the ACCC, alleging that her employer was colluding with others in breach of the Trade Practices Act. Her evidence was sufficient to suggest to the ACCC that fines of 10 million dollars could be imposed on "a large company". But the agency needed more details. So just before Christmas it advertised extensively to try and persuade the woman to come forward again. Some days later her husband rang the ACCC, but he hung up before disclosing vital information. Now the agency is trying to contact the couple again.
In America, there is some evidence that the events of September 11th have made people more public-spirited and more inclined to blow the whistle. The Government Accountability Project, a Washington-based group, received 27 reproaches from potential informants in the three months before September 11th, and 66 in the three months after. Many of these complaints were about security issues. They included a Federal Aviation Administration employee who claimed that the agency had repeatedly failed to respond to known cases of security violations at airports.
Legislation to give greater protection to people who expose corporate or government misbehavior. externally (after having received no satisfaction internally) is being introduced in a number of countries. In America, it focuses on informants among federal employees. According to Billy Garde, a lawyer who was a member of BP's Alaska inquiry team, they "have less rights than prisoners". A bill introduced last year by Senator Daniel Akaka to improve protection for them is currently stuck in congressional committees.
In Britain, the Public Interest Disclosure Act came fully into force last year. Described by one American as "the most far-reaching informant protection in the world", it treats informants as witnesses acting in the public interest. This separates them from people who are merely pursuing a personal grievance. But even in Britain, the protection is limited. Rupert Walker, a fund manager, was fired by Govett Investments in September 2001 for expressing concerns in the Financial Times about a group of people of investment trusts that invest in each other.
What does the author most probably think about what the ACCC did to the woman?
A. Inconsistent.
B. Disheartening.
C. Unreasonable.
D. Bureaucratic.
A.The number of hours per week that must be spent teaching penmanship.B.The level of p
A. The number of hours per week that must be spent teaching penmanship.
B. The level of penmanship a child is expected to have.
C. The recommended method for teaching penmanship.
D. Computer assisted teaching in penmanship.
A.To indicate the emphasis teachers once placed on penmanship.B.To criticize a techniq
A. To indicate the emphasis teachers once placed on penmanship.
B. To criticize a technique used to motivate children.
C. To illustrate the benefits of competition.
D. To suggest that teachers be recognized for their efforts.