2021年江苏省南通市公共英语五级(笔试)真题(含答案)

2021年江苏省南通市公共英语五级(笔试)真题(含答案)学校:________班级:________姓名:________考号:________

一、1.ListeningComprehension(15题)1.Thepossibilitiesofourliteraryexperiencesarealmostunlimited.

A.RightB.Wrong

2.PartB

Directions:Youwillhear3conversationsortalksandyoumustanswerthequestionsbychoosingA,B,CorD.YouwillheartherecordingONLYONCE.

听力原文：M：Now，I'dliketosaythatIthinkthatthisgovernmentproposingtobuildmorenuclearpowerstationsinthiscountryisreallybeingstupid．Thepointaboutnuclearpoweristhatwehaven'tlearnttodoawaywiththewaste．Wehaven'tlearnttocopewiththewastefromityet．

W：Well，Isometimesthinkthat，youknow，they'vegotanimpossiblejob．ImeanalltheimpressionIgetisthatthereisnoalternative…well,that'stheimpressionIget．

M：No，no，noI…Idon'tagreewiththatatall.Thereareplentyofalternatives．There'sthesun…solarpower…thatisasourcethatisalwaysthere，wealwayshaveit．

W：Idon't…Idon'tquiteseewhatyou'regettingatactually，solarpower，what'sthat?

M：Well，theheatfromthesun，itcanbeusedinsolarpanelsonthetopsofhousesforheating，storinguppowertoheatwaterandtoheatthehouses，youknow，somesolarpanelsareinoperationalreadyandtheyaresavingmoney…

W：That'sagoodpointactually，butisitreallyviable，that，ImeanbecauseI'd…

M：Sorryitmustbe!AndtheonegreatadvantageisthatIcansee，ifthegovernmentsetupsmallunitstobuildsolarpanelsandtoinstallthem，itwouldbecreatingemploymentwhichwouldimprovetheunemploymentsituationandbringterrificadvantages．

W：IhaveheardthatinEngland，Imean，there'snotenoughsun，isthere?For，Imean，solarpanelshere?

M：Yes，well，that'snotquitetrue．I…thereisquiteabitofsun…youmaynotfeeltheactualheatofitonsomeoccasions．

W：No，youarefightthere!

M：Butthelightpowerfromthesunwill…

Whatdoesthemanthinkofthegovernment'spresentproposalaboutbuildingmorepowerstationsinthecountry?

A.It'sadangerousproposal.

B.It'sastupidproposal.

C.It'sanadvantageousproposal.

D.It'saviableproposal.

3.WhendidDicksongotoBostonforeyetreatment?

A.In1848.

B.Intheearly1850s.

C.Inthelate1850s.

D.Intheearly1860s.

4.Whichareaoftheworldcontributedtoanincreasebetween94/95and95/96?

5.Dr．MannisnowinCambridge，writingabookonthe______．

6.HowlongdidittakeforalettersentbyapostridertoreachtheaddresseebetweenNewYorkandBoston?

7.PartA

Directions:Youwillhearatalk.Asyoulisten,answerQuestions1-10bycirclingTRUEorFALSE.YouwillhearthetalkONLYONCE.Younowhave1minutetoreadQuestions1-10.

听力原文：W:Comein,please.

M:Goodmorning,Dr.Wilson.

W:Goodmorning,Wang.Hownicetomeetyouagain.Takeaseat...whydon'tyou,please.Whendidyougettotheuniversity?

M:Iarrivedyesterday.

W:Well...areyoulivinginthecollege?

M:No,IamwithanEnglishfamily...actually...becauseIwanttoimprovemyspeaking.

W:Oh,fine.Right,didyoutakealanguageproficiencytestbeforeyoucame?

M:Yes.Uhh...myOverallBandis6,but...unfortunatelymyspeakingscoreisonly5.

W:OK,youknow,hereinthisuniversity,youhavetotakeourownEnglishtestbeforeyouattendanylectures.So,firstofall,whatwe'vegottodois,wehavetomakeanarrangementforthetestdate.Umm...willtomorrowbeallrightforyou?

M:Yeah,Ihavetimetomorrowmorning.

