单选题 President Bill Clinton is being squeezed on the issue of gays in the military. Gays demand that he lift the ban on them. But the generals and admirals say, please, spare us this massive migraine.
If Clinton wants maximum effectiveness from the military, he'll try to squirm out of his political promise to end the ban. He can't soothe both sides on this issue. If he keeps his word, he'll anger the military and a large segment of America. If he breaks his promise, he'll anger gays and their Hollywood supporters, who gave him votes and money last year.
Were I asked to cast a tie-breaking vote; it would be for the military. They know more about what it takes to win wars than Barbra. Streisand or the Gay and Lesbian Alliance.
And if the Pentagon had done a better job of arguing its case, the vast majority of Americans would agree. Instead, gays have skillfully used the media to argue that the military ban is nothing more than discrimination. Those who disagree are called gay-bashers.
"We're caught in a propaganda war being waged by the media and gay lobbyists," Lt. Col. Robert Maginnis recently wrote," Most media members who advocate lifting the ban never served in the military. They don't understand the lack of privacy and forced intimacy in the barracks."
He's right. Military life is unique. The civilian job closest to soldiering is being a cop. There are gay cops, and that's okay. But as a cop, you work your shift and go home. You don't live on a ship with another cop 24 hours a day. You don't shower and sleep near him for months at a time.
And since we're talking about sex-specifically a form of sex that most Americans consider morally wrong-anybody who says that it won't affect morale and discipline in the military has never been in a barracks or on a crowded troopship.
Yes, there are polls that tell us that more than 40 percent of Americans think the gay ban should be lifted. These polls are about as meaningful as those that say ten percent of Americans believe Elvis lives. A poll limited to those in the military and those who have served would show that an overwhelming majority would be against lifting the ban.
They know that most who volunteer to serve in our military have conservative, middle-class, God-country-family values. It's conformist organization from haircut to stockings. And it places less value on individual rights than on the unit as a whole. It has its own laws and justice system, which by civilian standards would be considered authoritarian. Maybe you don't want to live that way, but if we are going to fight wars, it works.
If gays are accepted by the military, they will demand change. Some activists will probably push for a gay quota at West Point.
There's nothing wrong with change if it has a positive purpose. This doesn't. We're not talking about patriotism, love of country, sacrifice. Gay obsessive-not to be confused with ordinary people who happen to be gay-have an agenda: total social acceptance. And they are using the military ban as a blue chip in their poker game.
A gay Washington lawyer summed it up when he told the New York Times: "Any instruments that defer or delegate this issue to the military are inherently suspect."
Hey, lawyer, this country's military has won many more battles than it has lost. When it comes to fighting, Gen. Colin Powell's views are less suspect than those of a Washington lawyer who hasn't spent one minute in combat. From ousting Saddam from Kuwait to helping Somalia, our military has been effective. As the saying goes, if it isn't broke, don't fix it.
单选题 Generals and admirals______.
  • A. suggested the ban on the gays in the military be lifted
  • B. asked the ban on gays be kept
  • C. found no gays in their troops
  • D. asked the gays in the military quit out of the army
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 从第二段可知，如果克林顿想要得到军方的帮助，他就不会信守要废除这项禁令的政治性承诺，故B项为正确答案。
单选题 The author holds that ban on gays in the military______.
  • A. is discrimination
  • B. is a gender discrimination
  • C. is racial
  • D. is not discrimination at all
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 从文中第三、四段可知作者坚持认为对军营同性恋的禁令是对他们的歧视，故选A项。
单选题 Military life is different from the cops in that______.
  • A. soldiers are unmarried
  • B. soldiers work their shifts and cops not
  • C. soldiers have to live together all the time
  • D. soldiers have to work 24 hours a day
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 从文中第六段可知，同性恋者警察能够被接受，他们不用长期住在一起，因此可知C项为正确答案。
单选题 Gay obsessive purpose is______.
  • A. to join the army
  • B. to make the society totally accept them
  • C. to get admission to West Point
  • D. to use military ban as a blue chip in their poker game
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 从文中倒数第四段可知，同性恋者希望社会能够接受他们。故选B项。
单选题 In the author's opinion,
  • A. American military has been effective
  • B. American military demands change
  • C. American military is inherently suspect
  • D. American military should be fixed
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 作者认为美国的军队是一个高效的军队，因此选A项。
单选题 The phrase of "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" in the last paragraph refers to______.
  • A. telling someone to leave things as they are
  • B. telling someone to be careful
  • C. telling someone to stay calm and not to overreact
  • D. encouraging someone who is hesitant
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] If it isn't broke，don't fix it这个习语的字面意思是“东西还没坏，就别急着去修它”，实际上是劝某人不要破坏现状。因此，正确选项为A。其他三项不合题意，B项意为告诫某人做事要小心；C项意为请对方保持冷静，勿做出过激反应；D项意为当某人犹豫不决时给予鼓励。