Friedman relies on a lean staff in Austin. Several of his staff members have military-intelligence backgrounds. He sees the firm’s outsider status as the key to its success. Straitford’s briefs don’t sound like the usual Washington back-and forthing, whereby agencies avoid dramatic declarations on the chance they might be wrong. Straitford, says Friedman, takes pride in its independent voice.
　　42. Donovan’s story is mentioned in the text to
　　[A] introduce the topic of online spying.
　　[B] show how he fought for the U.S.
　　[C] give an episode of the information war.
　　[D] honor his unique services to the CIA
　　[答案] A
　　[解题思路]
　　文章第一段的前三句讲了多诺汶作为间谍的经历和故事，并在该段末尾通过间谍行业与网络的关系来引出本文的主题，即网络的关系来引出本文的主题，即网络改变了情报搜集行业的发展，因而正确答案为A。而B、C、D选项均不涉及本文的主题。需要注意的是，英文报刊文章中经常通过一个故事来引出一篇文章的中心思想，目的在于通过故事来吸引读者的注意力和兴趣。在这种情况下，文章的主题一般出现在文章第一段的末尾。
　　[题目译文]
　　文章中提到多诺汶故事的目的在于 。
　　[A] 引出网上谍报活动这个话题
　　[B] 说明他如何为美国而战斗
　　[C] 举出信息战的一段插曲
　　[D] 赞扬他为中央情报局做出的特殊贡献

2003年Text 4 
　　It is said that in England death is pressing, in Canada inevitable and in California optional Small wonder. Americans’ life expectancy has nearly doubled over the past century. Failing hips can be replaced, clinical depression controlled, cataracts removed in a 30-minuts surgical procedure. Such advances offer the aging population a quality of life that was unimaginable when I entered medicine 50 years ago. But not even a great health-care system can cure death-and our failure to confront that reality now threatens this greatness of ours. 
　　Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solve　[D] Shielded by third-party payers from the cost of our care, we demand everything that can possibly be done for us, even if it’s useless. The most obvious example is late-stage cancer care. Physicians-frustrated by their inability to cure the disease and fearing loss of hope in the patient-too often offer aggressive treatment far beyond what is scientifically justified. 
　　In1950, the U.S. spent .7 billion on health care. In 2002, the cost will be billion. Anyone can see this trend is unsustainable. Yet few seem willing to try to reverse it. Some scholars conclude that a government with finite resources should simply stop paying for medical care that sustains life beyond a certain age-----say 83 or so. Former Colorado governor Richard Lamm has been quoted as saying that the old and infirm have a duty todie and get out of the way, so that younger, healthier people can realize their potential. 
　　I would not go that far. Energetic people now routinely work through their 60s and beyond, and remain dazzlingly productive. At 78, Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone jokingly claims to be 53.Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor is in her 70s, and former Surgeon General Everett Koop chairs an Internet start-up in his 80s.These leaders are living proof that prevention works and that we can manage the health problems that come naturally with age. As a mere 68-year-old, I wish to age as productively as they have. 
　　Yet there are limits to what a society can spend in this pursuit. Ask a physician, I know the most costly and dramatic measures may be ineffective and painful. I also know that people in Japan and Sweden, countries that spend far less on medical care, have achieved longer, healthier lives than we have. As a nation, we may be overfunding the quest for unlikely cures while underfunding research on humbler therapies that could improve people’s lives. 
　　60. The text intends to express the idea that 
　　[A] medicine will further prolong people’s lives. 
　　[B] life beyond a certain limit is not worth living. 
　　[C] death should be accepted as a fact of life. 
　　[D] excessive demands increase the cost of health care 
　　[答案] C 
　　[解题思路] 
　　文章第二段的前两句话都直接指出Death is normal; we are genetically programmed to disintegrate and perish, even under ideal conditions. We all understand that at some level, yet as medical consumers we treat death as a problem to be solved（死亡是正常的；我们的基因决定我们即使在最理想的环境里也会解体和灭亡。我们所有人在某种程度上都懂得这一点，但是作为医疗消费者，我们常常将死亡视为一个可以解决的问题）。全文从头至尾也在传递这样的信息，即我们应该努力提高自己的健康状况和生活质量，而不要无谓地把精力都放在避免死亡上。相反，我们应该正视并接受死亡这一事实，因此C为正确答案。A选项的观点是作者所反对的，B选项的表述过于极端，而D选项只是文章中的一个小细节，并不代表了中心思想。