W:Good,then.Tomorrowatten.Idon'tthinkthetestwillbeanyproblemforyou.Now,let'smakesureyoumakegooduseofyourtimehere.Let'sputitlikethis.Whatexactlydoyouwanttoaccomplishinthenext12months?

M:I'minterestedincomputerlanguagetranslation,Imean,fromEnglishtoChineseandChinesetoEnglish.I'lltry,ifpossible,toproducesoftwareoradevicewhichcanserveasaninterpreter.

W:Yes,couldyoubeabitmorespecificabout...er...thedevice?

M:Forinstance,whenyoutalktothedeviceinEnglishitwilltranslateyourwordsintoChineseandviceversa.

W:Uhuh...doyoumeanit'llbeascompetentas...er...ahumaninterpreter?

M:Yes...well,I'llletitdealwithgeneralsituations,atleast.

W:Fascinating...andhowbigwillthedeviceitselfbe,doyouthink?

M:Thesizeofacigarettepack,Ithink.Sopeoplecanputitintheirpocket.

W:Really?Well,thatcouldbeaPh.Dproject.Tellmewhatyouhavedonesofar.

M:Inmyfouryearsofundergraduatestudy,Istudiedelectronics,advancedmathematics,hardwaredesigning,somecomputerlanguagesandprogramwriting.

W:Yes,buthaveyoudoneanypracticaljobs?Imean,haveyouwrittenanyprogramsforpracticaluse?

M:IhadbeeninvolvedinaprojectforCADinashipyard.

W:Computeraideddesign.Thatwasprobablyagoodexperience,but,unfortunately,itmaynothelpyourpresentprojectmuch.AreyoufamiliarwiththeC-language?

M:No.

W:Uhuh...thephoneticprocessingsystem,doyouknowhowsuchasystemworks?

M:Whatdoyoumeanby"phoneticprocessingsystem"?

W:Well,youknow,Englishisspokenbydifferentpeoplewithdifferentaccents.YourEnglishaccentisdifferentfrommine,andofcoursemineisnotthesameasmycolleagues'.SoasIseeit,yourdevicewouldhavetobeabletorecogniseandunderstanddifferentaccents.

M:Oh,Isee.IthinkIcanlearntheC-languageandthephoneticprocessingsystemhere.

W:Well,that'sprobablytrue,butyou'vegotonlytwelvemonthsandyouwantadegree,don'tyou?M:Yes.

W:OK,sothere'retwowaysofstudyingforadegreehere.Youeithertakesixcourses,passtheirexamsandhaveyourdissertationacceptedortheotherwayisyoudosomeresearchworkandsubmityourprojectreport.M:IthinkI'lltakethesecondway,

W:Fine,butareyousureyoucanfinishyourprojectintwelvemonths?

M:Idon'tknow,butIcanworktwelvehoursperdayandsevendaysperweek.

W:Well,I'dsuggestyouspendsometimeinourlibrary,tryingtofindoutwhatotherstudentshavedonebeforeandperhapsreconsideryourownproject,tosomeextent.Youmightnarrowyourresearcharea,concentratingonsolvingoneortwomajorproblems.And,it'dbeagoodideatotalktoyourcolleaguesinthelab,first.Anyway,I'msurewecanworkoutsomethinggood.ShallIseeyouagaininthreedays'time?

M:A11rig

A.TrueB.Fasle

8.Whatdoweknowaboutthedifferencebetweenmenandwomenintermsofpersonalrelationships?

A.Itiseasierforwomentomakefriendsamongwomen.

B.Womentendtorevealtheirfeelingsmoreeasily.

C.Personalrelationshipsaremorecentraltomostmen'slives.

D.It'seasiertoestablishpersonalrelationshipswithwomenthanwithmen.

9.Accordingtothelecture,whatisinflation?

A.Risingprices.

B.Fixedincome.

C.Realincome.

D.Costofliving.

10.Bonecontainsnowater.

A.RightB.Wrong

11.PartC

Directions:Youwillhearatalk.Asyoulisten,answerthequestionsorcompletethenotesinyourtestbookletforQuestions21-30bywritingNOTMORETHANTHREEwordsinthespaceprovidedontheright.YouwillhearthetalkTWICE.

Younowhave1minutetoreadQuestions21-30.

