考研英語閱讀理解精選

　　(一)法律類

　　GOING BACK AND GETTING IT RIGHT

　　By almost every measure, Paul Pfingst is an unsentimental prosecutor. Last week the San Diego County district attorney said he fully intends to try suspect Charles Andrew Williams, 15, as an adult for the Santana High School shootings. Even before the tragedy, Pfingst had stood behind the controversial California law that mandates treating murder suspects as young as 14 as adults.

　　So nobody would have wagered that Pfingst would also be the first D.A. in the U.S. to launch his very own Innocence Project. Yet last June, Pfingst told his attorneys to go back over old murder and rape convictions and see if any unravel with newly developed DNA-testing tools. In other words, he wanted to revisit past victories--this time playing for the other team. "I think people misunderstand being conservative for being biased," says Pfingst. "I consider myself a pragmatic guy, and I have no interest in putting innocent people in jail."

　　Around the U.S., flabbergasted defense attorneys and their jailed clients cheered his move. Among prosecutors, however, there was an awkward pause. After all, each DNA test costs as much as $5,000. Then there's the unspoken risk: if dozens of innocents turn up, the D.A. will have indicted his shop.

　　But nine months later, no budgets have been busted or prosecutors ousted. Only the rare case merits review. Pfingst's team considers convictions before 1993, when the city started routine DNA testing. They discard cases if the defendant has been released. Of the 560 remaining files, they have re-examined 200, looking for cases with biological evidence and defendants who still claim innocence.

　　They have identified three so far. The most compelling involves a man serving 12 years for molesting a girl who was playing in his apartment. But others were there at the time. Police found a small drop of saliva on the victim's shirt--too small a sample to test in 1991. Today that spot could free a man. Test results are due any day. Inspired by San Diego, 10 other counties in the U.S. are starting DNA audits.

　　By Amanda Ripley ez ncisco sijevic rtwell; Lisa McLaughlin; Joseph Pierro; Josh Tyrangiel and Sora Song

　　注(1)本文選自Time; 03/19/2001, Vol. 157 Issue 11, p62, 1p, 2c, 3bw

　　注(2)本文習(xí)題命題模仿對象2004年真題text 1.

　　1.How did Pfingst carry out his own Innocence Project?

　　[A]By getting rid of his bias against the suspects.

　　[B]By revisiting the past victories.

　　[C]By using the newly developed DNA-testing tools.

　　[D]By his cooperation with his attorneys.

　　2.Which of the following can be an advantage of Innocence Project?

　　[A]To help correct the wrong judgments.

　　[B]To oust the unqualified prosecutors.

　　[C]To make the prosecutors in an awkward situation.

　　[D]To cheer up the defense attorneys and their jailed clients.

　　3.The expression “flabbergasted”(Line 1, Paragraph 3) most probably means _______.

　　[A]excited

　　[B]competent

　　[C]embarrassed

　　[D]astounded

　　4.Why was Pfingst an unsentimental prosecutor?

　　[A]He intended to try a fifteen-year old suspect.

　　[B]He had no interest in putting the innocent in jail.

　　[C]He supported the controversial California law.

　　[D]He wanted to try suspect as young as fourteen.

　　5.Which of the following is not true according to the text?

　　[A]Pfingst’s move didn’t have a great coverage.

　　[B] Pfingst’s move had both the positive and negative effect.

　　[C] Pfingst’s move didn’t work well.

　　[D]Pfingst’s move greatly encouraged the jailed prisoners.

　　篇章剖析

　　本文采用的是記敘文的模式。第一段指出芬斯特作為一位鐵面無私的檢查官的一些做法；第二段指出芬斯特實施“清白計劃”的打算及做法；第三段指出實施“清白計劃”造成的反應(yīng)以及可能存在的問題；第四段和第五段是實施“清白計劃”的結(jié)果和影響。

　　詞匯注釋

　　prosecutor [5prRsIkju:tE(r)]n.檢察官 ,檢察員,起訴人,原告

　　controversial [kRntrE5v\:F(E)l]adj.爭論的, 爭議的

　　mandate [5mAndeIt]v.批準(zhǔn)制訂一個訓(xùn)令，如通過法律；發(fā)布命令或要求：

　　wager [5weIdVE(r)]v.下賭注, 保證

　　conviction [kEn5vIkF(E)n]n.定罪, 宣告有罪

　　unravel[Qn5rAv(E)l]v. 闡明, 解決

　　flabbergast[5flAbE^B:st; (?@) -^Ast]v.<口>使大吃一驚, 啞然失色, 使目瞪口呆

　　indict[In5daIt]v.起訴, 控告, 指控, 告發(fā)

　　bust[bQst]v.破產(chǎn)或缺錢

　　oust[aJst]v.剝奪, 取代, 驅(qū)逐

　　discard[dI5skB:d]v.拋開；遺棄；廢棄

　　molest[mE5lest]v.騷亂, 困擾, 調(diào)戲

　　saliva[sE5laIvE]n.口水, 唾液

　　難句突破

　　1.Even before the tragedy, Pfingst had stood behind the controversial California law that mandates treating murder suspects as young as 14 as adults.

　　主體句式：…Pfingst had stood behind …

　　結(jié)構(gòu)分析：Even before the tragedy是本句的時間狀語；主句是Pfingst had stood behind…;that 引導(dǎo)的賓語從句修飾law;在從句中，as…as是一詞組，意思是“和…一樣”；出現(xiàn)的第三個as是介詞，意思是“作為”。

　　句子譯文：甚至在這場悲劇發(fā)生之前芬斯特就支持加利福尼亞州的一項頗有爭議的法律。這項法律規(guī)定，以成人身份受審的謀殺嫌疑犯的比較低年齡可以降到十四歲。

　　題目分析

　　1.答案為C，屬事實細(xì)節(jié)題。文中對應(yīng)信息“Pfingst told his attorneys to go back over old murder and rape convictions and see if any unravel with newly developed DNA-testing tools.”是對第二段第一句的補(bǔ)充說明。

　　2.答案為A，屬推理判斷題。從上下文我們可以得知，實施“清白計劃”就是使用先進(jìn)的DNA技術(shù)來重新審理過去的案件當(dāng)中可能存在的冤案錯案。

　　3.答案為D, 屬猜詞題。從第二段第一句話我們得知芬斯特可能是美國第一個實施非常獨特的“清白計劃”的人，因此他的做法很可能是令人感到吃驚的，從而可猜出該詞的含義。

　　4.答案為B，屬推理判斷題。從第一段和第二段給出的事例我們可以看出，芬斯特不愿放過任何一個犯罪的人，即便他的年齡還不算大；他也不愿使無辜者蒙冤，即便案件已經(jīng)審理。

　　5.答案為C，屬推理判斷題。正因為 “Pfingst’s move works well”,美國才又有“ten other counties are starting DNA audits”,而且，“no budgets have been busted or prosecutors ousted”.