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Within hours of appearing on television to announce the end of conscription, President Jacques Chirac moved quickly to prevent any dissent from within the military establishment. Addressing more than 500 military staff officers at the military academy in Paris yesterday, Mr. Chirac said clearly that he "expected" their loyalty in the work of rebuilding France’s national defense.He understood their "legitimate concerns, questions and emotions" at the reforms, but added. "You must understand that there is not and never has been any rigid model for French defense. Military service has been compulsory for less than a century. Realism required that our armed forces should now be professional."The president’s decision to abolish conscription over a period of six years removes a rite of passage for young Frenchmen that has existed since the Revolution, even though obligatory national service only became law in 1905. As recently as 1993, an opinion poll showed that more than 60% of French people said they feared the abolition of conscription could endanger national security. A poll conducted this month, however, showed that 70% of those asked favored ending of practice, and on the streets and in offices yesterday, the response to Mr. Chirac’s announcement was generally positive.Among people who completed their 10-month period of national service in the last few years or were contemplating the prospect, there was almost universal approval, tempered by a sense that something hard to define--mixing with people from other backgrounds, a formative experience, a process that encouraged national or social cohesion--might be lost.Patrick, who spent his year in the French city of Valance assigning and collecting uniforms, and is now a computer manager, said he was in tears for his first week, and hated most of his time. He thought it was "useless" as a form of military training-- "I only fired a rifle twice"--but, in retrospect, useful for learning how to get on with people and instilling patriotism.As many as 25% of those liable for military service in France somehow avoid it--the percentage is probably much greater in the more educated and higher social classes.According to Geoffroy, a 26-year-old reporter, who spent his time in the navy with the information office in central Paris, the injustice is a good reason for abolishing it. People with money or connections, he said, can get well-paid assignments abroad. "It’s not fair: some do it, some don’t."Several expressed support for the idea of a new socially-oriented voluntary service that would be open to both men and women. But the idea seemed less popular among women. At present, women have the option of voluntary service and a small number choose to take it. President Chirac’s decision, announced on TV, on ending conscription seemed to ()

A. have got no consensus from military officers
B. have curbed disagreement among the officers
C. be an apology made to the military academy
D. be an understanding of all military officers

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Some weeks ago, riding in a cab from Boston to Cambridge, my driver turned and asked me what I did for a living. "Teach English," I said. "Is that so" The young man continued. "I was an English major." But then, instead of chatting idly about Joyce or dropping the subject altogether, this driver caught me short. "You guys," he said, turning back so that his furry face pressed into the glass partition, "ought to be shot." I think he meant it.The guilty party in this present state of affairs is not really the academic discipline. It is not the fault of English and philosophy and biology that engineering and accounting and computer science afford students better job opportunities and increased flexibility in career choice. Literature and an understanding of, say, man’s evolutionary past are as important as ever. They simply are no longer perceived in today’s market as salable. That is a harsh economic fact. And it is not only true in the United States. Employment prospects for liberal arts graduates in Canada, for example, are said to be the worst since the 1930s.What to do I think it would be shortsighted for colleges and universities to advise students against majoring in certain subjects that do not appear linked (at least directly) to careers. Where our energies should be directed instead is toward the development of educational programs that combine course sequences in the liberal arts with course in the viable professions. Double majors--one for enrichment, one for earning one’s bread--have never been promoted very seriously in our institutions of higher learning, mainly because liberal arts and professional-vocational faculties have long been suspicious or contemptuous of one another. Thus students have been directed to one path or the other, to the disadvantage of both students and faculty.A hopeful cue could be taken, it seems to me, from new attempts in the health profession (nursing and pharmacy, for example), where jobs are still plentiful, to give the humanities and social sciences a greater share of the curriculum. Why could not the traditional history major in the college of arts and sciences be pointed toward additional courses in the business school, or to engineering, or to physical therapy This strategy requires a new commitment from both the institution and the student and demands a much harder look at the allocation of time and resources. But in an age of adversity, double majors are one way liberal arts students can more effectively prepare for the world outside. It can be inferred from the passage that the blame for the present state of affairs lies in the fact that ()

A. the course sequences themselves are unreliable
B. more and more students start to select science majors
C. almost none of the specialties the students major in might be salable in today’s market
D. the opportunities of employment are scarce for graduates of non-science majors

Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories (21) on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior (22) they were not sufficiently penalized for previous misdeeds or that they have learned criminal behavior through (23) with others. Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that children commit crimes in (24) to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status, (25) as a rejection of middle-class values. Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged families, (26) the fact that children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes (27) lack of adequate pa- rental control. All theories, however, are tentative and are (28) to criticism. Changes in the social structure may indirectly (29) juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that (30) to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment (31) make gainful employment increasingly difficult to obtain. The resulting discontent may in (32) lead more youths into criminal-behavior. Families have also (33) changes these years. More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; (34) , children are likely to have less supervision at home (35) was common m the traditional family structure. 23()

A. interaction
B. assimilation
C. cooperation
D. consultation

People suffering from ()prefer to stay shut in their homes and become panic-stricken in large public buildings and open fields.

A. acrophobia
B. agoraphobia
C. claustrophobia
D. xenophobia

Many theories concerning the causes of juvenile delinquency (crimes committed by young people) focus either on the individual or on society as the major contributing influence. Theories (21) on the individual suggest that children engage in criminal behavior (22) they were not sufficiently penalized for previous misdeeds or that they have learned criminal behavior through (23) with others. Theories focusing on the role of society suggest that children commit crimes in (24) to their failure to rise above their socioeconomic status, (25) as a rejection of middle-class values. Most theories of juvenile delinquency have focused on children from disadvantaged families, (26) the fact that children from wealthy homes also commit crimes. The latter may commit crimes (27) lack of adequate pa- rental control. All theories, however, are tentative and are (28) to criticism. Changes in the social structure may indirectly (29) juvenile crime rates. For example, changes in the economy that (30) to fewer job opportunities for youth and rising unemployment (31) make gainful employment increasingly difficult to obtain. The resulting discontent may in (32) lead more youths into criminal-behavior. Families have also (33) changes these years. More families consist of one-parent households or two working parents; (34) , children are likely to have less supervision at home (35) was common m the traditional family structure. 34()

A. contrarily
B. consequently
C. similarly
D. simultaneously

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