Questions 11-15:
Wild Bill Donovan would have loved the Internet. The American spymaster who built the
Office of Strategic Services in the World War II and later laid the roots for the CIA was fascinated
with information. Donovan believed in using whatever tools came to hand in the "great game " of
espionage-----spying as a "profession." These days the Net, which has already re-made pastimes
as buying books and sending mail, is reshaping Donovan's vocation as well.
The last revolution isn't simply a matter of gentlemen reading other gentlemen's e-mail. That
kind of electronic spying has been going on for decades. In the past three or four years, the world
wide web has given birth to a whole industry of point-and-click spying. The technical talents call
it "open source intelligence," and as the Net grows, it is becoming increasingly influential. In 1995
the CIA held a contest to see who could compile the most data about Burundi. The winner, by alarge margin, was a tiny Virginia company called Open-Source Solutions，whose clear advantage
was its mastery of the electronic world.
Among the firms making the biggest splash in the new world is Straitford, Inc., a private
intelligence-analysis firm based in Austin, Texas. Straitford makes money by selling the results of
spying(covering nations from Chile to Russia) to corporations like energy-services firm
McDermott International. Many of its predictions are available online at www.straitford.com.
Straifford president George Friedman says he sees the online world as a kind of mutually
reinforcing tool for both information collection and distribution, a spymaster's dream. Last week
his firm was busy vacuuming up data bits from the far corners of the world and predicting a crisis
in Ukraine. “As soon as that report runs, we'll suddenly get 500 new internet sign-ups from
Ukraine,” says Friedman, a former political science professor. “And we’ll hear back from some of
them.” Open-source spying does have its risks, of course, since it can be difficult to tell good
information from bad. That’s where Straitford earns its keep.
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.
11. The emergence of the Net has
(A) received support from fans like Donovan.
(B) remolded the intelligence services.
(C) restored many common pastimes.
(D) revived spying as a profession.
12. 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.
13. The phrase “making the biggest splash”(line 1,paragraph 3)most probably means
(A) causing the biggest trouble.
(B) exerting the greatest effort.
(C) achieving the greatest success.
(D) enjoying the widest popularity.
14. It can be learned from paragraph 4 that
(A) Straitford's prediction about Ukraine has proved true.
(B) Straitford guarantees the truthfulness of its information.
(C) Straitford's business is characterized by unpredictability.
(D) Straitford is able to provide fairly reliable information.
15. Straitford is most proud of its
(A) official status. (B) nonconformist image.
(C) efficient staff. (D) military background.