听力原文：ForthoseofyouwhoareeitheralreadystudyingintheUnitedStatesorplanningtooneday,itmightbeinterestingtoknowsomethingabouttheforeignstudentpopulationintheUnitedStates.Fortheacademicyear1995/96therewasasumofapproximately344,000foreignstudentsstudyingintheUnitedStates.Thisfigureof344000mayseemlikeaverylargenumberuntilyoucompareitwiththetotalpopulationof241,000,000.Theforeignstudentpopulationhasbeengrowingforanumberofyearsandisstillgrowing,buttherateofincreasehasdroppedsharplyduringthe1990s.Duringthe1980s,thepopulationgrewquiterapidly.Forexample,between1985and1990.theaverageyearlyincreasewas12.5%.However,thepictureinthe1990sisquitedifferent.Therateofincreasehasdeclinedquitenoticeably.Infact,therateofincreasebetween1994/95and1995/96wasonly0.5%,orone-halfofonepercent.Althoughtheoverallrateofincreasehasdroppedtoonly0.5%.thenumberofstudentsfromsomepartsoftheworldisincreasingwhilethenumberofstudentsfromotherareasisdecreasing.Forexample,duringthissameperiod,thatisbetweentheacademicyears1994/95and1995/96,therewasadecreaseinthenumberofstudentsfromtheMiddleEast,whilethenumberofstudentsfromSouthandEastAsiaincreased.Thesechangesinthenumberofstudentscomingfromdifferentpartsoftheworldnodoubtreflectedchangingeconomicandpoliticalsituations.I'msureyouareawareofmanyofthesechanges,andperhapswecandiscussthematournextmeeting.Fortodaylet'sconfineourtalktofirst,adiscussionoftheoriginofthesestudents,or,inotherwords,wheretheycamefrom;second,thekindsofstudiestheypursue;and,finally,theacademiclevelstheyarefoundin.Ifwehavealittletimeleft,wemightquicklytalkaboutinwhichgeographicareasmostofthemgotoschool.

Let'sdiscusstheoriginsoftheforeignstudentpopulationintheUnitedStatesfortheacademicyear1995/96.Let'sdiscussitinorderfromthoseareassendingthemoststudentstothoseareassendingthefeweststudents.IfwelookatthefiguresprovidedbytheannualcensusofforeignstudentsintheUnitedStatesfortheyear1995/96,weseethatmostoftheforeignstudentsstudyingintheUnitedStatesduringthisyearwerefromSouthandEastAsia.ThisisaratherlargegeographicalareawhichincludessuchconutriesasChina,Korea,Pakistan,India,Malaysia,andIndonesia.Thetotalnumberofstudentsfromthisarea,SouthandEastAsiawas156,830.Inotherwords,roughly2outofevery5foreignstudentscomefromSouthandEastAsia.Almost24000ofthistotalwerefromChina.Malaysiawasclosebehindwithjustalittleover23000students.ThenextlargestnumberofstudentscamefromtheMiddleEast.ThenumberofstudentsfromtheMiddleEastcametoaboutone-thirdthenumberfromSouthandEastAsia.ThefourthlargestnumbercamefromSouthAmerica.NextcanleEurope,Africa,NorthAmerica,andOceania.Let'srecapitulatewhatwe'vesaid.ThelargestnumberofstudentsstudyingintheUnitedStatesduringtheacademicyear1995/96werefromSouthandEastAsia,followedbytheMiddleEast,SouthAmerica,Europe,Africa,NorthAmerica,andOceania.

Whatfieldsaretheselargenumbersofforeignstudentsstudyingin?Itprobablywon'tsurpriseyouthatthelargestnumberareinthefieldofengineering.Infact,21.7%ofthetotalnumberarestudyingengineering.Businessandmanagementisclosebehind,however,withatotalof18.9%.Thethirdmostpopularfieldwasmathematicsand

12.Whatarethestudentsdoingwhenthemanarrivesinclass?

A.Takinganexamination.

B.Drawinggraphs.

C.Givingpresentations.

D.Havingaclassofdiscussion.

13.Thepast-orientedpeopletendtolookattheworldina______.

14.Whyarestudentsenthusiasticforpositionsinstudentorganizations?

A.Becausetheyhatetheconstantpressureandstrainoftheirstudy.

