2012年大学英语六级快速阅读冲刺题（2）

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 10:30:44

Customs

One of the little rituals all international travelers go through is customs. To most people, this is just another stop in an airport or a minor inconvenience at a country’s borders. But when you go through customs, you are actually taking part in a key component of the global economy.
      A nation’s customs service has many responsibilities. At its most basic level, its purpose is to regulate what comes into and goes out of a country. The foremost element of this regulation is controlling international trade. The concept of trade is as old as civilization itself. If my tribe has a huge supply of bananas, and your tribe has a huge supply of fur, we will trade goods so that both our tribes can eat and both can keep warm. In the modern world, international trade is based on money, but it works in pretty much the same way. My country may produce more televisions than the population needs, but not enough cars. In order to have everything the population needs, businesses in my country will export TVs and import cars.

Any nation wants its own businesses to do well, so most of the time they prefer their people buy domestic goods over competing foreign goods. But in many cases, goods are available cheaper in another country than in your country, and people naturally want to buy them at the lower price. To tilt the balance in favor of domestic businesses, governments impose tariffs, also called duty, on foreign goods coming into the country.

In addition to encouraging domestic trade, duty also gives the nation a "piece of the action" when somebody buys something produced overseas. Customs agencies are often major sources of revenue for the government. The US Customs Service, for example, brings in more money than any other government office except the Internal Revenue Service. To control specific sorts of trade, a government may impose a higher tariff on certain types of goods (alcohol, for example). Certain countries may join together to work out mutually beneficial trade agreements, enabling businesses in those nations to trade more freely with each other than they can with businesses in other nations. This gives an advantage to nations that a country has a good relationship with.

Customs agencies also monitor what is being exported from a country. For example, most governments strictly regulate what weapons can be exported to other nations. This is simply a common-sense safety measure: It’s not a good idea to arm enemy nations, so the government has to know who is buying any domestically-produced weaponry. As we’ll see later on, customs agencies also pay careful attention to how much money citizens are transporting out of the country.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 10:30:45

Duty charges have a huge effect on big businesses, which may import millions of dollars worth of goods every year. To regulate trade on this level, a country’s customs agency must keep track of all shipments that come into the nation’s ports or cross its borders. They can’t check every bit of foreign cargo, of course, so agents pick certain boxes to inspect and certain shipments to scrutinize. In an effort to speed up the process, the US Customs Service is implementing new, computerized systems for processing shipments and charging importers.

While large businesses are the main importers in a country, trade restrictions also apply to the individual traveler. When you bring home souvenirs（纪念品）from another country, you are actually importing goods. In the United States and many other countries, the customs agency grants each traveler a nominal duty exemption（免除）to allow them to bring back a reasonable amount of goods without having to pay tariffs.

In most countries, it isn’t feasible for the customs agency to check all of the goods that every single traveler is importing, so governments have to depend largely on people’s honesty. When you enter a country, you are asked to truthfully report what goods you are importing and make a good faith estimate of their value. They don’t put their entire trust in people’s good character, of course; customs performs a thorough search of some percentage of all travelers.
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Some customs agencies decide which travelers to search based on random chance. You are asked to press a button on a machine that activates a random number generator. Depending on the number that comes up, either a green light comes on and you can pass through or a red light comes on and the agent searches your bags. Other customs agencies decide who to search based solely on intuition. After many years on the job, a customs agent develops a keen eye for people who are up to no good. Unlike the police, customs agents are fully authorized to search your luggage, clothes and even your body without any warrant or reason for suspicion. Customs agents often work side-by-side with immigration officials, and in some ports of entry, one inspector may represent both agencies. But at its core, a customs agency is concerned with the things that are coming in and out of a country, rather than the travelers themselves.

In addition to monitoring legal imports, a nation’s customs agency also works to keep out illegal or contraband (违禁品) items. Customs agencies must fight the flow of illegal materials across borders. In addition to drugs, customs agencies may watch for weaponry, child pornography (色情资料), counterfeit merchandise and stolen goods. They also watch for people carrying illegally gained money across borders.

These sorts of illegal materials make up only one category of contraband goods. Customs agents also stop the importation of legal goods that are a threat to the nation’s security. In most countries, the importation of fruits, meats, animals and plants is heavily regulated due to the fear of disease or ecological imbalance. While it may seem strange that a piece of fruit is considered a threat to national security, the risk of biological contamination is very real. In the late 1980s, one traveler with one piece of contaminated fruit caused an infestation (出没,横行) of Mediterranean fruit flies that destroyed millions of dollars worth of crops in California.

Some completely harmless items are deemed contraband simply because of the country they come from. If country A is considered to be a national enemy of country B, or has a record of violating international law, country B (and other countries) might institute an embargo（禁运）against that country (a ban on the importation of country A’s goods). This cuts off potential business for country A, and this may persuade its leaders to change their policies. In the United States, the best known example of this sort of sanction is the embargo against Cuban products. There is a high demand for Cuban cigars in the United States, but they are strictly regulated because of the strained relationship between the United States and Cuba. As with drugs, smugglers are eager to sneak in a supply to meet this demand, and are constantly trying to get around customs.

In many countries, the customs agency closely monitors the importing and exporting of cultural artifacts. While a traveler may have purchased the item in good faith, it might have been stolen at an earlier point. Customs agencies have helped to restore many priceless artifacts to their rightful owners.
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A country’s government might also ban importation of items based on ethics and morality. For example, in many countries, you cannot import ivory or other products that come from endangered animals. In 2000, the United States enacted the Dog and Cat Protection Act, banning the importation of any products made from dog and cat fur that was acquired inhumanely. The US Customs Service confiscates all such goods so that US citizens do not inadvertently support this practice.

