Question

I have only once been in trouble with the law．The whole process of being arrested and taken to court was a rather unpleasant experience at the time, but it makes a good story now． What makes it rather disturbing was the arbitrary（随意的）circumstances both of my arrest and my subsequent （随后的） fate in court．

It happened in February about twelve years ago．I had left school a couple of months before that and was not due to go to university until the following October．I was still living at home at the time．

One morning I was in Richmond, a suburb of London near where I lived．I was looking for a temporary job so that I could save up some money to go traveling．As it was a fine day and I was in no hurry, I was taking my time, looking in shop windows, strolling in the park, and sometimes just stopping and looking around me．It must have been this obvious aimlessness that led to my downfall．

It was about half past eleven when it happened．I was just walking out of the local library, having unsuccessfully sought employment there, when I saw a man walking across the road with the obvious intention of talking to me．I thought he was going to ask me the time．Instead, he said he was a police officer and he was arresting me．At first I thought it was some kind of joke

But then another policeman appeared, this time in uniform, and I was left in no doubt．

'But what for?" I asked

‘Wandering with intent to commit an arrestable offence,' he said．

‘What offence?' I asked

'Theft,' he said

'Theft of what?'I asked

'Milk bottles,' he said, and with a perfectly straight face too!

'Oh,' I said．

It turned out there had been a lot of petty thefts in the area, particularly that of stealing milk bottles from doorsteps．

Then I made my big mistake．At the time I was nineteen, had long untidy hair, and regarded myself as pan of the sixties' 'youth counterculture'．As a result, I wanted to appear cool and unconcerned with the incident, so I said, 'How long have you been following me?  in the most casual and conversational tone I could manage．I thus appeared to them to be quite familiar with this sort of situation, and it confirmed them in their belief that I was a thoroughly disreputable （品行不端的） character．

         A few minutes later a police car arrived．

         'Get in the back,' they said．'Put your hands on the back of the front seat and don't move them．'

         They got in on either side of me．It wasn't funny any more．

         At the police station they questioned me for several hours．I continued to try to look worldly and familiar with the situation．When they asked me what I had been doing, I told them I'd been looking for a job．'Aha,' I could see them thinking, 'unemployed'．

Eventually, I was officially charged and told to report to Richmond Magistrates' Court the following Monday．Then they let me go．

I wanted to conduct my own defense in court, but as soon as my father found out what had happened, he hired a very good solicitor （律师） ．We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness．But he was never called on to give evidence．My 'trial' didn't get that far．The magistrate （法官） dismissed the case after fifteen minutes．1 was free．The poor police had never stood a chance．The solicitor even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the police．

And so I do not have a criminal record．But what was most shocking at the time was the things my release from the charge so clearly depended on．I had the 'right' accent, respectable middle-class parents in court, reliable witnesses, and I could obviously afford a very good solicitor．Given the obscure nature of the charge．I feel sure that if I had come from a different background, and had really been unemployed, there is every chance that I would have been found guilty．While asking for costs to be awarded, my solicitor's case quite obviously revolved （回转） around the fact that I had a 'brilliant academic record'．

Meanwhile, just outside the courtroom, one of the policemen who had arrested me was gloomily complaining to my mother that another youngster had been turned against the police． 'You could have been a bit more helpful when we arrested you,' he said to me reproachfully （责备地） ．

What did he mean? Probably that I should have looked outraged （暴怒）and said something like, 'Look here, do you know who you're talking to? I am a highly successful student with a brilliant academic record．How dare you arrest me!' Then they, probably, would have apologized perhaps even taken off their caps, and let me on my way．

1.Judging from the first paragraph, the writer's attitude towards his story is _______．

A．angry                                          B．sad

C．amused                                      D．more than just one of the above

2.The first man who came up to him was ______．

A．a uniformed policeman                  B．a policeman in plainclothes

C．not a policeman                          D．a good joker

3.The court never asked the author's English teacher to give evidence because _______．

A．the time for the trial was limited to fifteen minutes only

B．the author wanted to conduct his own defense in court

C．the case was dismissed before the trial reached that stage

D．he was found to be unqualified as a character witness

4.The author believes that he would most probably have been declared guilty if _______．

A．the magistrate had been less gentle

B．he had really been out of work

C．he had been born in a lower—class family

D．both B and C

5.In the opinion of one of the policeman who had arrested the author, the whole thing might not have occurred if ______．

A．he had protested strongly at the time

B．he had begged to be allowed to go home

C．he hadn't wandered aimlessly

D．he had tried to look cool

6.We can see from the passage that the author ______．

A．has broken the law only once

B．has never broken the law

C．has broken the law on more than one occasion

D．once broke the law without knowing it

 

Answer 1

【答案】

 

1.D

2.B

3.C

4.D

5.A

6.B

【解析】

试题分析：我曾经有过法律方面的麻烦。整个被捕和送上法庭的过程在当时相当令人不愉快。我正走出当地的图书馆。还没找到工作。一个便衣警察走过去要逮捕他。随后几个警察就把他带走了。我父亲听说后请来最好的律师，准备证人证言，结果审判15分钟就结束了。我被当庭宣告无罪释放。只因为我的家人是不错的中产阶级，否则可能就会有牢狱之灾了。

1.推理判断题。第一段的大意是：我曾经有过法律方面的麻烦。整个被捕和送上法庭的过程在当时相当令人不愉快，但是现在已经成为一个不错的故事。令人烦恼的是对我的被捕和随后法庭上的命运的随意的情形。由此判断作者对他这段经历的感受很复杂，不止一种。故选D。

2.细节理解题。第四段大意是：当时碰巧是十一点半。我正走出当地的图书馆。还没找到工作，这时我看到一个人穿过马路很明显是想和我说话。我原以为他是要问时间，他却说他是警察要逮捕我。一开始我以为是开玩笑。由此判断第一个走向他的人是个便衣警察。故选B。

3.细节理解题。根据 文中的We went along that Monday armed with all kinds of witnesses, including my English teacher from school as a character witness．But he was never called on to give evidence．My 'trial' didn't get that far．The magistrate （法官） dismissed the case after fifteen minutes．1 was free．The poor police had never stood a chance．The solicitor even succeeded in getting costs awarded against the police．（我们（和律师）一起在周一准备了各种各样的证据，包括请我学校的英语老师做我品行方面的证人。但是他没有被请来作证。我的审讯没到那一步。法官15分钟后结束了案子。我自由了。）判断，选C。

4.细节理解题。根据倒数第三段的意思：我没有犯罪记录。但是当时很令人震惊的是我从被起诉的这个案子中解脱出来依靠的东西。我的口语很“正”，受人尊敬的中产阶级的父母在法庭上，有可靠的证据，而且很显然我能请得起好律师，考虑到控诉的不清不楚。我感觉如果我的背景正相反，真的失业了，很可能就被判有罪了。 所以，失业和出身地位低都包括。故选D。

5.推理判断题。根据最后两段的意思：警察抱怨作者当时没有抗议、表现出理直气壮、很愤怒并表明自己是很优秀的学生的身份等。这样可能警察会脱帽致歉歉让行。故选A。

6.推理判断题。根据作者所描述的事情的经过判断，作者并没有做任何违法的事情。故选B。

考点：生活百味类阅读。