B.Becausetheywillthenbeabletostaylongerintheuniversity.

C.Becausesuchpositionshelpthemhuntbetterjobs.

D.Becausesuchpositionsareusuallywellpaid.

15.Governmentbuildingsoftenhavespecialpathsforthosepeoplehandicapped.

A.TrueB.Fasle

二、2.UseofEnglish(10题)16.(45)

17.

【C8】

18.

【C7】

19.(44)

20.

【C15】

21.

【C2】

22.(43)

23.

【C12】

24.

【C16】

25.(33)

三、3.ReadingComprehension(15题)26.Insuranceissupposedtoprovideprotectionagainstfinancialrisks,andwhiledyingtoosoonisonemajorriskweface,anotherriskmoreandmorepeoplefearisoutlivingtheirmoney.Asaresult,agrowingarrayoflifeinsuranceproductsmakeitpossibletoprotectagainstbothofthoserisks.

Inmanyoftoday'slifeinsuranceproducts,MacDonaldnotes,"Thedeathbenefitportionreallyhasbecomeacommoditytypeproduct,soifsomeoneisreallyconcernedaboutthefinancialimpactofdyingyoung,thentheycangetaprettygooddealbybuyingterminsuranceonacommoditybasis—findthecheapestpolicyandbuyit."But,hesays,"Theothersideofthecoinisthatinsurancecompanieshavedevelopedproductsthatcanbeverycreative,andverycompetitivetootheralternatives,includinginvestments.Theycanfillaveryimportantroleinanyoverallinvestmentplan."

Diverseanduniversalpoliciesofferpeoplechoicesinhowmuchtheywanttoputintotheirpoliciesandhowtheywanttheirfundsinvested.Thesefundscanthenbetappedlaterontoprovidealumpsumforpurchasingaretirementhomeorastreamofretirementincome.Lifeinsuranceisanattractiveinvestmentvehicle,becausethe"insidebuildup",theaccumulationoffundsinsideapolicystructrue,isnotsubjecttotaxes,incontrasttootherpersonalinvestments.

However,MacDonaldandotherswarnagainstusinginsurancepoliciespurelyasaninvestment.Whiletherearetaxadvantages,therearealsothecostsconnectedwiththeinsurancecoverage,andifyoudon'tneedthatcoveragethesecanbeexpensivewaystoinvest.

Moreover,MacDonaldnotesthatsomecompaniesareofferinginsurancethathasacriticalillnessorlong-termcarebenefit.Thesepoliciesspecifythatifsomeonesuffersaheartattack,forexample,theywillget25%ofthefaceamountoftheinsurancepolicyimmediatelyratherthanatdeath.Oriftheymustbeconfinedtoanursinghome,theywillbeabletouseuptothefaceamountofthepolicytopaythenursinghomecosts.

Amidtheproliferationofinsuranceproduct,MacDonaldsays,"Thepositivesideofitistherearebetterproducts—they'recheaperandmoreflexible.Thenegativesideisthatit'smorecomplicatedandeasiertomakeamistake.Inthepast,itwasplainvanilla;everybodywassellingthesameproductandeverybodyhadtofindanagenttheyliked.Nowtherehasbeensignificantchangesinproductstructureanddesign,andbenefits,andsoitisworthwhiletoshoparound."

Thepurposeofinsuranceisto______.

A.giveyoumoneywheneveryouneed

B.protectyoufromfinancialrisks

C.savemoney

D.outlivemoney

27.

Accordingtothepassage,whichofthefollowingisTRUE?

A.AllAmericansarepersuadednottogetvaccinatedthisyear.

B.Thebigproblemininnovatingfluvaccineproducingtechniqueishowtogrowvirusinanewway.

C.Morefluvaccinescannotbeproducedinashorttimebecauseprivatecompaniesrefusetoproducemore.

D.Fluvaccinesareeasierthanmostvaccinestoproducethroughcellcultures.

28.PartA

Directions:ReadthefollowingtextsandanswerthequestionswhichaccompanythembychoosingA,B,CorD.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET1.

