2021年考博英語閱讀理解模擬題（十三）

This is a book you can imagine Alec Leamas, the miserable spook hero of “TheSpy Who Came In From the Cold”, enjoying on the number 11 bus back to his dingyHammersmith flat. “What do you think spies are: priests, saints, martyrs?”Leamas famously snarled. “They're a squalid procession of vainfools, traitors too, yes; pansies, sadists and drunkards, peoplewho play cowboys and Indians to brighten their rotten lives.”

Plus?a change, apparently. “Curveball” offers asqualid and up-to-date procession of real-life fools, traitors and game-playersseeking to brighten their rotten lives. Principal among them is an Iraqichemical engineer who pitched up inGermanywithout a visa in 1999.He asked for political asylum and knew that he would greatly improve hischances of getting it if he could make himself interesting to the intelligenceservices. Which he did. Before long he had their rapt attention, as well ashis own code name, Curveball.

BobDrogin, a reporter on the Los Angeles Times, relates how over the nextcouple of years Curveball impressed his interrogators with his detailedknowledge ofIraq'schemical and biological weapons programmes. He spoke at length of such thingsas mobile laboratories that were being used to cook up lethal bugs. TheAmericans were desperate to have a look at him too. But the Germans fobbed off their rivals with transcripts andreports, blocking direct access to their prize informer.

Nevertheless,Curveball's story became an important part of the American government's casefor invadingIraq.Information taken from his testimony cropped up in the National IntelligenceEstimate of October 2002 (which maintained with “high confidence” that Iraq hadchemical and biological weapons); in George Bush's state-of-the-union messagein January 2003 (which included a reference to “mobile weapons labs designed toproduce germ-warfare agents”); and in Colin Powell's presentation to the UN the following month (which featured computer-generatedimages of those mobile weapons labs, based on descriptions and drawings byCurveball).

Butit was all rubbish. Curveball was a low-level drone and borderline nutcasewith a gift for telling people what they wanted to hear. In the run-up to thewar—despite the doubts expressed by some experts about Curveball'sreliability—nobody bothered to check out his story properly. It was not until2004, a year after the invasion ofIraq, that the CIAadmitted that Curveball had foxed them. He “appears to be fabricating in thisstream of reporting”, the burn notice read.

MrDrogin points out that, in the aftermath of September 11th 2001, critics lambastedAmerican intelligence for failing to “connect the dots that might haveprevented the terrorist attacks”. What makes the Curveball case so dreadful, hereckons, is that this time they simply invented the dots. “If Curveball fusedfact and fiction, others twisted and magnified his account in grotesque ways,”he concludes. “Time and again, bureaucratic rivalries, tawdry ambitions andspineless leadership proved more important than professional integrity.” Youcan just about hear old Alec Leamas muttering “Told you so.”

1. The hero (heroes) of the book “Curveball” is (are)_____

[A] Alec Leamas who severely criticizes the profession of spy.

[B] a squalid procession of spies.

[C] an Iraqi chemical engineer named Curveball.

[D] the spies that work for CIA ahead of the Iraqi war.

2. Curveball successfully got political asylum in Germany because_____

[A] He was wanted by Americans.

[B] He was the principal of Iraq’s bio-chemical engineering project.

[C] He boasted of his adequate knowledge on Iraq’s information with full confidence.

[D] He succeeded in making the Germans believe that he was a reliable and useful informer.

3. Curveball’s reliability was not suspected despite some experts’ doubt because_____

[A] His knowledge of Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons programmes sounded true.

[B] He was good at providing information that catered to the demand of western governments.

[C] His story has been used in many important government reports.

[D] American intelligence neglected their duty.

4. The word “dots” (Line 4, Paragraph 6) most probably means _____

[A] points.

[B] marks.

[C] falsities.

[D] evidences.

5. By mentioning old Alec Leamas’ muttering “Told you so.”, the author implies that_____

[A] spies are good story teller.

[B] fact is often confused with fiction.

[C] people are easily trusting the spies.

[D] Alec Leams is more intelligent than Curveball.

[答案]

1. B

2. D

3. B

4. C

5. A

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