2014考研英語閱讀理解試題及名師解析(16)_跨考網(wǎng)

　　Wild Bill Donovanwould have loved the Internet. The American spymaster who built the Office ofStrategic Services in the World War II and later laid the roots for the CIA wasfascinated with information. Donovan believed in using whatever tools came to handin the “great game” of espionage-spying as a “profession?！?These daysthe Net, which has already re-made such everyday pastimes as buying books andsending mail, is reshaping Donovan's vocation as well。

　　The latest revolution isn't simply a matter of gentlemen readingother gentlemen’s e-mail. That kind of electronic spying has been going on fordecades. In the past three or four years, the World Wide Web has given birth toa whole industry of point-and-click spying. The spooks call it“open-sourceintelligence,” and as the Net grows, it is becoming increasingly influential. In1995 the CIA held a contest to see who could compile the most data aboutBurundi. The winner, by a large margin, was a tiny Virginia company calledOpen-Source Solutions，whose clear advantage was its mastery of the electronic world。

　　Among the firms making the biggest splash in this new world isStraitford, Inc., a private intelligence-analysis firm based in Austin, Texas.Straitford makes money by selling the results of spying (covering nations fromChile to Russia) to corporations like energy-services firm McDermottInternational. Many of its predictions are available online atwww.straitford.com。

　　Straitford president George Friedman says he sees the online worldas a kind of mutually reinforcing tool for both information collection anddistribution, a spymaster's dream. Last week his firm was busy vacuuming updata bits from the far corners of the world and predicting a crisis in Ukraine?！癆s soon asthat report runs, we'll suddenly get 500 new Internet sign-ups from Ukraine,” saysFriedman, a former political science professor. “And we'll hear backfrom some of them?！?Open-source spying does have its risks, of course, since it can bedifficult to tell good information from bad. That’s where Straitfordearns its keep。

　　Friedman relies on a lean staff of 20 in Austin. Several of hisstaff members have military-intelligence backgrounds. He sees the firm'soutsider status as the key to its success. Straitford's briefs don't sound likethe usual Washington back-and-forthing, whereby agencies avoid dramaticdeclarations on the chance they might be wrong. Straitford, says Friedman,takes pride in its independent voice。

　　21. 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。

　　22. 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。

　　23. The phrase “making the biggest splash” (Line 1, Paragraph3)most probably means

　　[A] causing the biggest trouble。

　　[B] exerting the greatest effort。

　　[C] achieving the greatest success。

　　[D] enjoying the widest popularity。

　　24. 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。

　　25. Straitford is most proud of its

　　[A] official status.

　　[B] nonconformist image。

　　[C] efficient staff.

　　[D] military background。