Opinionpollsarenowbeginningtoshowthat，whoeveristoblameandwhateverhappensfromnowon，highunemploymentisprobablyheretostay．Thismeansweshallhavetomakewaysofsharingtheavailableemploymentmorewidely．

Butweneedtogofurther．Wemustasksomeprimaryquestionsaboutthefutureofwork．Wouldwecontinuetotreatemploymentasthenorm?Wouldwenotratherencouragemanyotherwaysforself-respectingpeopletowork?Shouldwenotcreateconditionsinwhichmanyofuscanworkforourselves，ratherthanforanemployer?Shouldwenotaimtorevivethehouseholdandtheneighborhood，aswellasthefactoryandtheoffice，ascentersofproductionandwork?

Theindustrialagehasbeentheonlyperiodofhumanhistoryinwhichmostpeople'sworkhastakentheform.ofjobs．Theindustrialagemaynowbecomingtoanend，andsomeofthechangesinworkpatternswhichitbroughtmayhavetobereversed．Thisseemsadauntingthought．But，infact，itcouldprovidetheprospectofabetterfutureforwork．Universalemployment，asitshistoryshows，hasnotmeanteconomicfreedom．

Employmentbecamewidespreadwhentheenclosuresofthe17thand18thcenturiesmademanypeopledependentonpaidworkbydeprivingthemoftheuseoftheland，andthusofthemeanstoprovidealivingforthemselves．Thenthefactorysystemdestroyedthecottageindustriesandremovedworkfrompeople'shomes．Later，astransportationimproved，firstbyrailandthenbyroad，peoplecommutedlongerdistancestotheirplacesofemploymentuntil，eventually，manypeople'sworklostallconnectionwiththeirhomelivesandtheplaceinwhichtheylived．

Meanwhile，employmentputwomenatadisadvantage．Inpre-industrialtime，menandwomenhadsharedtheproductiveworkofthehouseholdandvillagecommunity．Nowitbecamecustomaryforthehusbandtogoouttopaidemployment，leavingtheunpaidworkofthehomeandfamilytohiswife．Taxandbenefitregulationsstillassumethisnormtodayandrestrictmoreflexiblesharingofworkrolesbetweenthesexes．

Itwasnotonlywomenwhoseworkstatussuffered．Asemploymentbecamethedominantform.ofwork，youngpeopleandoldpeoplewereexcluded—aproblemnow，asmoreteenagersbecomefrustratedatschoolandmoreretiredpeoplewanttoliveactivelives．

Allthismaynowhavetochange．Thetimehascertainlycometoswitchsomeeffortandresourcesawayfromtheidealistgoalofcreatingjobsforall，totheurgentpracticaltaskofhelpingmanypeopletomanagewithoutfulltimejobs．

Researchcarriedoutintherecentopinionpollsshowsthat______．

A.availableemploymentshouldberestrictedtoasmallpercentageofthepopulation

B.newjobsmustbecreatedinordertorectifyhighunemploymentfigures

C.availableemploymentmustbemorewidelydistributedamongtheunemployed

D.thenowadayhighunemploymentfiguresareatruthoflife

29.(77)

30.(78)

31.PartB

Directions:Inthefollowingarticlesomeparagraphshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions66-70,choosethemostsuitableparagraphfromthelistA-Ftofitintoeachofthenumberedgaps.Thereisoneparagraphwhichdoesnotfitinanyofthegaps.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET1.

Inthefollowingarticlesomeparagraphshavebeenremoved.ForQuestions66～70,choosethemostsuitableparagraphfromthelistA～Ftofitintoeachofthenumberedgaps.Thereisoneparagraphwhichdoesnotfitinanyofthegaps.MarkyouranswersonANSWERSHEET1.

Fromhervantagepointshewatchedthemaindoorsswingopenandthefirstarrivalspourin.Thosewhohadbeenattheheadofthelinepausedmomentarilyonentry,lookedaroundcuriously,thenquicklymovedforwardasothersbehindpressedin.Withinmomentsthecentralpublicareaofthebigbranchbankwasfilledwithachattering,noisycrowd.Thebuilding,relativelyquietlessthanaminuteearlier,hadbecomeaBabel.Edwinasawatallheavysetblackmanwavesomedollarbillsandannounceloudly,"Iwanttoputmymoneyinthebank."

66.______

Itseemedasifthereportabouteveryonehavingcometoopenanaccounthadbeenaccurateafterall.