Without customs agencies, nations would have no control over what comes in and goes out of their country. In order to protect its citizens and businesses, a government has to be vigilant in protecting its borders, not only against armed attack, but also against unwanted imports. As any customs agent will tell you, this is crucial to maintaining order in modern society.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 10:30:46

1. What is said to be the most fundamental goal of a nation’s customs?

A) Inspecting the tourists

B) Inverstigating smuggling.

C) Regulating international trade.

D) Coutrolling imports and exports.

2. What action has been taken by nations to encourage their people to favor domestic goods?

A) Imposing tariffs on foreign goods.

B) Lowering the price of domestic goods.

C) Reducing the number of imported goods.

D) Improving the quality of domestic goods.

3. Some countries are able to do business more freely with each other, if they ________.

A) contribute more to international trade

B) establish a good relation with each other

C) make trade agreements in favor of both sides

D) keep the balance between imports and exports

4. How much does the customs agency check if the goods imported or exported are huge in volume?

A) Almost a half

B) Certain percetage

C)About 80 percent

D) All shipments

5. Some countries allow individual travelers to bring home a reasonable amount of goods by ________.

A) imposing some tariffs

B) restricting the variety

C) controlling the value

D) exempting the tariffs

6. After many years of experience, some customs agencies base their selection and inspection of travelers only on ________.

A) their intuition

B) random chance

C) careful examination

D)computerized systems

7. Most customs agencies try to stop importing plants and animals mainly because they ________.

A) may threate national security

B) ca’t adapt to new environment

C) are far from satisfactory in quality

D) are more constly than domestic ones

8. Some items are considered illegal because they come from a enemy country or one that is imposed on_________________.

9. By paying close attention to the cultural artifacts coming in or out of a country, customs agencies can help the artifacts going back to ____________.

10. In some countries, such goods as ivory and dog or cat furs are forbidden to import because of ___________.

会计考友 · 发表于 2012-8-14 10:30:47

文章梗概：

本文主要介绍了国家设立海关的目的和海关重点检查的一些物品。文章首先指出了海关的基本职责是对进出该国的物品施行管制，然后指出关税对国家的重要意义。此后，本文分别介绍了海关对于大宗货物和个体旅行者的检查方法。接下来文章依次介绍了被海关列为违禁品的商品。

答案解析：

1. 由题干关键词the most fundamental goal of a nation’s customs定位至第二段第二句At its most basic level, its purpose is to regulate what comes into and goes out of a country. 该句指出：从最基本的层面讲，一个国家设立海关的目的应该是管制进出该国的物品。因此D）"控制进出口货物"为答案。这里的regulate意为"控制，管理"。

2. 由题干关键词favor domestic goods定位至第三段末句To tilt the balance in favor domestic business, governments impose tariffs, also called duty, on foreign goods coming into the country. 该句指出：为了向国内贸易倾斜，政府采取了对进口货物征收关税的政策。故A）为正确答案。这里的tilt意为"倾斜，倾倒"。

3. 由题干关键词do business more freely定位至第四段倒数第二句Certain countries may join together to work out mutually beneficial trade agreements, enabling business in those nations to trade more freely …. 这句的主要意思是：有些国家联合起来制定互利贸易协定，这就使他们之间的贸易往来更为顺畅。因此答案为C）。

4. 由题干关键词huge in volume定位至第六段第三句They can’t check every bit of foreign cargo, of course, so agents pick certain boxes to inspect and certain shipments to scrutinize. 当然，他们不可能对每一件货物都进行检查，所以海关工作人员只选出某些集装箱或者某艘货轮进行仔细检查。由此可知答案为B）。

5. 由题干关键词individual travelers和bring home定位至第七段第三句In the United States and many other countries, the customs agency grants each traveler a nominal duty exemption to allow them to bring back a reasonable amount of goods without having to pay tariffs. 在美国和其他许多国家，海关准许个人旅游者携带符合规定数量的货物过关，并免除他们的关税。因此D）与文中表述相符。

6. 由题干关键词many years of experience定位至第九段第四句Other customs agencies decide who to search based solely on intuition.而紧接下来的一句就是对intuition的进一步说明:After many years on the job, a customs agent develops a keen eye for people who are up to no good. 多年的工作经验使海关工作人员仅凭直觉就可决定搜查对象。因此A）为正确答案。

7. 由题干关键词plants and animals定位至第十一段第三、四句In most countries, the importation of fruits…is heavily regulated due to the fear of disease or ecological imbalance. While it may seem strange that a piece of fruit is considered a threat to national security….大多数国家都严格控制肉类、水果和动植物的进口，因为它们可能携带病毒或破坏生态平衡，进而威胁国家安全。故答案为A）。

8. 由题干关键词an enemy country定位至第十二段第二句If country A is considered to be a national enemy of country B, or has a record of violating international law, country B (and other countries) might institute an embargo against that country. 如果甲国被乙国当作敌国，或者甲国有违反国际法的纪录，乙国或者其他国家可能对甲国实施禁运。题干中的imposed on是对句中institute的解释，故答案为an embargo。

9. 由题干关键词cultural artifacts定位到倒数第三段, 再由help the artifacts going back定位至最后一句Customs agencies have helped to restore many priceless artifacts to their rightful owners. 海关已经帮助把许多无价的工艺品归还给了它们合法的主人。划线处即为答案。

10. 由题干关键词ivory and dog or cat furs定位至倒数第二段第二句, 句首的For example显然说明本句是对前面一句的例证，那么这些货物被禁止的原因就应该是A country’s government might also ban importation of items based on ethics and morality. 一个国家的政府还可能根据伦理和道德原则禁止某些物品的进口。划线处即为答案。

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[六级阅读] 2012年大学英语六级快速阅读冲刺题（2）