2009年考研英语冲刺阅读理解专项训练162考研

文章作者 100test 发表时间 2009:01:02 18:25:20
来源 100Test.Com百考试题网

　　 What might be the next alarm bell to ring?Of course，a truck bomb would intensify national nervousness by making things that are ubiquitous--trucks--seem ominous．And high explosives directed against，say，Hoover Dam would not only complicate life in the Southwest，it would underscore the unsettling message that even big things can be pulverized．①However，it is time to think about attacks using things not solid and directed against things not as solid as skyscrapers or dams．
　　 Consider cyberterrorism，assaults that can be undertaken from anywhere on the planet against anything dependent on or directed by flows of information．Call this soft terrorism．Although it can put lives in jeopardy，it can do its silent，stealthy work without tearing flesh or pulverizing structures．It can be a weapon of mass disruption rather than mass destruction，as was explained by the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection in its l 997 report on potential cyberattacks against the“system of systems”that is modern America．
　　 “Life is good in America，”the report says，“because things work．When we flip the switch，the lights come on．When we turn the tap，clean water flows．”Now suppose a sudden and drastic shrinkage of life’s“taken for granted”quotient．The report notes that terrorist attacks have usually been against single targets--individuals，crowds，buildings．But today’s networked world of complexity and interconnectedness has vast new vulnerabilities with a radius larger than that of any imaginable bomb blast．Terrorists using computers might be able to disrupt information and communications systems and, by doing s0．attack banking and financial systems，energy(electricity，oil，gas)，and the systems for the physical distribution of America’s economic output．
　　 Hijacked aircraft and powdered anthrax--such terrorist tools are crude and scarce compared with computers，which are everywhere and inexpensive．Wielded with sufficient cunnin9，they can spread the demoralizing helplessness that is terrorism’s most important intended byproduct．Computers as weapons，even more than intercontinental ballistic missiles，render irrelevant the physical geography-- the two broad oceans and two peaceful neighbors--that once was the basis of America’s sense of safety．④
　　 A threat is a capability joined with a hostile intent．In early summer l997 the U．S．military conducted a threat-assessment exercise，code-named Eligible Receiver，to test the vulnerabilities of“borderless cyber geography"．The results confirmed that in a software-driven world，an enemy need not invade the territory，or the air over the territory，of a country in order to control or damage that country’ S resoUrces．
　　 The attack tools are on sale everywhere：computers，modems，software，telephones．The attacks can shut down services or deliver harmful instructions to systems．And a cyberattack may not be promptly discovered．The report says，“Computer intrusions do not announce their presence the way a bomb does．[459 words]
　　 1．This passage is mainly about______．
　　 A．future terrorist attacks
　　 B．fighting against terrorism
　　 C．weapons of mass disruption
　　 D．weapons of mass destruction
　　 2．The underlined word“ubiquitous”in the first paragraph most probably means______．
　　 A．common
　　 B．real
　　 C．solid
　　 D．tangible
　　 3．Soft terrorism is mainly directed against______．
　　 A．dams
　　 B．skyscrapers
　　 C．unsettling messages
　　 D．information systems
　　 4．America’s sense of safety may be threatened to the greatest extent when______are used as terrorist weapons．
　　 A．computers
　　 B．hijacked aircraft
　　 C．powered anthrax
　　 D．intercontinental ballistic missiles
　　 5．The threat—assessment exercise once conducted in U．S．______．
　　 A．obscured its cyber geography
　　 B．confirmed the potential threat of cyberattacks
　　 C．rendered irrelevant its physical geography
　　 D．enhanced America’s sense of safety considerably
　　 超纲词汇
　　 Anthrax n．炭疽热
　　 Ballistic 弹道的
　　 Cyber (前缀)计算机的
　　 Cyberterrorism 计算机恐怖活动
　　 flip v．／n．轻弹，抽打
　　 Hoover Dam n．胡佛水坝
　　 Infrastructure 下部结构，基础下部组织，基础
　　 Intrusion n．闯入，侵扰
　　 jeopardy n．危险
　　 Modem n．调制解调器
　　 ominous 恶兆的
　　 Pulverize研磨成粉
　　 quotient n．份额
　　 Shrinkage n．收缩
　　 Ubiquitous adj．到处存在的
　　 underscore vt．／n．强调
　　 Wield vt．支配，掌握