题目内容
The possible causes of the worldwide increase in kidnappings are ail the following EXCEPT
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The reek of the twin towers' rubble still permeated Lower Manhattan when Yaroslav Trofirnov's editor at The Wall Street Journal gave him an assignment that is the stuff of a foreign correspondent's fantasies: to travel through the lands of Islam and find out how Muslims were reacting to America's tragedy. Fluent in Arabic and carrying an Italian passport, the Ukrainian-born Trofimov gained access to people who wouldn't speak to most Westerners, especially Americans. Over three years, he met jihadists in Yemen, politicians in Bosnia, liberals in Tunisia, conservative clerics in Saudi Arabia, Hezbollah guerrillas in south Lebanon, caravaneers in mythic Timbuktu, and now gives us "Faith at War," part travel book, part political and cultural commentary, part adventure story and altogether superb, gracefully written guide into what he calls "the Islamic universe".
The cosmological description is apt: the countries Trofimov visited seem, in their values, outlooks and aspirations, very distant from our own. "Faith at War" serves as a kind of wormhole, through which we can enter that parallel universe and begin to comprehend it. The news it brings will not comfort those who believe that globalization is drawing us closer together. On his first stop, Cairo, undergraduates dining in a McDonald' s a few days after 9ll 1 demonstrate that it' s possible to delight in a Big Mac and in the fiery deaths of 3,000 Americans at the same time. "Everyone celebrated," an 18-year-old university student gushes as she dips her fries into ketchup, "cheering that America finally got what it deserved."
This and similar encounters lead Trofimov to conclude that poverty is not the root cause of Islamic extremism: "Often those with the most bloodthirsty ideas were the well-to-do and the privileged who have had some experience with the West -- and not the downtrodden and ignorant ' masses' that are usually depicted as the font of anti-Western fury."
At his next destination, Saudi Arabia, Trofimov sips tea with a dissident who echoes a mantra of the Bush administration -- the Middle East's repressive regimes are responsible for terrorism, and the key to defeating it is to democratize the region. The country's justice minister, though, tells him that democracy is "un- Islamic".
Some of Trofimov' s material is, unfortunately, dated, especially in the chapters dealing with Iraq and Afghanistan. Iraqi Shiite leaders express deep antipathy to the United States ("Even if you turn this country into heaven, we don't want it from you," says one); he might hear different opinions now that a Shiite dominated government is more or less in place.
Trofimov's episodic narrative creates a mosaic of the Muslim universe, which is less monolithic than generally pictured. Each tile is exquisitely wrought, but the overall pattern is not always clear. Trofimov implies that in the eyes of a great many Muslims, what began as a war against terrorism has morphed into a war against Islam-- a clash of civilizations. But Muslims in more moderate countries like Tunisia and Mali don't seem to share that view, and I for one couldn't tell which vision is likely to prevail.
That said, this book deserves a wide readership. The Muslims don't understand us, we don't understand them. "Faith at War" goes a long way toward solving the second part of that dismal equation.
Concerning the book, which of the following statements is NOT true？
According to the passage, which of the following is NOT tree？
Kidnappings around the world have typically had one of two major goals: publicity for a local political cause or as a form. of" fund-raising" for the kidnappers. Recently, kidnappings for political reasons have been on the decrease, whereas kidnapping for profit has seen a dramatic increase.
A prime example of this trend is in Colombia. Colombia is considered to be the kidnapping capital of the world, with rival guerrilla and paramilitary groups consistently abducting civilians--including businessmen, tourists and aid workers. The ransom money obtained from these activities is used primarily to finance a 37- year civil war in Colombia. The U.S. State Department estimates that more than 3,000 people are kidnapped in Colombia each year. Most kidnap victims are Colombians who are either wealthy or who can at least come up with a few thousand dollars. Although the kidnappings are most often performed by political dissidents, the motivation for the kidnappings is usually money, not politics.
Colombia is not the only country to be plagued with this increase in kidnappings for profit. Ransom kidnappings are becoming more common in Mexico, Central America, Brazil, Chechnya, the Philippines, Haiti, and many other developing countries throughout the world. Although many kidnappings are politically motivated, a growing number are simply fund-raising exercises by guerrillas or common criminals. For example, when a new rebel group, the Popular Revolutionary Army, surfaced in Mexico in 1996, experts concluded that the group financed itself through kidnappings carried out over the previous two years.
One of the causes of the worldwide increase in kidnappings for profit is that billions of dollars in foreign investment has only marginally assisted the poor throughout the Third World. This has created a growing resentment of the elites who have hoarded much of the wealth. Therefore, often kidnappings for profit throughout the Third World are a backlash by the poor against the elites, in an attempt to even the score by obtaining some of their money.
Moreover, there is an increasing risk of kidnapping for tourists and expatriate executives throughout the world. This is particularly so for Americans, who are perceived as rich even when they are not. Their substantial numbers--3.2 million living overseas and 50 million traveling internationally each year--have left Americans more at risk than citizens of other countries. In many countries, the kidnapping of business people, especially American executives and mid-level managers, as well as tourists has become a thriving business. For example, during the last several years, the FARC and ELN, two Colombian terrorist groups, have extorted more than $632 million from foreign companies and individuals.
In fact, the problem of kidnapping has become so bad internationally that several insurance and security companies are offering either international kidnapping insurance or, at least, detailed instructions on how to avoid a kidnapping. This too has become a thriving business. According to Fielding Worldwide, Inc., a typical KRE (Kidnap, Ransom and Extortion) insurance policy has a $1 million limit. An annual policy would cost between US$7,000 in Brazil or up to a maximum of US$26,000 in Colombia---this is an incredible cost. Corporations usually buy blanket policies that cover all employees, but often business is intertwined with extended family from grandparents down to grandchildren. Therefore, often the entire family must be included in the policy to ensure maximum coverage.
Since kidnappers are aware of these KRE policies, the insurance policies have inadvertently created a way for them to make even more money than if they were to kidnap a typical man off the street. So, is it necessary to obtain one of these policies？ Seitlin & Company (a KRE insurance provider) believes that you would be "crazy" to do business in Latin America without U
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