Edwinacouldseethebigmanleaningbackexpansively,stillholdinghisdollarbills.Hisvoicecutacrossthenoiseofotherconversationsandsheheardhimproclaim,"I'minnohurry.There'ssomethingI'dlikeyoutoexplain."

Twootherdeskswerequicklymannedbyotherclerks.Withequalspeed,longwidelinesofpeopleformedinfrontofthem.

Normally,threemembersofstaffwereampletohandlenewaccountbusiness,butobviouslyinadequatenow.EdwinacouldseeTottenhoeonthefarsideofthebankandcalledhimontheintercom.Sheinstructed,"Usemoredesksfornewaccountsandtakeallthestaffyoucansparetomanthem."

67.______

Tottenhoegrumbledinreply,"Yourealizewecan'tpossiblyprocessallthesepeopletoday,andhowevermanywedowilltieusupcompletely."

"I'vegotanidea,"Edwinasaid,"that'swhatsomeonehasinmind.Justhurrytheprocessingallyoucan."

68.______

First,anapplicationform.calledfordetailsofresidence,employment,socialsecurity,andfamilymatters.Aspecimensignaturewasobtained.Thenproofofidentitywasneeded.Afterthat,thenewaccountsclerkwouldtakealldocumentstoanofficerofthebankforapprovalandinitialing.Finally,asavingspassbookwasmadeoutoratemporarycheckbookissued.

Thereforethemostnewaccountsthatanybankemployeecouldopeninanhourwerefive,sothethreeclerkspresentlyworkingmighthandleasumofninetyinonebusinessday,iftheykeptgoingattopspeed,whichwasunlikely.

69.______

Stillthenoisewithinthebankincreased.Ithadbecomeanuproar.

Afurtherproblemwasthatthegrowingmassofarrivalsinthecentralpublicareaofthebankwaspreventingaccesstotellers'countersbyothercustomers.Edwinacouldseeafewofthemoutside,regardingthemillingscenewithconsternation.Whileshewatched,severalgaveupandwalkedaway.

Insidethebanksomeofthenewcomerswereengagingtellersinconversationandthetellers,havingnothingelsetodobecauseofthemelee,chattedback.Twoassistantmanagershadgonetothecentralfloorareaandweretryingtoconductthefloodofpeoplesoastoclearsomespaceatcounters.Theywerehavingsmallsuccess.

70.______

Shedecideditwastimeforherownintervention.

Edwinalefttheplatform.andafailed-offstaffareaand,withdifficulty,madeherwaythroughthemillingcrowdtothemainfrontdoor.

A.Yetsheknewhowevermuchtheyhurrieditwouldstilltaketentofifteenminutestoopenanysinglenewaccount.Italwaysdid.Thepaperwo

32.(74)

33.(75)

34.

Whichofthefollowingistheauthor'sopinionaboutthewomanattheGlobalSupportCentre?

A.Shesoundedhelpfulandknowledgeable.

B.Shewastheretomakecallersfrustrated.

C.Shewasabletosolvehercomputerproblem.

D.Shewasquicktopassheralongtoatechnician.

35.

Whichofthefollowingstatementsistrueaboutinsuranceproducts?

A.Peoplehavenochoicewhenbuyinginsuranceproducts.

B.Thereweresomanychoicesininsuranceproductsinthepastthatpeoplefounditdifficulttomakeadecision.

C.Therearenobetterandcheaperinsuranceproducts.

D.Itisbetterforpeopletohavesomanyinsuranceproductstochoose.

36.

Theenclosuresofthe1thand18thcenturiesmeantthat_______．

A.peoplewerenolongerlegallyentitledtoownland

B.peopleweredriventolookelsewhereformeansofsupportingthemselves

C.peoplewerenotadequatelycompensatedforthelossoftheirland

D.peoplewerebadlypaidfortheworktheymanagedtofind

37.Themanbehindthisnotion,JackMaple,isadandywhoaffectsdarkglasses,homburgs(翘边帽)andtwo-toeshoes;yethehasbecomesomethingofalegendinAmerica'spolicedepartments.Forsomeyears,startinginNewYorkandmovingontohigh-crimespotssuchasNewOrleansandPhiladelphia,heandhisbusinesspartner,JohnLiederhavemarketedatwo-tiersystemforcuttingcrime.

