More and more, the operations of our businesses, governments, and financial institutions are controlled by information that exists only inside computer memories. Anyone clever enough to modify this information for his own purposes can reap big reward. Even worse, a number of people who have done this and been caught at it have managed to get away without punishment.Its easy for computer crimes to go undetected if no one checks up on what the computer is doing. But even if the crime is detected, the criminal may walk away not only unpunished but with a glowing recommendation from his former employers.
Of course, we have no statistics on crimes that go undetected. But its disturbing to note how many of the crimes we do know about were detected by accident, not by systematic inspections or other security procedures. The computer criminals who have been caught may have been the victims of uncommonly bad luck.
Unlike other lawbreakers, who must leave the country, commit suicide, or go to jail, computer criminals sometimes escape punishment, demanding not only that they not be charged but that they be given good recommendations and perhaps other benefits. All too often, their demands have been met.
Why? Because company executives are afraid of the bad publicity that would result if the public found out that their computer had been misused. They hesitate at the thought of a criminal boasting in open court of how he juggled the most confidential (保密)records right under the noses of the companys executives, accountants, and security staff. And so another computer criminal departs with just the needs to continue his crimes elsewhere.
1. It can be concluded from the passage that _______________.
A) it is still impossible to detect computer crimes today
B)people commit computer crimes at the request of their company
C) computer criminals escape punishment because they cant be detected
D) computer crimes are the most serious problem in the operation of financial institutions
2. It is implied in the third paragraph that _________________.
A) most computer criminals who are caught blame their bad luck
B)the rapid increase of computer crimes is a troublesome problem
C) most computer criminals are smart enough to cover up their crimes
D) many more computer crimes go undetected that are discovered
3. Which of the following statements is mentioned in the passage?
A) A strict law against computer crimes must be enforced
B) Companies usually hesitate to uncover computer crimes to protect their reputation
C) Companies will guard against computer crimes to protect their reputation
D) Companies need to impose restrictions on confidential information
4. What may happen to computer criminals once they are caught?
A) With a bad reputation they can hardly find another job.
B)They may walk away and easily find another job.
C) They will be denied access to confidential records
D) They must leave the country to go to jail.
5. The passage is mainly about _________________.
A) why computer criminals are often able to escape punishment
B)why computer crimes are difficult to detect by systematic inspections
C) how computer criminals mange to get good recommendations from their former employers
D) why computer crimes cant be eliminated
答案与解析：
1. D) 本题主要由第一段的内容推理出来，同时兼用排除法。由第二段的前两句话，可知计算机犯罪并非不能查出来，所以A)、C)不对;由第一段的第二句中 for his own purposes 可以排除B)。
2. D) 第三段主要讲的是我们还不知道有多少计算机犯罪未被发现，第二、三两句说那些被发现了的都是偶然的，是他们的运气不好，显然，没被发现的要比已被发现的数量要多得多。
3. B) 本题表面要求寻找细节，但实际仍是一道推断题，考察对最后两段的理解。为什么计算机犯罪会逃脱惩罚呢?最后一段的前两句说得很明白，是因为公司的经理们害怕the bad publicity，即是bad reputation之意，所以他们会在揭示计算机犯罪时而犹豫。
4. B) 文章有三处都提到了这个问题的答案，它们分别是第一段的最后一句、第二段的第二句、第四段。最直接的线索是第二段的第二句。
5. D) 这是一道难度较大的主旨题。答案A)和D)很相似，文章的很多地方也都讲的是computer criminals escape punishment，但这是表面的，正是因为他们容易逃脱惩罚，所以文章最后一句说他们可以到一个新地方继续从事犯罪活动，其结果自然是计算机犯罪消除不了，因此本题选项D)更佳。
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