21世纪，英语已经走进了我们每个人的生活，学好英语成了我们共同的目标，为了帮助大学生更好地掌握英语，特提供以下文章：
A Smuggling Syndicate
The smuggler in many ways is just another international businessman and his turnover would do credit to many international corporations. His business happens to be illegal and risky, but look at the stakes involved: $5 billion worth of heroin smuggled into the United States each year, and $1.5 billion in gold passing annually along smuggling pipelines to India and Indonesia, to France and Morocco, to Brazil and Turkey. Perhaps half of all the watches made in Switzerland reach their eventual wearers by some back door. Most of this illicit trade is carried on with all the efficiency of any multinational company. Entirely legitimate businesses, such as a travel bureau or an import-export agency, are also often fronts for smuggling organizations. One of the world’s largest gold smugglers also owned and operated the franchise for a leading make of British cars in a small Middle Eastern country. He made a good profit from both activities.
A smuggling syndicate operates much like any other business. The boss is really a chief executive. He makes all the plans, establishes international contacts, and thinks up the smuggling routes and method but remains aloof from actual operations. He is aided by a handful of managers looking after such specialties as financing, travel (one reason why many smuggling syndicates find it handy to have their own travel agency), the bribing of airline or customs officials, and recruitment of couriers, or mules as they are called. There may also be someone in charge of local arrangements in the countries to which the smuggled goods is going
Another similarity between legitimate business and its illegal counterpart is price fluctuation. Just as the prices of products traded legally vary with quality and market conditions such as supply and demand, so do the prices of goods go up and down in the smuggling trade. Consider the price of drugs. Heroin and cannabis, in whatever form or by whatever name, cone in several grades, each with a going price. The wholesale price at which big dealers sell to big dealers is less than the street price. When the authorities are successful in reducing the supply buy seizures, the price of all grades rises.
1. The main idea for this passage is
[A] The Comparison between Legitimate Business and Its Illegal Counterpart.
[B] The similarities between Legitimate Business and Smuggling.
[C] Smugglers May Make Great Profit from Both Activities.
[D] The Boss in Smuggling Syndicate is a Chief Executive.
2. When is the price going down?
[A] The quality of the foods and market condition are not very well.
[B] The quality of goods and market condition vary.
[C] Unbalance between supply and demand.
[D] The price of other goods fluctuates.
3. It can be inferred that a smuggler
[A] may make plan and establish international contacts.
[B] is a real boss.
[C] may make money in different ways .
[D] may sell other goods.
4. One of the best ways smugglers usually take is
[A] to set up multinational companies.
[B] to engage in illegal businesses only.
[C] to make legitimate businesses as fronts for smuggling organizations.
[D] to make good profits from both activities.
1. B. 正当商业和走私的相似性。是这篇文章的中心思惟。它是经由过程对例如式声名这种相似性。并不是两者对比得出结论。所以
A. 正当商业和犯警商业斗劲。不合错误。 C. 走私者可以从两种勾当中谋取利润 和 D. 走私集团中的老板是董事长，只是对比中提到个体具体事实。不是中心思惟。
2. A. 货色质量和市场情形欠好。第三段第二句“正如正当商业按质论价和按市场供需价一样，走私商品也是按这两者调节价钱的上升和下降。”所以当质量和市场情形欠好价钱就地。
B. 货色质量和市场转变。这并不必然降价，也可能上升。 C. 供需不服衡。并没有声名供大于求，和降价无关。 D. 其它商品价波动。这不必然下跌。所以B,C,D都不合错误。
3. D. 可能会卖其他货物。问题问题是揣度，(infer)。从第一段最后一句“世界上最大走私黄金商之生意，可揣度出走私商照样可以经营其他商品。至于
A. 拟定打算，签定合同。 B. 走私商是真正的老板。 C. 以分歧的体例赚钱，都是文章中直抒，不是揣度出来的结论。
A. 多国公司。 B. 只从事犯警商贸，这并不是最佳体例。 D. 从两方面赚钱，并不是体例，而是有了呵护所后，多一份收入而已。