Part II Reading Comprehension(35 minutes) Directions: There are 4 passages in this part. Each passage is followed by some questions or unfinished statements. For each of them there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D)。 You should decide on the best choice and mark the corresponding letter on the Answer Sheet with a single line through the center. Passage One Questions 11 to 15 are based on the following passage. Most shoplifters agree that the January sales offer wonderful opportunities for the hard-working thief. With the shops so crowded and the staff so busy, it does not require any extraordinary talent to help yourself to one or two little things and escape unnoticed. It is known, in the business, as “hoisting”。 But the hoisting game is not what it used to be. Even at the height of the sales, shoplifters today never know if they are being watched by one of those evil little balls that hang from the ceilings of so many department stores above the most desirable goods. As if that was not trouble enough for them, they can now be filmed at work and obliged to attend a showing of their performance in court. Selfridges was the first big London store to install closed-circuit video-tape equipment to watch its sales floors. In October last year the store won its first court case for shoplifting using as evidence a videotape clearly showing a couple stealing dresses. It was an important test case which encouraged other stores to install similar equipment. When the balls, called sputniks, first make an appearance in shops it was widely believed that their only function was to frighten shoplifters. Their somewhat ridiculous appearance, the curious holes and red lights going on and off, certainly make the theory believable. It did not take long, however, for serious shoplifters to start showing suitable respect. Soon after the equipment was in operation at Selfridges, store detective Brian Chadwick was sitting in the control room watching a woman secretly putting bottles of perfume into her bag. “As she turned to go,” Chadwick recalled, “she suddenly looked up at the ‘sputnik’ and stopped. She could not possibly have seen that the camera was trained on her because it is completely hidden, but she must have had a feeling that I was looking at her.” “For a moment she paused, but then she returned to counter and started putting everything back. When she had finished, she opened her bag towards the camera to show it was empty and hurried out of the store.” 11. January is a good month for shoplifters because______. A) they don’t need to wait for staff to serve them B) they don’t need any previous experience as thieves C) there are so many people in the store D) January sales offer wonderful opportunities for them
12. The sputniks hanging from the ceiling are intended______. A) to watch the most desirable goods B) to make films that can be used as evidence C) to frighten shoplifters by their appearance D) to be used as evidence against shoplifters
13. The case last October was important because_______ . A) the store got the dresses back B) the equipment was able to frighten shoplifters C) other shops found out about the equipment D) the kind of evidence supplied was accepted
14. The woman stealing perfume_______. A) guessed what the sputniks were for B) was frightened by its shape C) could see the camera filming her D) knew that the detective had seen her
15. The woman’s action before leaving the store shows that she . A) was sorry for what she had done B) was afraid she would be arrested C) decided she didn’t want what she had picked up D) wanted to prove she had not intended to steal anything