First,policedepartmentshavetosortthemselvesout:rootoutcorruption,streamlinetheirbureaucracy,andmakemorecontactwiththepublic.Second,theyhavetoadoptacomputersystemcalledComstatwhichhelpsthemtoanalyzestatisticsofallmajorcrimes.Theseareconstantlykeyedintothecomputer,whichthendisplayswhereandwhentheyhaveoccurredonacolor-codedmap,enablingthepolicetomonitorcrimetrendsastheyhappenandtospothigh-crimeareas.InNewYork,Comstat'sstatisticalmapsareanalyzedeachweekatameetingofthecity'spolicechiefandprecinctcaptains.

MessrsMapleandLinder("specialistsincrime-reductionservices")havenodoubtthattheirsystemisamaincontributortothedropincrime.WhentheyintroduceditinNewOrleansinJanuary1997,violentcrimedroppedby22%inayear;whentheymerelystartedworkinginformallywiththepolicedepartmentinNewark,NewJersey,violentcrimefellby13%.Policedepartmentsarenowlininguptopayasmuchas$50,000amonthforthesetwomentoputthemstraight.

Probablyallthesenewpoliciesandbitsoftechnicalwizardry,addedtogether,havemadeabigdifferencetocrime.Butthereremainanomaliesthatcannotbeexplained,suchasthefactthatcrimeinWashingtonD.C.,hasfallenasfastasanywhere,althoughthepolicedepartmenthasbeencorruptandhopelessand,inlargestretchesofthecity,neitherpolicenorresidentsseemdisposedtofightthecriminalsintheirmidst.

Themoreimportantreasonforthefallincrimerates,manysay,isamuchlesssophisticatedone.Itisafactthatcrimerateshavedroppedastheimprisonmentratesoared.In1997thenationalincarcerationrate,at645per100000peoplewasmorethandoubletheratein1985,andthenumberofinmatesincityandcountyjailsroseby9.4%,almostdoubleitsannualaverageincreasesince1990.Surelysomecriminologistsargue,onesetoffiguresisthecauseoftheother.Itisprecisebecausemorepeoplearebeingsenttoprison,theyclaimthatcrimeratesarefalling.A1993studybytheNationalAcademyofSciencesactuallyconcludedthatthetriplingoftheprisonpopulationbetween1975and1989hadloweredviolentcrimeby10-15%.

Yetcauseandeffectmaynotbesoobviouslylinked.Tobeginwith,thesaleandpossessionofdrugsarenotcountedbytheFBIinitscrimeindex,whichislimitedtoviolentcrimesandcrimesagainstproperty.Yetdrugoffencesaccountformorethanathirdoftherecentincreaseinthenumberofthosejailed;since1980,theincarcerationratefordrugarrestshasincreasedby1000%.Andalthoughaboutthree-quartersofthosegoingtoprisonfordrugoffenceshavecommittedothercrimesaswell,thereisnotyetacrystal-clearconnectionbetweenfillingthejailswithdrug-pushersandadeclineintherateofviolentcrime.Again,thoughnationalfiguresaresuggestive,localonesdiverge:theplaceswherecrimehasdroppedmostsharply(suchasNewYorkCity)arenotalwaystheplaceswhereincarcerationhasrisenfastest.

JackMaplestartedhiscareerin______.

A.PhiladelphiaB.OregonC.NewOrleansD.NewYork

38.(73)

39.TheVillageGreeninNewMilford,Connecticut,isasnapshotofNewEnglandcharm：acarefullymanicuredlawnflandedbyscrupulouslymaintainedcolonialhomes.Babysittersdandlekidsinthewoodengazebo,waitingforcommuterparentstoreturnfromNewYork.OnalazyafternoonlastweekCarolineNicholas,16,hadnothingmorepressingtodothandrinkintheearly-summersunshineanddiscusstherecenteventsintown.“Idon'tthinkalotofolderpeopleknewtherewereunhappykidsinNewMilford,”shesaid,“Icouldseeitcoming.”

Inafive-dayperiodinearlyJuneeightgirlswerebroughttoNewMilfordHospitalafterwhathospitalofficialscallsuicidalge